Thread: Roof Top Tents - What's the issues People Find using them?

We had an expensive RTT on a trailer, which was big, about 2.2m wide from memory. IMO it worked really well as a concept but SWMBO didn't really like the setup. We returned it at the end of the trip as it leaked and allowed bugs in. The manufacturers were really inflexible about fixing the problems which is another story. It was take what you get or take a refund, OK refund please.

We bought a really cheap RTT mainly to do a desert trip in the 110. The quality wasn't as good but for the price was great. It even had rip stop canvas, and it didn't leak or let bugs in. It was a standard size which isn't big enough for us all so I slept under the floor on the ground in a swag. It also worked pretty well as a setup, we had the ladder extension. My only complaint is the height of the 110 made packing up the tent much harder. You won't have this problem on a trailer. I contemplated getting another and mounting two on the trailer. But it wouldn't have worked as well. The biggest Hannibal is 2m which was too small and a bit of money. We ended up in a camper trailer.

I had a roof top tent mounted on a six by four box trailer for many years and we used to get it set up and be drinking beer long before our mates with tents were done setting up.

Mine was mounted on a frame on top of the trailer just a little lower than the 4x4 roof top height and the tent had a section that dropped down the site of the trailer creating a room there.

The kids were in bunk beds in the room at the side and the wife and I on the top. It worked really well.

One thing that we did learn the hard way though was to make sure that the draw bar end of the trailer as pegged down firmly or the whole lot could tip up.

Legs on the back of the trailer would also stop this.

These day we do a lot less camping but have one of the quick erect tents instead.

We started with an ARB rooftop folding out over the rear of the 130. Thoughts:
- Tent seemed the same as those on offer from TJM, Ironman etc... just different logo on the cover.
- Cover a tight fit, lots of climbing around the truck to tuck everything in.
- Rear fold allowed tailgate area to be covered, especially with "annexe" option.
- With Hannibal awning out the LH side, a pop up gazebo placed against the back side of the awning and left side of the tent gave ample living space even in inclimate weather.
- Used for 2.5 weeks on Moreton Island for honeymoon - still married. (Can't have been that bad)

When No1 son came along, sold ARB tent, bought Hannibal 2.0 metre tent for more room - folds out over drivers side. Thoughts:
- Holy mother of space.
- Bulk room, especially with "annexe"
- Setup longer than ARB, but pack up same, if not less as tent cover has been extended for extra room (very worthwhile modification)
- Heaps of room
- Requires two people to pack up easily.
- Hannibal tent very good quality. Has always kept us dry and warm. But it'd want to for the price premium.
- So roomy.
- Should get a foxwing or similar to cover tailgate area now

General comparisons/thoughts:
- Hannibal canvas much thicker than ARB. Tent fair bit heavier (all but twice the size)
- Both kept us dry, Hannibal warmer despite having more area to heat.
- Both offer excellent airflow and can keep cool on warm nights.
- I think Hannibal mattress is thicker. Both good though.
- Ladder extension worthwhile. I have a bigger issue with the cold aluminium on my bare feet than negotiating the ladder itself. Wife is the same.
- A cover design which zips off completely is better than one which stays attached/"flips over". Allows you to remove and sweep it clean, or stow away to keep it dry.

As our family grows, I can see towing in my future. This serves us well for now, but having the freedom to drive would be nice, as would the extra room. Having trouble finding something I like though... might have to build something.....
We have no trouble going away for a weekend or a week with this set up but unfortunately haven't been able to try it out in a "touring" arrangement as of yet (pack up/setup every day) have discussed it at length though, and don't see any issues. With the tent being bigger, it's good to have a routine where each person has a role/set of tasks. Makes it all quicker and smoother.

Hope that rambling helped.

Originally Posted by Tusker

Had one of these for about 10 years now

Roof top tent

We've slept better in this than any tent or swag.

Always been dust free. Packing up wet makes me nervous, but we've never had wet bedding. Just normal maintenance with reproofing canvas every so often.

Seconds to put up (ignoring awning & add on room), say 5 mins to pack away.

It needs mesh under the mattress to prevent condensation in winter, but all RTTs would. I bought this stuff.

AERO-MESH: PRODUCTS

Only design fault, and it's a minor one, is that the cover flips down over the windscreen. Any rain collects in pockets which can be flipped onto your bed. Pretty easy to drain before you pull back over.

Regards
Max P

We've got a very similar design one from Rooftopcampers in Tassie: Roof Top Campers
Love it!!!
The mattress sits in an aluminium "box", and the cover attaches to the front of the box using sail track, and bungee cord threaded through eyelets in the other 3 sides of the cover goes onto hooks on the box.
One piece ladder attaches to the side of the box.
Box is deep enough that we've got a 110mm foam mattress. We had one made with about 80mm of higher density foam on the bottom and 30mm of softer stuff on the top. Its at least as comfy as our normal bed at home.

We love that is literally less than a couple of minutes to remove the ladder, attach it to its mounting bolt with one wingnut, and pull the main part of the tent open ready to fall into bed. Because the mattress doesn't fold in half you can leave all your bedding up there, and just move pillows etc to the middle of the bed before closing up. We've got a small tarp that we put over the top of the bedding before packing up to keep any moisture in the canvas away from the mattress.
Having the box structure means you have something solid to hang onto when getting in and out of the tent. The access door is at the side of the tent so easy to reach to unzip and then just throw your leg out onto the ladder. I sleep on the far side so have to throw a leg over SWMBO to make it to the door, but we cope
In general, a RTT also means you don't have to look for a flat place on the ground to put a mattress. Rocky river beds or a bit of surface water are no problem

Over winter we spent a couple of months in southern Africa in hired Defenders with rooftop tents. They were the standard style fold in half mattress type (Local Tentco brand).
Better than sleeping on the ground, but what a PITA compared to our own one. Mattresses were thin, covers were always dirty and you had to take them completely off so you always got filthy. On cold mornings the covers were very stiff and almost impossible to get on. With frozen fingers it was the most pain I had on the whole trip.
We could leave our bedding in the tent when we folded it up, but it had to be very specifically arranged, and it made it quite a bit harder to fit the cover.
On the plus side, we had 2 RTT's on our vehicle, so worked well for having 3 or 4 people. Packing up pre-dawn for game driving was a hassle but only because the tents weren't easy to pack away. It was still better than being at toenail height when a hippo is grazing next to the vehicle at 3am.

I guess what I'm saying is that RTT's definitely aren't all the same, and its likely that if my only experience had been with the ones in Africa I'd not be so keen. You need to work out what things are important for your personal situation.
In Oz, with the 110 set up for the just the 2 of us, ours is perfect and will definitely be going onto our next landy.

Steve

I bought an Adventure Kings RTT from 4WD Supacentre before going on a 6 week trip to Cape York and back. Mine has a cover over the ladder and an option for the bottom tent.

Roof Top Tent For Sale , 4WD & Outdoor Products - Australia

I'm also in the Gippsland Four Wheel Drive Club and use it everywhere we go, largely the Aberfeldy area, Wonangatta and the Vic High country.

I have had very little trouble with finding level ground, i reckon i had more trouble finding suitable ground to set up the Back Wolf Turbo tent, which is brilliant too if that is what you want.

The RRT cost me approx. $1000 (including the ground tent option which I've never used) and is worth every cent. My partner and I love it.

I agree with everyone who has made good points about them, the only improvement for me would be a pop top roof at much more expense.

The biggest draw back I've had was base camp set ups on 4WD trips, as you do have to pack up your tent before driving. But we tend to do more camp site to camp site trips.

I cannot leave bedding in the tent as it has a shallow hinge that only fits the mattress and a blanket when folded. I actually like this as I get less wind drag and the Disco is already tall as it is.

But the most stand out benefit I had from the RTT which actually surprised me was in Bloomfield QLD (Rain forest). It rained FAT rain all night, and I mean for about 6 hrs constantly. When we woke in the morning the ground was eroded from the amount of water. We were bone dry inside largely because of the tents design, it has a polyester fly attached to it.

We had a few windy nights at Captain Billy's Landing, I think the key here is to point the short side of the tent into the wind for minimum drag. I still think a normal tent would have been no better.

I love mine and don't plan on getting rid of it soon, it will likely wear out before i can sell it. If you do plan on having a pee in the middle of the night it is quite feasible to have a funnel and a hose from the tent to under the car. I'd imagine the better half would NOT opt in for this option though.

One other thing that does not really apply to you so much. The load carrying capacity of the roof is not really high on most cars. On the D2 I think it is 50-60kg. The RTT weight about 40-50kg on its own but i'm sure the roof weight is dynamically rated not static like when you are using a RTT.

This means the roof is approx. at its rated load when the RTT is packed up. There is often not much room left on the roof for other things so it prevents one from over loading their roof. I seen a bloke with a 100 series Toyota with 2 RTT's fitted, 1 for the kids and 1 for the parents. He had done it this way for that exact reason. All the heavy stuff he stored above the rear axle.

All in all I think you will like the RTT, i'd personally make it high enough to walk under in your trailer scenario so you can attach the zip on ground tent. It means you have somewhere to stand up to get dressed and shelter if it is flogging down sideways. All though I don't use the ground tent my kitchen is under the RTT.

The ARB RTT does appear to be the best built RTT i've seen. But the Kings one is great value for money. The Darche RTT appears to be marginally better than the Kings. Biggest difference is higher grade rip stop canvas. The fitting points in mine are alloy, others have plastic connecting pieces, that might be something to check for.