What tent rooftop setup for 5+ people?

[Lou3.6]

Back to your initial question, yes there are 5 person roof top tents.
https://tuffstuff4x4.com/collection...uff-stuff-r-overland-roof-top-tent-annex-room

What ground dwellers forget to mention is that their tents fits in a small bag, but what about the mattress, cots, and bedding, that takes up space too. A RTT, has everything in there already.

I have 2 little kids right now (4.5, 1.5) and my wife "requires" at least a 4 person RTT. Your teenager might be the biggest challenge, but depending upon her height, she could sleep across the back seat.

Good luck!

"Real Men" don't require all those frivolous extra creature comforts . . . just need a self inflating mattress and a sleeping bag ! Anything else such as tables, chairs, cooking items etc. would be the SAME in either case ! I'm not against RTT's - but in the OP's case it just seems so bizarre to me - such a Large & heavy item to haul about on the Roof of something ! Not gonna win any MPG awards with it either . Of course, as usual, I speak with a humorous tone which is impossible to simulate - thank gawd for emoji's -

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[MarineHawk]

What ground dwellers forget to mention is that their tents fits in a small bag, but what about the mattress, cots, and bedding, that takes up space too. A RTT, has everything in there already.

I have 2 little kids right now (4.5, 1.5) and my wife "requires" at least a 4 person RTT. Your teenager might be the biggest challenge, but depending upon her height, she could sleep across the back seat.

Good luck!

A few cots, air mats on top, and sleeping bags in a 12' x 16' tent doesn't take much space, nor does a fireplace inside.

But, then, I'm not from San Francisco.

Works for kids too.

 

[Westcoastflea]

I prefer sleeping in the car, but that's not really an option with the JT ...

and avoid snow drifts unless i absolutely have to go across

also prefer to stay closer to my real home (Washington) than the bay area

 

[HeyYoSchmitty]

For what my two cents are worth. The RTT vs. ground tent is less preferential and more on basal needs. If you’re traveling to one place and need to set a base camp, an RTT (on the vehicle) isn’t what you need. I don’t camp in one place. A more overlanding approach. I love my RTT because I can just stop, level the truck, and open up shop. It would be very annoying if I was staying in one place ie. campgrounds etc. If I was the OP, and setting up base camp on the beach, I would get a large tent. Or, if money was no object, I would look at a camper. Again, just my opinion.

 

[Factoid]

When I was in this situation, I discovered that a teenager makes a great babysitter for her younger siblings!

The downside is that freed the wife and I to use the rooftop tent by ourselves which resulted in a third younger sibling. Every upside has a downside...

 

[smlobx]

When I was in this situation, I discovered that a teenager makes a great babysitter for her younger siblings!

The downside is that freed the wife and I to use the rooftop tent by ourselves which resulted in a third younger sibling. Every upside has a downside...

T M I !

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

have you looked at the yakima 2 level trailer? I saw one and its light and bigger than i thought. you could carry a lot of stuff on that including a big tent. Maybe 2 actually.

 

[MarineHawk]

have you looked at the yakima 2 level trailer? I saw one and its light and bigger than i thought. you could carry a lot of stuff on that including a big tent. Maybe 2 actually.

What are the advantages of one of those trailers over something like this?:

It cost me $150, which appears to be 1/20th of the Yakima trailers.

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

What are the advantages of one of those trailers over something like this?:

It cost me $150, which appears to be 1/20th of the Yakima trailers.

You a right. that is a lot less money. I think the only advantage of the yak is more space and you can drop it off at your camp site. Its funny because i see trailers from companies like turtle and they are even more expensive. Its bananas.

 

[MarineHawk]

You a right. that is a lot less money. I think the only advantage of the yak is more space and you can drop it off at your camp site. Its funny because i see trailers from companies like turtle and they are even more expensive. Its bananas.

I can't tell for sure, but the trailer may hold more volume. But they both hold 500 lbs (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BL5SLGB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1;
https://www.yakima.com/easyrider), and they both remove at the campsite by simply releasing each of them from the tow hitch.

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

Hey good point. I didn't realize it only hold 500lbs. I saw one at the overland expo and it looked huge for what it is and that is why i thought it had more capacity. I guess its mostly for canoes and kayaks and RTTs and such.

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

BTW i see you are a hunter. Have you seen this new trend of using electric fat bikes for hunting?

 

[MarineHawk]

Hey good point. I didn't realize it only hold 500lbs. I saw one at the overland expo and it looked huge for what it is and that is why i thought it had more capacity. I guess its mostly for canoes and kayaks and RTTs and such.

Yeah, the tow-hitch rack is no good for boats.

 

[MarineHawk]

BTW i see you are a hunter. Have you seen this new trend of using electric fat bikes for hunting?

I haven't. I can see how that might work in some situations, but I don't think it would be much of an advantage for the types of hunting I have been doing, which mostly involve hunting on a friend's farm, on one end, or backpacking way above tree-line with a lot of gear where vehicles aren't allowed, on the other.

 

[Gecko-JKU]

Thinking ahead a little here. I dont have a gladiator currently (maybe this coming summer), but I am planning out its use. My wife was wanting to maybe get a small camper and tow it to say the beach etc. I was curious if there were any overlanding style tents or a setup that could accommodate 5 people? 2 adults, 1 teen, a 3 and 4 year old. I feel it would be 100% easier to just pop a tent open vs tow something there. Are there any setups that also include the bed of the truck combined with a tent?

To answer your original question, CVT and 23 Zero definitely make 5+ person roof top tents. To use them on the Gladiator you will need to use a full size rack as most of them are 72" long and will need to overhang the cab to fit properly. Both of those will allow you to add an annex which will give you room for another few people (or an escape from the rest of the family).

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