What is your preferred shelter? (Rooftop Tent vs Ground Tent vs Etc...)

What is your preferred shelter?


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40 years agoI was a minimalist camper. Under the stars was first choice, then a pup tent if it was wet out. Today I'm in a home bilt square drop. Mostly because I still hate setting up camp or packing up in a rain storm. Home bilt cuz everything manufactured is outrageously expensive, cheaply built, and never exactly what I need.

If I were young again I'd still be using back packing gear only.

But I do like the comfort of a double bed that is always made up.

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Do you have other photos? And do you have build plans!? It looks awesome!
 
We sleep differently depending on the trip. When stationary in the woods hammocks are the go to. When out exploring it's the memory foam mattress in the back of the Land Cruiser. Both set ups are hard to beat.

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Is that a Warbonnet? I have one and love it! I just picked up a custom hammock from a guy out here in SC called Walhalla Hammocks (on FB). He made one to order for me and it rocks. I'm a hammock guy when I backpack, but I rarely use my rig when overlanding...usually it's my RTT. We have 2 kids now so I've moved my RTT to my M416 and I cant decide if I want a second RTT or just get an OZ, Gazelle, etc.
 
Is that a Warbonnet? I have one and love it! I just picked up a custom hammock from a guy out here in SC called Walhalla Hammocks (on FB). He made one to order for me and it rocks. I'm a hammock guy when I backpack, but I rarely use my rig when overlanding...usually it's my RTT. We have 2 kids now so I've moved my RTT to my M416 and I cant decide if I want a second RTT or just get an OZ, Gazelle, etc.

Yep. It's the Blackbird XLC with a 0 degree Wookie under quilt. Like sleeping on a cloud. So good. I'll check out Walhalla. It's always fun to try out different stuff. My partner and I did not hammock camp nearly as much this year because we started sleeping in the land cruiser over multi day trips bouncing from spot to spot. Will do some winter camping in the Blackbird when my brother is out for Christmas. Looking forward to that.

Fun story, when I ordered the hammock and quilt I was living about 25 minutes from Warbonnet's shop and stopped by a couple times to pick stuff up on the way to camp. Super cool to see quilts, tarps, and hammocks being made by hand on the tables in the room while walking through to pick up my quilt that had been finished just 2 hours earlier. Great people and great product. Love supporting good and local.
 
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Yep. It's the Blackbird XLC with a 0 degree Wookie under quilt. Like sleeping on a cloud. So good. I'll check out Walhalla. It's always fun to try out different stuff. My partner and I did not hammock camp nearly as much this year because we started sleeping in the land cruiser over multi day trips bouncing from spot to spot. Will do some winter camping in the Blackbird when my brother is out for Christmas. Looking forward to that.

Fun story, when I ordered the hammock and quilt I was living about 25 minutes from Warbonnet's shop and stopped by a couple times to pick stuff up on the way to camp. Super cool to see quilts, tarps, and hammocks being made by hand on the tables in the room while walking through to pick up my quilt that had been finished just 2 hours earlier. Great people and great product. Love supporting good and local.

I agree. I wish I had known about them when I lived in CoS! Here's my Blackbird...even though you cant see it. Met up with a buddy from my time in the army. we bushwacked about 1.5 miles down a creek to this spot. I love being back home in NC, but man do I miss CO!
 

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I agree. I wish I had known about them when I lived in CoS! Here's my Blackbird...even though you cant see it. Met up with a buddy from my time in the army. we bushwacked about 1.5 miles down a creek to this spot. I love being back home in NC, but man do I miss CO!

That's a great spot! If I had not moved to CO then Asheville would have been my spot. Love it out there. Spent a lot of time touring with my band through NC in the mountains. It is a great place.
 
heres a bit of history on my trailer

 
I prefer a ground tent. Had a Tepui mounted on a small trailer but the fold in half design didn’t work out for me. My hip lined up perfectly with the crease in the mattress and was really uncomfortable. It felt like sleeping on the ground. Just picked up a Gazelle T3 on Black Friday. Can’t wait to try it out.
 
We sleep differently depending on the trip. When stationary in the woods hammocks are the go to. When out exploring it's the memory foam mattress in the back of the Land Cruiser. Both set ups are hard to beat.

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Warbonnet Wooki, good choice! I’m an avid backpacker and hammock user, brand new to overlanding but I can spot quality hammock gear from a mile away.
 
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Ground tent for us. Currently a MSR Elixir 3 with Cabela's ultralight cots. It's good for a night or two, but kinda sucks when the weather socks us in for a few days. We want to upgrade to a Springbar for a bit more room and long term comfort.
 
For a few years, I was all in on hammocks. When you tour by motorcycle, size/weight is a real issue. But ultimately I just couldn't find a comfy hammock (for me). Eventually, I ended up finding a Kamp Rite Cot.

Oversize Kamp Rite Cot

And I LOVE it! Raised off the ground, easy to stay warm in, lots of extra room (at least in that size, for me). It's bulky, but manageable for car camping, so will work fine for overlanding use.

I did a quick review video of mine a couple years back when I first got it. Then I still had my truck and I could JUST fit it in the bed of the truck (truck had the 5'7' bed, so this was only doable with the tailgate down). You'll see a pup in the video - that was Boca. She's gone now, but remains with us in spirit. SHE LOVED the Kamp Rite and spent several nights out with me in the back yard "testing" it out. :laughing:

 
For a few years, I was all in on hammocks. When you tour by motorcycle, size/weight is a real issue. But ultimately I just couldn't find a comfy hammock (for me). Eventually, I ended up finding a Kamp Rite Cot.

Oversize Kamp Rite Cot

And I LOVE it! Raised off the ground, easy to stay warm in, lots of extra room (at least in that size, for me). It's bulky, but manageable for car camping, so will work fine for overlanding use.

I did a quick review video of mine a couple years back when I first got it. Then I still had my truck and I could JUST fit it in the bed of the truck (truck had the 5'7' bed, so this was only doable with the tailgate down). You'll see a pup in the video - that was Boca. She's gone now, but remains with us in spirit. SHE LOVED the Kamp Rite and spent several nights out with me in the back yard "testing" it out. :laughing:

As a motorcycle guy I tried hammock camping for about a year and gave up. Many areas i was going had no or sparce trees. And by the time i packed the tent and all the extras including a small tarp to cover my gear/equipment i was at the weight and size of my 3 person tent that i can practically standup in (im short)

I still do pack a small ENO hammock with me but its mostly for quick naps or lounging since its easy up and down not for sleeping.
 
I have a 2Door Jeep and prefer ground camping. With packing up so often i ran a 3 pole sky view Mountain Hardwear tent for years. But with the rain fly it was a solid 10 min setup. This past October i switched to a Shiftpod Mini which i can setup and break down in just a minute. IMG_0190.JPGIMG_0107.JPG
 
After seeing a bunch of people lose their gear to a surging tide on the coast, no ground tents for me. Got a canvas truck tent that is awesome, but kinda locks down the vehicle when in use. Sometimes that isn't a problem, sometimes it is. So we modified a 5x8 utility trailer to fit the truck tent. Just shortened the ramp into a tailgate this weekend and have a few other mods in mind before a short 2 night trip in two weeks to test things out.
 

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I have done it all over the years, from bivy sack to hammock, to 2 man tent, to giant tent, to roof top to inside sleep platforms and truck campers.
The current setup is a poptop van, I love that I can spin the seats around and sleep on the floor with the top down if I need to stealth to poptop and awning out for the full experience.
 
This past weekend we went to a campsite on old NC105 in NC and slept in the back of the Tahoe. It was in the 20's with big wind and 3 inches of snow. We chose not to use the hammocks because of the wind. Worked out great. Will do the same thing at Grayson Highlands, VA at the end of the month. Need to be flexible!
 
This past weekend we went to a campsite on old NC105 in NC and slept in the back of the Tahoe. It was in the 20's with big wind and 3 inches of snow. We chose not to use the hammocks because of the wind. Worked out great. Will do the same thing at Grayson Highlands, VA at the end of the month. Need to be flexible!

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Ground tent for me. I have a cot with a nice pad I put in there, so I’m basically sleeping on a bed. RTTs are very appealing, but I’d like to keep weight and center of gravity low on my truck. I also like being able to leave my tent out and go hit some trails.

I’d probably be a hammock guy if I didn’t camp in the desert all the time. Not a lot of trees here [emoji1]