Roof top tents.

[AustinW]

Anyone got any experience of car/van/4x4 roof top tents - Hannibal, Maggiolina etc. They look to be very convenient turning any vehicle into a camper, and seem to be easy to put up albeit they are expensive. But what are they like to get in, sleep in and get out of. Plus how do they fare in UK weather conditions.


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[Gavinskii]

Yes, excellent bits of kit, though deceptively heavy.

Ideally you need a strong helper to get it on and off or better still a pulley and rope set up in your garage.

A friend of mine even has an old pop up canvas roof tent from the 60's which he recoated in Fabrisil and his 2 kids sleep in it when they go off touring from April - October. :unsure:

Modern ones are loads better

[CRAIGREVO]

They are really good, but you must have a centre stand or you'll probably roll out the tent just using a side stand.

[redbikejohn]

my brother in law has a off road trailer that has a tent on top, similar to a 'roof top' tent. it works well but there is some pitching about when you move. trailer is a better idea as you can leave it in camp while you use the vehicle. with a roof top tent you have to break camp before you can go anywhere.

[Selous]

Anyone got any experience of car/van/4x4 roof top tents - Hannibal, Maggiolina etc. They look to be very convenient turning any vehicle into a camper, and seem to be easy to put up albeit they are expensive. But what are they like to get in, sleep in and get out of. Plus how do they fare in UK weather conditions.

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Mate try the HU Forum under the 4 X 4 section

[Mad Cow]

In brief

Most don't have a flysheet as standard or only a small one covering the top, so can suffer like a single skin tent with condensation. But as they tend to be heavyweight canvas rather than the nylon of normal tents not too bad

Being up high is fine in the tropics but can get a bit windy in the UK.

If you have long/soft suspension they can move a bit (get some "bonking bars" to stop this :laugh: )

As said they are heavy, check the loading of your roof / roof rack

They increase fuel consumption

You can't get into height limited car parks

You have to get changed inside the tent (none I know are tall enough to stand in) unless you want to climb down the ladder in your kecks

Unless you get the type that folds out over the rear or side of the vehicle with the "entrance" through the floor and have an awning (the type I want at present - see below).

On the plus side

They are convenient
Often have a nice comfy mattress built in
Usually fairly bombproof so should last
Hold their value well (but of course are expensive in the first place)
You can often store all your bedding inside
Which means more storage space inside the vehicle (not tent in there either of course)

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[dash]

I'm looking around at the moment for one to go on top of our VW T25 Doka, although I'll probably not be buying until the spring.



I've read pretty good reviews of these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRANDED-CAR-T ... 6941wt_929

...despite them being about half the price of the likes of Hannibal, Howling Moon, etc.

That said, part of me can't help but think that even £500 is taking the piss (let alone £1000+), and that I could achieve the same end for 10-20% of the price by buying one of these...



... and making my own 'platform' to which it could be attached, and which could fold up to act as a roof box to keep the tent and bedding in.

[beddowsm]

Good idea making you own. I expect it will work out a lot cheaper. But why bother? Why not just get the tent out and pitch it when you need it...unless of course you are going places where its not wise to have a tent on the floor.

[dash]

Good idea making you own. I expect it will work out a lot cheaper. But why bother? Why not just get the tent out and pitch it when you need it...unless of course you are going places where its not wise to have a tent on the floor.

...or where it's not possible to pitch a tent on the floor - ie you're on hardstanding or some other surface which isn't tent-peg friendly. I can think of circumstances where it might be useful to have something that stays (pretty much) within the footprint of the vehicle as well.

Of course if I do go down the pop-up tent route, there's nothing to stop me pitching it on the floor if I feel like it and I am actually on a campsite

Hmm, the more I think about this idea the more I like it.

[Morph]

Good idea, just remember which nights you are on the roof rack and not on the floor or you could break your neck! :pinch: