Comfortable camping

[geem03]

That's how we look at it. Because I was considering an RTT but saw no point.

We considered an RTT and did some research on them.... they're cool and appear to be a quick set up but after watching a video on YouTube on them, this one lady made a good point... you have to tear down and set up everytime you want to use the vehicle..... can't just hop into the jeep and leave your site set up and go.....

That was the deciding factor for us to not get one and go old school.....lol

Sponsored

 

[1quick1]

Rooftop tents are expensive and require a cage or exoskeleton frame, which we didn't want. I'm a tent camper, but my husband likes the security of walls (or more importantly, doesn't like to be on the ground). Taking or camping trailer everywhere isn't an option, so this was our compromise. It cost under $200 (black friday sale for 10% off and free shipping), and it's surprisingly comfortable.

Edit: If anyone has ideas on how to make some DIY screen windows for the back and sides of the soft top, I'm open to suggestions.

We use a combination of this and the below. The camper usually for actual camping. The mattress for sleeping at hiking trail heads.

 

[WhatExit?]

That's how we look at it. Because I was considering an RTT but saw no point.

If I was camping overnight a lot I'd consider it. But like most toys (especially RVs and boats), it's hard to justify their expense if you don't use it very often.

If I did buy one I'd take it off (hoist to ceiling) as soon as possible after a trip.

And with an RTT - driving that thing around all the time says:

• Hey LAM, I'm an "overlander"
• Ask me what that big black "box" is for (most don't know)
• My gas mileage already sucked, who cares about even fewer MPGs?!
• Nothing like adding 100+ lbs. way up high to affect the ride

 

[entropy]

If I was camping overnight a lot I'd consider it. But like most toys (especially RVs and boats), it's hard to justify their expense if you don't use it very often.

If I did buy one I'd take it off (hoist to ceiling) as soon as possible after a trip.

And with an RTT - driving that thing around all the time says:

• Hey LAM, I'm an "overlander"
• Ask me what that big black "box" is for (most don't know)
• My gas mileage already sucked, who cares about even fewer MPGs?!
• Nothing like adding 100+ lbs. way up high to affect the ride

This is exactly why I haven't gotten one. It is not how expensive they are, but they don't seem to offer much more than a nice tent + nice mattress setup. I feel like the real step up in terms of comfort is to get a small camper, like one of those hiker campers. The extra weight of the RTT, + having to pack it up when leaving camp + having to storage it when not in use. It just seems like too much of a hassle tbh. I only see the point of it if I was actually overlanding in the south american wilderness. With the camper you'll be towing, but at least you have a real solid structure to sleep in, anything beyond that, like those truck/bus style campers are just a monstrosity that are more for roadtrips.

 

[GRAK]

This is exactly why I haven't gotten one. It is not how expensive they are, but they don't seem to offer much more than a nice tent + nice mattress setup. I feel like the real step up in terms of comfort is to get a small camper, like one of those hiker campers. The extra weight of the RTT, + having to pack it up when leaving camp + having to storage it when not in use. It just seems like too much of a hassle tbh. I only see the point of it if I was actually overlanding in the south american wilderness. With the camper you'll be towing, but at least you have a real solid structure to sleep in, anything beyond that, like those truck/bus style campers are just a monstrosity that are more for roadtrips.

IMO RTTs are for speed & convenience when camping - not saying they can't be comfortable as well just, that's their main benefit. For multiday journeys (nonstop driving) like Mojave road they do shine. RTT guys are always waiting to head out while ground tents are still being packed. But how often are you doing that? For me it has 85% of the time ended up being a several days in one spot, base camp HQ type situation so the ground tent was best. Optimal would be to have all options available at home and then take which one fits most for that trip. Ground tent or RTT on an off road trailer, or a less offroad capable but hard-shelled air conditioned camper. There are some legit off road hard shells but they are either a bit too much for a Jeep trailer or too heavy.

 

[NickTinVA]

Rooftop tents are expensive and require a cage or exoskeleton frame, which we didn't want. I'm a tent camper, but my husband likes the security of walls (or more importantly, doesn't like to be on the ground). Taking or camping trailer everywhere isn't an option, so this was our compromise. It cost under $200 (black friday sale for 10% off and free shipping), and it's surprisingly comfortable.

Edit: If anyone has ideas on how to make some DIY screen windows for the back and sides of the soft top, I'm open to suggestions.

This is very cool - tempted to go this route. I do wonder though, where do you pack all the other "stuff"? Do you basically pack on top of the bedding, then pull everything out at the site? Not trying to be too obvious, I'm just thinking through the logistics of car seats for my kids and all their crap.

 

[TrailJoy]

This is very cool - tempted to go this route. I do wonder though, where do you pack all the other "stuff"? Do you basically pack on top of the bedding, then pull everything out at the site? Not trying to be too obvious, I'm just thinking through the logistics of car seats for my kids and all their crap.

Ugh. Car seats. My kids just grew out of theirs and I don't miss them at all!

Yes. And when you're done, deflate to flat, lift the seats and carefully place your gear on top (maybe layer with a blanket so you don't risk a puncture). For gear storage at night, your only options are the front seats (or stuffable items behind the seats) or outside. Food should never be kept where you sleep anyway, and hopefully your cooler is hard sided to protect against rain, etc.

It does roll up into it's own bag, so that's another option as well. That said, this might not work well for a family. It was designed for one to two people, but it's pretty darn comfortable!

www.deepsleep4jeep.com is where I bought mine. It was originally a kickstarter, so you can find a lot of reviews there as well. For what it's worth, I'm in Canada and there were issues with the promo codes) so I emailed the company owner (Liz) and she was really great to buy from. Also, it arrived (from the US to Canada) in under a week. That's a record for me (normally it's AT LEAST a couple of weeks).

 

[Blu bi Kong]

Still going with this. I remove two totes, two cots and two chairs

 

[NickTinVA]

Ugh. Car seats. My kids just grew out of theirs and I don't miss them at all!

Yes. And when you're done, deflate to flat, lift the seats and carefully place your gear on top (maybe layer with a blanket so you don't risk a puncture). For gear storage at night, your only options are the front seats (or stuffable items behind the seats) or outside. Food should never be kept where you sleep anyway, and hopefully your cooler is hard sided to protect against rain, etc.

It does roll up into it's own bag, so that's another option as well. That said, this might not work well for a family. It was designed for one to two people, but it's pretty darn comfortable!

www.deepsleep4jeep.com is where I bought mine. It was originally a kickstarter, so you can find a lot of reviews there as well. For what it's worth, I'm in Canada and there were issues with the promo codes) so I emailed the company owner (Liz) and she was really great to buy from. Also, it arrived (from the US to Canada) in under a week. That's a record for me (normally it's AT LEAST a couple of weeks).

I've got a soft top so I'm resisting the roof rack solution for as long as I can. I'm thinking I can put the squirts in a ground tent, and then I'll rack out in the jeep. My back's not super awesome as I get older.

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Upnarms]

After ground camping for years with the kids, I finally broke down and got a roof-top tent for the trailer. This all actually started with just the lack of room in a jeep which is why I had a trailer built by a buddy of mine. The natural progression was for me to get a roof-top tent for the trailer. I know it was expensive but I decided to go for it.

Wow! What a difference! I could set up in less than 5 minutes and tear down in about the same. The kids still ground camp so we were still setting up a tent for them on the ground. Where we camp there are lots of monsoon rains which makes ground camping sort of a pain. I never really thought I would give up ground camping but I have to say after trying the alternative I will not go back very often. In fact I ordered a hard shell free spirit Odyssey tent for the top of the JLRU. This one is only seven inches high and opens in less than a minute. The fact that we have a trailer does allow us to leave the trailer with that tent set up if we leave our spot yet still keep the camping spot from being taken. I know that is one issue with having a roof-top tent on the Jeep itself.

The other nice thing is that they each have over 2 inch high memory foam mattresses that are quite comfortable. You can leave your sleeping bags in the tent and just close it up with them in it still. This saved me quite a bit of room in my trailer and Jeep by not having to bring air mattresses/ sleeping pads or have four sleeping bags rolled up in the trailer taking up valuable space.

It is still camping to me just not on the ground where I have to deal with the mud from the monsoon rains. Laying down tarps and drying the bottom of tents before packing them up was really a pain that would take a couple of hours sometimes.

If you have the money and Camp enough, you will be pleasantly surprised with a roof-top tent. For those who do not Camp very often it probably is not worth it. But having this setup has allowed us to go on more trips as well as trying out several different areas rather than setting up for one spot for 3 or 4days. I guess the natural progression now is to do the overlanding thing. I really like the idea of setting up camp in a different spot each night, exploring new areas, when you consider setup is so fast. Anyway, that is just my experience with it all.

 

[chacomaya]

Well, contrary to some of the comments here critical of RTT's, and after growing tired of using our backpacking tents when Jeep-camping, we pulled the trigger on a Gobi rack, and when it arrives we will add a Skycamp 2.0. I have personally set up and taken down this RTT and it can be done in less time than it takes to pack up the campstove from the tailgate table. I really considered a trailer, but I've been in too many situations here in the PNW where you have to reverse, and doing so with a trailer in a technical situation...no thanks. Fingers crossed that this is the ticket, 'cause it ain't cheap!

 

[Upnarms]

Well, contrary to some of the comments here critical of RTT's, and after growing tired of using our backpacking tents when Jeep-camping, we pulled the trigger on a Gobi rack, and when it arrives we will add a Skycamp 2.0. I have personally set up and taken down this RTT and it can be done in less time than it takes to pack up the campstove from the tailgate table. I really considered a trailer, but I've been in too many situations here in the PNW where you have to reverse, and doing so with a trailer in a technical situation...no thanks. Fingers crossed that this is the ticket, 'cause it ain't cheap!

I think you will be happy. I just went with the rhino rack pioneer platform for my odessey, which should be plenty strong (almost 900lbs static). Skycamps have great reviews. Nice tent, update us all when you get it.

The one on my trailer is a tepui ruggedized kukenam. A great tent-for a trailer, but it's 180lbs which I wouldn't want to put that brick on my roof so much . It truly is a game changer. Many times we wait out the afternoon storms and don't open it up until just before bed. Unlike when we ground camp where it's a race to get it set up before the rain starts. So nice being off the ground.

For those who do ground camp, I used the lightspeed sleeping pads (costco usually has deals on them seasonally for 30 or 40 bucks each) under our bags and that made a huge difference . I was never one to use a full on inflatable bed, though I'm sure those are comfy too.

Looked into the deepsleepjeep mattress but then id have to unload the cargo each time.

 

[GoHack]

View attachment 285678

View attachment 285682

 

[chacomaya]

I think you will be happy. I just went with the rhino rack pioneer platform for my odessey, which should be plenty strong (almost 900lbs static). Skycamps have great reviews. Nice tent, update us all when you get it.

The one on my trailer is a tepui ruggedized kukenam. A great tent-for a trailer, but it's 180lbs which I wouldn't want to put that brick on my roof so much . It truly is a game changer. Many times we wait out the afternoon storms and don't open it up until just before bed. Unlike when we ground camp where it's a race to get it set up before the rain starts. So nice being off the ground.

For those who do ground camp, I used the lightspeed sleeping pads (costco usually has deals on them seasonally for 30 or 40 bucks each) under our bags and that made a huge difference . I was never one to use a full on inflatable bed, though I'm sure those are comfy too.

Looked into the deepsleepjeep mattress but then id have to unload the cargo each time.

The Rhino rack was my second choice, but I chickened out due to the need to drill through the hardtop. Living in a place where we get so much rain that just seems like a recipe for disaster.

 

[entropy]

Still going with this. I remove two totes, two cots and two chairs

This is pretty cool. How do you do when it gets really windy though? wont bother you?

Sponsored