Thread: Roof top tents

We used a cheapy tigerz11 on two alloy roof bars on a Simpson trip in 2013. My kids are younger. My wife and kids slept in the tent and I slept under them in a swag on the ground. This set up worked well with moving every day. Here's a pic. image-2765605459.jpg

I had a separate roof rack on the front for jerrys and other gear. All the stuff on the roof probably did affect fuel use in the HW.

The RTT weighed about 50kg. We left pillows and sleeping bags in the tent.

The RTT will sit on top of the highest part of the rack, not inside the rack, so the base sits flat when folded out.

The thing that concerns me about roof top tents is they are on the roof. When you are packing and unpacking, they are at height. I often see people walking around on top of their 4WD's strapping them down. They also tend to get ripped by low hanging branches.
If working at height is no problem for you, I think they are a great idea but, I also think the best type of vehicle for a roof top tent is a passenger car.

Mick raises a good point. Height is a problem on a defender when it comes RTTs.

Packing and unpacking involves zips and straps. I used the front rack to pack & unpack the front side. I have double jerry holders on each side at the back. I would stand on the jerrys to pack unpack the rear side. Otherwise you need a small ladder.

I set up mine to fold out to the side.

The only time i have seen a rooftop tent that i thought was appropriate was on a 2dr rangie in a camp ground in Tanzania.

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Recently switched from rooftop to a Kulkyne elevated swag to avoid strain on roof and high centre of gravity when travelling rough roads.

We often camp in sub-zero temps so rooftop served to keep us off cold ground but in the end I was tired of the worry.

Also tired of having to pack up to collect wood.

Ours was a fairly streamlined, hard-cased wind-up job so fuel economy wasn't too badly affected, but now that it's off the Disco is much nicer to drive around corners and on trails.

We've been using on of these for about 10 yrs now

Roof top tent

Still watertight, still very comfortable, many more years to come.

We looked at the fold in half designs like eezi awn and hannibal. We think the Mr Swagman type is better because

- bigger instant shelter under the awning.
- bedding stays put when packing up. We leave 4 pillows & sometimes 4 sleeping bags up there.
- lower aero profile.
- kg load on the roof is the same as the fold ups. The fold ups certainly free up half the roof, but it's not usable without loading up the roof too much.
- and, as a bonus, Mark at Mr Swagman made ours 6 inches longer to suit my tall frame.

Overhanging branches aren't a problem, no more than a loaded roofrack. There aren't many problem trees in the Simpson Desert, or Cape York for that matter.

With all designs, it's great to be able to move the car into the sun in the mornings, to aid drying.

Disadvantages? It's easy to reverse into a tree, dislodging the rails in the roof gutter. That applies to all designs, just ensure the spare tyre hits first.

The 3:00am walk of shame is a pain, that applies to all designs.

And the cover over the windscreen catches water quite nicely. Not ideal to pour over your newly dried tent. It's just a matter of tipping out & letting dry as the tent dries.

The pics of the Defender on the Mr Swagman website show 4 roof rails. Only 3 are needed. The middle one is not bolted to the tent, it just gives support when you're up there. If you're ever seen the twist in a Defender roof panel when cross axled, you'll understand why the middle rail needs to be able to move!

One last thing - we've noticed the same tent badged under other brands as well. The 3dog here

3DOG camping – A very special kind of RoofTop Tent

looks identical in the flesh.

Regards
Max P

They appear to be very similar to the original "Shippshape" ones from years back.... I believe the Shippshape have started back up as well....

Priced similar too......

The 2nd hand value seems to hold up as well....

Originally Posted by Tusker

We've been using on of these for about 10 yrs now

Roof top tent

Still watertight, still very comfortable, many more years to come.

We looked at the fold in half designs like eezi awn and hannibal. We think the Mr Swagman type is better because

- bigger instant shelter under the awning.
- bedding stays put when packing up. We leave 4 pillows & sometimes 4 sleeping bags up there.
- lower aero profile.
- kg load on the roof is the same as the fold ups. The fold ups certainly free up half the roof, but it's not usable without loading up the roof too much.
- and, as a bonus, Mark at Mr Swagman made ours 6 inches longer to suit my tall frame.

Overhanging branches aren't a problem, no more than a loaded roofrack. There aren't many problem trees in the Simpson Desert, or Cape York for that matter.

With all designs, it's great to be able to move the car into the sun in the mornings, to aid drying.

Disadvantages? It's easy to reverse into a tree, dislodging the rails in the roof gutter. That applies to all designs, just ensure the spare tyre hits first.

The 3:00am walk of shame is a pain, that applies to all designs.

And the cover over the windscreen catches water quite nicely. Not ideal to pour over your newly dried tent. It's just a matter of tipping out & letting dry as the tent dries.

The pics of the Defender on the Mr Swagman website show 4 roof rails. Only 3 are needed. The middle one is not bolted to the tent, it just gives support when you're up there. If you're ever seen the twist in a Defender roof panel when cross axled, you'll understand why the middle rail needs to be able to move!

One last thing - we've noticed the same tent badged under other brands as well. The 3dog here

3DOG camping – A very special kind of RoofTop Tent

looks identical in the flesh.

Regards
Max P

We've got a ShippShape - 15 years old now and still an excellent piece of kit.

Can't see any way that you'd get 4 people in it though, even if 2 of them are very small kids.

It weighs about 40Kg from memory, so you can almost lift it up onto the roof on your own, but 2 people makes it easy. Takes about 20 minutes to put on/pull off.