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Roof Top Tents- My Pet Peeve

stickyfingers

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RivRev

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Below is my summery of why I think they are dumb. I camp 40+ nights a year, and I have never even thought about getting a RTT. I also own a 2016 LX570 that is fully armored and has tons of Mods, so if it was something that I thought was remotely useful, Im the type that would get one, but they are insanely stupid.

-RTTs are extremely expensive, like ridiculous, plus the roof rack, its crazy. Get airbnb's for a year instead.
-Wind Noise while camping: You'er on top of a truck, instead of using your truck or trees for a wind block. Your extremely exposed to all weather up there.
-Wind Noise while driving
-Reduced milage
-Reduced payload- these things weigh a ton, insane to put that weight on your truck
-They are not faster to put up than a regular tent
-How am I suppose to pee in the middle of the night? Do you realize how drunk I get while camping, seems straight dangerous to be that high
-How is my dog or a small child supposed to get up there?
-You can't camp at good spots: you can't go camp by the river or under that shade tree in the grass, nope its the parking lot for you
-You have to level the vehicle-What a pain in the ass. Are you going to carry leveling objects to put under your wheels?
-Exposed: No shade, no tree cover for rain, no wind block. Its going to be hot up there when the sun comes up
-Once its set up you can't leave camp. You can't set up your camp and then go exploring in your truck at all, You can't hold down a camp while you're gone.
-They look really stupid, most people do not camp enough to have one of these
-If mounted to an SUV they can't fit in garages
-"Say what you will, I got my wife to go camping now because of a RTT" is not an excuse to own one. Your wife is weak, toughen her up or leave her at home bro. Plus, I have several tents, one of them is a huge Nemo tent that I put cots in and nice thick pads, I can stand up in it (6' tall). Its like an apartment in there and it costs about 400.
-Most of this can be said about the Camp Kitchen too, although that thing is pretty kick ass and at least its easily removable.

But most of all, you don't even need a tent 80%+ of the time (in the rockies). If its not raining or bugs, why put up a tent at all? I sleep outside on a cot 90% of the time under the stars.

These roof top tents have become a trend and I can't stand them
This was fun to read. I hate that I tend to agree with your points. I have some friends with a RTT and the biggest upside of them is the mattress comfort and quality. It is like sleeping in a bed at home. Plus the hardshell or canvas shell adds more protection. That being said, if you are car camping. weight and size isn't really a concern and there are some pretty good car camping mattress pads you can bring...and they are getting better every year. Those $200-$500 pads combined with a large stand up tent like you described, and I think that is a far better set up for most typical use scenarios and is half the price!
To me, it's a novelty. If you have too much money, why not buy one for the 2 times a year you will use it. Like the camp kitchen lol. The biggest downside to me is the fact it is not easily removeable and becomes part of your vehicle.
Putting a RTT on your daily driver makes no sense to me. It's laughable. I literally get a chuckle when I see one on the road in a city with someone driving on their way to work.
 

mgc0216

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Below is my summery of why I think they are dumb. I camp 40+ nights a year, and I have never even thought about getting a RTT. I also own a 2016 LX570 that is fully armored and has tons of Mods, so if it was something that I thought was remotely useful, Im the type that would get one, but they are insanely stupid.

-RTTs are extremely expensive, like ridiculous, plus the roof rack, its crazy. Get airbnb's for a year instead.
I do not want to even consider the roach motel AirBnB that I could stay in for a year for $1700 (The cost of my RTT) - hell even 40 nights (since that's how many nights a year you camp). They are expensive, but whatever, it's just money.
 

mgc0216

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These responses are golden! Well done!

Obviously my post is half joking and half pointing out the true downsides of RTTs. They certainly have their drawbacks that I don’t think many people consider before buying them. But you all should camp however you’d like, it certainly wouldn’t work for my style. I just can’t help but wonder how all the sudden half the 4x4’s in Colorado have RTTs on them.
You answered that in your post really, they are a trend. They look cool. They say to the outside world "I'm an adventurer, and ready to go at a moment's notice" (even, if like me, you've used the thing 3 times in the 18 months you've owned it) - hell I even have the awning attached to my roof racks.

Essentially they are a fashion accessory for many folks. Like a lot of overlanding gear is no days.
 

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Inkedsphynx

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Sounds to me like most of you just run in the wrong circles. I know a ton of people in Seattle and the surrounding area with RTTs and most of them use them way more than once or twice a year. The Northwest is one of the premier outdoor adventure areas in the country, and while there are certainly some posers up here that don't ever take their shiny 4Runner with the RTT out and adventure, most of us up here do and do it frequently. Summer, Winter, and everything in between.

I know for a fact that my R1T RTT will get at least a dozen or more uses just in the first 6 months I have it. Already have plenty of trips planned. Everyone is different, but at least in my neck of the woods there's a lot of them and they get a lot of use.
 

Inkedsphynx

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Avoidable and solvable problems? Oh no, we must immediately give up and assume there is no option except sleeping on the ground where there's also avoidable and solvable problems... ?
 

dpc166

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It's also easy enough to pack my backpacking tent in the event I don't want to camp in the parking lot in my RTT.
 

Dark-Fx

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