Rooftop tents are the best “pack up and go” tents around. You can set them up quickly and easily, camp wherever you can park, and they’re comfortable and durable. Read on to find out more about the benefits of a rooftop tent. 

Types of Rooftop Tents

Rooftop tents are an excellent choice for our climate and terrain. Built for ease of use, mobility and durability, they also enable you to camp almost anywhere as you don’t need perfectly level or smooth ground to camp. Designed for solo travellers, couples and up to four people (depending on which style you choose), they’re ideal if you’re time poor – meaning you can set off after work on a Friday and it doesn’t matter if you arrive after dark, you’ll still be able to set up quickly and easily. They’re also perfect for long overland trips where you’ll cover a lot of ground and don’t want to lose a lot of time to set up and pack down camp each day.

Rooftop tents are designed to mount on your roof rack and most come with a comfortable mattress and a ladder to help you climb up to your bed (in most instances you’ll be sleeping around 2m off the ground). There are three types:

Hard shell: Hard top rooftop tents have a rigid ceiling and floor made from hard materials such as fibreglass, plastic, or aluminium. The walls are made from softer yet still extremely durable materials like canvas or nylon. The majority of rooftop tent hard shells open with a hinge or pop straight up in a box shape with the assistance of gas struts, making set up extremely easy and fast, as well as easily manageable in poor light. With a footprint covering your vehincle's roof area, these tents are compact.

These are the most durable types of rooftop tent as the materials used are more weather resistant. They’re also the easiest to set up. However, with convenience comes a higher price tag and the smaller footprint, so they are best suited to for one or two people. 

Soft shell: Soft shell rooftop tents open up like a pop-up book using a series of hinged poles. The tent body is made from a waterproof soft material such as nylon or canvas and attached to a rigid, hinged platform with a ladder so you can climb up and down. This type of rooftop tent can handle up to four people depending on the configuration and additional annexes, and takes a little longer to set up, but still less time than the average ground tent set up. Some soft shells also come with optional annexes, allowing you to create an extra room underneath your rooftop tent.

Hybrid: A hybrid rooftop tent has a hard shell when packed down and walls made of fabric like a hard shell rooftop tent. Hybrids benefit from the sturdier construction and roof top storage of the hard shell, plus the smaller pack down size. They also include a fold out tent section giving you the extra sleeping space of a soft shell. Some hybrids offer optional annexes, allowing you to create an additional room underneath your tent.

To check out our rooftop tent range, click here.

Top 10 Benefits of Rooftop Tents

1. Fast and easy set up: Rooftop tents are quick to set up with some being ready to go in under a minute. And, as they come with mattresses, you can also easily store your bedding inside.

2. Safety from animals and bugs: Up high you’re less likely to have to deal with anything wandering into your tent, however it is still important to maintain safe food storage and ensure your tent is zipped properly if you want to avoid unwelcome visitors.

3. Temperature: Rooftop tents have better insulation than ground tents, as they are made with weightier and more durable materials. As they’re up high, they also benefit from cool summer breezes and avoid the chill of the ground in winter. 

4. Save on car storage space: As you’re not carrying your tent or bedding in your car, you free up a lot of interior space.

5. Sturdy in bad conditions: Not only are you off the ground in case of sudden rain storms, you’re also within a hardier shelter than with most ground tents and, if the weather gets too rough and you need to clear out, you can move much more quickly with a rooftop than having to pack up a ground tent. 

6. More comfortable: No need to deal with lumpy ground or uneven surfaces. And, as your mattress is included in the tent, no rolling off or getting stuck between the canvas and the mattress. 

7. Cleaner: You can shake off any sand, mud or dirt more easily in a rooftop tent and leave your shoes on the ground

   or attached boot bags

   so you’re not tracking anything inside.

8. More durable: In general, the more durable materials used in rooftop tents mean that they last longer. You still need to look after them, but with good maintenance they should last several years. 

9. More mobile: A rooftop tent is a great idea if you want to move your campsite more regularly as it is much easier to set up and pack down, and move camp than with a ground tent. 

10. The view: Your elevated bed means you’re sleeping the treetops, and can enjoy the view over sand dunes and other terrain that usually block your view from a ground tent.

Explore our new range of rooftop tents.

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