Purchasing a product as expensive and technical as a rooftop tent (or RTT) is a bit of a daunting task. There is a long list of factors to consider with these tents, and many people overlook some very important details. If you make a hasty purchase, you could end up with a tent that doesn't work for you, a rack that doesn't work for your vehicle, a tent that doesn't work for your rack, or all of the above. These tents show up at your house in massive freight trucks with hydraulic lift gates, so returning one is quite the headache. After years of testing RTTs, we've definitely learned this lesson the hard way. It is crucial that you do the necessary research before purchasing a rooftop tent so that you don't open a very costly and time-consuming can of worms. Continue reading below to get an in-depth overview of what it takes to get the right RTT to save yourself from wasting any time or money.

With competitive price and timely delivery, Sunday Campers sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

Initial Considerations

The first thing to consider is the logistics of owning an RTT because they are not for everyone. Keep in mind that you have to climb up and down a ladder to go to sleep or get up in the middle of the night. Everything that will go into your tent needs to be handed up to someone or taken up the ladder. For folks with injuries, disabilities, or large pets, a rooftop tent can be difficult or impossible to use. Also, be prepared to be climbing, crawling, leaning, and stepping all over your vehicle a LOT because there is no way around it. This doesn't necessarily mean that you will damage your vehicle by having a rooftop tent installed, but it is important to be cautious. Remember that they're heavy and that many models require assembly before you can even think about installation. You'll need some help from a friend for the installation process. Some of the assembly is much easier with two sets of hands, certain models require power tools, and they all weigh at least 90 pounds. The heavier versions that we've tested weigh upwards of 160 pounds. Sometimes, it might be best to install the tent professionally.

I'm In. What's Next?

Deciding that you're ready to purchase an RTT still doesn't mean that you're ready for one. Most vehicles are not designed to hold that much weight on the roof. You must know if your vehicle is rated to hold the amount of weight on the roof you will have up there. It's not just the weight of the tent but also your bedding, gear, people, and pets that you need to consider. If you overload your roof, you could potentially damage your vehicle or injure yourself or somebody else.

The Rack

Any old rack is not suited for a rooftop tent — most racks are not rated for the weight. The crossbars that come stock on many trucks, cars, and SUVs are only rated to around 100 pounds. You absolutely cannot use any aftermarket clamp-style rack systems that grab onto the vehicle in between the car door and the roof. These racks put all the weight on four roof points and will likely damage your car with the weight of a rooftop tent. To safely mount a rooftop tent over the cab of your vehicle, you need to have a track system that distributes the weight down the length of the entire roof, beefy towers, and crossbars rated to the proper weight. If you're going to mount your tent on truck bed racks or on a trailer, again, be sure to check the specs of your products to confirm that they have a good enough rating for this much weight.

How to Choose a Specific Model

Once you've decided that you want an RTT, that your vehicle can handle it, and that you've purchased the right rack for the job, you can start looking at tent specs. Rooftop tents come in many shapes and sizes with a variety of features and prices.

Fold-out vs Pop-up

There are two types of RTTs: softshells and hardshells. Softshell tents are more compact while traveling and have thick rubber or Cordura covers when they are not in use. They unfold over the side or the back of your vehicle, and they generally take more time to convert from travel mode to camping mode and back. If you want to use the awnings, annexes, or rain fly for this type of tent, be prepared to spend another extra few minutes during camp setup and breakdown. In our experience, softshells tend to require some assembly out of the box that usually involves attaching the mounting tracks to the bottom of the tent as well as attaching the ladder. For the most part, softshells are substantially more affordable than hardshells.

Pop-up hardshell tents look like massive fiberglass cargo boxes when they are not in use and extend vertically or at an angle when it's time to camp. The ones that we've tested come fully assembled from the factory and only require one wrench to install on your rack. When it's time to convert this type of tent from travel mode to camping mode, most of the work is done by hydraulic pistons that open the tent like the trunk of a modern hatchback car. To fold the tent up, the weight of the roof plus a little bit of your body weight and gravity make the breakdown process super easy as well. The entire conversion process takes no more than a minute or two for setup or teardown. The upper half of the shell also doubles as the roof of the tent, so there is no need for a rain fly. Most hardshells take up a much larger area over your vehicle than softshells do while in transport, but that footprint does not grow when you're camping. This trait can be very helpful if you're camping in a tight forest or a crowded campground. Hardshells are quite a bit more expensive than their soft-topped cousins.

Weight

The weight of the tent can be a big deal for people with smaller cars; for people with larger trucks and SUVs, this is likely less of a factor. It's also important to consider that at some point, you will be lifting the tent onto or off of your vehicle. If this is something that you plan on doing often, that extra 20 or 30 pounds can be a significant deciding factor. However, with added weight generally comes added durability. If your tent is going to be getting a lot of use, whether it be off-road, at festivals, or just a ton of road trips, then it might be worth the extra weight to get a beefier model.

Seasons

It is important to consider the type of weather you will be camping in. Somebody headed to Moab in July probably does not need the same type of canopy as someone headed to the Cascades in April. Breathability is key in high temps, so a thicker canopy might leave you baking on hot days. That being said, if you want a tent that can handle anything but still offers a good amount of ventilation, we'd recommend you go with a 4-season model. All of the softshell tents we tested have a removable rainfly, but with taped seams and waterproof canopies, the 4-season models don't need one in lighter rain. Hardshell models don't need a rainfly at all because the shell that encloses the tent during travel mode becomes the tent roof while in camping mode.

Ladders

There are two types of ladders for RTTS: sliding and telescoping. The telescoping ladders are more versatile, but sliding ladders are sturdier. If you aren't afraid of drilling into a sliding ladder to give yourself a few more options for height, tents that come with this ladder type are generally cheaper.

Security and Privacy

Not everybody has a garage, and sometimes it's necessary to leave your vehicle at a trailhead or parking lot for extended periods. If this is the case, getting a tent that locks to your rack is wise. As far as privacy goes, in an RTT, you're a bit exposed to onlookers in many ways. That said, some tents include large awnings and annexes that can give you a private place to change, shower, or hang out at a crowded campground or festival.

Mounting System

The mounting system that comes with your tent can be very important depending on your vehicle, your rack, and the type of use you have planned. If you're going to be taking the tent off of your vehicle regularly, a tool-free system might be the right choice. It is important to note that the tool-free systems can be limited as far as the width and spacing of the crossbars and racks they fit. For a more permanent, more customizable mounting system, we recommend you go with a tent with the standard track mounts.

Accessories

When you're car camping, you want to have all of the amenities available, and there are all kinds of accessories for RTTs. There are internal shelves, LED lights, boot bags, deluxe mattresses, and interchangeable canopies. If you're the type that likes to have all of the bells and whistles, then you should choose a tent that has all of the options. Keep in mind that some tents come with included accessories while others will charge you an arm and a leg to upgrade.

Style

For many people, style is everything. After all, it feels good to look good and stand out. On the other hand, a lot of people don't care what the tent looks like as long as it does its job. Certain brands offer a multitude of colors and styles, while some only offer one generic option. If you don't mind sacrificing a bit of style for functionality, you can save yourself money by going with a less popular or colorful model.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Fibreglass Roof Top Tents.

Conclusion

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Roof Top Tents – what to look for before you purchase

By Andy Palmer -

We’ve been using Roof Top Tents for a decade or more and in the early days, were often asked, “What’s that on your roof?”. Well, those days are truly gone and Roof Top Tents (RTT’s) are now a staple of the front and backcountry off-roading. This article explores the pros and cons of Roof Top Tents ownership and gives some insight into what styles are on the market today. Whatever you end up choosing, one thing I’m certain about, is that it’ll be a compromise. There is no perfect setup for vehicle Supported Adventure.

Roof Top Tents:

• Why Buy a Roof Top Tent
• Key considerations in buying a Roof Top Tent
• Hard Shell Pros and Cons
• Soft Shell Pros and Cons
• Conclusion on which Roof Top Tent to Buy

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So why buy Roof Top Tents?

Well firstly, (tongue in cheek!) there’s nothing quite like the Overland look of sporting a Roof Top Tent (maybe the snorkel can compete).

Here’s some real world Pros and Cons of owning Roof Top Tents.

PROS:

• Perceived safety: Whether you’re out in the desert or the mountains, there’s plenty of creepy crawlies that are out for blood. Seriously though, having had giant tarantellas and the odd snake roll through camp, it does feel good to be off the ground. Don’t however expect your Roof Top Tents to save you from a Grizzly’s intent of eating you or your snacks.

• Ease of setup: In general, RTT’s set up pretty quickly and easily. In our experience, with soft shells, you’ll be clambering around the vehicle a little, while unzipping the cover. Secondly, it’s really nice not to have to worry about stony, wet, muddy, snowy ground. All you’re really looking for is somewhere that’s relatively flat. Leveling blocks can be used on uneven ground.

• Speed of setup: Definitely a lot faster than erecting a ground tent, which is especially nice after a late camp arrival or a long day in the saddle.

• Comfort: This of course is subjective for the individual, but most RTT’s have a 2-3″ wall to wall foam mattress, that are generally pretty comfortable to sleep on. No more slipping off sleeping pads in the middle of the night. In our experience, cheaper brands tend to have lower quality foam.

• Storage of bedding: Some Roof Top Tents offer the ability to store your bedding in them while on the trail/road. This is great extra storage for owners of smaller capacity vehicles like Jeeps.

CONS:

• Price: Let’s just get this one off our chest straight away. Roff Top Tents aren’t inexpensive and can range from $700 – $. if you’re buying directly from the manufacturer, expect another $250 shipping fee. That’s a real commitment to the lifestyle of Vehicle Supported Adventure and significantly more money than even a very high quality ground tent.

• Using your rig daily: This is probably the biggest reason to develop a love hate relationship with your RTT, or even to decide not to purchase one. Unlike a trailer or a ground tent, if you’re on the move each day you’re going to be packing and unpacking your RTT. Even if you’re staying in the same location each night, if you want to use your rig….well, pack it up. It can get tiresome!

• Aerodynamics and fuel efficiency: There’s no getting away from the fact that you’re now driving around with a large brick on your roof. This, without question, lowers your fuel efficiency and increases the wind noise. Even with the more aerodynamic hard shells, you’re going to experience this.

• Vehicle stability: It raises your rigs center of gravity, so when on the freeway and certainly driving on windy roads, you can feel it up there. In our experience however, we worry about it more when off-road and particularly when on off camber trails. Certainly, if we know we’re going to areas that require significant rock crawling (Moab trails for instance), we’ll leave it at home and take a ground tent instead.

• Removal: This takes time and is a two person operation. 90% of the time we leave ours on our roof as it’s a PIA and creates home storage difficulties. Some people buy or rig up elaborate pulley systems in their garage to make it easier, but if you have vehicles that are lifted like we do, that’s not even an option.

• Night time sorties: Many people need to pee during the night and climbing up and down a ladder when half asleep isn’t for everyone. Personally for dudes, I’m an advocate of a pee bottle.

• Bad weather: If you don’t have an annex or a decent awning, then sitting out a days worth of rain on top of your car can become tiresome.

Key considerations when looking at Roof Top Tents:

• Tent fabric: It depends on where you live and under what conditions you intend to use your tent. Ideal fabric weights range from lightweight 140 GSM to heavyweight 380 GSM. As always it’s a compromise, as lightweight fabrics are generally good for summer use but won’t last long in heavy weather use. Heavyweight fabrics are great for bad weather, but you loose breathability and they can cause condensation issues. If you intend to 3 season camp, a mid range weight is probably the correct choice.
• Floor panels: Aluminum floors are standard on most Roof Top Tents, but look for a honeycomb construction for strength and insulation properties.
• Sleeping pad or mattress: Not all mattresses are created equal. This is a very important component for a good nights sleep. Density of foam is as important as thickness. If a thick pad compresses, you’ll feel like you’re sleeping on the ground. Many RTT owners add additional padding to their RTT’s standard mattress.
• Weight capacity of your vehicle: Dynamic weight is weight capacity in motion. Static weight is weight capacity when stationary. Always check the weights capacities of your rig to avoid damage to your vehicle.
• Roof Rack configuration: Like your roof, your rack has to provide enough capacity for both dynamic and static use. Again, check this before purchase and use of an Roof Top Tents. That being said, carrying anything as heavy and large on your roof, will alter the driving feel of your rig.

Hard Shell Roof Top Tents:

Hard shells are generally made of fiberglass, re-enforced plastic or aluminum and will last the longest. They are significantly more expensive than soft shells, starting at just under $ and going up to $. In our experience, they are easier to open and set up and certainly more aerodynamic on the road. Hard shells come in three distinct styles. The rectangular box, the clamshell, and the hybrid expandable model.

Pros:

• Durability: They simply last longer. The structure of the shell, makes the tent more rigid when open against the elements.
• Aerodynamic: They are fairly aerodynamic and significantly less noisy on the freeway than a soft shell version.
• Set-up: Fast and efficient.
• Storage: Many hard-shells allow for storage of bedding when closed.
• Seasonality: They are definitely built for 4 seasons and will protect you against the elements.

Cons:

• Price: They are a major investment in your vehicle supported Adventure lifestyle.
• Heavy: In general, they are heavier than a soft-shell RTT and harder to take on and off.
• Lack of customization and add ons: Most hard-shells don’t offer the ability to add an annex, so they can be limited in space.

Soft Shell Roof Top Tents:

Prices can vary considerably from an entry level $700 to an expedition level $. It is worth noting that despite all soft shell Roof Top Tents fundamentally looking the same, they are not. With a more expensive tent you’ll get better grade fabrics, a much more rugged construction and sealed seams. Thus making it a tent that will be four season compatible and last a long time. That being said, if you’re only going to use your RTT on a few occasions a year and in mild camping conditions, then the cheaper option may well be the right choice. Ultimately you get what you pay for and frankly that’s okay, just know that going into the purchase. A few brands that we have personally used and can recommend, are CVT, 23Zero and Tepui .

Pros:

• Price: Once again, this is the biggest factor for most people when choosing a RTT, particularly between soft or hard shell. An entry level soft shell tent at $700 is a lot more palatable than a $ expedition level hard shell.

• Space: Soft shells are sized for anywhere from 2 to 6 and many have add on annexes for storing extra gear. They generally feel a lot more spacious than hard-shells.

• Extras: Some more expensive soft shells have skylight features, allowing you to lie in bed watching the stars. Some also feature shoe bags and LED lighting.

• 4 season capability: As mentioned above, the higher end soft shells are perfectly capable of offering you a 4 season experience for many years.

Cons:

• Price: Even the entry level Roof Top Tents are twice the price of a decent ground tent.

• Lack of Aerodynamics: Any RTT is heavy and the soft shells feel like you’re driving around with a brick on the roof. You’ll increase your road noise and lower your MPG.

• Set up time: Set up is slower than a hard shell and you’re likely to be clambering around your rig undoing the zip to the cover, pulling on straps etc. This difficulty increases exponentially, if you’re driving a lifted vehicle.

Conclusion:

As we said at the beginning, anyway you cut it, Roof Top Tents are an expensive investment into the lifestyle of Vehicle Supported Adventure. That being said, our personal experiences with multiple soft and hard shell brands over the years, have been excellent and we consider it an investment worth making. For the past three years we’ve been using hard shells on both our Jeeps and our decision was based on a combination of trying to reduce noise and wind drag, plus ease of set up. We drive long distances and rarely stay in one place for more than one night, so this is an important factor for us after a long day in the saddle.

To conclude, our advice is to truly decide what your top needs and priorities are, before you begin the process of choosing a brand. Good luck and #TAPintoAdventure.

To start searching for Roof Top Tents check out our Ultimate RTT Resource Guide

Check out TAP’s Ultimate Overland and Off-Road Gear Guide HERE

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Are you interested in learning more about canvas roof top tent? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

Raised in beautiful but rainy England, Andy moved to the sunny climes of Southern California in and hasn’t looked back since. Two and half decades working in the outdoor, bike and surf industries has given him a thirst for adventure and living life without a ceiling. When not working on the website, he can be found surfing Californian beaches, or in remote mountain or desert areas, either primitive camping, mountain biking or embarking upon vehicle assisted adventure in the backcountry with one of The Adventure Portal rigs.