Searching for the perfect RTT

Hey guys! Which RTTs do you think are the best and why? I’m having trouble figuring out which one to go with.
Thanks!

 

https://trail4runner.com/2022/03/13/top-rooftop-tents-4runner/
Welcome, here is an article that details a bunch of different tents. I know there are a way more options even than that.
I don't own a roof tent, so I don't have much of an opinion on them.

 

How many bodies, dogs included, are you planning on having up in the tent? This is a good starting point.

 

Keep your money and get regular tent.

 

I sleep inside the 4R! Perfect for me, myself and I.

 

Last weekend I saw a GFC RTT on a fully tricked-out Land Cruiser,

Last weekend I saw a GFC RTT on a spotless, fully tricked-out Land Cruiser. In that instance, the RTT must have been a drop in the bucket, but pretty big drop even so.

 

Caveat: I’ve never owned a RTT myself but have been camping with many people who do, and have done a lot of research.

Doublewide’s question about how many occupants is a good one.

What type of camping do you do? Do you tend to stay in a place for multiple nights? Or stay one night and then move on? Although all rooftop tents are easier to set up and break down than a regular tent, some are easier than others, especially if you’re not that tall, like me. YouTube videos are your friend when it comes to seeing how they set up and take down.

The fold-out soft-sided tents tend to have a larger floor plan, but can be more complicated to set up.

The hard shell tents are my preference, because they are easier to set up (though there are exceptions.) But they tend to be smaller.

I also like tents that allow for 360° visibility. So the wedge-shaped ones are off the list.



Edited to add: welcome to the forum!

 

After a lot of research and questioning what I want and need, we'll be going with an ikamper skycamp 3.0 for 3 up top and the Luno mattress for 2 in the vehicle. Good times

 

My daughter had the Luno mattress for her Subaru. Expensive, but great fit and high quality.

 

It's pretty awesome but I quickly found out it does not work well with a wife and toddler with me hahaha, hence the rtt being bumped up the list before my suspension and other things I would have preferred first. We have two other girls that stayed in a friends camper but we want to go out a lot more and all of them prefer to be in something not on the ground so ... I also found out to make sure to let a little air out of the Luno or it is way too firm. Great mattress though.

 

I’ve got a Luno mattress as well and I love it. Currently it’s either just me+dog and sometimes the wife.

The only cons it’s that if the inside of the 4R is packed, everything needs to be moved to the front seats or up on the roof.

eventually when I’ll have a fridge and other bulky stuff inside, I’ll get a RTT for the convenience

 

People who actually camp often don't use RTT. Most who do, do so for the visual, not the practicality of it, which is fine, their money to spend.

 

To each their own, I promise mine will be used a couple weekends a month

 

I don't want to be a jerk, but the title says searching for the perfect RTT, not do you think an RTT is a good purchase. I figure, each night in the RTT is 100 bucks saved not being in a motel/hotel. Last year, I think I had close to 20 nights in my ground tent or 4runner. I will never plan a trip where sleeping in the back of the runner is required, at 6'3" and many pounds and my wife, just doesn't work. When traveling, we have slept in the front seat for a few hours between nights at motel/hotel, but it would be nice to pull in somewhere , unlatch the tent, open it up, then climb into bed with in minutes. I am not doing that in my ground tent.

I have been searching RTT for a few years, even had one paid for in transit 30 minutes from my house, but the owner of the company didn't like I called with a question about their quality. So, I have now moved up the list and am thinking ROOFNest, but Icamper is also a possibility. The problem, they are a big jump up in price from what I want to spend.

To me, I want hard shell, with ability to store some stuff on top, and fold out so I can have an little roof above the passenger rear door to access everything packed in the runner.

 

My choice of ikamper comes mostly by what would make my wife and 3 daughters the most comfortable (none want to sleep on the ground or without some sort of barrier from animals). Given everyone in the family's desires it fits the bill the best. If it was just Dad's choice I'd probably choose one of the hardshell options that allow you to mount a couple things on it as well. The full ikamper skytop 3 sleeps 4 though so that will be plenty of space for what we need (wife/toddler/me) up top, two older girls in the back on the Luno and I can add a solar panel to that. This set up will be perfect for quick weekend trips which will be our most common scenario.

 

I camp a lot and have a GFC rtt. They are expensive. They are also very well built and very easy to set up and take down. I got tired of setting up and tearing down a ground tent. It was made worse if it was raining. I then had to deal with a wet and usually muddy ground tent.

 

Care to elaborate?

l’ve used both ground tents and back of 4R. ground tents takes the longest to set up. Back of 4R can take 1-2 min to ~5 min if I have to clear my stuff in the back and move them to the front.

My fiends RTT takes a few seconds (under a minute) to open. Everything inside the RTT is ready to go.

 

I love the concept of the rooftop tent, but my old knees do not. I’ve got my eye on something like this. 6 minutes to set up.

 

I ran a Tepui 3 person tent on top of my full-length Garvin roof rack on my Jeep for weekend and week long overlanding adventures. At the time the Tepui was one of the lightest available at ~110 lbs which was my prime consideration when off-roading—storing a lot of stuff on your roof really changes the balance of your rig. If you’re just jetting from the mall to the state park it may not be an issue for you.

I found the 3 person tent to be great for just my wife and me especially when tent bound in long storms.

I won’t be going this route again though. The lack of mobility once camp is set, the poor performance in wind (you will not sleep in a big storm), the PITA of installing/uninstalling for a trip, and the overall cost make other options much more compelling for my 4Runner camping adventures.

YMMV

 

https://inspiredoverland.com/products/io-lightweight-rooftop-tent/

Its probably not the best. But its low, lightweight and cheap.