Affordable Rooftop Tents

[StanBearPig]

First time forum poster here.
Does anyone have any experience with the RTTs on Amazon? I had a smittybilt prior to me JT but closing it up on top of my FJ Cruiser was a PITA. Since then I’ve always wanted more of a pop up style. The specific tents on Amazon are the Trustmade Nomad and the SUFUL hard shell pop up.
TIA

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[Blade1668]

That's the style I wanted to get when I was starting to look for one. No personal experience with it. I wanted that style to mount solar panels on and possibly kayak or whatever. I ended up with a pop-up box type. It can be a P.T.A on tucking in canvas sides when closing. But it has been working good enough for me, I paid less with S&H from Camping World (membership, military discount and with phone call) I definitely wouldn't want a "regular style tent" on roof myself. That seems to be frivolous for the cost vs use and other reasons.... No storage of bedding, stays wet on and on.

 

[StanBearPig]

Yeah I hated all the flaps and stuff. Especially the big rubber cover. What tent did you end up getting?

 

[aFatBird]

No personal experience with RTTs but 4x4 colorado has more budget friendly tents. Even a pop-up one. https://www.4x4colorado.com/collections/roof-top-tent

 

[HorneyBadger]

Thats always the issue, budget vs quality! I have been shopping and it came down to an i-Camper Skycamp 3.

 

[StanBearPig]

Thats always the issue, budget vs quality! I have been shopping and it came down to an i-Camper Skycamp 3.

Right? I just wish these Amazon tents had some reviews! I wasn’t displeased with the Smittybilt quality, just the take down was atrocious.

 

[smlobx]

That tent is very similar to the Roofnest I have.
Given that all these tents are made in China
I say go for it. The convenience of just poping it up with all your bedding inside is a huge plus for me.
Just make sure that the size is good for you. Also I put our backpacking sleeping bag pads under the mattress. The 2 “ mattress was just not quite enough for us but with the 1/2” high density foam pad it was great.

 

[JEEPmonkey]

iKamper has pretty good sale on the Skycamp 2.0 right now, have been doing a lot of debating also as we're looking to change our setup from our standard tent

https://ikamper.com/products/skycamp-2-0

 

[AstroZombie]

offer up

 

[txGlad]

Recently purchased the Trustmade Scout for $2k (including shipping). It is well made. Used it for 5 nights a few weeks ago and had no issues. Only thing I didn't like was the rain awning flapping when it got windy. Easy fix was to not extend the awning and secure it with a bungee.

Communication was good and shipping was fast - 4 days. It did arrive ,as a few others have experienced, with some aluminum flakes in and on the tent. Used the shop vac when the box was opened and took care of it quickly. I would buy again.

 

[HooliganActual]

First time forum poster here.
Does anyone have any experience with the RTTs on Amazon? I had a smittybilt prior to me JT but closing it up on top of my FJ Cruiser was a PITA. Since then I’ve always wanted more of a pop up style. The specific tents on Amazon are the Trustmade Nomad and the SUFUL hard shell pop up.
TIA

I would be a bit wary of buying something like an RTT from Amazon.

I have had a James Baroud EVO Evasion (a pop-up style) for about 6 years now and love it. It is expensive. I aggressively looked at all the RTT's at Overland Expo West last month to see if I was "missing out" on anything. If I had seen a tent that I felt was an upgrade to what I'm currently running, I was prepared to buy it. Unfortunately, the only thing I saw that I felt would have been an upgrade was the new James Baroud Odyssey (again...very expensive) but decided to hold off until they make the XL version.

With that said, if I were going to pull the trigger on any other tent from Expo (and there were a lot of them), I would definitely have gone with the 4x4 Colorado Stratus; honorable mention to the Nimbus which is a wedge style RTT.

It's well built and very similar to my Baroud but at half the price:
https://www.4x4colorado.com/products/stratus-hardshell-tent

If that fits your budget, I think either of these tents outshine tents that are $1000+ more expensive.

 

[StanBearPig]

Thanks for the info! I’ll check them out!

 

[loganjeeps]

I would be a bit wary of buying something like an RTT from Amazon.

? Yes careful of amazon tents. always better to get through a reputable distributor, if something goes awry shipping back an RTT is nearly impossible. Even better to go with a US company. Not as budget friendly but https://terrapod.com/ and https://gofastcampers.com/ are super high quality.

 

[chrismeece74]

Recently purchased the Trustmade Scout for $2k (including shipping). It is well made. Used it for 5 nights a few weeks ago and had no issues. Only thing I didn't like was the rain awning flapping when it got windy. Easy fix was to not extend the awning and secure it with a bungee.

Communication was good and shipping was fast - 4 days. It did arrive ,as a few others have experienced, with some aluminum flakes in and on the tent. Used the shop vac when the box was opened and took care of it quickly. I would buy again.

What camper is that?

 

[txGlad]

What camper is that?

It's the High Altitude Trailer Company XT-50.

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