Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Rooftop Tent

Rooftop tents are extremely popular with overlanders because of their protection, comfort, and easy-to-use designs. There are plenty of different rooftop tents with different styles, functions, features, and materials that can make choosing the best one a challenge. We will cover the different aspects of rooftop tents, and help lay out the information you will need in order to make the right decision for your vehicle and Overlanding habits.

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The Main Types of Rooftop Tents

Softshell Rooftop Tents

Softshell tents generally resemble the classic ground tent when fully deployed on top of your vehicle. The tent is usually made from weatherproof canvas, nylon, and other materials just like a ground tent would be.

Pros:

1. Offer more sleeping space

   1. Since softshell rooftop tents generally have the entrance hang over the edge of your vehicle, it will offer more space to move around and sleep in.

2. Cheaper

   1. Softshell tents typically are a lot less expensive than hardshells due to the lack of more expensive materials. They are great for a more budget-friendly way to add a rooftop tent to your vehicle.

3. They compact smaller

   1. When you take down your rooftop tent, they usually fold down into a square and flat shape as they were designed to. This will make them look less thick when compacted on your vehicle and take up less space.

4. Lightweight

   1. Since they lack the harder materials that a hardshell uses, they will usually weigh a lot less. With a lighter-weight tent, it helps reduce the impact it has on your vehicle’s driving.

Cons:

1. Take longer for setting up and disassembly

   1. One of the biggest complaints about softshell tents is how long they take to set up and take down. If you arrive at your campsite late and are ready to go to sleep, it may be a major hassle to have to set up your tent.

2. Not as aerodynamic

   1. Since these compact into a square shape, it’s not very aerodynamic and can make an impact on the way your vehicle drives and your MPG.

3. Not as durable or weatherproof

   1. Softshell tents generally don’t hold up to the weather as well as a hardshell would since they can be blown around as well as they are made from softer materials that can be ripped or damaged.

4. Insulation

   1. Typically, softshells are not rated for snow and can be uncomfortable in colder weather because of their lack of insulation.

Hardshell Rooftop Tents

Hardshell tents feature a hard and durable top portion of the tent that becomes the ceiling when you have it deployed. These can be made from fiberglass, aluminum, and other durable materials and the use of these materials helps with insulating your tent and protecting you from the wind.

Pros:

1. Easier to set up

   1. Most hardshell rooftop tents come with struts that you can simply push a button or unclip a tab and the tent will pop itself up.

2. More durable and weatherproof

   1. Since the hardshell portion of the tent is either made from fiberglass or aluminum, it can offer more protection from the elements. A great thing you can do with hard shells is face the hardshell top towards the wind to block it from hitting your tent. This also offers more insulation and most are rated for snow use as well.

3. You can store small gear inside and leave your bedding

   1. Since these usually compact into a cargo carrier type shape, it leaves room inside of the tent to leave things like your bedding, flashlight, camera, or other smaller gear. They can even lock to protect your items and are weatherproof so you don’t have to worry about your gear getting wet if it were to rain.

4. More aerodynamic

   1. Hardshell rooftop tents compact into a cargo carrier style shape and thus provide a more aerodynamic assembly so that it doesn’t affect your vehicle’s ride quality of MPG as much.

Cons:

1. More expensive

   1. The biggest downside is that these style tents are generally a LOT more expensive than softshells.

2. Heavier

   1. Since these are more advanced and have heavier materials, it increases their weight and makes them harder to use if you don’t have a roof rack or bed rack capable of holding their weight. Most typically weight over 150lbs.

3. Less sleeping room

   1. Since these usually unfold into a triangular shape, it leaves less room to lay out completely (especially if you’re taller) as well as the walls slope inwards.

Considerations Before Buying

Before you buy a rooftop tent, there will some important aspects to take into account before you make your final decision and it’s always great to do a little research beforehand. Some of these aspects are the size of your vehicle, weight, if you will be taking it off, and much more.

1. Size of Your Vehicle

   1. An important thing to consider before buying your rooftop tent is the size of your vehicle. If you have a smaller vehicle and purchase a large tent, you may have nowhere to be able to actually mount it. It’s always important to measure wherever you are going to be mounting the tent and then compare that with the actual size of the tent.

2. Aerodynamics

   1. Aerodynamic play an important role in how your vehicle drives and even the MPG that you get. When looking into a tent, make sure to look at reviews to see if anyone is complaining about weird wind noises from the tent as this will tell you if it’s aerodynamic or not.

3. Where to mount it.

   1. Mounting is the most important part of a rooftop tent, because well, that’s kind of what they are made for. Make sure that you have a solid place to mount your tent that will not impact your vehicle negatively. If you plan to mount it to a roof rack, make sure that your roof rack can support the weight of the rooftop tent as well as you and anyone else you may have inside of it. If you have a truck, like my Tacoma, the roof is not rated to carry a ton of weight (the Tacoma is rated to only carry 100lbs on its roof) and you can consider mounting it to a bed rack in your truck bed.

4. Tent Capacity

   1. You will want to consider how many people will actually be using your tent because you don’t want to have to be cramped and have a horrible night’s rest because you simply didn’t have enough space to sleep comfortably. Rooftop tents are much like the standard tent in which they have different capacities available for just you or even the whole family.

5. Mattress Size and Comfortability

   1. In order to sleep comfortably, you’ll definitely want to look into how comfortable and thick the mattress is inside the tent or if you have enough space to add one of your own, like an air mattress. Typically, hardshell tents come with a thicker mattress as they are designed to be able to store the extra space it would take up while softshells are usually a lot thinner or don’t have one at all.

6. Set Up Space

   1. One of the worst situations while Overlanding is finding the perfect place to set up camp, then when you go to set up your rooftop tent, you actually don’t have space for it due to trees or other obstacles in your way. If you plan to do a lot of camping in dense forests or other areas where you won’t have some extra space, I would make sure to find a rooftop tent that doesn’t take up too much space and overhang your vehicle a lot.

Honorable Mentions

We’ve scoured the internet and did some research to find some of the best tents and have included them below with their specifications and features.

Eezi-Awn Blade

Type: Hard Shell

Weight: 75 kg (167.55 lbs)

Mattress: 80mm (3.14in) Thick Laminated

Capacity: Fits 2 Adults (1 Comfortably)

Dimensions: 1450 mm (W) x 2200 mm (L) x 320 mm (H) (57in x 86.6 in x 12.6 in) (Closed)

Features:

• Low Profile and Aerodynamic

• Automated Setup and Takedown Hook and Loop

• Internal Storage Pockets

• LED Interior Light

• 12V Power Supply

• Lockable Stainless Steel Latches

• Internal Gas Struts

• Insulated Roof and Floor

• Includes Ladder

• Accommodates Bedding Storage

Eezi-Awn Series 3 1400

Type: Soft Shell

Weight: 58 kg (130 lbs)

Mattress: 2.5 in Thick Hi-Density Foam

Capacity: 2 Adults

Dimensions: 1400 mm (W) x 2440 mm (L) x 1300 mm (H) (55 in x 96 in x 51 in) (Open)

Features:

• 2 Large Windows

• 4 Storage Pockets

• Internal Bungee Takedown Aid System

• Tent Cover with Integrated Ratchet Strap

• Universal Mounting

• 420g Poly-Cotton Canvas, Heavy Duty Wax Thread, Double Stitched, Wax Coated Cotton Thread, Stainless Steel Hardware

ARB Simpson III

Type: Soft Shell

Weight: 178.6 lbs

Mattress: 2.5 in high density bonded chip foam mattress with removable cover

Capacity: 2 Adults

Dimensions: Open: 55in (W) x 94.4in (L) x 51in (H) - Closed: 57in (W) x 49in (L) x 15in (H)

Features:

• Accommodates Bedding Storage

• Anodized Aluminum Ladder

• Aluminum Base with Foam Insulation covered in ABS Wrapping

• Bungee System to aid with taking down the tent

Overall Best

Overall, the best rooftop tent that I would recommend is the iKamper Skycamp 2.0. iKamper is known for its durable and high-quality rooftop tents as well as Overlanding products. If the Skycamp 2.0 is too big, you can also go with the next runner-up, the iKamper Skycamp Mini.

iKamper Skycamp 2.0

Type: Hard Shell

Weight: 160 lbs

Mattress: 1.8 in high-density polyfoam

Capacity: 2 Adults 2 Children or 3 Adults

Dimensions: 83 in x 77 in (Height: 13 inches closed and 48 inches open)

Features:

• 1-minute setup

• King Size Mattress

• Wind Resistant and Quiet

• Quilted and Insulated Lining

• Honeycomb Aluminum Floor Panels (Can hold up to 1.8 tons)

• Waterproof Zippers

• Stainless Steel Hard Shell Locks

• Rated for 4 Seasons