Your take on the RTT vs. Ground tent debate

[Oncorhynchus]

Finally finished the three Vortex crossbars. I'm pooped!

Tomorrow morning I'll mount them, remembering to loctite (thank TrailRecon!).

Then off to Main Line Overland to get the iKamper Skycamp Mini bolted on (note to self - ask for bracket locks).

I spray paint stenciled my Vortex bars so that I could easily identify front, middle and rear bars for when I have to take them on and off.

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[donmontalvo]

I spray paint stenciled my Vortex bars so that I could easily identify front, middle and rear bars for when I have to take them on and off.

Thanks I’ll label them. My plan is to keep the tent attached to the crossbars, thanks to the quick releases.

 

[donmontalvo]

https://donmontalvo.com/2022/01/11/the-wait-is-over/

 

[catortega3881]

It is far worse in a gas rig than a diesel. Of course it depends on the terrain and how you drive. In my Ram rebel I average 17 mpg with the 5.7L. Towing the Jeep to telluride and back we averaged 8 mpg. Of course that is an ~8k lb trailer and I had the cruise set at 80 mph the whole way. I could save a bunch of fuel if I slowed down, but I can't help but doing the math. 2300 mi round trip is 29 hrs of driving at 80, or 42 hours at 55. I'll gladly pay for extra fuel when it gains me an entire day of wheeling.

I have a Patriot X3 camper (photos in the show pictures of camping with your jeep section of this forum) which weighs about 2,500 lbs wet/loaded up.

Without the trailer on, I get about 28 mpg hwy at about 65-70 mph. That's with steel bumpers, lift, 37'' tires, winch, etc.

With the trailer on, the fuel efficiency went down to about 18 mpg gallon hwy at the same speeds.

The Jeep is a Rubicon diesel with Mopar trailer brake installed...

 

[Pinion]

When I go outdoors and sleep overnight I sleep in a tent. On the ground. If it's cold, hot, rainy, dry, I still wake up tired and appreciate what I have to get back home to.
I wouldn't do this for more than 7-8 days though. If it went longer I'd probably like to have a thicker Thermarest.
I've given hammock camping a few thoughts but never tried sleeping in one longer than a few hours.

 

[catortega3881]

The other thing I can contribute to this thread that might be a good consideration for some is a DeepSleepForJeeps air mattress in lieu of a exterior ground tent.

This is a good option if you're camping alone or with a child younger than 13ish. I store mine packed up under the center of the rear seats. The benefits of this are a super comfortable sleep, quick and easy setup/packup (maybe 2 minutes?), and hard-sided protection from the elements while also being off the ground. I also have their window screens and usb fans for ventilation and they work great. I move my gear into the front seats when the mattress is set up.

If you have a lot of gear, you'd have to move it onto the roof of your jeep or on the ground outside. For this, I also have a MoonShade independent awning that I use to keep stuff out of the elements. The MoonShade also serves as good protection from the sun, rain, or to cook under/hang out in...and it packs up very small.

Both the Deep Sleep for Jeeps and MoonShade have filled nice gap for us when I either don't take the Patriot X3 trailer or when I have more than 3 people with us and need another area for people to sleep in without needing a ground tent.

And yes, all of this is glamping!

 

[Buddwiser]

This is what I will be using this summer on the back of my JL, just a smaller version. I'll be sleeping in the Jeep, using the tent for cooking, eating, etc. It will double as a place holder if and when I want to go somewhere else for the day.

 

[Donevan.Ausborn]

I have to admit the Tepui I had was very very warm in freezing temps the wife and I could use blankets and pillows. I added an extra pad the 3in memory foam wasn't enough.

I just got a used 2 person Thule Tepui tent, and its the "baja version", specifically designed for hot humid weather so it has screening all the way around and same rain fly that yours has on top, in the tents description it says you can switch the tops, the tent I have is the same exact design as yours but is just has a different cover. Do you know anything about switching the tops?

 

[ArmyRN]

I like the popup top sleeping sytem( https://ursaminorvehicles.com/jeep-hard-top-popup-camper-package.html )on a Wrangler but not a roof rack with a RRT mounted on the roof. If a popup was offered for my 2 door, I'd check it out. Until then, I have 3 sizes of Coleman easyup ground tents to choose from. The 6 person is ten years old, been used 30+ times and no issues. Stand up tall, very comfortable and room for Coleman cot, folding chair, table and other glamping accessories. My new 4 person is height challanged but still has room for the cot and setting upright. I tried a tent cot(cabela)for a short while. Sold it and I don't think Cabela's even sells them anymore. Nuff said, haha

Cable's double sized tent cot mounted on my lil' trailer as a RTT.

 

[BogieJeep]

Ground tent for us. It's a bit of a passion / hobby.

We have several tents, including one of those big bell tents that has the wood stove that goes inside, a double swag, a pop-up dome tent and I have a 3 person A-Frame canvas tent on order (this is it here).

We really like the canvas tents, they add a lot to the experience of camping and make it more enjoyable. As do quality camp products. We try to avoid "throw-away" cheap products these days because they don't create the same memories.

We also have a big "hexatarp" which goes up in less than 10 minutes (with drill in pegs), it's 6m and polyester but it only weighs a few kilos. We put this over the back of the vehicle and whichever tent we're using to keep the footprint dry and shaded. It keeps dew off the tent so it can be packed away dry the next day. It's awesome to the point that other campers always come over to ask us about it. I have a video testing it in heavy rain here.

Our setup is very modular and I store everything on shelves in the garage and pack according to the trip we're planning. A week at the beach in Summer, as a weekend trout fishing in Winter, touring long distances camping in a new location every day each has different requirements.

And if we're on the road on a longer trip and there is heavy rain or high wind forecast we'll just book an AirBnB or stay in a motel. No point ruining a good trip by forcing oneself to be miserable.

 

[J.Ferreira]

I have a soft top 2 door.
The ground is pretty comfortable

I also don’t really overland and move camp on a daily basis. Usually camp in one spot for a few days at a shot

 

[Tredsdert]

I don't like rooftop tents, the number one reason for me other than the price tag is the WIND RESISTANCE. The Wranglers already a brick in the wind, throwing a RTT on their throws off the already bad airflow around the vehicle. It'll drop your MPG a lot!

I do like tent camping, but the problem with tent camping is it takes up space inside your vehicle which may be limited already. Also in Texas you have bobcats and snakes and spiders depending where you are, stuff I don't really want slithering around the tent. Also too I'd never be able to get my wife into a ground tent..

I see there's nine pages, I'm not going to read through them all, but If someone hasn't already mentioned it, sleeping inside the Jeep is the preferred choice for me.

Downsides of Sleeping inside the Jeep:

- Takes up storage space like the ground tent does.
- Have to rearrange the vehicle when you go to sleep.
- Some things may not fit inside the vehicle with the mattress expanded.
- Not ideal for long-term trips or if you have a rear drawer system/permanent cooler.
- Tall people may have an issue fitting comfortably.

Upsides of Sleeping inside the Jeep:

- Don't have to worry about adding a heating element to your external tent.
- It offers more protection than a soft fabric tent.
- It's lightweight and doesn't lower your MPG.
- The wife and dogs and kids can fit in there without having to climb up a ladder.
- You can make it into a really lush luxurious sleep system with relative ease.
- It costs about the same as a low end ground tent and thousands less than a RTT.

We haven't done any long trips in the Wrangler yet, I still need to get my floor system put in place. And that's a ways away. Right now we're doing all our traveling overseas for the next few years. But once I get the floor system in and we start doing trips to Colorado and California and up to New England, we'll be using a DeepSleep Jeep system, rather than staying at hotels along the way.

(Photo credited to DieseJL YouTube channel)

 

[PatriotX]

I don't like rooftop tents, the number one reason for me other than the price tag is the WIND RESISTANCE. The Wranglers already a brick in the wind, throwing a RTT on their throws off the already bad airflow around the vehicle. It'll drop your MPG a lot!

I’m guessing wind resistance wasn’t an issue when you removed all of the aero from your Jeep, lol.

Doors, fenders, tailgates…all help.

I have averaged 21 MPG to date (18k mi) with 6k lb Wrangler as daily, 23mpg over last 4K miles. It doesn’t have to be a penalty box up there.

I’m also 6’5” and there’s NO WAY I’m fitting inside the Wrangler to sleep.

 

[Tredsdert]

I’m guessing wind resistance wasn’t an issue when you removed all of the aero from your Jeep, lol.

Doors, fenders, tailgates…all help.

I have averaged 21 MPG to date (18k mi) with 6k lb Wrangler as daily, 23mpg over last 4K miles. It doesn’t have to be a penalty box up there.

I’m also 6’5” and there’s NO WAY I’m fitting inside the Wrangler to sleep.

Funny I'm actually 65 as well, and I can fit fairly comfortably. It's definitely a tight fit, but as for right now I don't even have the mattress. I remove my rear seats, all my carpets and my rear doors are currently off, I removed my tailgate which was acting as a giant sail. Currently I'm about as aerodynamic and lightweight as a Wrangler can be.

 

[PatriotX]

Lightweight perhaps.

Aerodynamic would be a stretch.

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