Roof top tents

[Drew]

i was just wondering, what kind of weights are allowed up there on the roof with a roof tent ?

[Dark 1]

I believe most patrols are rated at around 220kgs but I know my old gu ( which is timbo's new gu) had around 500kgs on the roof on our central Australia trip couple of years ago. We had the roof top tent, clothes roof box, chainsaw & 3 railway sleepers cut into small portions.

[snicko]

Have an ARB one and love it. Bought it on special with awning and enclosure. Used it on a Vic meetup and would recommend it no problem.

[Rusty86]

I would check out the Tigerz11 one. All accounts it's the same as the ARB, Ironman tent but much cheaper (than ARB anyway). They were selling it with the enclosed annex too at the foot of the ladder. I'll be getting one of these when I come to buy a rooftop tent. I think the ultimate would be a Hannibal or Howling Moon which are very very high quality but much more expensive....depends on how much you'll be using it I guess and if it's worth the outlay

Cheers,
Rusty

[Cuppa]

I spent quite a lot of time looking at Rooftop tents as we eventually intend to spend months at a time living in it. With many the ladder is exposed to the elements, making it a pain in wet weather. Of those where the ladder is covered by the tent, many require the ladder to remain in place because it is a support for the tent floor, this reduces the useable space in the the under tent awning. A few do not rely on the ladder for support so the ladder can be moved elsewhere during the day, giving a more useful space. We ended up buying a second hand Shippshape tent for this reason. Having a ladder with broad, flat rungs is much easier on bare feet too.
Minimal packing & unpacking is worth paying a bit extra for imho, many of the cheaper tents use a fly sheet to extend them to cover the (fixed) ladder. I haven't used one but I'd reckon that needing a fly would make packing & unpacking more of a chore. Ok for an occasional weekend, but not every day for weeks or months at a time.

Cuppa

[Flo-w]

I got one of eBay from "bettadealsonline" with pickup from Dingley Village, VIC for 825$. It looks exactly like a TJM and performs well so far. As Cuppa said there are a few small, but important differences with those tents. Mine has the ladder sheltered by the tent and optional skirt. The missus loves the enclosure as well to take a shower or get dressed. I didn't try that yet but I'm sure I'll be able to cook sheltered by the tent (and skirt) if the weather is bad. My DIY storage system / kitchen won't come out so far as to hit the ladder.
Keep in mind that you will need a ladder extension with some of those tents, especially if you got a lifted truck. That was another 79$ I think. They also did exchange the ladder 2 weeks after purchase when I noticed it had a small dint.
Also as mentioned earlier the mattress is fairly hard and we added a mattress topper. It's fairly hard to close the setup when we keep all the (winter) bedding in there.

[threedogs]

Check the one on Ebay from FOXBUGGY its the same as a Magliolina with fibreglass roof and base, buy it now $1900 going for $1500ish on auction

[TimGU]

Does anyone have reports of using the tigerz rtt?

[jack]

Hi,

This is from my daughters experience, they swear by Howling Moon RTT's. Have used it on an extended visit to the Cape from Vic. Also did another trip across the centre to Broome and back to Vic via the Nullabor. Lake Eyre on another trip. Pretty extensive travel and conditions for a family of four. On their Cape trip they had two others with cheap RTT's that came apart while driving (yes they were secured and packed as directed).

Cheers

[gowalkabout.com.au]

x2 for the Howling Moon rtt
we bought our Howling Moon almost 10 years ago and it is still going strong even after almost 5 years permently mounted on the 4wd. it is now in need of a new cover because of sun damage. but the tent it self is still perfectly fine.