Rooftop tents. Anyone got one?

[Clagsniffer]

Hi all. I’m looking to get some honest feedback from people who have a rooftop tent please. I’m very much on the fence at the moment as the one I have seen is expensive (Tentbox classic).

https://tentbox.com/product/tentbox-classic/

 

I’d appreciate any thoughts on pros and cons.

 

Thanks.

[Hibelroad]

Not a good idea if you sleepwalk. 
 

[Joseph_Pestell]

You are not joking when you say that it is expensive.

 

I have reached a stage both through health and age that I need to get up in the night. Don't think that this would suit me.

 

 

[Michael Hodgson]

Looks like a way of carrying a couple more passengers than you can fit in the car! 

Or isolating yourself from the continuous whine of Are we nearly there yet?

 

Probably not a great idea if your car is a convertible.  

What's the maximum roof loading on a modern car? 

Last time I looked at that data they weren't supposed to carry very much weight.

 

Pros : delivery is free.  Cons: two grand!!

I think I'd prefer to spend a couple of hundred on an ordinary tent and accept that it take 10 minutes longer to get it ready to use.

 

I've got one of those telescopic ladders though - they're ideal if you have to transport a ladder by car.

[MJI]

I would ask on a  4x4 forum, they tend to use them, but usually quite big tents.

[Clagsniffer]

Thanks for the reply so far chaps. I’ve got an L200 pickup so maybe I will ask on a 4X4 forum. Just thought I’d put some feelers out on here too.

[DIW]

2 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

What's the maximum roof loading on a modern car? 

Last time I looked at that data they weren't supposed to carry very much weight.

 

 

For a Volvo V70 the loading is 100kg on the longitudinal roof bars, and the load is directly transmitted into the A, C and D pillars of the vehicle.

 

Assume around10kg for a pair of decent strength roof bars - standard universal roof bars are only good for up to 40 kg according to this site

 

The tent itself weighs 65kg according to the OP's link.

 

That leaves 25kg safe maximum weight for the two people!

 

I would consider that other cars would have a rooftop loading capability of less than 100kg, due to not being originally designed as load carriers.

 

The OP's link shows several 4x4 vehicles which look initially up to the job of supporting the roof loading, however I would wonder whether the saloon car shown is up to regularly supporting the load directly on the roof, above the windows of the doors.

Edited July 26, 2021 by DIW
Speeling eroor

[Clagsniffer]

The loading rating for the roof bars is relating to the weight on the bars for a moving vehicle. I was told that cars need to withhold their shape in the event of an accident, so the roof should be able to withstand the effects of rolling over etc. If the roof could only manage to hold 100kg it certainly would not do well in an accident. I’ll try and find a link to the article im on about as it explains it much better.

[Michael Hodgson]

There is bound to be a very large safety margin in the figure they quote for the roof load, and I would expect them to have considered the roof load's effect on crashworthiness in arriving at the number quoted.  However there  is certainly quite a bit of extra force when the car is in motion, as it brakes, corners etc, and at speed the wind resistance will be not inconsiderable, and there will also be aerodynamic considerations.  The shape of the front of the box is like a dam, and even if nothing worse, there will be some decrease on your mpg.

[DIW]

2 hours ago, Clagsniffer said:

The loading rating for the roof bars is relating to the weight on the bars for a moving vehicle. I was told that cars need to withhold their shape in the event of an accident, so the roof should be able to withstand the effects of rolling over etc. If the roof could only manage to hold 100kg it certainly would not do well in an accident. I’ll try and find a link to the article im on about as it explains it much better.

 

14 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

There is bound to be a very large safety margin in the figure they quote for the roof load, and I would expect them to have considered the roof load's effect on crashworthiness in arriving at the number quoted.  However there  is certainly quite a bit of extra force when the car is in motion, as it brakes, corners etc, and at speed the wind resistance will be not inconsiderable, and there will also be aerodynamic considerations.  The shape of the front of the box is like a dam, and even if nothing worse, there will be some decrease on your mpg.

Yes, I see what you guys mean - the loading rating in the cars' handbooks will be for use in dynamic motion, as opposed to static load when stationary.

[101]

I have no experience of the hardshell tents, but I used to have a Howling Moon tent.

Mine was on a defender so no problems with weight, I had it opening over the back and also had an awning that fitted below it covering the back door of the truck and enclosing the ladder.

It was a superb tent, that was always comfortable even in very windy conditions and we got to the stage where we could have it all erected and the kettle on within 5 minutes.

The main problem I found was that it was too heavy/awkward to keep removing from the roof when not in use so it ended up living up there year round, deteriorating from the weather, but that may not be a problem with a hardshell tent.

I think roof tents are more suited to touring/expedition use where you are stopping for one night before moving on. If you are stopping at a campsite for more than one night and want to drive anywhere during the day you have to pack everything away, and then will probably find you have lost your pitch when you return, we actually carried a small tent just to erect to keep our pitch sometimes, which is a bit silly when you think about it.

I eventually sold mine and bought a Oztent (used to be advertised as the 30 second erection!) Another excellent tent, though also pricey,  but this solved all the other problems. 

Plus it is much easier to store - even if you can remove your tent from the roof it takes up a lot of space, my Oztent is currently sat on top of a shelving unit in the garage.

[duncan]

I don't have one, but was speaking to an owner a couple of weeks ago.  One thing he pointed out was that many (most ?) caravan / camping sites class it as a caravan & insist on the vehicle being on the hard standing & charge caravan prices.  He also mentioned the difference between roof load limits & roof capacity, but he lost me there, he was a bit technical, unfortunately.

[40152]

Like 101, I had one on my Defender. I bought the car with it already on and, of course, it looked the dog’s wotsits. Mine was from an outfit called Direct 4x4 and, tbh, was pretty flimsy. I camp a lot here in Scotland and wouldn’t have trusted this in anything but a mild breeze and certainly not if it was raining hard. There is an element of being a little over equipped for the conditions too; if you need to camp on your roof to keep out of the way of lions, that’s sensible, but with little more than irate squirrels to put up with in this country, it can look like a case of ‘all the gear, no idea’.
 

They do come with a supposedly weatherproof cover but I wasn’t happy leaving it on all winter so took it off. Mine was already suffering mould just with the constant damp, again something to consider with the British weather being what it is. Not hugely heavy but a bit of a faff, plus once off they are big things to store and take up a lot of space in the garage.

 

Finally, having that extra weight on top of your car makes it handle like a galleon in a force 10!

 

Hope that helps a bit.