We’ve all seen the inviting photographs of the Land Rover with the roof top tent parked in the wilds of Africa with the sun setting in the background and the safari group gathered around the campfire enjoying life. Who wouldn’t want to be there.
Thanks to a friend, who was gracious enough to lend me his Eezi-Awn Roof Top Tent, last weekend I was able to mount the RTT on the Tacoma bed rack and go on safari. Well, not exactly, but I did get to spend the night camping at Green Ridge State Forest in Allegheny County, MD.
The roads were snow covered and icy on the North facing slopes. The sun shined on the southern facing slopes. I drove the icy trails looking for the perfect camp with evening sun and a level spot to park the truck.
This little last minute adventure was driven by the want to try out a roof top tent and compare its use to the standard ground tent. I’ve been thinking long and hard about switching over to a RTT, but just have been dragging my feet on giving up the standard ground tent. What I have concluded is that each type of tent has its advantages and depending on the type of trip will dictate which tent will work better.
Yes, it was a cold(ish) February weekend with a pending snow storm on the horizon when I embarked to the mountains of Western Maryland for my first first camp using the Eezi Awn RTT. But what a better time to test it out. With the snow and ice roads, I would get a feel of how the weight effected the handling of the truck. Was set up really as easy as I have heard? Setting up in the cold with numb fingers would test that.
Step 1 Find a level spot to park the truck
Step 2 Remove the cover, flip the tent over, lower the ladder and insert the metal springs on the awnings. 10 minutes total time.
Step 3 Set up camp chair and build fire. The tent is done.
And that is one of the biggest advantages of the roof top tent, the ease in which it sets up. The added weight on the back of the truck actually helped with traction, as anyone who has driven a pickup with an empty bed on snow and ice can attest, empty trucks have no traction. Set up proved as easy as I had been lead to believe and I slept through the night in temperatures in the teens. All in all I liked using the RTT.
Other advantages to the RTT include:
- If you are on a long trip moving to a new camp location each day, the RTT is mounted and is one less thing to load in the back of the vehicle and in many cases uses previously unused space on the roof.
- No need for level ground, its far easier to toss a couple rocks under a tire than it is to try and find a level flat spot for a ground tent. Having a few bubble levels to set on the truck makes this little chore easier.
- Built in mattress and with some models you can even leave sleeping bags and pillows stowed with the tent too.
- No stakes, guy wires or ground covers. I didn’t trip over a ground wire all weekend.
- They are quite comfortable.
- And if you are in places with really big man eating critters, They do a good job of keeping you out of the food chain.
The main disadvantage of a roof top tent when compared to a standard ground tent is the fact that it is part of the vehicle and you can not set up a base camp for a few days. If you want to drive around exploring your surroundings and return to the same camp, you have to close up the tent and carry it with you. Perfect example of this is a trip I have planned in a few weeks, where we are setting up camp for three days and fishing the waters of Portsmouth Island. In this case having a good quality ground tent would be a better choice.
Other disadvantages to a RTT:
- You can not stand up in the tent, at least with the one I used.
- Having to climb up and down the ladder to enter or exit the tent can get cumbersome.
- The are expensive when compared to a typical ground tent
The perfect set up for the traveling explorer
Staying in place for a few days, hunting or fishing, this set up is the better choice
So, I guess in the end, ground tents and roof top tents both win. Each has its place in the camping world. Depending on the type of trip, will dictate the best option. The only real question is when and where to travel next.
