Roof Tents

Sirus said:

When I did a drive from southern france to north, we just stopped anywhere when it got really dark,chucked the tent up and were gone early the next morning. Mind you there was only 2 of us. Funny as hell waking the next morning to see where you had stopped.

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LOL, we've done exactly that, but going South .. via the West Coast ..

That also shows, for us, the real beauty of the new pop-up tents. For a single night they don't even need guys or pegs, the weight of sleeping bags and people is enough to keep them pretty upright, unless it's st00pidly windy ...

The worst night was the ploughed field.....

LOL, ours was a car-park. All fine until about 5am, then all the trucks started up and we were right in the middle of the car-park ... trucks almost ran us down! Absolutely **** meself ...

Booger said:

but here is the fred I was actually thinking about, it's on a Disco too

Land Rover Owner :: View topic - BUDGET ROOF TENT

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Just re-read the thread .. and he's even got the same bloody 5-man tent as us!!!



Spooky ...

Yet another option......

Tent Cot by Kamp-Rite

Hi

I've got the eezi-awn 1.6 series 3 i'm 6ft and there is still plenty of room

I bought it second hand with the shower curtain attachment for £450 delivered to my door..

You can get brand new ones for this price (prime tech) but I prefer the canvas for durability, we travel with a duvet and pillows in moderate weather (sleeping bags for harsh weather) - its like waking up in your own bed!

It's nice and dark and doesnt hold the heat like most tents, I have not noticed any condensation as yet.

really easy to set up (all the bedding stays inside the tent all the time) packing away takes a little to get the hang of but no real issues.

other tents I looked into but didn't go for.

hannibal - Great!..... but costly, even 2nd hand Rooftent, roofracks and 4x4 land rover accessories from Nene Overland, UK

Maggiolina - din't like the clamshell design (personnal taste, ),good for traveling and aerodynamic just not my cup o tea - they do one called overland but way too much ££ autohome Rooftent, roofracks and 4x4 land rover accessories from Nene Overland, UK

myway canvas - very good MyWay Roof Tents (UK) - not bad price 2nd hand saw on occasionally see these on ebay for around £700


echo - cheap @ £550 but non canvas Echo Roof Top Tent - 2 Man

prime tech - non canvas again - i'm pretty sure its a re-baged camping lab tent - rooftoptent

there are others but these were (for me) the main contenders



I spent alot of time reseaching and decided that, if I wanted canvas for under £500 it had to be second hand, I didn't want to spend much more but if you get a chance to look at them you will notice the diferences in quality.

Of course if you only want it for "mild" weather then the nylon ones would be fine

mine bolts direct to the roof bars and was quite happy with steep inclines and well, everything but branches really ( gives me an excuse to use a saw)




--pretty sure that's the most i've ever posted

Took a black Freelander with a Myway roof tent to Morrocco, the misses give me a lot of grief about spending just short of a grand for what was going to be a one trip tent.
When we were in the forest the people sleeping in ground tents struggled to get pegs in the ground - saw our first scorpions - instantly forgiven for spending the money.
In the desert it was nigh on impossible to put up a ground tent when the wind was blowing, those with roof tents made it look easy, the hard shell ones easiest of all.
We took a portaloo and used the cutain section as a changing room / toilet tent / shower cubicle. We had been travelling sveral days before some of the group found out about the portaloo, we were accused of cheating, I know my misses, there is no way I would have convinced her to take a walk with a shovel. For me anyone can be uncomfortable, comfort just takes a little planning. You're going to be fairly short to be able to use the extension as a shower tent in a Freelander.
The biggest medical problems the group faced were "food poisoning" several people were very ill after eating badly cooked omlettes, and "bowel/bladder problems", thought to be caused by holding on too long, so for us the portaloo was a good choice.
One of the things we did notice was the rooftent acted as a sun shield - a good idea in a black car in the desert.
On they way home through Spain it poured down for a couple of days, I got soaking wet packing the tent away, even when we needed to nip into town, but the contents stayed fairly dry.
At slower speeds(>50mph) the tent was hardly noticable and didn't seem to effect fuel comsumtion, at higher speeds(<70mph) it was noisey and she supped fuel.
I think these comments could be viewed as typical for any roof tent,I only have experience of the Myway, which did a stirling job for the trip. I sold it on ebay when we got back so inthe end we only lost £300.
All roof tents have the same drawback as motor homes, if you want to pop into town for supplies you have to pack everything up, the unpack again when you get back, and yes we are caravaners back home.

Thanks for the info guys and yes we are taking a portaloo for the same reason Wife and shovel ooh no

Okay reviving this thread because I now have my tent.

Overall the quality of the tent, (the prime tech type one) is very good, the fabric is thick and tough, and I am very pleased.

Woods767 have also seen it, and was also impressed.

However... there is a hole in it :doh: Now **** happens, someone could accidentally put a hole in any tent. It's not a critical place, but still the tent cost £600, I don't want a fooking hole in it.

Unfortunately the seller I bought mine from, Rosepeath Garage / www.landroverrooftent.com is a bit dodgy. Three emails, and just a vague promise that the complaints dept would look into it...

So if you want one of these tents, do buy one, but buy it from the German E Bay seller, because if they sell you a faulty tent, they are happy to replace the whole thing.

Just bought a howling moon one in mint condition on ebay for £500 a bargain

Andy131 said:

All roof tents have the same drawback as motor homes, if you want to pop into town for supplies you have to pack everything up, the unpack again when you get back, and yes we are caravaners back home.

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This isn't true of ALL roof tents. The Oasis can be used on the roof or on the ground.

Andy131 said:

roof tents have the same drawback as motor homes, if you want to pop into town for supplies you have to pack everything up, the unpack again when you get back, and yes we are caravaners back home.

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ratty said:

This isn't true of ALL roof tents. The Oasis can be used on the roof or on the ground.

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That's what puts me off. Despite there being some that can go on the ground, they're still too much hassle. Most seem to be constructed using older tent designs by the looks of it.

If I wanted to go camping again, I'd get one of these:
Blacks - Eurohike Flash Mach III Tents - Buy the Eurohike Flash Mach III Tent.

It may look like an ordinary tent, but it isn't. Unlike an ordinary tent, you don't have to fart about with poles. It's a modern design which literally "pops up". It folds open and can be erected in just a few minutes. The most tine consuming bit is the part where you peg it down! (3-5 minutes?) Seems much more practical to me, and a hell of a lot cheaper.



Rich

RichM said:

That's what puts me off. Despite there being some that can go on the ground, they're still too much hassle. Most seem to be constructed using older tent designs by the looks of it.

If I wanted to go camping again, I'd get one of these:
Blacks - Eurohike Flash Mach III Tents - Buy the Eurohike Flash Mach III Tent.

It may look like an ordinary tent, but it isn't. Unlike an ordinary tent, you don't have to fart about with poles. It's a modern design which literally "pops up". It folds open and can be erected in just a few minutes. The most tine consuming bit is the part where you peg it down! (3-5 minutes?) Seems much more practical to me, and a hell of a lot cheaper.

Rich

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I have a 3 man pop up tent already. My roof tent is for occasional single night use only and also for events like the Glastonbury festival. If I get a call out it takes only seconds to fold back down and I don't leave any gear vulnerable to attack as I'm in or with my vehicle 24/7 for 10 days.

those pop-ups might be fine over the UK bank holiday or at a festival but is not something designed for long duration 3-4 season use.

what your forgetting about RTT's is that they were not intended for use at a campsite where you go "aw, I really fancy a bag of chips". They were designed to be used on overland vehicles that are 90% of the time based nowhere near towns and by their nature completely self-sufficient.

I have never had an occassion where I have wound the tent up and thought "I fancy going for a drive". It usually goes up last thing after a long days driving, where they prove invaluable time and time again. Its also nearly always the case that we dont stay somewhere 2 nights either.

G

Agreed, but why are they so expensive?
Or am I just a tight fisted northerner?

bluehaze said:

Agreed, but why are they so expensive?
Or am I just a tight fisted northerner?

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Because they are big and heavy and only made in limited numbers. Just think how many tents the manufacturer actually sells NEW each year? especially when you see that a 5 year old tent is still in perfect usable order?

Its a niche market, therefore the £££ is high.

Look at this way, buy 2nd hand, look after it and in a few years you can probably sell it for what you bought it for. think of it as an investment rather than a waste of money. when you spend £60 or even £300 on a ground tent, look what they sell for years later...

peanuts..

G

My rooftent was made in the 80s and is still in good shape. I prefer it because it is really heavy and made of easy to fix materials, no high tech-nasa approved wonder thing.
I had a funny morning helping a couple folding their self pop up tent.
On another journey there were some french peeps using their self pop up in heavy wind. These tents are really pretty fast sometimes!!

As I said in my thread about ebay tents, I'm on the look out for a second hand one; preferably a 1.4m with extension and a shower room underneath.

Not in such a hurry as we (family) are going to Scotland this year and intend using the ground tents. Next year it's a month in Europe (not sure exactly where yet) and we intend to use a roof tent.