Dec. 23, 2024
For me, my biggest concern with tent camping is safety. Whether it be from a human or a bear, I have always felt a bit vulnerable trapped in a raincoat supported by fishing poles. During rainstorms I always imagine a torrent of water coming and flooding the tent or washing us away. And if I&#;m in the woods there&#;s always the fear of critters getting into the tent somehow. I&#;ve even had a snake slither under the tent once. All of these fears almost completely disappear with a rooftop tent. Being on top of your car ensures that nothing can overtake your tent. Critters aren&#;t crawling up the side of your car to get to you and if any floodwaters get to the level of your tent floor then you weren&#;t meant to survive the night anyway.
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I am no expert in winter camping, but I have slept (or at least tried to sleep) through a number of frigid nights. On the floor of Death Valley, sleeping in bags rated for 20°F, on a foot thick air mattress, in a tent, wearing multiple layers, I shivered through the night as it dropped to ~35°F. In our rooftop tent, we slept like babies. Granted, we were in our two-person sleeping bag, but it is not rated for the cold at all. We&#;re still weighing the benefits of sleeping individually in cold-rated bags versus the combination bag. Regardless, 37°F was beautifully comfortable atop the Subaru. I was still in a hoodie and pajama pants, but I slept with my torso out of the bag for most of the night.
The mechanics of a tent that folds up like an accordion mean that the canvas tent is not a complete, solid unit. At the hinge of the tent there is a small opening that is covered by a canvas loin cloth held in place by Velcro. It&#;s weatherproof from your ordinary rainstorms, but torrential downpours and blowing wind might be a bit of an issue if you&#;re not careful. This also means there are small crevices for insects to enter through. Although no ground critters are likely to scale the sides of your vehicle to these entry points, mosquitos are notoriously crafty and can get into just about any place they want. It may take some extra sealing up if you plan on staying in a place that has a particularly nasty mosquito infestation. This is not necessarily the case for every tent though, especially pop-up versions, which seem to be completely sealed.
Obviously, adding a small sail that weighs ~100lbs to the roof of your car is going to affect the aerodynamics, but how much? We are still analyzing data from our Subaru Forester, but the results are of the order of a 7-9% fuel efficiency loss. This can be made less severe with a wind deflector (the front of the tent is simply a flat face, with a surface area of approximately 4sq. ft.). Personal driving habits also come in to play, as a primary contributor to wind resistance is proportional to velocity squared, so increased speed exponentially increases drag. This is probably why with our Subaru we see such a large loss, since we are most often driving ~85mph on western highways. This is not always the case with rooftop tents, as some are rather low profile and are more aerodynamic, but those are typically pop-up tents rather than unfolding tents, which are generally more expensive.
It may seem like you need a massive vehicle with reinforced everything to use one of these, but the reality is that they&#;re not as cumbersome as they look. It may look ridiculous perched atop a Mini Cooper, but the stress they place on your vehicle is surprisingly minimal. Our tent weighs ~100lbs. Many standard roof racks are rated for 150lbs of dynamic weight* so make sure you check your car&#;s rating and the weight of the tent, since many tents weigh in right around 150lbs. Any upgraded rack bars (i.e. Yakima, Thule, etc.) should be able to support a few hundred pounds of static weight. Trucks with bed racks may run into issues if they are too tall. Torque is linearly dependent on force and distance, so the less weight you have up high and the lower its center of gravity, the fewer issues you will have on trails when things get rocky.
*Be careful when comparing weight ratings. Static weight is how much weight something can support standing still, while dynamic weight is the force applied to your roof rack while driving (turning, stopping, etc.).
No grass needed, whether you&#;re on a mountain track, sand dune or a Tesco car park, a roof tent allows you to camp just about anywhere.
Want more information on Awning Roof Top Tent? Feel free to contact us.
You&#;re far less hindered with a roof tent, you can travel places you could only dream of with trailer tents, camper trailers, caravans, campervans and motorhomes, especially if you have a 4×4.
Attaching a rooftop tent is easy and will fit most vehicles that meet a few requirements. See our page, can I fit a roof tent to my car? Set-up time is very quick and can be done in a few minutes. You will be the envy of your traditional tent friends when you are all set up and sipping cold water, beer or wine.
Roof tents are constructed from a heavy-duty canvas made to withstand nature and its elements. This material is of course waterproof as well as UV and mould-resistant. A strong aluminium support structure makes for a long-lasting and very durable tent.
A good rooftop tent will have mesh windows and doors for ventilation, great on a hot summer&#;s day or night. A comfy high-density foam mattress should come as standard and some tents even have a sky view window for star gazing at night and extra light during the day.
Being up on your vehicle&#;s roof means you are out of the way of insects like scorpions, ants, and spiders. Nobody wants to find something crawling around in your tent or sleeping bag! Wildlife in the UK is less of a threat but if you are abroad in a country where there are snakes, tigers, bears, wolves, etc. you will be out of their reach in a rooftop tent.
You have your very own viewing platform with great views that you can&#;t get with ground tents. Waking up to the view of the ocean, lake, river, mountains or forest, is always better from higher up. You&#;ll never camp on the ground again.
Compared to the price of a campervan, motorhome or trailer tent, a roof tent is a lot cheaper to buy and maintain.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website canvas roof top tent.
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