Roof Top Tents - Any Tips

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Originally Posted by p38arover

What about max roof loading? The Defender owners handbook says:



A tent, roof rack, and me would exceed that.

For my L322, the handbook says:



Is the Defender also downrated for off-road use?

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The D4 handbook says 75KG.

Our RTT,and foxwing,bedding,and roof rails,come to around 100KG.
No issues so far..

There are many around that carry more weight on them,with no issues.

As for fuel use,with the RTT tent,we have,there seems to be very minimal,or virtually no increase at all.

In fact last trip, over 4000k's,including quite a lot of off road driving,stop start,beach driving,fully loaded,it averaged 10.8l/100,which isn't too bad,considering.The best i have had out of the vehicle on a long run,loaded,no off road or beach work,no RTT, is 10.2l/100.

Thread steal ahead - sorry.

If a RTT is 75kg, and the roof loading is 75kg, what happens when you and SWMBO sleep in it? (Say add another day 140kgs)?

How does the roof loading rating work?

(Just wondering-apologise if this is a stupid question [emoji15])

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Originally Posted by grey_ghost

Thread steal ahead - sorry.

If a RTT is 75kg, and the roof loading is 75kg, what happens when you and SWMBO sleep in it? (Say add another day 140kgs)?

How does the roof loading rating work?

(Just wondering-apologise if this is a stupid question [emoji15])

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Who's driving whilst you are sleeping in it?
AFAIK the load rating is for when you are driving (hence the lower rating for off-road).

Hi donh54,

Thanks - I had *assumed* that the rating was for when the vehicle was stationary. (But you know what they say about assuming).

And then I thought: "Why would the roof be rated lower when on the move - does the roof flex?"

I was mainly just curious, that's all.

Cheers,
GG

PS - You never know who is sleeping in your bed when you aren't paying attention...

From my understanding (happy to stand corrected), vehicle roofs are tested for both static and dynamic loads. Legally though, I don't know what the story is. Dynamic load ratings are set lower to cope with the vehicle moving/bouncing/jostling over rough terrain (potholes etc) which multiplies the forces involved, and so the load carried must be less to keep within limits. It's the same as when Land Rover rate a lower tow weight for towing trailers offroad vs onroad or, say for the penetration speeds of aircraft heading into rough weather. Static load ratings for the same roof is usually 3 or 4 times higher, ie. 75kg dynamic load for D1, vs more than 200kg+ for static load. Hence you need to keep the rooftop weight below a certain weight when mobile, but your roof can happily take the extra weight of people climbing upstairs into their rack at night, unless you are doing vigourous exercise me thinks....[bigwhistle]

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Originally Posted by rar110

We had this set up for a Simpson Desert trip. It worked well.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...251658ad00.jpg

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Great looking set up. What type of tent is it? This is what I imagine when I think of a RTT

Another couple of questions;

1. Are they easy to remove when not in use for an extended period (assuming I can lift it off with a few mates/overhead winch in shed etc)?
2. Is there any benefit in a hard case over a soft tent style one
3. Are there generic attachable awnings to form a room below the overhanging section of a fold out tent

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Originally Posted by 4xsama

Great looking set up. What type of tent is it? This is what I imagine when I think of a RTT

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Thanks. The awning is a Hannibal, the RTT is a cheap Tigers11. We mainly bought the RTT for the desert trip.

I agree with comments above, if keeping medium to long term I would buy a hard shell RTT.

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Originally Posted by 4xsama

[*]Are they easy to remove when not in use for an extended period (assuming I can lift it off with a few mates/overhead winch in shed etc)?

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Slightly on topic...

I remove the Rhino Pioneer Platform off my L322 thus:

1. drive into the garage
2. lift car to max height
3. tie off the platform to the garage roof trusses
4. unbolt the platform
5. lower car
6. drive out

Refitting is the reverse operation.

[QUOTE=rar110;2918559]
We had this set up for about six years including a Simpson Desert trip. It worked well.
We had a Hannibal Jumbo. The benefits were that unlike most, it covers the rear door so you have all weather access to the car. The awning covers the ladder so you are inside when you get up and down - especially for a pee. A wider more comfortable bed. Easy to set up even with my dodgy knee. Absolutely bullet proof - not like the cheap stuff. They are costly but you get what you pay for. Mine was mounted on a quick mount on a Front Runner full length rack on a D4. 2 mins to drop it onto the rack and lock it up.
We now have a TVan and love it.
I wouldn't be without my LLAMS.
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