Roof Tents, any recommendations?

[OnHellas]

I’ve never used a roof tent but a trip to Costa Rica has been booked and a vehicle with one up top has been reserved.
A 19 day rental should give plenty of time to explore the dirt roads and learn to love or hate a roof tent. Being a larger chap we’ve gone for the bigger of the two tents that they have available.
The rungs on the ladder look like knives!

We’ve booked a (what looks like a) nice hotel for a week at the end of it so we can sit liked a pair of stunned mullets to recover if it’s that bad

 

[Northern jock]

Other than the adapted engine hoist or a team of blokes, has anyone any other methods of getting a RTT onto the top of something tall like a Land Rover or van?

We can lift ours on to my Hilux canopy ourselves, it's a fold out one. Neighbour bought a Tentbox hard shell and 3 of us can lift it on. Folded blanket on the edge to rest it on then up and on the bars.

 

[bod]

If you are going to be static for a couple of days or more then ground tent?
For me a medium wheelbase day van with pull out awning and karsten inflatable tent gives the best of both worlds.

Yes, I was camping on Harris a few years back next to a souped up Hilux with a roof tent.
Each morning he would pack everything away, secure all his shite and make his mark on his spot by sticking a number plate on spikes in the pitch so nobody else could park there.
Looked a proper pain in the arse, and another example on how the whole trip was geared up around the motor.

Zip up the tent and clear off for the day - Simples.

 

[Gorilla GS]

After a lot of research I went for the ARB Esperance. Hard shell, weighs around 58kg, 2m x1.5m internal mattress and quality build. Literally 5-10 mins to set up.

 

[dean0n0]

Bargain?
https://www.costco.co.uk/c/TentBox-Cargo-10-Black-Edition/p/525507

 

[vRSG60]

Another one for TentBox. A Classic on my Yeti.
Brilliant bit of kit. Damn heavy to put on though.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pepsi]

I finally pulled the plug and have ordered a James Baroud Odyssey with a black shell. As it’s going on a T6 LWB I needed something which will pop up and pull down with minimal effort. Walking around and pulling a conventional rooftop tent down by hand on such a high and long vehicle didn’t appeal to me. Plus out of all the RTT’s I’ve explored recently the JB seems to be the most robust when it comes to withstanding high winds, JB boasts 59mph and Tentbox 29mph.

 

[Northern jock]

I finally pulled the plug and have ordered a James Baroud Odyssey with a black shell. As it’s going on a T6 LWB I needed something which will pop up and pull down with minimal effort. Walking around and pulling a conventional rooftop tent down by hand on such a high and long vehicle didn’t appeal to me. Plus out of all the RTT’s I’ve explored recently the JB seems to be the most robust when it comes to withstanding high winds, JB boasts 59mph and Tentbox 29mph.

You'll enjoy it I'm sure, we find ours a great place to sleep. Easy to put up and down, comfy on any ground and a good view.

 

[Orinoco]

I've recently bought this, a Caranex H1, free standing when it needs to be too

They're mostly bigger versions for Landrovers and the like, this is the little version

 

[Pepsi]

I’ve just returned from a 12 day trip up in the Scottish Highlands. Without question Tentbox was the most popular brand seen on the roads on a vast variety of vehicles. There were quite a few awesome looking pick up truck conversions with Alu Cab and a small number of German converted military trucks. We also saw a significant number of people simply travelling and sleeping in their cars and why not with hotel and guest house prices going through the roof.

We stayed in a couple of AirBnB’s a hostel and a lodge booked through pitchup.com. Average price per night £150 room only which seems to be the going rate. Ten years ago you could get a very nice hotel on Skye or similar for much less than that full board. How times have changed!

 

[Northern jock]

I've recently bought this, a Caranex H1, free standing when it needs to be too

They're mostly bigger versions for Landrovers and the like, this is the little version

View attachment 350809

Great invention, i had one inused with my Landcruiser. Once you have a decent system worked out they're easy to put up but the first couple of times were hard.
They're used in Africa as mobile medical centres, lots of space.

 

[Orinoco]

Yes, just trying to work out what works best, improvise, adapt, overcome!

 

[Northern jock]

Yes, just trying to work out what works best, improvise, adapt, overcome!

For the front lines you can use the door latches, means you can still open the doors, hand grabs on the roof also work. You can also use rubber clamps that stick to the roof.
Link the pole sections with thin elastic and rubber bungs, saves faffing.
Arse into wind.
I cut the lines to the right length once I decided on the best anchor spots and on then grab handles I had loops always there for the long lines to hook onto.

 

[Barnoe]

Roof tents are not for me, they look like an accident waiting to happen.
getting up and down that ladder in the dark while half drunk/tired going for a pee in the night.... the laws of averages tells me i will come a cropper.
I would rather take my chances tripping on a guy line on the ground

The other thing is.. the OP says he has a VW T5 camper and wants to spend £2500 on a roof tent.
Would it not be cheaper and better to install a pop top like most other VW campers have?

 

[Pepsi]

Roof tents are not for me, they look like an accident waiting to happen.
getting up and down that ladder in the dark while half drunk/tired going for a pee in the night.... the laws of averages tells me i will come a cropper.
I would rather take my chances tripping on a guy line on the ground

The other thing is.. the OP says he has a VW T5 camper and wants to spend £2500 on a roof tent.
Would it not be cheaper and better to install a pop top like most other VW campers have?

I said I had a VW T6 not a T5, close, but no cigar.
Yes my original budget was about £2500 but I ended up purchasing the JB Odyssey which including fitting was a tad short of £3500 which is a fair chunk of dosh for a roof top tent.
In contrast £2500 or even £3500 will certainly get you a pop up but not necessarily a very good one. My justification for the RTT over the pop up is it’s ability to be switched to a newer/different vehicle when the time is right.

 

[Pepsi]

The Odyssey order has been cancelled and a replacement tent sourced. I’ve opted for the Darche Double Dee Hybrid tent. I went to view one on Friday and ordered it on Saturday. Still an Australian company like JB but equally good quality and reputation. These Aussies really seem to know how to manufacture roof top tents.

Having it fitted tomorrow morning and really looking forward to testing it out hopefully next weekend somewhere weather permitting.

 

[Danny]

The Odyssey order has been cancelled and a replacement tent sourced. I’ve opted for the Darche Double Dee Hybrid tent. I went to view one on Friday and ordered it on Saturday. Still an Australian company like JB but equally good quality and reputation. These Aussies really seem to know how to manufacture roof top tents.

Having it fitted tomorrow morning and really looking forward to testing it out hopefully next weekend somewhere weather permitting.

Is James Baroud Australian? I thought it was European, Portuguese possibly.

 

[Pepsi]

Is James Baroud Australian? I thought it was European, Portuguese possibly.

Apologies yes you are correct, I got confused with how popular they are in Oz and for some reason thought they were Oz made even though I knew they were made in Porto. I’m clearly having a dumb moment!

 

[vRSG60]

Roof tents are not for me, they look like an accident waiting to happen.
getting up and down that ladder in the dark while half drunk/tired going for a pee in the night.... the laws of averages tells me i will come a cropper.
I would rather take my chances tripping on a guy line on the ground

Lenor bottle

 

[Barnoe]

I’ve just returned from a 12 day trip up in the Scottish Highlands. Without question Tentbox was the most popular brand seen on the roads on a vast variety of vehicles. There were quite a few awesome looking pick up truck conversions with Alu Cab and a small number of German converted military trucks. We also saw a significant number of people simply travelling and sleeping in their cars and why not with hotel and guest house prices going through the roof.

We stayed in a couple of AirBnB’s a hostel and a lodge booked through pitchup.com. Average price per night £150 room only which seems to be the going rate. Ten years ago you could get a very nice hotel on Skye or similar for much less than that full board. How times have changed!

This is the main reason campervans are now more popular than ever, If you travel a lot it makes sense, the cost of hotels is ridiculous.
You arrive late and leave early, only using a bed and maybe a shower and they charge £150+ its daylight robbery.

Its not just Scotland though, its everywhere.