Roof Top Tent Shopping

[SpeedyJ]

I'm in the market for a roof top tent and I'm looking for a little guidance. At this point there are a million choices, some are well known, others not so much.

My primary motivation for getting an RTT is being able to set up camp quickly. I'll be doing a road trip down to Oregon with my two kids (6 and 9) and the thought of setting up/taking down a large tent (or two small ones), three camp mattresses and three sleeping bags is a bit daunting. I'm finding that if we're moving every day a huge portion of the day is taken up just setting up/breaking down camp.

I was keen to pick up the new Yakima Skyrise, the idea that it's lighter, affordable (relatively), and easy to mount made it seem like an obvious choice. Then I started my research from scratch...Now there are other options to be considered:

1.   Smittybilt (based on cost)
2.   ARB Simpson III (free annex promo right now)
3.   Poler (The Gear Shop in YYC is selling them, they might even be in stock)

There are of course others, but these are the ones that I'm looking at for now. I'd like to query the forum here to see what other folks have learned over the years – bad materials, poor construction, design details to avoid... Are there good options that I should consider? Any deals out there? Is anyone selling one?

I'll either be running it on my LR3 with factory cross bars or I'll upgrade to the Rhino Rack heavy duty bars (I have the bars, I just need the feet).

Cheers

Jeff

[roverwanabe]

I have also been looking.  Since I am presently out of commission I have lots of time to look and research.  They seem to be coming out of the woodwork lately, Kijiji etc. I suspect they are bring them in from China, some even use the same photos as on ALIBABA.  The problem with China is the Shipping, 500-1000. I just cannot justify paying what some are asking, 3500.00 for the hard shell type that costs 600-800 in China.   I think I will build myself a Tear Drop Trailer, at least aI would have something more to show for my money than a bit of canvas and plywood.

[B-Red]

I have the ARB Awning with a tent attachment. Works well for daily setup/tear down. You end up with a nice size room big for two beds. Add two awnings and you have enough for four people. You will need a good roof rack bars to support these awnings.

[lropchan]

Campers Village has started carrying a couple models in the $1,500-2500 range.
http://www.campers-village.com/20/Camping-Tents/?subcategory=Roof%2BTop%2BTents

[Matt H]

I was pretty interested in RRT a while back so I researched this quite throughly. After chewing through a great many reviews I got the impression that it's not worth it.

I'll explain. For a start they are heavy, really heavy and it's in the worst place...the roof.
You can expect to use more fuel and suffer stability issues off road.
While most are indeed fairly fast to set up, with certain designs, putting them back away seems to take just as long or sometimes longer than a ground tent.
If you need an awning then any quick set up or tear down is just not going to happen and you will need to stow that someplace on/in the vehicle.
Then there is the mattress, or lack there of. Lots of folks report needing an "upgrade" of some kind in this department.
Size, most are quite small and they are on the roof (obviously) which some have commentated is a total PITA if one requires the "bathroom" in the night and the ladders are kinda flimsy and will hurt your feet without shoes so they will need to be up inside the tent with you.
You need room to open it, so forested areas can present a challenge. Also driving in forested areas with one on the roof can be a problem.
You will always need to park on firm, flat, level ground.

Those are the main nevitive points and for me it kinda turned me off the RRT idea. They have too many issues for me including cost when I can set up and tear down a small ground tent in a matter of 5-10 min.

DISCLAIMER.  Please consider this information for what it is, third hand. Remember I've never actually owned a RTT. I'm sure for some they are great.
My 2c.

[Matt H]

By the way, I have the full factory G4 style roof rack on my LR3 and it is only rated for 119lbs of cargo. Some RTT's by themselves can weigh in at close to that so it may be worth checking into what you can safely carry up there.



......or go on a serious diet lol.

[pechanec]

As one who owns and frequently uses a rtt, I'll throw in my 2cents.Ours is a second hand Hannibal classic- I will state up front that we LOVE it!  5 to 10 minutes set up or takedown. very roomy for two average adults, one child is comfortable, two is do-able. It is extremely well built. This makes it expensive new, and it is heavy- over 200 lbs. Others are likely lighter. Expect to need 4 people or a hoist of some sort to mount/ dismount it- I use the picker on my work truck but one could rig some tackle from a garage ceiling. It uses a bit more fuel , but not crazy, and I rarely notice it's there when driving. Off road it makes my disco more top heavy, but I load all my heavy gear low to ballast it and drive lines with less side hill when possible, which is just good off road sense anyway. Low branches can be a problem,but it has a super duty cover and a saw or axe solves the odd bigger branch. It does make my 2" lifted disco on 33" tires 8 ft tall when installed,so it fits in no parkade anywhere. If you fit one, measure clearance height and write it on the sun visor with sharpie marker for east reference.
As for setup space, my rtt hangs about 4 feet over the rear of the vehicle when unfolded so if the truck fits, the tent fits. Unlike a ground tent, it doesn't need to fit beside the vehicle, doesn't have to fit inside the vehicle when taken down, can be levelled by putting logs, rocks etc under the tires, should never blow away And you are up off the ground if it is wet. Also, the floor is about 7 feet off the ground so bugs and critters are not much problem- even big ones. You can also set up anywhere,even road aproaches, parking lots , your back yard. If you have kids, it's an instant tree fort! On balance, it's a pretty handy piece of kit.

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[binch]

I have to admit...I was very envious of how quick the one gent was able to set up and tear down his tent on the Alexander MacKenzie Trail.   Even it if did cause the most clearance problems of all the vehicles on the 2006 trip.     Yup......sometimes I think it would be very nice to have.... :-\

[Trevor]

Weight is the biggy with rooftops. Most racks ride on the sills, and they can't hold the weight of a tent, let alone the occupant. Defenders, as an example, are notorious for problems due to tents. The Camel Trophy rigs have the only heavy weight approved rack setup (350lbs max, but that is more due to road stability than handling weight) that I am aware of, this is because they tie the rack onto the roll cage and the frame, so it has no dependence upon the sills.

That's not to say the rack will collapse in on you right away if you do a normal sill mount. But no LR is built to handle the load of both a roof tent and people in it...well, unless they're gnomes. 

[pechanec]

True about the rails. My RTT sits on a full safari rack

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[SpeedyJ]

Thanks for all the responses!

Since this is going on an LR3 I have two advantages as I see it:

1. Clearance - With the air suspension I can find a few inches of overhead clearance if I need it. Plus most of our wheeling is in the desert where low branches are rarely an issue.
2. I won't be running my rack on rain gutters, I'll be using three Rhino Rack heavy duty bars on the tracks, this should distribute the weight quite well.

In regards to weight, up until now, most of our camping gear is usually on the roof anyway. Our normal configuration is a 16 cu ft Thule ski box with 110-120lbs in it on factory bars. Given that the ski box is ~40lbs, the total load is comparable with most RRT's on the market right now.  So the only real difference in terms of vehicle dynamics will be aerodynamics. The load rating of the rack itself is for dynamic conditions, sleeping in the tent is a static load.

I'm considering the Poler Le Tente ($1700 tax in CAD), it seems to be the 'go to' budget model for the boys at the The Gear Shop here in Calgary. The Poler brand doesn't seem to have much substance, but they assure me that it's essentially a CVT at a better price point. For full featured tents they recommended the Treeline model that they had a hand in designing (~$2250+ tax).

I also came across a s sale on the ARB Simpson III at 4 Wheel Auto Parts, I think it was coming in at $1850ish. I'm not sure if I'd have to pay shipping on top of that though. Does anybody have any thoughts on the current ARB? Is it above average design or quality? I like the fact that the entry way is covered, athough I understand that this comes at the expense of storage space for bedding inside the tent.

-Jeff

[SpeedyJ]

I've gone with the ARB Simpson III, it should be here today or tomorrow.

I was hoping to do business with the Gear Shop, but 4 Wheel Auto Parts was running a promo that saved me a few hundred dollars. It came in at $1838 which is pretty competitive for Canadian pricing. Now I just need to decide whether or not to buy the 4 Wheel 'no fault' warranty, it's 10% of the purchase price and is good for 3 years. I usually avoid store based warranties, but the folks on Expedition Portal had some positive things to say about it.

-J

[Matt H]

Nice! Let us know you think after you have had a chance to test it out.

[SpeedyJ]

Will do.

I have 16-20 camping nights planned between now and early August - 2 nights in the campground at Dinosaur, a week with a buddy on a mountain bike trip into BC and followed by a week long road trip with my two kids down to the Oregon coast, so it should get a real workout.

I was also able to pick up a Yakima awning on my last trip to the US, so I`ll be giving that a workout as well.

[roverwanabe]

Anybody have thoughts on making a Hard Top RRT, using fiberglass pickup canopies.  There are lots of used canopies selling for >$200.00, even for $50.00.  Some of them could be cut just at the top of the side windows, leaving about a foot high.  Cut off the bottom about 3 inches high and reattach etc.   Depending of the canopy, it may mean different modifications.  For a hundred bucks and a bit of time, it would be worth trying considering the cost of these things.

Any other got any thoughts or heard of this being tried?