Roof Top Tents - Share your experience

[Bumbo]

We have been drooling over the idea of buying a roof top tent for a while... it seems like a simple purchase but there are so many different ways of going about it.

Please share your experience with your RRT.

Would you change anything?
Go a different route, buy a different brand?
Does climbing a ladder get old after a while?
Can you park in your own garage with it on?
Do you take them off, of is it a full time deal?

Personally, the main thing holding us back aside from the overall cost is that if I have a tent on the roof, I cant move the 4Runner in and out of my garage.

It would put a damper on my ability to prep for a trip as I generally have the rig in the garage as I get things done throughout the week, pre-trip prepping, and ready to roll-out on the day of. I very much dislike any last min. work on game day.

I have though of a small travel trailer and or an off-road trailer with a tent on top... I can store that as my garage is longer than it is tall. But I also dislike pulling a trailer on these types of trips. Having a trailer can completely change the dynamic depending on where you go.

 

[trap-alaska]

Trailer

I don't have my rig anymore but I took the tent off the vehicle and put it on a trailer. It seemed like every time we set up camp we wanted to drive somewhere to climb, hike, or whatever. If we were staying for a couple days the trailer setup was definitely preferred. Just be careful where your stove is in the trailer...

 

[A.Wilson013]

We have been drooling over the idea of buying a roof top tent for a while... it seems like a simple purchase but there are so many different ways of going about it.

Please share your experience with your RRT.

Would you change anything?
Go a different route, buy a different brand?
Does climbing a ladder get old after a while?
Can you park in your own garage with it on?
Do you take them off, of is it a full time deal?

Personally, the main thing holding us back aside from the overall cost is that if I have a tent on the roof, I cant move the 4Runner in and out of my garage.

It would put a damper on my ability to prep for a trip as I generally have the rig in the garage as I get things done throughout the week, pre-trip prepping, and ready to roll-out on the day of. I very much dislike any last min. work on game day.

I have though of a small travel trailer and or an off-road trailer with a tent on top... I can store that as my garage is longer than it is tall. But I also dislike pulling a trailer on these types of trips. Having a trailer can completely change the dynamic depending on where you go.

1- I'd likely still get a CVT, but a larger model. I have the smallest available, and it's pretty snug for my wife and I. A larger model would allow for some storage for clothing bags up there instead of having to leave them in the 4Runner.

2- I really don't mind the ladder at all. I even carry my 50+lb dog up and down it =D

3- I cannot fit in my garage. I know [MENTION=105773]busmup808[/MENTION] can fit in his... Not sure how tall his garage is, but it's big. I think it's 8'. Mine is 7'.

4- I am going to take mine off for the winter this year. I left it on last year and the first time I opened it (in February) there was mold starting to form on the tent's fabric, around the cover's zipper.

As the other dude said, my biggest complaint is that once we set up camp, we're pretty well stuck. I think a small trailer (not one of those freaking $10,000 ones) with a tent on it would be awesome. That's in my future.

 

[delloro]

OP, get a small, decent trailer and put an RTT on it. If you know you are going somewhere the trailer can't, then put it on the 4runner.

 

[busmup808]

1- I'd likely still get a CVT, but a larger model. I have the smallest available, and it's pretty snug for my wife and I. A larger model would allow for some storage for clothing bags up there instead of having to leave them in the 4Runner.

2- I really don't mind the ladder at all. I even carry my 50+lb dog up and down it =D

3- I cannot fit in my garage. I know [MENTION=105773]busmup808[/MENTION] can fit in his... Not sure how tall his garage is, but it's big. I think it's 8'. Mine is 7'.

4- I am going to take mine off for the winter this year. I left it on last year and the first time I opened it (in February) there was mold starting to form on the tent's fabric, around the cover's zipper.

As the other dude said, my biggest complaint is that once we set up camp, we're pretty well stuck. I think a small trailer (not one of those freaking $10,000 ones) with a tent on it would be awesome. That's in my future.

Yes my garage is 8' high. If I'm not loaded, my truck sits @ 7'2". I'm @ 6'11.5" when loaded

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[A.Wilson013]

Yes my garage is 8' high. If I'm not loaded, my truck sits @ 7'2". I'm @ 6'11.5" when loaded

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

We must be veryyyy close in height. The front of my tent ALMOST clears (needs like a cm, maybe) my 7' garage door, but as you know the ladder "hump" is another 2-3".

When we were house shopping an 8' garage was one of my must haves. Unfortunately with the wife's job moving to the city, any house with an 8' garage was well north of $500k. No thanks!