In fact, whether it is a roof top tent or a ground tent, there is only one purpose: to help us sleep outdoors. Let’s first talk about the advantages of roof top tents. There are two types of roof top tents: soft shell and hard shell. They are usually installed on the roof of a car and typically weigh around 50kg, so once installed on the roof, it is not easy to take them down if you don’t need them.
Currently, roof top tents are all windproof and waterproof, and the inside of the roof top tent has a thick mattress, which makes sleeping very comfortable. In addition, opening and storing a roof top tent is very convenient, it can be opened in 3 minutes and stored in 2 minutes, which is actually the biggest advantage of a roof top tent. I have seen many people using ground tents who don’t know how to set them up and have difficulty storing them after camping. This is mainly because the design of some ground tents, especially large tents, is very complex and usually requires 2-3 people to set up properly.
The roof-top tent is like fixing the tent on the roof of the car, which is very convenient to use. Additionally, the roof-top tent is at a certain distance from the ground, making it safer to use in the wild and with better moisture-proof effect than ground tents. I thinks that when driving on a self-driving trip, if encountering heavy rain along the way, the advantages of the roof-top tent are significant – as long as the vehicle is parked, you can simply pull the roof-top tent down and sleep. On the other hand, for ground tents, besides finding a spot to park, you also need to consider the ground on which the tent will be pitched. It is important to note that some areas may only accommodate parking without a camping ground, which can be very painful. And in the heavy rain, setting up a ground tent can be very difficult.
Tip: For some muddy roads in the mountains, it’s not easy to set up a ground tent, and even if it does succeed, it will cause significant damage to the tent. We also need to consider a scenario, that is, heavy rain. In some places, there will be a lot of water accumulation, and unless you have a roof tent, you can only sleep in the car because it’s impossible to set up a tent in the water. Also, it’s not possible to set up a ground tent on rocky ground or in grass.
One more thing to note is that the connection point between the roof tent and the vehicle body must use the best crossbar, and it is recommended to use a heavy-duty crossbar, especially when off-roading in mountainous areas where the vehicle is more bumpy, causing greater tension on the tent and the connection point.
There are also some disadvantages to roof-top tents. For example, after installing a roof-top tent, the height of the car body will increase, which must be considered when dealing with low clearance areas or special road sections. In addition, there may be some slight wind noise when traveling on highways with a roof-top tent installed, and cleaning it can be relatively more difficult.
So should we buy a roof-top tent or not?
To be honest, roof-top tents are not cheap. Most of the roof-top tents on the market range from $600 to $1800 USD. Although roof-top tents are very convenient, they can only be used with the car, and they are not easy to remove once installed. Therefore, it all depends on your personal preferences. If you are a pure self-driving enthusiast, then I would recommend buying one.