Vehicle Roof Tents - Super Dumb?

[Sliver]

What's with all the people driving around with roof top tents these days? It has to be the dumbest way possible I can think of camping. Watch for them on trucks, SUVs and crossovers. It's this giant cumbersome box on a roof rack that must weigh a lot and looks really stupid.

This is what I'm talking about, although keep in mind these are nice photos that work to romanticize what is actually a bad idea that makes no practical sense:

Spoiler!

It annoys me because of how dumb they are:

• They're super expensive. Like a couple thousand dollars expensive when an equivalent tent from Canadian Tire would be $120.
• They trap you at your camp spot once they're set up. You can't leave unless you pack up.
• They have to be cold with all that cold air underneath you versus trapping an insulating layer between you and the ground.
• Climbing up into a tent is not advantageous in any way. Maybe somewhere that has snakes, but certainly nowhere near us in Calgary.
• They're cumbersome to own. You have to keep it on your car everywhere - wind whistling, the weight, killing your aerodynamics, looking like an assclown.

What a lot of effort, expense and hassle to have it worse off than a tent you can leave behind as you get wood, go for a drive, run to the store, etc.

The crazy thing is at first glance they look really cool and you're thinking, yeah, that'd be sick to have my tent everywhere with me and would look so awesome on top of my SUV at the campground, but then you realize they make everything worse with no upside.

[Buff]

Well, they significantly reduce the chances of a snake getting into your tent. So they have that.

[btimbit]

Chevy Avalanche bed tents are cool because you can open the midgate. But I agree the rest are dumb

[Coach]

My buddy has one for his pickup. I was super jealous of it when we went camping last time. Looked like a nice bunk.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Dude, I think you would be a lot less stressed if you just lived by a principle courtesey of Judge John Hodgeman:

"People like what they like. You can’t force someone to like something. You can expose them to a piece of work, but if they don’t like it, that’s the way it is. You can’t talk them out of it. This is the Tom Waits Principle"

In this case, I think it's the other perspective, which is basically to let people like what they like. You may not understand it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't bring them joy.

[Fuzz]

Given the increase in number of campers, spaces are getting tight. We are running out of wilderness. The only solution is to build up, not out. These are the campers of the future.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Dude, I think you would be a lot less stressed if you just lived by a principle courtesey of Judge John Hodgeman:

"People like what they like. You can’t force someone to like something. You can expose them to a piece of work, but if they don’t like it, that’s the way it is. You can’t talk them out of it. This is the Tom Waits Principle"

In this case, I think it's the other perspective, which is basically to let people like what they like. You may not understand it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't bring them joy.

I like your sentiment, but this place would be far less entertaining without his perspective.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Dude, I think you would be a lot less stressed if you just lived by a principle courtesey of Judge John Hodgeman:

"People like what they like. You can’t force someone to like something. You can expose them to a piece of work, but if they don’t like it, that’s the way it is. You can’t talk them out of it. This is the Tom Waits Principle"

In this case, I think it's the other perspective, which is basically to let people like what they like. You may not understand it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't bring them joy.

I'm not stressed.

I like being judgmental. I love looking at what people say and do and asking myself, why did they do that? Sometimes it's because they just did something dumb. Sometimes they had a good reason that went wrong. I do dumb stuff, too, and am perfectly fine with people talking about me.

I'll tell you what I really hate, though. I hate when you're with somebody who won't talk about other people and laugh about the funny things people do. People are the most interesting part of life. To not look at them and talk about them is the epitome of lame. Being judgmental is fun and leads to the best discussions IMO.

Plus I'm not trying to make somebody like anything. I'm commenting that I think these tents are really stupid despite looking cool at first glance.

[GGG]

My initial reaction was there stupid and I’m on team Silver. But thinking about it I see the usage case.


The benefits would be ease of set up, perceived protection animals / weather, and not having to tow anything / need a bigger vehicle.

I haven’t set one up but if you can leave your sleeping mat and bag set up wen you close and all you are doing is lifting it open than that might be the fastest set up available. Certainly faster than even backing up the trailer into the site. The animal / weather protection is an unfounded fear as tenting properly is just as secure. Not needing a new vehicle is also a big win.

So I would say that if you have a smallish SUV, no family, and want a quick set up that these roof tents are a reasonable solution.

What doesn’t make sense are tent trailers. All of the inconvenience of pullin a trailer combined with all the set up time of a tent and still a fabric body that you can’t store food in. Tent trailers seem to be used based on fear of weather and a dislike of sleeping on the ground likely based on using blue foam pads in a leaking tent in ones youth.

[Fuzz]

The best thing to come out of rooftop tents is going to be the inevitable Grand Tour episode where Hammond is sleeping in his, and Clarkson hops in his vehicle and goes offroading while Hammond is tossed around like a ice cube in a martini shaker.

[undercoverbrother]

So they are Subjectively stupid?

[Coach]

It would definitely be a difficult thing to attach to the Rascal.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by GGG

My initial reaction was there stupid and I’m on team Silver. But thinking about it I see the usage case.


The benefits would be ease of set up, perceived protection animals / weather, and not having to tow anything / need a bigger vehicle.

I haven’t set one up but if you can leave your sleeping mat and bag set up wen you close and all you are doing is lifting it open than that might be the fastest set up available. Certainly faster than even backing up the trailer into the site. The animal / weather protection is an unfounded fear as tenting properly is just as secure. Not needing a new vehicle is also a big win.

So I would say that if you have a smallish SUV, no family, and want a quick set up that these roof tents are a reasonable solution.

What doesn’t make sense are tent trailers. All of the inconvenience of pullin a trailer combined with all the set up time of a tent and still a fabric body that you can’t store food in. Tent trailers seem to be used based on fear of weather and a dislike of sleeping on the ground likely based on using blue foam pads in a leaking tent in ones youth.

1) Weight.
2) size.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

1) Weight.
2) size.

Growing up our tent trailer had a pooper and a shower. They worked as well as you might think a pooper and shower in a tent trailer built in the early 1980's might work.

My mom hated it. So much so, that once when my dad was out of town on a business trip she sold it to a fella that saw it in our driveway and asked if it was for sale.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Given the increase in number of campers, spaces are getting tight. We are running out of wilderness. The only solution is to build up, not out. These are the campers of the future.

increased density, Peter12 approves.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

1) Weight.
2) size.

Why is a tent trailer better than a tent is more my question? Specifically in bear areas. I can see in non bear areas where you can have a fridge full of food there being other benefits.

[Canadianman]

Originally Posted by GGG

Why is a tent trailer better than a tent is more my question? Specifically in bear areas. I can see in non bear areas where you can have a fridge full of food there being other benefits.

Is that an actual question? That's like asking how the Flames are better than the Oilers.

Our old tent trailer slept 6 of us comfortably, on a mattress. It had a stove and a fridge. It had tons of storage for anything we wanted to do or play. It carried our bikes on the back. Oh, and when it rains it's not a completely miserable existence.

It was 100x better than a tent.

[Fuzz]

Ya, tent trailer is waaay better than a tent. You can keep all your bedding ready to go, you have a fridge, stove, propane etc, cook prep surface, a table to sit at for eating if it is rainy...

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Canadianman

Is that an actual question? That's like asking how the Flames are better than the Oilers.

Our old tent trailer slept 6 of us comfortably, on a mattress. It had a stove and a fridge. It had tons of storage for anything we wanted to do or play. It carried our bikes on the back. Oh, and when it rains it's not a completely miserable existence.

It was 100x better than a tent.

It is a serious question.

You shouldn’t be keeping food or cooking in a soft sided tent trailer in the mountain parks.

A proper tarp and tent set up keeps you completely dry in rain
You can easily hall bikes on the back of your car

And in a tent I sleep on very comfy mattresses.
All the equipment fits within two bins and am fully set up in sub 30 minutes.
So once you account for having to drive slower because you are towing it is guaranteed to be faster using a tent as well.

So faster, cheaper, weather proof, and just as comfortable. (Though comfort is a perception thing.

Note I’m not saying trailers in general. I understand the desire for a hard sided trailer. The tent trailer has all of the trailer downsides and only a fraction of the benefits.

[4X4]

Towing a tent trailer is great. Way less wind resistance. And camping in a tent trailer vs a tent is a way better experience. You can leave all your gear in a tent trailer and skip the totes taking up all the space in your vehicle, you don't need to find a flat spot for the tent, you can stand up in it to change, you can eat at a table, way bigger beds (and more of them, and separate), there are lights, you can lock your dog in them, and they're just generally hospitable if the weather sucks.

I used to have a tent trailer and loved it. I left the beds pretty much made, had all utensils and general camping gear in the drawers and cubbies, and the available floor space when you open the half door (when it's down in transport mode) was plenty of space to throw the two coolers and a couple backpacks.

That left the box of my truck wide open for stinky/dirty stuff like a dirtbike and gear, jerry can, and an assload of firewood. You can't do that with just an SUV or truck or car.

Setting them up takes about 20 minutes. Leveling jacks and a cordless drill levels it in 5 minutes, and then putting up the tent takes 10 minutes, and then 5 minutes to do a couple things inside with the cushions and the systems.