Roof Top Tents. Yay or Nay?

[Msfitoy]

I think there could be a demand for more van-based RV's. Both the pop-top Westfalia's and the modified Element type. Much easier to park/store then a conventional RV and can easily be used as a primary or secondary vehicle if need-be.

A few years ago I was interested in buying a Class B RV (basically a fancy van conversion). Perfect for one or two people for a couple of days. However the couple of RV Dealers I went to kept trying to upsell me into much more expensive RV's and I quickly lost interest.

From what I've read, one of the reasons VW is having problems releasing the new electric VW van/bus is the weight of it. In Europe the completed vehicle would require a commercial drivers license in order to drive it. Here I think the range may be a limiting factor. Charging stations are harder to find the farther away from the cities you get, although I'm seeing more campgrounds offering places to charge or even renting-out empty sites on an hourly basis for electric vehicles which need a top-off.

Class Bs are way too expensive and scream RV so parking them at work and daily driving is just not practical. A van based camper was and is still perfect for both worlds...I used my Vanagon for daily commutes and go camping at a whim since my bed and gear is already with me...I hope they do make a come back...at a reasonable price...

 

[TrailSnot]

I wanted one in the worst way when I got my truck. Had ideas of hauling my trailered bike to the track and camping overnight. Reality is I like my comforts too much. A comfy bed, AC and a shower whenever I wish. I would never ever camp enough for it to pay itself back versus using hotels. There ended my foray into RTT's.

 

[Kev250R]

I wanted one in the worst way when I got my truck. Had ideas of hauling my trailered bike to the track and camping overnight. Reality is I like my comforts too much. A comfy bed, AC and a shower whenever I wish. I would never ever camp enough for it to pay itself back versus using hotels. There ended my foray into RTT's.

I get that. The concept seems to make sense, and I'm sure for some it does. I'm just not one of them I guess.

 

[SneakyDingo]

I wanted one in the worst way when I got my truck. Had ideas of hauling my trailered bike to the track and camping overnight. Reality is I like my comforts too much. A comfy bed, AC and a shower whenever I wish. I would never ever camp enough for it to pay itself back versus using hotels. There ended my foray into RTT's.

Would you do a caravan then?

 

[Kev250R]

Would you do a caravan then?

I would. Prior to buying my Camp Trailer I looked hard at Camper Vans. Eventually I passed though as with my Camp Trailer I never have to worry about what will happen if it sits for too long as there is no engine or running gear to worry about (tires and bearings, but those aren't too bad to Service) plus registration and insurance was way less then a motorized RV would be in my state.

At the time it didn't make sense for me, but I may take another look at them in the future.

 

[Kev250R]

So here's a recent RTT story for you all...

A couple of weeks ago my GF and I went to Big Bear Lake with our Camp Trailer to spend the weekend at our favorite campground. We set-up, went to dinner in-town and when we came back the site next to ours was occupied by a friendly couple in a rented Camper Van with a RTT mounted (way) on top of it (this was a full-sized Sprinter van).

A couple of hours later this couple's two college-aged daughters arrived (or maybe it was their daughter and her friend, doesn't really matter). Anyways the Father tells the girls that he's going to set-up the RTT for them. They both looked at it and said, 'No way'. They spent the weekend all four of them crammed inside the van LOL!

 

[Edwardmichaelmotorcycle]

Had a RTT, sold it. Truck was in Tread magazine, photo spread..the whole shebang....here : American Tacoma: A Purpose-Built Adventure Machine (treadmagazine.com) Better off with a Gazelle tent or the like, then you can at least leave camp for a few hours. RTT isn't worth the squeeze IMO. You are stuck once it's deployed and the mattress has so be so thin I found it generally uncomfortable.

 

[Kev250R]

Had a RTT, sold it. Truck was in Tread magazine, photo spread..the whole shebang....here : American Tacoma: A Purpose-Built Adventure Machine (treadmagazine.com) Better off with a Gazelle tent or the like, then you can at least leave camp for a few hours. RTT isn't worth the squeeze IMO. You are stuck once it's deployed and the mattress has so be so thin I found it generally uncomfortable.

Very nice rig! I have a '20 Tacoma TRD Off-road 4x4, though I've kept mine mostly stock. Sorry to hear about the back injury, but I'm glad that eventually you were able to continue having adventures. BTW What did you replace the Taco with?

 

[Edwardmichaelmotorcycle]

Very nice rig! I have a '20 Tacoma TRD Off-road 4x4, though I've kept mine mostly stock. Sorry to hear about the back injury, but I'm glad that eventually you were able to continue having adventures. BTW What did you replace the Taco with?

Hi Kev- I didn't. I have an older Ford fleet truck I use for my electrical business and wife has a CR-V I use when needed. We took the Taco to Florida last spring, then it sat for a few months. I ended up selling it to Vroom for almost what I paid the dealership when I bought it (minus upgrades of course). Wasn't worth keeping the insurance etc up on it and it was pretty painless to sell it to them... I'll get something if and when prices and rates come back to some normalcy, but I doubt I'll mod another truck as much as I did that one.

 

[Edwardmichaelmotorcycle]

I'm actually tired of my RTT...saving up for one of these toy hauler to bring my CT to camp...

That's kinda cool but I bet they want a mint like everything else these days... I had a big 'ol Chapparal back in the day. I think I'm past all that now lol.

 

[TrailSnot]

Would you do a caravan then?

Would I? Right now, no.
Again, the expense versus how much I used it just wouldn't make sense. If I had more time to make proper use of it, maybe yeah.

 

[Kev250R]

Would I? Right now, no.
Again, the expense versus how much I used it just wouldn't make sense. If I had more time to make proper use of it, maybe yeah.

I'm with you and had many of the same concerns when I was shopping for an RV. I bought a Travel Trailer since they are better at being parked for long-periods of time then a motorized anything. That and having a place to store it on your own property is a game-changer. If I had to pay to store my Travel Trailer I probably wouldn't own a Travel Trailer, as much as I do enjoy having one.

 

[SneakyDingo]

Travel trailers have always been the way we went growing up. Grandpa had a caravan, but he basically built it himself and had a shed to store it in. A truly capable individual, poured the concrete himself, dead flat, over a really large area, then plonked a shed with 15 ft or 20 ft roofing over it. Never really thought much of the sheer size of that shed other than how difficult it would have been to build without a crane, and I know he didn't use a crane. Point being that things are different when you have that much space to play with, I barely have enough space even for my motorcycle.

 

[CTExplorer]

Everything in this world has a plus and minus, yin and yang.

I have a travel trailer and RTT. The wife definitely prefers the TT .

I first bought one used years ago when they were a new concept as I was intrigued and got a deal that I could easily resell it for to be able to try it. The comfort with the right bedding can be almost like home and can be some great sleep. That can change a little with the weather but generally speaking still pretty fantastic.

The biggest issue I had as mentioned is it was mounted on my SUV and if you set up for the camp you are stuck there until you pack it all up. My second issue is the particular vehicle it was on was a vehicle that sees a lot of "black" trails at off road parks and trails and the size and weight that high up can definitely propose some stability and clearance issues in this environment.

I wound up winning another one at an event at "Windrock" and definitely considered cashing in on selling it but I had a lot of nice features my old one didn't and kept it with a different plan in mind and gave my old one to my Daughter as I knew they would use it and they do.

The plan was to find a trailer suitable to mount it on that almost any vehicle could tow and allow I to remain setup upon arrival (whichbisbalso nice to keep your camp site claimed, another issue with it mounted on the vehicle itself).

A luckily timed post on a local off road board and a reply from the man who built my rear bumper on my rig found me the perfect $700 trailer fabricated for this purpose that he offed to sell since he was building another military trailer up to replace this "project" of his.

This setup works well. It can be towed almost anywhere you want by almost any vehicle (my "wheelin" rig can't tow my TT). It can be left set up while you are out and about in the tow vehicle. It can also carry an ATV, a couple motorcycles or bikes and or extra storage depending on how you set it up for a particular trip. Has an awning option to hang out when the weather is bad. Allows almost no mileage drop when towing, and can be safely towed places the TT can't think about going unlocking the limitations of having a travel trailer.

Do I prefer the travel trailer in every other way? Yes.

We just used this setup to drive the entire Bue Ridge Parkway north to south and was definitely the right tool for the job IMO. Could I have towed the TT, I believe so. But it would of made many things more difficult if not more dangerous. I believe we would of had to plan for out of the way gas stops that was not an issue with the "overland" trailer. We would of had issues finding places to stop in a decent amount of the instant pull off locations that you intend to stop and get pictures, etc. There were also spots, including my favorite stop of the trip that without finding a place to unhook and leave the TT, we wound not of been able to get to.

So my take is it is probably trip dependent for sure but they do have some value but are still a bit of a pain to set up and take down. About the same as most tents I've used so don't let them sell you on that being the difference.

Edit: two more pros/cons:

With the RTT trailer when in bear country the food and cooking gear can be kept in the closed vehicle away from the tent if bear boxes aren't available.

Also the lack of stress and speed you can safely tow it vs a travel trailer. You almost forget it's there.

 

[Kev250R]

Everything in this world has a plus and minus, yin and yang.

I have a travel trailer and RTT. The wife definitely prefers the TT .

I first bought one used years ago when they were a new concept as I was intrigued and got a deal that I could easily resell it for to be able to try it. The comfort with the right bedding can be almost like home and can be some great sleep. That can change a little with the weather but generally speaking still pretty fantastic.

The biggest issue I had as mentioned is it was mounted on my SUV and if you set up for the camp you are stuck there until you pack it all up. My second issue is the particular vehicle it was on was a vehicle that sees a lot of "black" trails at off road parks and trails and the size and weight that high up can definitely propose some stability and clearance issues in this environment.

I wound up winning another one at an event at "Windrock" and definitely considered cashing in on selling it but I had a lot of nice features my old one didn't and kept it with a different plan in mind and gave my old one to my Daughter as I knew they would use it and they do.

The plan was to find a trailer suitable to mount it on that almost any vehicle could tow and allow I to remain setup upon arrival (whichbisbalso nice to keep your camp site claimed, another issue with it mounted on the vehicle itself).

A luckily timed post on a local off road board and a reply from the man who built my rear bumper on my rig found me the perfect $700 trailer fabricated for this purpose that he offed to sell since he was building another military trailer up to replace this "project" of his.

This setup works well. It can be towed almost anywhere you want by almost any vehicle (my "wheelin" rig can't tow my TT). It can be left set up while you are out and about in the tow vehicle. It can also carry an ATV, a couple motorcycles or bikes and or extra storage depending on how you set it up for a particular trip. Has an awning option to hang out when the weather is bad. Allows almost no mileage drop when towing, and can be safely towed places the TT can't think about going unlocking the limitations of having a travel trailer.

Do I prefer the travel trailer in every other way? Yes.

We just used this setup to drive the entire Bue Ridge Parkway north to south and was definitely the right tool for the job IMO. Could I have towed the TT, I believe so. But it would of made many things more difficult if not more dangerous. I believe we would of had to plan for out of the way gas stops that was not an issue with the "overland" trailer. We would of had issues finding places to stop in a decent amount of the instant pull off locations that you intend to stop and get pictures, etc. There were also spots, including my favorite stop of the trip that without finding a place to unhook and leave the TT, we wound not of been able to get to.

So my take is it is probably trip dependent for sure but they do have some value but are still a bit of a pain to set up and take down. About the same as most tents I've used so don't let them sell you on that being the difference.

Edit: two more pros/cons:

With the RTT trailer when in bear country the food and cooking gear can be kept in the closed vehicle away from the tent if bear boxes aren't available.

Also the lack of stress and speed you can safely tow it vs a travel trailer. You almost forget it's there.

I'm glad your set-up works for you. Having a RTT mounted on a trailer is definitely more useful then having it mounted on your rig, though for the type of four-wheeling I do I don't think towing a trailer would be prudent or in some places even possible without causing damage to the trailer. I do see a lot of people camping in the wild with RTT's but most of the time they are set-up in places where with prudent driving or a lack of concern for the vehicle a person could get a small RV. Case-in-point is I'm starting to see more 'off-road capable' Sprinter vans in many of the same rural camping spots, but not really deep in the bush.

Last month we brought our TT back home from the campground where it was parked/stored/used for the past five months up in the mountains. For my purposes it was very convenient to be able to be in a place with amenities and was close to town but was also only a short drive or ride to trails. It's the best of both worlds, especially for a situation like mine where I enjoy exploring off-road and my GF enjoys exploring the town. The campground we stay at was filled just about every weekend with other people/groups doing the same thing (mostly people in large RV's towing built Jeeps).

 

[SneakyDingo]

Case-in-point is I'm starting to see more 'off-road capable' Sprinter vans in many of the same rural camping spots, but not really deep in the bush.

A while back Mitsubishi made a Delica and there's one running around Seattle in really good condition. The off road capable van that I never knew I wanted. I'm surprised I don't see more of those. But they have a pretty narrow wheelbase as well, making me feel like if the weight isn't low slung, it'll be a problem getting around. Which is the exact kind of problem you introduce with a RTT, and benefit from when towing a trailer instead.

 

[Msfitoy]

I'm working on a micro camper for my Ranger's 5' bed that'll fit under a 7' garage door...89 cubic feet with AC, heat, power, seating area and a permanent 4" thick memory foam 75" x 31" mattress...I'll be selling my RTT set up...

 

[Kev250R]

I'm working on a micro camper for my Ranger's 5' bed that'll fit under a 7' garage door...89 cubic feet with AC, heat, power, seating area and a permanent 4" thick memory foam 75" x 31" mattress...I'll be selling my RTT set up...

View attachment 7990

Looks great! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

 

[Msfitoy]

Looks great! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

I really want to do this but in order to make sure I have the dimensions correct and start the build, I need to take everything off the bed...that involves lifting the RTT, removing the custom rack and lighting then removing the Diamondback bed cover...just have to bite the bullet and get going I guess...

 

[Kev250R]

I really want to do this but in order to make sure I have the dimensions correct and start the build, I need to take everything off the bed...that involves lifting the RTT, removing the custom rack and lighting then removing the Diamondback bed cover...just have to bite the bullet and get going I guess...

Great minds think alike...I have a Diamond Back bed cover on my Tacoma. Hands-down one of the favorite upgrades I've made to that truck, though I'm resolved to not removing mine anymore; the last time I did it was a pain getting it back on just right.