Roof Top Tents

[Fenwayfan77]

Highly recommend the Tepui Hardshell, automatic opening, nice ladder,, very comfortable mattress, and above all trail proven for many off road miles on my Grand Wagoneer. Heavy though, 170 lbs. I think white as seen in photo is no longer an option.

Yeah. Was looking at that one as well. However, my problem is that I’m dealing with a total of maybe 82.5 inches in garage entrance height. I’m really curious how many inches the Rivian bars will add to the R1S, which is already 72 inches. I may be screwed all around to be honest. Not many options with a very thin collapsed height profile.

I might be relegated to taking it on and off each time I go camping.

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[Pherdnut]

Thule Tepui Explorer Ayer 2 (cripes they need to work out some new naming conventions)
But I suspect pretty similar to the custom one they've demoed with the R1T. The one complaint in reviews was the mattress so we never gave it a fair shake and just added an extra layer that we don't have to remove when packing it up. Very comfy. Very easy to open it up into more of an all-screen dome which is awesome in the summer. Once you've done it a couple times, pitching and packing up are really easy.

Don't put it together and attach it to the top of a Mazda CX-9 by yourself if you don't have to. I think I lost 10 lbs that day. Looking forward to some lengthy road trips with it as vaccines get better-distributed but also hoping to start camping in IL again soon.

Looking forward to moving it to an R1T.

 

[DucRider]

Yeah. Was looking at that one as well as the collapsed height is 7” and I’m dealing with a total of maybe 82.5 inches in garage entrance height. I’m really curious how many inches the Rivian bars will add to the R1S, which is already 72 inches. I may be screwed all around to be honest. Not many options with a very thin collapsed height profile.

There are a handful of wedge options in the 7" collapsed range (Roofnest, Go Fast, Osprey, Hutch, etc). Should be able to lower the R1S when pulling in and get a bit more clearance (2"?). Note that choosing the 20s will add a little height (about 1/2").

 

[Fenwayfan77]

There are a handful of wedge options in the 7" collapsed range (Roofnest, Go Fast, Osprey, Hutch, etc). Should be able to lower the R1S when pulling in and get a bit more clearance (2"?). Note that choosing the 20s will add a little height (about 1/2").

Yeah. The Roofnest Falcon will collapse to 6.5 inches which is the lowest I’ve seen for the ones I like. However, I’m partial to the non-wedge/triangle ones for a few reasons. The Roofnest Condor is my favorite so far. It has a great interior width and length as well as a small collapsed factor....except the height. Now that I think about it, I may not want to keep it on the vehicle full-time anyways. Might just have to deal with taking it on and off. Not like I’m camping every weekend anyways.

 

[DucRider]

Yeah. The Roofnest Falcon will collapse to 6.5 inches which is the lowest I’ve seen for the ones I like. However, I’m partial to the non-wedge/triangle ones for a few reasons. The Roofnest Condor is my favorite so far. It has a great interior width and length as well as a small collapsed factor....except the height. Now that I think about it, I may not want to keep it on the vehicle full-time anyways. Might just have to deal with taking it on and off. Not like I’m camping every weekend anyways.

This also has some potential:


https://rubiconep.com/hitch-tent-rack-system

 

[Fenwayfan77]

This also has some potential:


https://rubiconep.com/hitch-tent-rack-system

ha. That won’t work for me for a bunch of reasons but interesting nonetheless!

 

[MReda]

I'm now really liking the RTTs from www.roofnest.com

A friend of mine just picked up a Sparrow, and I checked his out a couple weeks ago. It's a pretty nice tent. Smaller than I need, but if the larger ones are similar quality, something I think I'd be happy with.

 

[Fenwayfan77]

This is turning into math class for me. Coming close to an effort in futility. Unless people with RTTs keep their vehicle's outside most of the time, have massive garage bays (height-wise), access to airport hangers, or take them off all the time (doubt it), I don't know how they do it. As noted previously, i'm working with 82.5 inches approximately for my garage entrance height. Decided that taking the RTT off and on during camping season would be annoying AF.

I could get away with the Roofnest Falcon (6.5 inches collapsed height) for now with my current vehicle - Acura RDX (65.6 inches high) plus a Rhino Rack (5.5 inches approx. with bars, feet, and footpad). However, once the Rivian occupies the garage with its 72 inch height, and crossbars (unknown additional height) i'd likely be SOL or way, way too close for comfort.

I think the GoFastCamper Superlite Tent might have to be the one, unless something new pops up in the next year or two from another vendor that's just as thin. It compresses to 4.5 inches, which is impressive. It's a wedge design that's only 50" wide on the inside. A few compromises, but oh well. Pretty cheap comparatively speaking as well. It will be close to the top of the garage but I might have one inch or close to it in clearance at that point. It will be interesting to see if the height adjustment of the Rivian R1S will help even more. They quote 72 inches as the standard R1S height. I'll have to go back and read to see if that's the standard "RIDE position" height, etc. I'll be going with the 21 inch wheels so no extra height added in that dept.

Hope my math struggles enlightens someone else with the same idea and height concerns. Ha.

The investigation continues...

 

[Pioneer52]

Yeah. Was looking at that one as well. However, my problem is that I’m dealing with a total of maybe 82.5 inches in garage entrance height. I’m really curious how many inches the Rivian bars will add to the R1S, which is already 72 inches. I may be screwed all around to be honest. Not many options with a very thin collapsed height profile.

I might be relegated to taking it on and off each time I go camping.

I know that problem, parked my Jeep outside all summer. The hardshell is too heavy to remove after every trip

 

[jimcgov3]

Have you identified how the ladder interfaces/attaches to the tent, if at all? I didn't do a ton of research/reading, but quickly noticed only a few IG pics showing the ladder. It looks like it just leans up against the tent, without being affixed/locked onto the tent. My interest is piqued, however.

That is correct. It just leans up against the side of the tent. For what it is, the price of $1299 before the mattress and ladder compared to a CVT Mt Hood or RoofNest Falcon XL...oh and it has a longer sleeping area...win win.

 

[skyote]

Not a RTT, but I would totally do a small trailer instead if you had a place to keep it. Something like the lower end of Intech Flyers.

Load up the inside with bikes, gear, etc or use the roof racks on it. Be able to set up camp & then adventure off in your Rivian.

RTTs are cool, but I would either get an quick setup ground tent, or step up to something more versatile...either way, I think you get more bang for the buck.

 

[DucRider]

I'm interested in a RTT for a variety of reasons. We've been camping off the motorcycles for about 35 years, with the occasional car camp starting in the last decade or so (more in the last few years).
While our gear has evolved and gotten more comfortable over the years, our bodies continue to want more and more pampering.
Very tired of the breakdown and packing of a ground tent, sleeping pads, etc etc to fit on the motorcycles. We need a 5 person tent to get all of our gear inside and have a bit of room, and have fairly thick self inflating pads. We don't have the space weight restrictions of a backpacker, but we also cannot pack and carry what many consider "normal" for camping.
The roots and rocks have gotten harder and more prevalent over the last few years, and a smooth (and hopefully level) sleeping platform is hugely attractive.
RTTs are intriguing on many levels, and the hard shell designs in particular

Found a good summary video that echos much of what I have found in a bunch of other research:


We are leaning towards the R1T, and the question is going to be what type of tent and how it is mounted. Almost 100% on the hardshell since refitting a soft cover (particularly when wet) is the biggest reason people that move to a hardshell (they usually emphasise what a pain that cover can be). HArd shells are also consider to be much quieter and weather resistant.
Something like the iKamper Mini would fit on the bed of the R1T and height would not be an issue (would also be a much shorter ladder climb).
Keeping the bedding in and ready is also very attractive, and my wife is partial to the wedge design. These would all have to be mounted higher and extend over the cab. Looking at the hybrid Baroud Space and Eezi Awn Stealth that give more head and foot room than a pure wedge.

We found a company that rents the Roofnest Sparrow locally, and plan on giving that a shot sometime this year to get a feel for what we do and don't like about the whole RTT experience. Investing a few hundred before dropping thousands of $$ seems like a good idea.

 

[C.R. Rivian]

I'm interested in a RTT for a variety of reasons. We've been camping off the motorcycles for about 35 years, with the occasional car camp starting in the last decade or so (more in the last few years).
While our gear has evolved and gotten more comfortable over the years, our bodies continue to want more and more pampering.
Very tired of the breakdown and packing of a ground tent, sleeping pads, etc etc to fit on the motorcycles. We need a 5 person tent to get all of our gear inside and have a bit of room, and have fairly thick self inflating pads. We don't have the space weight restrictions of a backpacker, but we also cannot pack and carry what many consider "normal" for camping.
The roots and rocks have gotten harder and more prevalent over the last few years, and a smooth (and hopefully level) sleeping platform is hugely attractive.
RTTs are intriguing on many levels, and the hard shell designs in particular

Found a good summary video that echos much of what I have found in a bunch of other research:


We are leaning towards the R1T, and the question is going to be what type of tent and how it is mounted. Almost 100% on the hardshell since refitting a soft cover (particularly when wet) is the biggest reason people that move to a hardshell (they usually emphasise what a pain that cover can be). HArd shells are also consider to be much quieter and weather resistant.
Something like the iKamper Mini would fit on the bed of the R1T and height would not be an issue (would also be a much shorter ladder climb).
Keeping the bedding in and ready is also very attractive, and my wife is partial to the wedge design. These would all have to be mounted higher and extend over the cab. Looking at the hybrid Baroud Space and Eezi Awn Stealth that give more head and foot room than a pure wedge.

We found a company that rents the Roofnest Sparrow locally, and plan on giving that a shot sometime this year to get a feel for what we do and don't like about the whole RTT experience. Investing a few hundred before dropping thousands of $$ seems like a good idea.

These guys think they can do their popup for the Rivian. When I get mine, I'm going to drive over to them (about 80 miles) so they can let me know for sure: Home - Hiatus Campers

 

[DucRider]

These guys think they can do their popup for the Rivian. When I get mine, I'm going to drive over to them (about 80 miles) so they can let me know for sure: Home - Hiatus Campers

Not the the style we are interested in, and $15K is a significant number to swallow.

 

[Fenwayfan77]

Not a RTT, but I would totally do a small trailer instead if you had a place to keep it. Something like the lower end of Intech Flyers.

Load up the inside with bikes, gear, etc or use the roof racks on it. Be able to set up camp & then adventure off in your Rivian.

RTTs are cool, but I would either get an quick setup ground tent, or step up to something more versatile...either way, I think you get more bang for the buck.

Man...that's the problem! I'd love to have a little trailer like that. Alas, it's a no go due to HOA restrictions. Ugh. I have a 2 1/2 car garage but both bays have vehicles and the "1/2" has a big work bench, tools, and storage, etc. I will find the solution!! lol.

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