I went to a cigar event tonight and they had several off-road trailers out front on display. The trailers, all though cool, were far below able to handle something like an Arizona run, but I noticed one trailer had a Roof Top Tent on it. I then found out that the Roof Top Tent guy was at the event and talked with him a little more.

First off the tents are awesome. Roof Top uses a plastic floor with an aluminum based support system that won't rot like EZ-Awn's wood floor. In fact the only thing in the Roof Top tent not aluminum or fabric was the support struts for the awnings which are made of steel. The smallest tent is 7ft by 4 1/2ft...More than large enough for me and two German Shepherd dogs. I was REALLY impressed with how thick the fabric was and the overall construction. It also rained here while the tent was up and I got to see how it performed in more 'adverse' conditions. Cold AZ nights would be easy in this tent. I then asked the rep what the price of the tents was and was blown away. The base model he said retails for $900 ( about $300 less than an EZ-Awn) and the distribution for the tents is in Arlington, TX about 20 miles from my house so overseas shipping would NOT be a problem. He also said that since he was trying to get in with the Nissan group he could provide us a much better price than retail if we were interested.

No I do not work for Roof Top Tents nor am I getting anything out of this, but just thought it would be cool to have a well built alternative easy to erect tent. Let me know if anyone is interested.

http://roof-top-tent.com

I really want to have something like that built into a camper shell.
The one built onto the SUV with the changing room has got my imagination stoked.

Yah a bunch of cruiser heads I know bought from them last year on the 07’ Mombasa close-outs < 400. Consensus was the price was right but in the end the quality & durability was lacking so people modified, fixed, upgraded them with better ladder’s, netting, rain fly’s, mattresses etc so the savings was not that great.

The high-end stuff from Eezi Awn, ARB, Technitop, Maggiolina seem to have better materials, durability, build with less complaints from what I’ve seen and heard.

I ran a prototype Hannibal tent on my 1st X one summer from Colorado to Moab, AZ, CA, etc and liked the conveniences but it did cut down mileage (~ 1mpg less for me) on the highway and changed the center of gravity somewhat. For an expedition rig they work great, crawler not so much. Something in between maybe although my $60 tent I can put up in <10mins is fine by me.

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Yah a bunch of cruiser heads I know bought from them last year on the 07’ Mombasa close-outs < 400. Consensus was the price was right but in the end the quality & durability was lacking so people modified, fixed, upgraded them with better ladder’s, netting, rain fly’s, mattresses etc so the savings was not that great.

They are made in China so... The one I looked at seemed like it was built very well, much better than any ground tent I have seen. I haven't seen one that has been abused properly and I haven't seen the competition in person. The Roof-Top-Tent rep said he just got back from an FJ cruiser run in Ouray where he demonstrated the product. Remember, Eezi Awn stuff is double the price of Roof-Top-Tent at roof top's retail price. At $400 a base Eezi Awn is four times the price!

I will build a trailer for whatever type of non conventional tent I end up going with.

Here is a decent review:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=233012

Tent-Cot!

The double would be plenty big for you and your dogs.



$270 from Bass Pro with the rain fly. That will leave you plenty of money to buy one of these to keep you and your dogs warm!

I thought about the tent cot, but it isn't as cozzy as the roof tent and condensation is a huge issue. The Roof Top Tent has HUGE windows. BUT! a tent cot is not out of the question...yet. Regardless anything is going to require a small and light trailer.

Here is a review on the $400 Roof Tops when they were getting rid of stock. The newer models don't have these issues.

http://www.yankeetoys.org/mangler/ctt.htm

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That will leave you plenty of money to buy one of these to keep you and your dogs warm!

I want one of those, but my German Shepherd Dog needs little for warmth with his super massive double-layer coat. I know it works...it is all over my house right now!

I plan on getting one of those heaters for next year. That will eliminate the condensation problem as it will constantly be circulating fresh air through your tent. We've used our tent-cots a couple times since the run when it was warm enough to leave a window open and we didn't have any issues with condensation.

That really does give me a more affordable option, but I want a roof top if I can afford one. After putting together the trailer I might not be able to afford a rooftop.

I wanted the same thing when I was building my trailer. Then I started trying to figure out how I would get into the trailer with a tent on top of it, started pricing out car-top tents, etc. and then I came across the Tent-Cot's.

The Tent-Cots fit inside my trailer (barely) on top of all my other gear so it works out perfect.

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Originally posted by System-F:

Here is a review on the $400 Roof Tops when they were getting rid of stock. The newer models don't have these issues.

http://www.yankeetoys.org/mangler/ctt.htm

guess kevin never updated his page, < month later after some more usage he sold it in favor of a Eezi Awn model and been happy ever since.

The Hannibal tent I had was made of 380G Poly cotton Canvas with a waterproof 210 nylon flysheet. Was great in the Snow, rain, wind, etc.

Look at all the brands before you decide, I wouldn’t skimp on the tent if you’re going through all the trouble and $ to haul it.

I've seen the newer Mombasa's from those guys, improvements over the '07 model but when you deck them out: 900+ and still not in the same class as the others that may cost more. One guy in my cruiser club recently ditched his newer model in favor of a Technitop I think.

I am going to look at some of the others, but as good as the roof top tent looked the other models are going to have to be SUPER special. I can build my trailer and buy a roof top for a little more than what an Eezi-Awn or Technitop costs.

Yous guys ain't pulling a trailer on Desoto in March.

Who has experience with the heater from bass pro? Last year I used a Coleman heater. Did not keep the tent warm when it dropped below 40F.