Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: Roof Top Tents

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Posts
    83
    Total Downloaded
    0

    Roof Top Tents

    Who has experience with rooftop tents? Pros, cons, best brands and what to watch out for etc?
    Dave.


    1951 80" "Gundy" WIP :angel:
    1980 Series III Stage 1 TDi WIP :p
    D1 300TDi "Duggy Diesel"

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Vic
    Posts
    342
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Hi Praxis,

    I've owned a Hannible,

    Pro's,
    comfy,
    warm and dry,
    very handy,
    easy to put up and down
    able to take your camper 4wding without fear of jack knifing.

    Con's,
    Collect your fire wood before setting up camp,
    Don't expect to be able to pack a lot of sleeping gear away in it,
    My wife was not able to set ours up or close it up so it can be a problem in emergencies.
    Be prepared to either have some way of lifting it off at home or to be carrying it around with you everywhere you go (e.g. no more underground car parks or low garage doors).
    Can make it a bit top heavy so you need to take that into account on side slopes but mine was not too bad, made it to pucker angle with out falling over which was fine for me.

    I had the big awning and all with mine which I would not bother with again, you may as well set up a whole tent, the most basic, cheapest and lightest in my opinion would probably be the best for me but if you are going to use it constantly for months on a long trip, get a good one like the Hannible.

    Cheers Casper

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Bracken Ridge - Brisbane - QLD
    Posts
    14,276
    Total Downloaded
    0
    I have an Aussie traveller delux. This type folds up full length of you roof rack so count out carrying anything else on top.

    I reckon it folds up easy and stores as much bedding as you like.

    Mine will live on the camper trailer 90% of the time.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Gold coast
    Posts
    3,130
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Out of all the tents we sell the 1.4 tent is our biggest seller, this size of tent allows for extra storage space on your rack, more so if you utilize a Hannibal expedition rack. The larger 1.8 and 2.0m tents are becoming popular with families too. As for the rear annex the Hannibal one takes around 10 mins to set up, it's great for added privacy and when the weather turns bad, it's not something you would put up if you were making a quick night stop.

    As for the quality of all the different tents out there, you really do get what you pay for, take your time and try and have a good look at the different makes out there, the likes of arb, ironman, gordigear, opensky, eBay specials, etc as all these tents are made in china, and the quality of the materials is far inferior than the Hannibal roof top tent.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Posts
    6,078
    Total Downloaded
    0
    We've got a 1.4m hannibal with the extended fly option that sticks out over the ladder.

    The tent itself is very good. It is well made, can be put down with all bedding apart from pillows, is warm, etc etc.

    The extended fly 'fit yourself' mounting is truly ****. The design/quality of the way it mounts is appalling. I ended up having some brackets rapid prototyped that actually fitted nicely.

    The ladder design is also not great (or wasn't when we got ours)

    As has already been said they can be a pain if you want to stay somewhere for a few days

    I can lift ours on and off on my own with a bit of thought, and use of the outside furniture! It lives under one of the beds in the house for most of the year.

    Hannibal or Howling moon from all the ones we looked at were the best.


    Rgds
    Pete

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Gold coast
    Posts
    3,130
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by Psimpson7 View Post
    We've got a 1.4m hannibal with the extended fly option that sticks out over the ladder.

    The tent itself is very good. It is well made, can be put down with all bedding apart from pillows, is warm, etc etc.

    The extended fly 'fit yourself' mounting is truly ****. The design/quality of the way it mounts is appalling. I ended up having some brackets rapid prototyped that actually fitted nicely.

    The ladder design is also not great (or wasn't when we got ours)

    As has already been said they can be a pain if you want to stay somewhere for a few days

    I can lift ours on and off on my own with a bit of thought, and use of the outside furniture! It lives under one of the beds in the house for most of the year.

    Hannibal or Howling moon from all the ones we looked at were the best.


    Rgds
    Pete
    You should post some pics of the upgraded mounts!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Posts
    6,078
    Total Downloaded
    0
    As requested:

    School project quality original mountings:





    What I came up with in a bit of a hurry:



    Printed, and with new part for ends of framework:




  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Lambs Valley - Hunter Valley, NSW
    Posts
    105
    Total Downloaded
    0

    Gordigear

    We have one of the older Gordigear roof top tents and love it, bought it off this forum, combined with an ironman awning on the other side.
    Ours is 2100 long by 1500 wide, so when you drop it over the side of the vehicle the annexe is 2100 X 2100, great for the kids.

    Pros:
    Totally waterproof
    Being up off the ground you always get a breeze
    Relatively quick for 2 people to erect and put away
    Only adds approx 1.5 liters per 100 kms to fuel consumption
    No trailer to jackknife or interfere with your off road fun

    Cons:
    Weighing approx 100kgs including racks it takes a bit to put on and off the car, you do need to have polyairs or similar on a D1.
    Once you are set up you cannot go anywhere except by foot, pushie or in a
    mates vehicle.
    Watch the added height in the bush.

    We think it is the only way to go, love the Pro's and manage the Cons.

    Foxspell

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Gold coast
    Posts
    3,130
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by Psimpson7 View Post
    As requested:

    School project quality original mountings:





    What I came up with in a bit of a hurry:



    Printed, and with new part for ends of framework:



    Your Knuckle joint looks to be the older version, the Jumbo fly now comes with a different fitting. Do you have any pictures of your new version on the tent?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Posts
    6,078
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by juddy View Post
    Your Knuckle joint looks to be the older version, the Jumbo fly now comes with a different fitting. Do you have any pictures of your new version on the tent?
    Do you have a picture of the new type? My tent was delivered about the first week of May 2008 so it may well have been improved.

    Would be interested to compare what they look like. Can you buy them as an upgrade?

    As for pics on the tent, I must have, but I cant find any, and I cant face manhandling the tent out to get some now.

    Will have a look around later.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Search AULRO.com ONLY!
Search All the Web!