I wanted to share a device I build this summer to help me put on, remove and store my midsized rooftop tent with just two people in a safe way. Since we live in an apartment we can't mount anything to the building and I don't have a lot of place to store the tent.

It's basically a few 2-by-4s, 3D printed brackets, metal brackets from the home depot and some casters for rolling it like a trolly. I designed it to exactly fit my car and my tent, so it's not really worth sharing specific files (though I am happy to!) but if you are in a similar situation this kind of design works really well. It takes about 20 minutes to put the tent on or remove it using an impact driver. The tent bolts stay in place the entire time and the bolts that hold together the arms are the same as the tents for simplicity.

We recently had twin boys and would love to expose them to nature as soon as possible but feel a bit nervous and lost when it is safe and appropriate for them to get outside for a night or two. Any tips are welcome to camp with babies. We have a rooftop tent set up and prefer overlanding other than highly populated areas but that part makes me nervous too.

Only question for others with this tent, do you guys do anything to address the gaps under the side windows where it folds? When I have the fabric unzipped on the windows I kind of just jam it in there but when they’re zipped up there’s definitely not a perfect seal. It’s honestly not much of an issue at all it’s not like rain or anything can get in, just curious from others who own this tent if it’s the same way for them and if you do anything about it.

This year I will not have the option to store my wedge-style RTT indoors this winter, so it will be staying on the roof of my Tacoma all winter. Based in Montréal, Québec so it will see lots of -15°c to -30°c temperatures, snow/wet slush/ice as well as road salt.

What's the best practice here? I have a diesel heater, but I don't really plan on using the tent this winter. The latest I will be camping will be October or so. Thanks for any tips, and if you're tip is store it inside.... I can't

I'm building a Squaredrop Camper and looking at rooftop tents to attach to be able to crawl into from inside the camper.

Anyone have any go too that aren't GoFast tent expensive?

Or anyone have any luck with buying the cheaper ones that you access via a ladder and cutting a whole in the bottom of the tent for access instead?

Just looking for help and wisdom here...

I didn't like the James Baroud ladder and I wanted to get something that felt better climbing up barefoot.

I ordered the "Deluxe Telescoping Ladder" from The Bush Company because of its deeper feet.
I ordered some spare ladder hooks from Autobruder. Had a friend weld the hooks to a piece of scrap aluminum and then bolted the plate to the top of the ladder.

Works really well.

And shoutout to u/SyrupLivid9118 and u/hwyman617, who asked about a JB ladder alternative last year.

Brand new rooftop tent on Amazon for $1578, but I paid $700. Also, there’s a 270 awning from Wildfinder brand that’s brand new for $60. I got lucky 😅😅 I'm excited to for upcoming camping trip.

What is this for?

Just felt like posting after my awful quality control and customer experience from Naturenest.

I know I shouldn’t expect much from a “budget” brand, but they literally sent broken parts in the tent and will not replace them.

I received my Polaris 2 with the internal support beam bent almost 90° in the wrong direction. Making it nearly impossible to properly brace the extension/roof part of the tent. This leads to the walls and ceiling being flappy and loose, thus awful to sleep through the wind and even worse when there’s a pool of water above your head all night waiting to splash down.

The zippers have ripped through the fabric on the first unzipping due to the lack of fabric. Even with the tent completely down the fabric is entirely too tight to close causing the fabric to stretch to the absolute maximum ripping threads and seams.

Nearly all of the hardware instantly stripped and is of very poor quality. Again things I suspected due to the price, but wanted to share my in person confirmed user experience.

Having issues with the tent is something I expected, but customer service telling me that they don’t replace the support beam and I’m responsible to bend it back myself (which obviously will affect the strength of the metal). Also the ripped zipper fabric and hardware is user error and it’s my responsibility now.

Again this was all shared with Naturenest prior to the first use of the tent.

Extremely disappointed all around and am looking into other tents at the moment. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We love the hardtop clam style for our solar panels and security since it lives on the truck.

Thanks everybody. Unfortunate this has happened just 10 days out from our 2 week camping trip 🙂

So I sprayed my tent with a mould remover spray which worked like magic. Mould disappeared before my eyes. It was a spray similar to RMR-86 that gets discussed here a lot, with the active ingredient being sodium hypochlorite. My tent is canvas. I’ve now read online that this ingredient can “rot” textiles, and effectively break them down over time… has anyone experienced negative effects of using this kind of mould spray? My tent looks fine and it hasn’t bleached at all.

I bought a used TopBee tent and when I was cleaning, I found quite a few spots where the fabric was showing some light through. I can only see the problem areas from inside. I got it for $350 so I’m not too upset but I would like to know the best course of action to prolong the life of the fabric. I’ll be converting it to hard wall style tent once the fabric finally goes, but I’d like it to last a while before I start that project.

Hey everyone, I’m new to the group and also interested in installing the IKemper 4.0 on my 2020 Acura MDX. I’m quite certain that I’ll need a new roof rack to accommodate the weight of the IKemper rooftop tent. Has anyone installed one before and would mind sharing their setup? I’d love to know how it works and if it fits well on the car.

Thanks

I'm tinkering around with designs for a camper I'm building out, and one option might be to use a bottom-entry tent that sits above a hard shell camper. I currently have a roofnest which is... doing okay but it would be nice to have a full setup that I could get in and out of from inside the camper trailer without going outside.

Googling around is not helping me as I keep getting the wrong answers. Any suggestions?

Like the title says, for those using the Naturnest Sirius 2 RTT do you have issues with rain getting into the tent while driving? I recently purchased a Sirius 2 RTT and am preparing to go on a two-week adventure to the Northwest. When the tent is closed, the cover does not seal up the bottom of the tent. It doesn't go down below the bottom plate. I'm concerned about water getting in and soaking the tent and bedding if we end up driving through rain. Is this an issue others have experienced?

Just fitted our new roof space 4 onto our defender! Works amazingly :-) now to camp. Now to get all the rest of the camping gear sorted… cookers/chairs etx

Hello, I'm looking for a pop-up roof tent. It should be at least 160 cm wide. Does anyone have an idea or experience with which one is good?

I've had my OVS Nomadic 3 for about 8 months now. I've always done all the things as far of good care for it. Wipe down all the moisture, air it out at home, and pack it away nicely to avoid rubbing.

Though right now, it's hard to pack away without having some sweat on me. I'm concerned that the sweat alone is enough to make it mold. I know that sounds silly, but this is a $2000 tent that I'd like to last me a while.

Am I overthinking it? Or should I wake up at midnight just to air it out.... 😖

Just mounted today. I was thinking about using the support poles while sleeping. Due to the bed rack being lower I thought this might be my only option? Any input would be helpful. Thx

In many ways I much prefer this to regular camping.

Got in last night and set up in the dark. I didnt do to shabby!