Roof Top Tent or Ground Tent

[Jim Oaks]

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I need to replace my tent with a newer one. I've had it a long time.

I found someone selling a Sky Ridge Roof Top Tent (RTT) on facebook marketplace for $650.

The nice thing about a RTT is you don't have to worry about rocks, mud, water, sticks, and critters when you set it up. The problem is if I go camp and offroad for a weekend I have to close up my tent everytime I go somewhere.

I can get a Gazelle tent for $290. I can leave my tent setup while I'm gone and actually stand up in it opposed to the RTT. The Gazelle goes up in 90-seconds.

Give me your thoughts. Sell me on one over the other.

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

I have a thule tepui explorer ayer on my ranger. I love it. Love being off the ground. But for my Bronco II I'm going to buy a hard shell RTT. The soft RTT really suck putting up and down. Very much so when its rainy and shitty out. When it was 45*s it took me 10 mins to take down my Tepui. It just depends on what you want. I live in grizzly and wolf country. I don't like being on the ground. I love the RTT, its down fall is if you need to go anywhere you have to break down camp just to go anywhere.

 

[RonD]

If you are travelling with a dog, or two, then critters shouldn't be an issue
Check the weather reports if camping near a stream
Yes, you can leave the camp as is for day trips which is a plus

Years ago a friend of mine got a Popup trailer, can't remember the brand but he got it fairly cheap, well used, lol, and fixed it up
He said he flipped the axle and added blocks, it looked like he had 23"+ tires on it
Said it was great for camping and off-roading(just let some air out of the tires), wife was afraid of snakes, so a tent on the ground was "out of the question"
He also put a 12' aluminum boat on it for some trips

But you do need room to park it when it's not being used, don't have that issue with tents, lol

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

If you are travelling with a dog, or two, then critters shouldn't be an issue
Check the weather reports if camping near a stream
Yes, you can leave the camp as is for day trips which is a plus

Years ago a friend of mine got a Popup trailer, can't remember the brand but he got it fairly cheap, well used, lol, and fixed it up
He said he flipped the axle and added blocks, it looked like he had 23"+ tires on it
Said it was great for camping and off-roading(just let some air out of the tires), wife was afraid of snakes, so a tent on the ground was "out of the question"
He also put a 12' aluminum boat on it for some trips

But you do need room to park it when it's not being used, don't have that issue with tents, lol

Yeah most people don't like RTTs with dogs. Its a pretty long ways down if you have one get away from you will your taking them in or out.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If you are travelling with a dog, or two, then critters shouldn't be an issue

My wife's Cavapoo answers coyotes...

RTT is kinda nice... but like you said it turns the whole vehicle into a tent when it is deployed. It is also married to said vehicle. Decide to leave TRS3 at home and take TRS2 for something different and it gets complicated fast. Also a huge block of a thing to leave out in the elements or to tie up shop space to store.

It also negatively effects your CG, rearward visibility and complicates gear security in the bed.

Kinda parallels my Skamper in some respects...

We just had a Jeep in the shop, they were going from Ohio to Utah and camping along the way to travel on the cheap. Well their throwout bearing decided to not do throwout bearing things anymore. If they had a ground tent there is a campground like two blocks from our dealership. Instead they got to pay us to take their RTT off so their Jeep would fit on a lift and go stay in a hotel.

So anyway... yeah, I am a ground tent guy.

I did find a Smittybilt in Missouri a couple days ago for $400 that was fun to think about. But then I would have to build a rack, my wife would refuse to use it, no idea how to keep stuff dry/secure in the bed under said tent... kind of a tough sell to me the more I thought about it.

 

[97RangerXLT]

while I have not had any experience with a rooftop tent, I can see the logistics of taking one out on the trail would be a bit of a strain, for the reasons 85 mentioned above.

as I get older, I am wanting a tent I can stand up in and I really like the Giselle 90 second set up. Another for ground tent.

AJ

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I've got bad knees....

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

while I have not had any experience with a rooftop tent, I can see the logistics of taking one out on the trail would be a bit of a strain, for the reasons 85 mentioned above.

as I get older, I am wanting a tent I can stand up in and I really like the Giselle 90 second set up. Another for ground tent.

AJ

If you mount it high enough (like on the roof to hurt your mileage and catch more crosswind) you can get an annex to go under the rtt to add a second room you could stand in.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Marley travelled with me in the Loan Ranger and loved sleeping in the RTT.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Have you put any thoughts into an awning with walls. Would also give you the mobility of RTT with out worrying about it being drug through trees and crap. I prefer a ground tent personally. We camp a lot and usually set up base camp and explore. But I have friends that love their RTTs. It's just a matter of preference. Ground tents give you more for the bang and I don't have to haul it on my daily. Plus I use the truck for home projects that would require me to take the RTT off. That's my main issue. If I jad a dedicated overland and a different daily I would be more likely to go RTT

 

[Snoranger]

I have both. I have a Smittybilt Overlander XL and a Gazelle T3X Overland Edition. I use both.

For next years Vagabond trip I plan on having my RTT on my truck and using that. It’s quick to set up and break down. I don’t need to worry about finding an level area to set the tent up (just the truck). I don’t need to worry about finding a dry area. I don’t need to worry about an air mattress or a sleeping pad. I don’t need to pack up my pillow or blankets (or sleeping bag).
I think it’s the right choice for that type of trip.
For the LBL portion of the trip, I plan on using my Gazelle ground tent. I’ll have a “base camp” to come back to. I won’t need to break down camp everyday. I won’t need to find a new, dry area to set up. The ground tent makes more sense in that case.

It really depends on what type of camping and exploring you do. When we went to Attica, it made the most sense to use the RTT in the campground. My truck never needed to go anywhere, I just drive the SxS around for the weekend.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

I have both. I have a Smittybilt Overlander XL and a Gazelle T3X Overland Edition. I use both.

For next years Vagabond trip I plan on having my RTT on my truck and using that. It’s quick to set up and break down. I don’t need to worry about finding an level area to set the tent up (just the truck). I don’t need to worry about finding a dry area. I don’t need to worry about an air mattress or a sleeping pad. I don’t need to pack up my pillow or blankets (or sleeping bag).
I think it’s the right choice for that type of trip.
For the LBL portion of the trip, I plan on using my Gazelle ground tent. I’ll have a “base camp” to come back to. I won’t need to break down camp everyday. I won’t need to find a new, dry area to set up. The ground tent makes more sense in that case.

It really depends on what type of camping and exploring you do. When we went to Attica, it made the most sense to use the RTT in the campground. My truck never needed to go anywhere, I just drive the SxS around for the weekend.

Last time we did the Georgia Traverse the only campsite we could find had a small pull off but a good size camping area which was blocked by some large borders. If one of us would have been in a RTT they would have had to sleep out by the trail. We were able to setup right on the bank of the water. Which was really nice. My buddy mentioned he was glad he brought his ground tent. There are gonna be situations where 1 is better than the other and vice versa.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I just bought a kamp rite tent cot. Only works when solo camping... but the wife isn't planning on overlanding with me. Easy up and down... no air mattress to fool with... no ladders in the middle of the nite. To me it made sense...

 

[Curious Hound]

Last time we did the Georgia Traverse the only campsite we could find had a small pull off but a good size camping area which was blocked by some large borders. If one of us would have been in a RTT they would have had to sleep out by the trail. We were able to setup right on the bank of the water. Which was really nice. My buddy mentioned he was glad he brought his ground tent. There are gonna be situations where 1 is better than the other and vice versa.
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I see Randy’s dog is like Livvy and can’t wait for stuff to get set up.

 

[Curious Hound]

Jim, pretty much all the pros and cons are laid out up above. I can’t sell you in one or the other. I struggle with the same decision, except that finances force me to the ground tent. I really like my Gazelle. Best tent I’ve ever used. If I ever do a RTT, I will most likely do it in a small, light trailer. I know you don’t want trailers for vagabond trips, and your reasons are sound. No argument from me. But a small, compact trailer with RTT seems to be my favorite idea at the moment.

I see some overlanding trailers in videos that look heavy and cumbersome. I don’t like that. I don’t have to have all the luxuries of home when I’m camping. I also see overlanders that load their trucks very heavily with RTT’s, refrigerators, slide out kitchens, etc. I hope to find a balance somewhere in the lighter side if things instead of needing 1 ton axles under my Ranger.