Roof tent advice?

LFord · Feb 27, 2018

Hello!

I'm hoping someone on here may have the knowledge to help me. I looking to purchase a roof tent for my 110. I currently have the LR Genuine Expedition Rack which has a width of 140cm and I would like to keep this where possible however I haven't actually seen any roof tent/expedition rack combinations. Is it possible?

Ideally I don't want to have to buy a new roof rack!

Does anyone hire roof tents??

Thanks in advance!

ogb · Feb 28, 2018

LFord said:
Hello!

I'm hoping someone on here may have the knowledge to help me. I looking to purchase a roof tent for my 110. I currently have the LR Genuine Expedition Rack which has a width of 140cm and I would like to keep this where possible however I haven't actually seen any roof tent/expedition rack combinations. Is it possible?.....

Does anyone hire roof tents??

At 140cm your rack is wider than my Front Runner and I have no problem putting a roof tent on it. Most tents are about 120cm wide at the "narrow dimension" and quite often have a more-or-less square footprint so you can mount them to open off the side or the fore-aft direction. The proviso with that is if your rack has side bars. These will have to be removed on the side the tent opens. This is assuming you buy a Hannibal-type tent; if you want a "pop-up" then this doesn't matter so much. Mounting can be tricky too, so you might have to be a bit creative in how this is done.

As for hiring, try Google....this is one of many options.

mikescuba · Feb 28, 2018

Roof tents work out very expensive. This was my set up. 49.50€ from Decathlon. The tent opens in a couple of seconds and folds away in 30 seconds once you know what your doing..
I used it on a trip across Morocco and it worked out fine.

ER1C · Feb 28, 2018

LFord said:
Hello!

I'm hoping someone on here may have the knowledge to help me. I looking to purchase a roof tent for my 110. I currently have the LR Genuine Expedition Rack which has a width of 140cm and I would like to keep this where possible however I haven't actually seen any roof tent/expedition rack combinations. Is it possible?

Ideally I don't want to have to buy a new roof rack!

Does anyone hire roof tents??

Thanks in advance!

Hannibal for example can be mounted to roof bars which overcomes most issues. I don't think you will have any problems, perhaps some re-work but they are fairly flexible. You can always just use roof bars to let you overcome any width of unfold concerns.

ogb · Feb 28, 2018

ER1C said:
Hannibal for example can be mounted to roof bars which overcomes most issues. I don't think you will have any problems, perhaps some re-work but they are fairly flexible. You can always just use roof bars to let you overcome any width of unfold concerns.

I believe the OP wants to keep his LR rack. If he hadn't already got one, I'd agree with the roof bar option - much cheaper and you can mount the tent on the bars before having to get the whole lot onto the roof. The biggest pain I find with mine is fixing it to the rack - there's not enough room to get under the bars with a normal sized hand. For this reason it stays on all year unless we're going somewhere where there's grass/no rocks, which isn't what I prefer.
If it weren't for the stony ground in Morocco - evident in Mikescuba's pic- I'd use a ground tent there, as well as everywhere else we go. We also have an Oztent - recommended!

ER1C · Mar 1, 2018

ogb said:
I believe the OP wants to keep his LR rack. If he hadn't already got one, I'd agree with the roof bar option - much cheaper and you can mount the tent on the bars before having to get the whole lot onto the roof. The biggest pain I find with mine is fixing it to the rack - there's not enough room to get under the bars with a normal sized hand. For this reason it stays on all year unless we're going somewhere where there's grass/no rocks, which isn't what I prefer.
If it weren't for the stony ground in Morocco - evident in Mikescuba's pic- I'd use a ground tent there, as well as everywhere else we go. We also have an Oztent - recommended!

I was meaning roof bars on the rack if you had to... many have done it

Gunscrossed · Mar 5, 2018

I think I have a similar rack?
Bought a selection of bits from Screwfix and eBay,

Ended up giving this a go,

Used four and it seems to be quite solid, I'll keep my eye on it. Due to the "Add A Tent" the roof tent bit has to be installed off centre so that the valance with the Velcro hangs down over the side of the vehicle. This means that when it's unfolded half of it is unsupported by the rack. According to Echo4x4 this is OK and the tent doesn't even need the ladder for support.

Overall I'm quite happy with this set up for now although I may keep an eye out for an Oztent. :thumbsup:

ogb · Mar 5, 2018

Yes - the set-up you've shown is the "standard way" off the side and I see you've removed the side bar on the "fold out" side. I'd be a bit careful that the ladder is set correctly to support the weight when the tent's occupied. The tension in the structure is capable of doing this when new, but as it stretches and gets affected by UV, you run the risk of straining/busting zips or the hinge points in the frame. Do you have a plan for dealing with condensation?
The clamps look neat.

Gunscrossed · Mar 5, 2018

ogb said:
Yes - the set-up you've shown is the "standard way" off the side and I see you've removed the side bar on the "fold out" side. I'd be a bit careful that the ladder is set correctly to support the weight when the tent's occupied. The tension in the structure is capable of doing this when new, but as it stretches and gets affected by UV, you run the risk of straining/busting zips or the hinge points in the frame. Do you have a plan for dealing with condensation?
The clamps look neat.

The Echo4x4 Tent is supposed to be self supporting even without the ladder but I don't intend to take any chances so will keep my eye on it. It comes with a removable/washable condensation liner, not tried it yet so can't comment on how good it is.

Roof tent advice?

LFord

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ogb

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mikescuba

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ER1C

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ogb

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ER1C

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Gunscrossed

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ogb

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Gunscrossed

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