Before you start looking at which rooftop tent to get, I would first make sure you actually want one. What is it you are hoping to solve by going with a rooftop tent over a ground tent (or even a trailer)? Forgive me if you have already gone through this part of the process.
Rooftop tents do have some nice advantages, but in my view have far more disadvantages.
Pros
- Free up space inside the cabin.
- Get you off the ground.
- May help with camping anxiety.
- Some have quick setup.
Cons
- You need to be able to level your vehicle, not just a tent.
- If you want to drive somewhere on your trip, you have to breakdown the tent.
- Storage between trips (they are huge and heavy).
- Significantly more expensive than a ground tent (3x the cost of even the nicest ground tents).
- Setup might be quick, but breakdown is usually not. Don’t let Instagram fool you.
- Not easy to install and take off the car.
- Not standup height, so changing inside the tent is going to be more difficult.
Personally, I would opt for a nice ground tent and a rooftop cargo carrier if I needed the interior space. Even splurging on those two items will cost you less than a rooftop tent. We have an REI Kingdom 6 that is very comfortable for our family of 4. It is easy to set up and breaks down into a bag that is the size of a large duffle bag and weighs under 20 lbs. Not sure you would find any rooftop tent that accommodates more than 2 people. At that point you are getting near the weight limit of most roof racks, even those designed for camping. Rooftop tents look impressive, but for most situations they don’t make a ton of sense.
Having said that, you may have one of those unique situations where a rooftop tent solves a problem in a way a ground tent or trailer cannot. That is a question you would need to answer for yourself. What is it that a rooftop tent is providing me that a ground tent cannot and is that worth the trade-offs?
