Ruston Smith
Adventurist
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Roof or Ground?
- Thread starter Ruston Smith
- Start date
Rick Louie
Adventurist
Do you think you saved MPG from the weight savings? You still have to carry the tent on your roof, correct? With the awning and tent mounted it would appear to me it's not necessarily any more aerodynamic, but I could be wrong. Any issues with wind gust while traveling with the awning and tent? Thanks for the post. It's been something I've been considering.
WashingtonTaco
Adventurist
Great article! I will be testing this myself in May and June. My RTT will be staying in the garage this spring and Ill be using a OZ tent RV2 for a couple trips that will be base area camps with no day to day movement. The OZ tent cross section alone is about a 25% of my RTT and weighs in less than half. When base camping the ease of a stand up height tent for changing and the enclosed awning area for a shower will be welcome. Anymore my RTT only comes along for trips when my GF is with. I generally just crawl in the back of the truck and sleep.
After ground-tenting for my 2015 trip and the 2015 event season I swore I'd never sleep in a tent again. RTT's are out of the question for a number of reasons (some outlined in this article). That's how I ended up with an enclosed trailer.
The major deal-breaker against RTT's for me was the ladder. Two bad knees, a bad back, and a fat ass is not a great combo for crawling in and out of something 6' up off the ground. The other one was cost. Even some of the designer ground tents are pricey. I built my trailer for less than you can buy an RTT for. Not a bad deal.
The major deal-breaker against RTT's for me was the ladder. Two bad knees, a bad back, and a fat ass is not a great combo for crawling in and out of something 6' up off the ground. The other one was cost. Even some of the designer ground tents are pricey. I built my trailer for less than you can buy an RTT for. Not a bad deal.
BoldAdventure
Adventurist
I've always used ground tents. But this has been a big discussion point in my household. We have an Airstream, so I'm not looking to add another trailer. But we've kicked the idea of a off-road trailer around and now we've been seriously considering a RTT. But I'm hearing a lot of things that almost make me wonder if I should just stick to a ground tent. Especially since I already own four, lol.
I have two little girls, and the appeal of the RTT seems to be because it's "cool" and assumption that it's easier. But I'm starting to hear it might not be any easier. This article gave me a few things to think about.
I have two little girls, and the appeal of the RTT seems to be because it's "cool" and assumption that it's easier. But I'm starting to hear it might not be any easier. This article gave me a few things to think about.
Ruston Smith
Adventurist
The way we have our rig set up it hands down saves mpg. This set up reduces our wind resistance from a 48 wide by 12 tall block to a simple 12 wide by 10 tall almost cylinder. Much more friendly towards MPG.
soc.diver
Adventurist
I would add one caveat to the RTT comments for pickup owners: If you can reduce the height of the RTT even slightly (which you can't on an SUV) with a lower bed rack then the wind resistance goes down exponentially. This was my primary consideration when choosing to buy a shorter bed rack. The shorter rack also lowers your CG without giving up much cargo space. I absolutely agree about the PITA of breaking camp to move the vehicle. As a 5yr plus RTT owner, and lifetime ground tent user, ground tents are much better if you are camping in one place for several days. Adding a vestibule provides a space to change, store gear, and dogs, but also adds some setup time. My wife does love the memory foam mattress in the RTT though...
Great article!
Great article!
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100acre
Adventurist
I went from ground tents to sleeping under a truck topper to a RTT on top of my M416 to a FWC. Well, certain areas or campgrounds forbid the use of tents or soft sided campers due to bear activity like in Yellowstone and the Tetons, so in this case an RTT would be a better choice being higher off the ground. When traveling the PNW one year, it rained for 2.5 weeks straight, except in the Hoh Rainforest -go figure. What I didn't like was having to pack up the RTT wet every time I moved. Granted you'd have the same issues with a ground tent, but in a worst-case scenario you could always get a hotel room and bring your tent in your room to dry out, where as a rooftop tent is stuck up on top of your vehicle and underneath the PVC cover. This, overtime developed a little bit of mildew/mold in the tent on the fabric. Having a place off the ground was appealing to get away from critters and torrential downpours and CampSite flooding. For me I'd choose an RTT. Yes it does decrease mileage, costs more and is bigger/bulkier but I think it'd be my preferred choice over a ground tent. Nonetheless, I carry a Mountian Hardware Drifter 2 tent everywhere I go. It's in the wheel well between the truck bed and camper.
Malamute
Adventurist
Interesting piece, thanks for writing it. The RTTs sound good in many ways, but I knew right off they wouldn't work for me with serious back and shoulder injuries and a large dog. The main advantage to me over a ground tent was getting up from snakes and scorpions. A good tent should deal with those issues.
The small trailer idea looks practical also.
The small trailer idea looks practical also.
We bought a Pittman Airbed and were about to buy an ARE Truck cap for camping until we heard about the Flip-pac by FRP. It solves most of the concerns noted if the dogs can hop up into the truck bed and spend the night there. Tear down looks like it takes 2 minutes. It also doesn't stick out too much over the cab. Not an owner so can't debate based on personal experience. If we can order it for our truck and it doesn't take all season to arrive we will go that route otherwise we'll get the ARE. Great and timely topic!
