Roof Tents ???????

TJ101 · December 13, 2005

Evening all !!

Has anyone any experience of roof tents ?? i.e. make , type, etc,, told the best is the Howling moon,, are they right ?? how about the rest??

and no,, before someone asks, it not for the hybrid, but a 110 double cab,,

Regards

white90 · December 13, 2005

cols110 had one on his camel

Bush65 · December 14, 2005

I have a Howling Moon roof top tent.

They are well made, quick and easy to erect or pack.

I chose the Howling Moon because it had better ventilation, large awnings over the windows and a fly, which are more suitable for the tropical North of Aus.

Hillbilly Raider · December 14, 2005

I have the "30 second" Oz tent. it doesnt go on the roof but as the title says you can put it up in 30 seconds,

Much better (imo) then a roof tent as you dont have to pack you truck up to go to the nearest shop.

And its made of the same stuff.

dollythelw · December 14, 2005

A friend went from a howling moon to a magiolina and hasnt looked back, I like Oasis tents - leave em on the roof if you like or unplug an put it on the ground and drive ove, they only weigh 15kgs.

Having said that we still use Khyam one touch tents, take it out of the bag and shake it, open a beer, chill out - job done

Matt Neale · December 14, 2005

Tim,

I've had a Maggiolina on test for a while.

Brilliant piece of kit - looks like a roofbox when closed - means that you can leave your bedding in it. Comes with a light etc fitted as standard - and I've never had a tent that was so easy to put up (about 30 secs)

Nice and strong, and quite roomy inside. Light and airy with the vents open, and cosy when their closed.

Drop me a PM or speak to Luvvers about it - it came from him!

Cheers,

Matt

honitonhobbit · December 14, 2005

Timbo,

The Mag is great - excellent, but heavy. They are more of a roof pod than a true tent. Very good in wind and ****e weather. One drawback is the lack of weather screen when you get in them.

Howling Moon are okay but carp in the wind and last a bout five minutes in bad weather - okay for hot, low wind climates with little rain.

We sell Hannibal which are pretty good - probably the best true roof tent. Not cheap but well made and good in pooey weather.

PM me.

white90 · December 14, 2005

David

re We sell Hannibal which are pretty good - probably the best true roof tent. Not cheap but well made and good in pooey weather

had a career change?

Edited December 14, 2005 by white90

Jen · December 15, 2005

We've just spent about 8 months looking at different roof tents and talking to people who own them B)

I'd recommend waiting and going to a show and looking at all the tents on offer, it's the one place you can go from tent to tent and find out what suits you best (which, at the end of the day is what you need).

We've just brought at Myway, and I think they have thought about the design of the tent seriously well, the fly sheet is separate from the tent section meaning excellent ventilation (and there's a vent in the top as well, something I haven't seen in the others and negates the condensation problems you get with Howling Moon), the windows are bigger than all the others (small but valid consideration when you plan on travelling to spectacular views!) and the doors open from the bottom and the bug layers on the outside. This means you can vary the amount the door is 'closed' allowing extra ventilation. The workmanship on the tent is excellent, I've found loose stitching on the *new* Rocky Mountain tents.

There are a couple of downsides, the poly floor they've put in is, imho, a bit too thin. It flex's alot, but there is a wooden floor option as well. The best thing is you can take the floors out and replace them if necessary - they're just rivitted in, not like the Howling moon etc. where everything is covered over. The materess doesn't got to the edge of the tent which makes it look less cosy/finished. But this means it doesn't cause wicking on the side of the canvas which makes everything damp, reports we got from Eazy awn (sp?!) and Howling Moon owners.

I think we're also going to re-inforce the brakets underneath as well, they're more than adequate, but we're going to America and I'm not sure they'll cope after I visit the Ben and Jerry's Factory! :blink: :lol:

The lighter material is excellent and the reason we went too look at them, but ironically we ended up going for the canvas version - I just fell in love with it! lol! It's a lighter canvas, so still 15kg's lighter than the equivalent Howling Moon.

AND the guys who are importing them are lovely and I'd highly recommend them. The chap has a howling moon as his family tent, so it's easy to compare the two. Oh, and they're cheaper than most others too

To solve the problem Mandy is talking about, our plan is to get a small 'outer' tent which attaches to the back of the vehicle and provides a shelter at the back for cooking/sitting in in the bad weather, this of course will be able to remain standing in place when you move the vehicle, so it will be good to reserve our spot at campsites if we're in one place for any length of time - and, of course, the roof tent won't have to be opened until we're ready for bed as it only takes 2 minutes to put up and already has all the bedding in it! B) Only IMHO I think this is a much better option than relying on the Howling moon with the tourer attachement, which relys on the tent being open and staying in one place once it's set up (this is what we were initally going to go for).

Hillbilly Raider · December 15, 2005

To solve the problem Mandy is talking about, our plan is to get a small 'outer' tent which attaches to the back of the vehicle and provides a shelter at the back for cooking/sitting in in the bad weather, this of course will be able to remain standing in place when you move the vehicle, so it will be good to reserve our spot at campsites if we're in one place for any length of time - and, of course, the roof tent won't have to be opened until we're ready for bed as it only takes 2 minutes to put up and already has all the bedding in it! B) Only IMHO I think this is a much better option than relying on the Howling moon with the tourer attachement, which relys on the tent being open and staying in one place once it's set up (this is what we were initally going to go for).

Good idea.

Kev Baldwin · December 15, 2005

We sell Hannibal which are pretty good - probably the best true roof tent.
PM me.

I like the Maggiolina, but they're heavy, take up a lot of roof-space and if you're tall like me, you simply can't fit in them without adopting the foetal position! Stashing the ladder is another drawback of the Mag' unless you're happy to chuck it on your bedding. inside the tent.

I've tried a (borrowed) Hannibal for a trip and thought it was a POS. Certainly not as good as the Eezi Awn I was travelling with. The Hannibal has a dumb-ass seperate flysheet design that is great in the Serengeti, since you'll never use it. Put the Hannibal in the Euro-camping environment where there's a fair chance you'll need the flysheet and it's becomes a complete pain in the arse to attach. Try attaching it in the wind and you take your life in your hands. A zip bust on one of the doors, the wires that are supposed to tension the flysheet were so flimsy they bent, the canvas leaked, and don't believe the hype that says you can fold the tent away with your bedding inside. You can't, at least not without risking busting the zip on the cover you can't. The Eezi Awn had its drawbacks too, not least its seperate outer cover that needed wrestling with everytime we came to pack up.

Never used or know anyone with a Howling Moon so can't comment, but aren't they suposed to differ from the rest by having an insulated base or something??

All roof tents flap like a b4st4rd in anything above a gentle breeze. Ear plugs essential.

All roof tents are over-priced. You can buy a tent that'll withstand a weeks worth of storms at Everest base camp tent for less money than your average roof tent.

Mate of mine has an Oz tent. Clever piece of kit and 'yes' you can put it up in 30-secs with practice. Just a shame the thing is that big when packed up it won't fit in the car.

At a LR rally I was at in the states earlier this year the Tent Cots were all the rage. A neat and dead simple idea that I'm surprised hasn't made it over here yet.

IMHO, roof tents are great in the right environment and on trips where they are for brief overnight stops, but for anything else, they don't offer anything a decent quality ground tent can't do for much less money.

Kev

Hillbilly Raider · December 15, 2005

Kev know what you mean about the Oz tent! but thats what you take a mate with a 110 along for!! but all joking a side, i think they are a great bit of kit and ours has withstood some pretty bad weather up in the mountians and has never leeked.!

Am starting to organize next years Alpine trip... thinking of having a bash at the Nurenberg track on the way.

As most of the trucks we take are series, it will be quite a sight as we will be holding up every thing else on it that day!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

If you have a spare 2/3 weeks come along for the ride?!

Mandy.

Jen · December 15, 2005

Thanks Mandy - I only have a few good ideas, but when I do they're cool!

Another good thing about the Myway is it's hight and weight being *considerably* less than the others. If I had the figures I'd quote them!

Am starting to organize next years Alpine trip... thinking of having a bash at the Nurenberg track on the way.

Just be careful on the dates - it's not open all the time like people expect it too be - it's used for filming, testing and racing alot of the time.

Also, in all seriousness, look at the track carefully before you go - you won't memorise it on the first trip but be careful of the cambers and corners that come up faster than you think and in a top heavy landy that won't be funny (especially on muds! ). A good source of info is Bens site:

http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/

...or do a search on Google. Highly recommended to take a ride in the 'ring taxi' oh, and get a sticker, put it on your landy without the name in it and have everyone ask you why you've got a picutre of the Isle of Wight on your car! :rolleyes: :lol:

[ serious mode ]

It is fun like any tracks, but you get alot of idiots and alot of people die there - it's something to drive with respect, not just for a giggle.

[ / serious mode ]

(Oh, and your insurance is unlikley to cover you there despite it being public highway!)

headhunter · December 15, 2005

Evening all !!
Has anyone any experience of roof tents ?? i.e. make , type, etc,, told the best is the Howling moon,, are they right ?? how about the rest??

and no,, before someone asks, it not for the hybrid, but a 110 double cab,,

Regards

I use a Hannibal Zulu which is a clam shell style in a glassfibre moulded roofbox.

It takes less than 30 seconds to raise of lower, you can leave bedding and some clothes inside when closed.

You can park into the wind and benefit from less buffeting by the air flow being directed at the shell rather than the canvas.

You can kneel-up in the high end for changing clothes (1.5 metres headroom) unlike the Magglione which has a level roof.

The tent can be taken out and the shell used as a very large roof box.

Dead flies and other road inflicted debris just washes off the front of the shell.

It's not quite as pretty as the conventional roof tents in an asthetic sense but it wins hands down on it's practical ease of use durability and all round comfort.

Winter storage is simple being fully enclosed in the shell, no chance of hibernating visitors setting up home.

It has a built in 12v flourescent light with a cigar lighter socket and lead.

The main disadvantage is not being able to mount a shower/changing room curtain to the underneath, as can be done on the folding roof tents that over hang the rear.

John

Hillbilly Raider · December 15, 2005

Cheers for the info Jen, but its all in hand you know how Stringy is for rules and regs... he has checked it all out.