You might have noticed I am a huge fan of rooftop tents. Before purchasing, I (as usual) did numerous hours of research—shoutout ADHD hyperfixation. I hope this helps anyone interested in switching to the elevated camping life by sharing everything I’ve learned as a RTT owner.
Feel free to skip ahead to a section that interests you using the table fo contents:
The rooftop tent (RTT) is perfect for adventure-seeking campers; with their quick set-up time, you can camp easily anywhere, anytime. These are great entry-level products for camping in a less primitive (read: off the ground) and more comfy way than standard ground tents offer cost-effectively. Designed to compete with camper vans, RVs, teardrop trailers, and similar camping vehicles, the rooftop tent is a cheaper alternative that doesn’t require towing capacity.
I chose a rooftop tent for my car camping adventures because it is simple to set up, comfortable, and safer than sleeping on the ground (in my option), especially when camping alone. Plus, the cost was within my budget and feasible for me at the time of purchase.
The following information is very transparent, including the cost and my opinions, but heed this warning—RTTs are not *cheap*, just cheaper than van life/campers/etc
Camping vehicles, vans, and tow-behinds can be anywhere from $5,000 to $200k+; A rooftop tent typically falls within the $800-$5,000* range. Shoppers can find soft-shell tents used on Facebook Marketplace, lowering costs and making a rooftop tent the most accessible option. Both times I bought my rooftop tent from Facebook Marketplace. And both times, the tent was brand new-in-box, never used.
*I know this is a prohibitive cost and does sound like a lot, but if you’re in the market for an elevated camping experience, this is the most cost-effective option.
The rack options are one cost that sometimes flies under the radar when choosing a rooftop tent—I did not consider a rack or the crossbars when initially budgeting for my first tent. Keep reading to learn more about the trials and tribulations of installing a rooftop tent correctly and with the proper gear (learn from my mistakes).
Consider how much weight your vehicle’s roof can hold. If you’re in a pickup truck, you don’t have to worry about this. Most SUVs meet the weight requirements for RTT installation, but looking over your vehicle’s manual is always good. For compact cars, be mindful of the tent’s weight and the total static capacity of your car’s roof. Cars are meant to have rollover capacity, but a Honda Civic probably shouldn’t hold a 4-person hard-shell RTT. Again, your car’s manual will have this info, but you can also google it or ask an Overlanding shop to give you some insight.
You may be asking yourself what the hell a crossbar, rack, and side rail is, and that is the MAIN REASON I chose to write this blog post!
I was a lost little idiot when I initially purchased my first tent. I committed to buying before researching my roof’s capacity, what dynamic or static weight meant, and which crossbars I needed to support my tent.
According to the place the installed my first tent, I needed a certain amount of dynamic weight capacity for my crossbars. I went on to spend several hours trying to figure this out. I am not an Overlander or a car girl, so I had no clue what “dynamic” and “static” weight meant and how that applied to the crossbars needed. I searched high and low to find an answer. I looked in the Amazon product descriptions, brand websites, and REI to find out what dynamic weight is and kept coming up short.
So here is your answer: Dynamic weight is the amount of weight your crossbars can handle while in aggressive motion — if you go over gigantic bumps (offroading or driving in downtown Denver), slam on your brakes, or accelerate very quickly.
Static weight only matters when your car is parked. The static weight your crossbars are rated for could be 1000 lbs when the dynamic is only 120 lbs. Some rooftop tents themselves weigh 120lbs+ at rest. Let’s talk about physics: If you drive over a big Denver pothole and that 120 lb tent goes up, the force it will impart on your crossbars is much more than its stationary base weight. Make sense?
Tip: Look for bars with a dynamic weight of 175 lbs or more.
The load limit is higher than the usual dynamic weight capacity. Remember, when the car is not moving, the weight limit is 3x-6x higher than the dynamic weight capacity. That means using the rooftop tent at night to rest and adding more items will no longer be a problem since your vehicle is not in motion.
Please, please, PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. Ask questions at a physical store or contact your local overlanding shop. The $120 aluminum crossbars from Amazon will not cut it. Your vehicle’s factory rails are likely not the suitable capacity either.
YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH INSTALLING YOUR $1000 INVESTMENT ON $120 CROSSBARS—trust me, from experience. The price of the correct crossbars will run you about $500. Be prepared to invest here!
PS: Sorry for all the yelling— trying to save you from my mistakes. And no, it did not fly off and hurt anyone, but it has come loose and been dangerous to me and others because of improper gear/installation.
Another episode of Cass’s idiot hours was mistaking a rack and crossbars as the same thing. Surprise—they are not. If you want a rack installed on your vehicle, that will require an even more considerable investment but will give you THE BEST stability and dynamic load capacity. If you are offroading, you almost certainly need a rack.
Also, my pickup truck drivers, you can get a truck bed rack for your tent to install. This helps with the wind resistance and is more fuel efficient. I am not a pickup truck driver, so I don’t have much info here!
KEY TAKEAWAYS: Please—for the love of all that is holy—research the type of load your vehicle’s roof can handle, what crossbars are needed, and if a rack is a better investment for your specific needs. Rooftop tents can be incredibly convenient and comfortable, but they can also literally kill someone if it flies off on a highway. You can smash through your car’s roof if you overload it. Improper installation can severely alter your life and the lives of others. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it is. Expect to spend an additional $500-$2000 on the platform your tent will be installed on. Contact a local expert, arm yourself with this knowledge, and consider having the tent and the crossbars/rack professionally installed for peace of mind (I did this).
….OKAY, OKAY, now the moment you’ve all been waiting for…we can finally discuss the actual tent!
This section is fun for me because I’ve actually owned both types now.
A soft-top rooftop tent is typically precisely that—a soft shell. It features a 100% water-resistant PVC outer shell, with either zippers or Velcro attaching the cover to the tent. Soft-shell rooftop tents resemble a ground tent when set up. The tent body is made of durable, waterproof fabric such as nylon, polyester, or canvas. The tent body attaches to a rigid fiberglass, aluminum, or rugged plastic platform. An internal folding support structure made from aluminum poles opens with the tent fabric to give the tent its form.
The most common soft-shell style is a bi-fold design. These tents have two equal-sized floor sections with a hinge on one side—the tent body, support structure, and mattress sandwich between the two floor sections when stored. The tent opens like a pop-up book. You hinge the top floor section open 180° to the side of the vehicle. The inner support structure and fabric tent body are pulled open with it, and the tent pops up. When open, the seam and hinge between the two floor sections sit in the tent’s center. The ladder also supports the section of the tent that hangs over the side of the vehicle.
Hard-shell rooftop tents come in many varieties—wedge-shaped, pop-open, or fold-out models (similar to soft-shell tents). Wedge-shaped or clamshell models have a hinge at the front or foot end of the tent. When open, the top shell sits at an angle. The ceiling is high on the head side and low at the foot. Pop-up hard-shell rooftop tents open straight up in a box shape. All four walls are vertical, and the ceiling is flat. The fold-out models typically contain a hydraulic system with struts that assist in opening the tent.
Both types of rooftop tents come from a variety of different manufacturers as well as in a variety of different styles and sizes needs. Some of the smallest are two-person tents with a full-size bed inside, and some of the largest are four-person family tents with what is equivalent to a king-size bed inside.
Popular tent manufacturers include iKamper, Roofnest, CVT, Yakima, Thule, Tuff Stuff, Alucab, and Roam.
As I said, I spent so many hours researching this. I researched each brand. I researched everything from the internal mattress reviews to the included accessories like led lights, shoe holders, and internal pockets. I researched exactly how much they cost and if their customer service is reliable. I hopped on the Subreddit and searched each tent brand for some unbiased opinions. I also researched the best style from each brand, as most of these tent makers make soft and hard-shell tents. And while I can’t go into the specifics of every single tent on the market (that would make this novel-length), I will give you my recommendations!
Continued Soon….
