roof top tents

[75 cruser]

ive been looking at roof top tents for while now and im not quite to sure on the pros and cons of them all, ie canvas for poly matieral with a room down to the ground or just an anex, the other main factor is the set up time im not one for half an hour of work after driving all day, and the cost is not really a factor if its all conventient, went to 4wd camping show and some were really good like the dingo dozer and the mr swagman if any comments or sugesstions or pictures this would be great, are you able to rent these items like a camper trailer to test them out etc.

thanks rob

[A12]

I have a 'made in china' copy of the ARB roof top tent. It is great, Takes about 5 minutes to get set up and about 10 to put away. I leave my sleeping gear and clothes I won't need for the day up there as well to get them out of the car.

With the two layer roof, it is not overly hot in summer if you open all the windows for air flow, certainly cooler than my canvas touring tent.

The hard part is getting down in the morning when someone borrows the ladder, especially after a night on the cans.

Greg

[75 cruser]

mr swagmans website

www.mrswagman.com.au

rob

[Troll00]

Just spent 2 weeks in one crossing the simpson and back took a little getting use to the bed (but I have a very good bed at home) only problem I had with it is some bolts come loose and 2 others fell out other than that, it's so easy to set up took 1 miniute by the end but packing up takes a little longer just worked out a system and it was away in 3 minutes but took 3 people and 5 minutes with 2, my daughter had a dome tent and took way longer to put up and down. I got mine off ebay for $800 and it's brand new copy of the ARB type no annexe or side though but you can buy them for it, we just put a cheap silver tarp around the base when we needed it

[mud4b]

make sure when in use and not in use CHAIN it down.

i had a ezi awn rooftop tent that i searched for for 2 years to get it used at the right price. used it once and then some theiving scum stole it..

so anyway check out
ezi-awn
howling moon

both are really good quality tents, easy to setup, the howling moon has occy straps inside to make the tent fold in on itself so it makes it just as quick to pack away as it does to put up.

also there was a really good pro and con thread somewhere on here about them

[j-top paj]

The hard part is getting down in the morning when someone borrows the ladder, especially after a night on the cans

[stinger]

We have an older one we bought second hand. Key points:
* If you get one that folds in half you are restricted in the mattress thickness (wife has bad back so we got one that if full length and size without folding the mattress)
* Only takes a couple of minutes to set up and pull down
* Get a ladder off ebay (less than $200) that extends/collapses (seen them in Bunnings for close onto $400) takes up less room


Other than that we love it, full size bed that does not take long to set up and does not take room up in the car and do not have to tow it.
Cheers,
Stinger

[grimbo]

when sleeping in them does the whole car move around when you roll over in bed? Do you have to use jack stands or similar to stabilise the vehicle?

[AFeral]

I've got a technitop roof top camper.

pro's
Good nights sleep
Quick to set up and pack down.

con's
wind drag
if packed down wet everything is wet when you set up again. So remove the matress and put inside the car if it has been raining.
Not really practical to leave on the roof all the time and complete pain in the arse to get on and off, the lifted patrol.
Can make for a very high 4x4 which leads to problem parking

silly points

getting in and out of whilst drunk can be very painful.
i got lucky at a festeival and I think everyone could see the hole thing shacking. So not for the shy.

After my trip around oz think I will put it on a small trailer with storage space underneath

[stinger]

With the rocking and rolling depends on the vehicle my 6" lifted cruiser rocks a lot, soft suspension and no sway bars, the Disco on the other hand is better. But that all depends on what you are doing up there

I have made a winch set up in my shed of the roof beams so all I do is drive in connect ropes, undo roof bars and lift with a small electric winch. It is easy and a one person job that takes five minutes...