Thread: Roof top tents in the wet

I just pull the bedding away from the edge of the canvas a little and so far I've had no problems with wet gear. I've been impressed how dry these things are!

BTW, a little plug here for my RTT which is for sale in the market place

If it's packed properly, the inner tent covers the bedding and the fly sits on top of the inner tent. On one occasion I simply put a 6x8 tarp over the mattress etc , packed the rest down on top and it all stayed dry. Mind you the storm passed later in the day and so we stopped early to put the tent up and dry it off before dark.

I think that most times I've been out camping I've had to pack it up wet, I've never done anything differently to ensure it stayed dry, have reopened it that night and all the beddings been dry as a bone,, although I got wet whilst putting it up .

The only moisture I've ever had is under the mattress, and it's from condensation whilst sleeping.

I second what's already been stated.

The fly can get wet on the inside from condensation but the inner canvas doesn't get wet.

Let's suppose though, that the rain has been lashing sideways at one of the door ends and the canvas has been given a good dousing. On mine, the water beads so quickly and runs off that it'd be a case of moist on the outside, dry as a bone on the inside. Simply taking care of your canvas will see to this. Ensure the seams are rubbed with some wax every now and then.

If I were really worried about the inside of the canvas being wet, I'd just rub it with a t-shirt before packing it up and make sure I air it at the next opportunity....but I simply don't have that concern - I'm utterly impressed with how dry these tents are.

Bobby

My rtt. seems to stay dry when I pack it up as the fly takes most of the rain.
Mine has never had moisture under the mattress as it is aluminium foam sandwich which also insulates it but have had ice on the inside roof from frozen condensation in minus 3 degrees. All in all I think they are great for the price you can purchase them for now. I would get a fibre glass one now if I was buying as they are so cheap compared to about 8 years ago.

I haven't used mine in rain, but on my trip to Perth last year, I got rain all the last day. The water got in and took quite a bit to air it out. I probably could have slept in it, but the corner of the mattress was damp. Hoges' tarp idea probably would have fixed my problem.

Jeff

Evening All,

Thanks for all your replies, it seems that the fly keeps the canvas dry.

I must say it took me a bit to find my own post, the Mods having moved it here, a whole new section of AULRO to get lost in

Tony

This weekend I used the Autohome Columbus RTT in the wet for the first time.

The water proofing is outstanding...no water came inside at all. But one thing I am concerned about is that the entrance has no canopy to shelter the entrance from the rain.
Looking at the Hanibal Empi...this tent has a small canopy above the main entrance that would help deflect rain away when the main flaps open. I wish Autohome took note of that but it's a bit late now.

I'm also using the VAC bags to store pillows and sleeping bags etc....they keep 100% dry and make storage easier as well.