The Best Tent Ever, Maybe?

[Embark With Mark]

I still prefer a ground tent.

It takes up very little space, weighs very little as well.
Cheap.
Easy to setup, probably 2 minutes.
No need to go up and down any ladders, especially in the middle of the night when its damp out. Plus I have 2 dogs averaging 55 lbs.
No extra weight at the top of my vehicle.
I dont have to park on a level surface.

I like to add that my mattress takes less than a minute to inflate, and I've seen self inflating mattresses, id get one but mine isn't a hassle at all.

I'm looking to upgrade my tent, been looking at this one that is over 6' at the middle. Also claims a 60 second setup.

Plus, you can set up a base camp and explore. No need to pack the vehicle up everyday just to move it.

 

[Embark With Mark]

To resume my experience - I had a normal ground tent, a good quality hardshell RTT - Autohome Columbus XL and swags.

Self inflatable mattress - they are a bloody curse . They sounds nice, you throw them out in the tent, wait for like 30 min, puff in them a few times and done ...right ? What nobody is telling you is the deflation process, that takes a lot of time and effort. From this point of view a normal pad or a normal inflatable one is much better/faster.
RTT. - canvas RTT the only added value is that you are off the ground. The setup very often is even more painful and time consuming that the most basic ground tents. Heavy compared with with ground tent that offers the same space.

The off the ground-safety factor.
I think it is more of a psychological effect. . I don't know of anyone dying even in Africa from sleeping on the ground. I think like 15 years ago there was a case of a german lady who slept with her feet outside the ground tent and a lion took a bite out of it, but that was about it. For some reason even for huge animals a bit of canvas with zipper seems like an impenetrable barrier ( i know it does not make any sense, a bit of canvas should be nothing for a bear or a lion or whatever, but is true) .. so there is no real value added to the safety factor by going on the roof. As long as you close the zippers you are good, in any tent, at least from large animals.

But if this is what it takes to get the missus out and the family to enjoy the trip ..it will worth any expense. and all other talk about weight up top, poor fuel economy cost etc becomes irrelevant :)


A hard shell it is a different ball game. They are in general smaller than canvas RTT, but the experience is different. Less impact on the aerodynamics and for most, the set up and fold is under 1 min. Heavier than cavas. Difficult if you have to take them off the vehicle often, you need some kind of pulley system or 3 buddies . Some canvas RTT - have the same issue, you need more than 2 people to put them on or off the vehicle.

Best RTT when money is no object that takes care of almost all disadvantages of RTT are roof top conversions. They are costly, but probably worth it it if you plan a 3 year trip around the world. For pickups there are options now that will fit almost any pick up, for wagons'SUV, there are some specific models, like defenders, troopies, jeeps wrangler, who have specialized companies on doing this type of work, so there the selection is more limited.

Swags - heavier than ground tents. Can be kept inside or on a roof rack, they can take some weather. They pack and setup fast, there are even some inflatable option with no poles. You can leave the bedding inside like it is possible in the good RTT's . This saves a lot of time and space . They come with a normal mattress that can be upgraded. But they are bulky and heavy. Where storage space is an issue.. they might be a problem. Cost is also a factor, they are for sure up there with the more expensive ground tents. but much cheaper than an RTT

All great info. I fully agree with the perceived safety of an RTT. If a bear or large animal wants to get to you, the height of a vehicle is most likely not going to stop them.

 

[Embark With Mark]

That is a very cool tent. Like you I chose a ground tent to use for camping. I chose the Oztent and it rides up on the roof of my JK as well. The other reason and main one for my wife is the fact that we can stand up inside the tent to get dressed and or to move around. I also like the front awning that is built in to the tent and can be used or not at all depending on the camping moment. The rest of the gear fits inside the back of the Jeep. If you build a box around the ARB fridge you will be able to put items on top of it and still be able to access the fridge when stopped for breaks and meals. The box can be made portable and thrown into the Jeep when ever you take the fridge with you, too.

I also took a look at Oztent's. They seem like a fantastic option as well. It is like you are reading my mind. A box or drawer system on the side of the ARB fridge is in the works.

 

[Embark With Mark]

Luckily, here in AZ we don't get much rain so your scenario doesn't happen that often. I like to adventure deep off road and the trails get very off camber and I hate the tipsiness of the higher center of gravity.

I fully agree. Been there, done it, removed it for that exact reason. We also like to adventure deep off-road.

 

[Graeman]

Here is the box that I built. It has room underneath it to fit a Walmart folding outdoor table and more nick nacks. The lower right cubby will hold a 5 gallon water tank and all of my tools. The top rigjt holds my stove and camping utensils. I mounted a 5 lb propane bottle to the spare tire carrier as I got tired of carrying the tiny 1 pounders with me.

 

[Embark With Mark]

Here is the box that I built. It has room underneath it to fit a Walmart folding outdoor table and more nick nacks. The lower right cubby will hold a 5 gallon water tank and all of my tools. The top rigjt holds my stove and camping utensils. I mounted a 5 lb propane bottle to the spare tire carrier as I got tired of carrying the tiny 1 pounders with me.

Love the idea, I really need to look into building something similar. It would clean up the interior of my Jeep and add needed orangization.

 

[The Captain]

The quest to find the perfect tent has been a rough one for me. When I was single and in warmer weather a cot, or ground mat was perfectly fine for me. When my wife and I started dating we used my, very small, back packing tent with two blow up hiking mats. We tried two Roof Top Tents both on the Jeep and then on a trailer, but they just did not fit our camping style.

While the RTTs were comfortable we found issues with it being on the roof of a Jeep TJ. One we are smaller people and this forced me to have to, almost, climb on the roof to pack the thing away. Furthermore the two models of RTT we had did not have enough storage space inside to be able to store all the sleeping gear inside it self. Since we explore in a TJ space is a premium and having a huge tent that takes up both the roof rack and then sleeping gear that takes up space on the inside was not working out. Plus questions of stability come into play when hitting harder trails. The trailer was a nice setup and fixed most of these issues expect that the added complexity of getting stuck on a tight trail towing a trailer. We often just point the rig down a trail and see were it leads. That is a little harder to do with a trailer.

After trying out the RTT, we then moved back to our trusted 2 person ground tent setup. The two flaws here were that we had to blow up our hiking mattresses by mouth every night, something that becomes daunting if you hit camp at 4AM. (We do this more than I care to admit). The ground tent has only one door, and is very small. Having only one door is an inconvenience, but we worked around it. The ground tent had a few pros over the RTT. One was weight, the ground tent setup was very light weight. Two was space, the whole ground tent setup took up less space because it left our roof rack open. I say whole setup, because I count the sleeping arrangement and tent as a unit. Its crucial these parts come together to make a complete unit and as such space and comfort comes down to more than just the tent it self. However, this setup was not nearly as comfortable as the Roof Top Tent and started to become a problem for us. We started to dread pulling out all the sleeping gear every night, blowing up mattresses, and organizing the whole sleep system. In the morning it would be a reverse of this.

Entire the Swag tent. We are still in the testing phases of this tent. However, it knocks off a few important factors for us. One all the sleeping gear can be stored inside the swag when it is rolled up and then the swag gets thrown on the roof. This keeps all the sleeping gear together, ready to go, and keeps the inside of the jeep more tidy. Secondly, no blowing up of air mattresses. Third, the thing is very comfortable. My wife made a statement the first night saying "when I woke up I thought we were still at home for a moment". Fourth, it has two doors. fifth, the tent and the jeep are independent of each other so we can setup a base camp. It really is nice not having to pack up a tent when ever you want to move the vehicle. Finally, the thing is so thick that light can not penetrate it. For someone like myself who likes the ideas of an RTT but wants portability of a ground tent. I think a swag is right in the middle. With all that said, I still beileve that one has to configure their setup for their camping style. So far it seems that this Swag tent is a winner. 2What do you think? Would you try one? Do you already use one? Do you know anyone that uses them?

Check out my first impressions:

Hey Mark,

been using them forever here in Aus and wouldn't have it any other way. As you pointed out, it is so convenient to have everything in one bed role so that all you have to do is throw it on the ground and set it up. Build a fire, grab a cold one and settle in for the night it's just so simple.

I can also understand that a few may be put off by the effort to roll it up but it is worth pointing out that your swag is on the larger end of the scale for a swag. With two of you rolling, it would have taken no effort and half the time, as for the comments about rain........well rain is rain and it doesn't discriminate, your going to get wet. The swag is waterproof and you roll it up with the zipper closed. I don't even put mine in a bag, straight on the roof and it's been through all sorts of weather.

My swag is a double from ARB although it may be considered a little tight for two, let's face it, you only sleep in it. I had 6 weeks away in mine and 5 weeks were moving every day so getting back to convenience, it's just so beautifully simple. I wouldn't use anything else when solo camping, if the wife and dogs come along then we usually take the camper. Like you, space is a premium for me and when going remote travel here in Aus you need all the room you can find. Sometimes requiring 90 litres of fuel on the roof, and this is with a 159 litre fuel tank, up to 50 litres of water and everything else to be self sufficient.

Hope it all works out for you and you get as much satisfaction from it as I do, attached a few photo's to get you enthused.

 

[Anak]

It is good that there are lots of options. Different situations make substantial differences in what is needed.

Having a family of 5, a RTT just doesn't seem to make any sense for us. Not only because of the challenge of fitting all five of us in there (and I should note that we are all relatively tall) but also because the number of us going on any given trip seems to be different every time.

I like seeing alternatives to RTTs. Particularly alternatives that make it easy to adapt to changing circumstances.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

The quest to find the perfect tent has been a rough one for me. When I was single and in warmer weather a cot, or ground mat was perfectly fine for me. When my wife and I started dating we used my, very small, back packing tent with two blow up hiking mats. We tried two Roof Top Tents both on the Jeep and then on a trailer, but they just did not fit our camping style.

While the RTTs were comfortable we found issues with it being on the roof of a Jeep TJ. One we are smaller people and this forced me to have to, almost, climb on the roof to pack the thing away. Furthermore the two models of RTT we had did not have enough storage space inside to be able to store all the sleeping gear inside it self. Since we explore in a TJ space is a premium and having a huge tent that takes up both the roof rack and then sleeping gear that takes up space on the inside was not working out. Plus questions of stability come into play when hitting harder trails. The trailer was a nice setup and fixed most of these issues expect that the added complexity of getting stuck on a tight trail towing a trailer. We often just point the rig down a trail and see were it leads. That is a little harder to do with a trailer.

After trying out the RTT, we then moved back to our trusted 2 person ground tent setup. The two flaws here were that we had to blow up our hiking mattresses by mouth every night, something that becomes daunting if you hit camp at 4AM. (We do this more than I care to admit). The ground tent has only one door, and is very small. Having only one door is an inconvenience, but we worked around it. The ground tent had a few pros over the RTT. One was weight, the ground tent setup was very light weight. Two was space, the whole ground tent setup took up less space because it left our roof rack open. I say whole setup, because I count the sleeping arrangement and tent as a unit. Its crucial these parts come together to make a complete unit and as such space and comfort comes down to more than just the tent it self. However, this setup was not nearly as comfortable as the Roof Top Tent and started to become a problem for us. We started to dread pulling out all the sleeping gear every night, blowing up mattresses, and organizing the whole sleep system. In the morning it would be a reverse of this.

Entire the Swag tent. We are still in the testing phases of this tent. However, it knocks off a few important factors for us. One all the sleeping gear can be stored inside the swag when it is rolled up and then the swag gets thrown on the roof. This keeps all the sleeping gear together, ready to go, and keeps the inside of the jeep more tidy. Secondly, no blowing up of air mattresses. Third, the thing is very comfortable. My wife made a statement the first night saying "when I woke up I thought we were still at home for a moment". Fourth, it has two doors. fifth, the tent and the jeep are independent of each other so we can setup a base camp. It really is nice not having to pack up a tent when ever you want to move the vehicle. Finally, the thing is so thick that light can not penetrate it. For someone like myself who likes the ideas of an RTT but wants portability of a ground tent. I think a swag is right in the middle. With all that said, I still beileve that one has to configure their setup for their camping style. So far it seems that this Swag tent is a winner. 2What do you think? Would you try one? Do you already use one? Do you know anyone that uses them?

Check out my first impressions:

Nice tent for young guys and gals. Excellent video but I thought for awhile the tent was going to get the best of you. LOL. :-)

 

[Jerry James]

We love our Gazelle T4

 

[Embark With Mark]

We love our Gazelle T4

Lots of people do! One that is great about the world today is that we have so many types of gear to choose from. Nice setup.

 

[Jerry James]

Lots of people do! One that is great about the world today is that we have so many types of gear to choose from. Nice setup.

We love the fact that we can combine our 3 favorite hobbies... Motorcycles, Jeeps and Camping. It has been a good mix for us. The motorcycle trailer allows for us to carry the Gazelle a little easier. Otherwise its strapped to the back of the JK

 

[Embark With Mark]

We love the fact that we can combine our 3 favorite hobbies... Motorcycles, Jeeps and Camping. It has been a good mix for us. The motorcycle trailer allows for us to carry the Gazelle a little easier. Otherwise its strapped to the back of the JK

That is a sweet setup for sure! I'm sure it is a ton of fun, might have to pick up a bike one day.