Rooftop Tents for camping

TX2025

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Current Ride
2021 HD FLHXS
Current Ride #2
2017 Ram 1500 Sport 4x4
Anyone have any set up’s or plan to? I’m looking for something to store away and not have to have permanent rails on truck. Still want truck bed to use as well. Also don’t want to drill any holes in truck bed.

Any insight is welcome! Happy Sunday
 
Get whatever Yakima bed rack system fits your height preferences and their HD rails. I ran Bedrock HD system for a few years before I moved to an RSI smart cap with rails on top. The Yakima system clamps right to the bed rails and can be taken off in 5 minutes. I was very happy with it.
 
Go fast campers makes one for TRX
 
Anyone have any set up’s or plan to? I’m looking for something to store away and not have to have permanent rails on truck. Still want truck bed to use as well. Also don’t want to drill any holes in truck bed.

Any insight is welcome! Happy Sunday
Howdy Tex,

So, a few things to think about.

1. The roof tents are only comfortable when on even ground, or after you have spent a bit of time leveling your ride (lots of options to do it but none of them are speedy)

2. Everyone that buys a rooftop tent should first do a camping trip where you set up your campsite and are unable to drive your vehicle. If you are that person then it's a great option, I found out that we are not even close to the kind of the family that could make one work. We camp far off the beating path and need vehicle able to drive to hospital on moment's notice if emergency happens, we also like to drive around and see other spots and do some off-roading and lastly occasionally we require more ice, or other provisions. These things are tedious because you have to collapse the tent, get sleeping pads out and deflated unless room in bed, secure it all down with awnings and ladder. It seems like the slightest of inconveniences but 2 trips in and switched over to pod tents and never looked back. The tents build in less than a minute, few more for lines and pack down takes even less time plus we maintain mobility. Keep in mind that if you do have to drive for any reason, you will have to do setup, including leveling vehicle and all that excitement all again.

3. With only using rack system you will need to be super aware of dynamic load limits. Rooftop tents are very light, and the force on hard braking can rip the whole thing off, so I'd definitely drill and install beefy or use a dynamic load calculator. Many people have experience with dynamic load sheer with roof racks and similar because of a lack of understanding dynamic vs static.

All in with the new tent, proper stakes and footprint it was something like $800 but the freedom we have again...priceless

I can't help but ask everyone I see with one how much they like their roof tent and almost always "it's awesome", then I point out the issues we had and then I hear "well yea, I wouldn't do it again, but we don't really use it that much" or some variation of that. I'm not saying they are a niche gimmick, but I really only see any practical application if doing caravan style overlanding.

Oh, and the tents are GREAT for the people that are afraid of bears and don't think they can traverse the modern miracle that is a ladder ;)

If still loving the idea, I found this for ya and looks like it does what you want: https://prinsu.com/product/ram-1500-bed-bars/
 

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Howdy Tex,

So, a few things to think about.

1. The roof tents are only comfortable when on even ground, or after you have spent a bit of time leveling your ride (lots of options to do it but none of them are speedy)

2. Everyone that buys a rooftop tent should first do a camping trip where you set up your campsite and are unable to drive your vehicle. If you are that person then it's a great option, I found out that we are not even close to the kind of the family that could make one work. We camp far off the beating path and need vehicle able to drive to hospital on moment's notice if emergency happens, we also like to drive around and see other spots and do some off-roading and lastly occasionally we require more ice, or other provisions. These things are tedious because you have to collapse the tent, get sleeping pads out and deflated unless room in bed, secure it all down with awnings and ladder. It seems like the slightest of inconveniences but 2 trips in and switched over to pod tents and never looked back. The tents build in less than a minute, few more for lines and pack down takes even less time plus we maintain mobility. Keep in mind that if you do have to drive for any reason, you will have to do setup, including leveling vehicle and all that excitement all again.

3. With only using rack system you will need to be super aware of dynamic load limits. Rooftop tents are very light, and the force on hard braking can rip the whole thing off, so I'd definitely drill and install beefy or use a dynamic load calculator. Many people have experience with dynamic load sheer with roof racks and similar because of a lack of understanding dynamic vs static.

All in with the new tent, proper stakes and footprint it was something like $800 but the freedom we have again...priceless

I can't help but ask everyone I see with one how much they like their roof tent and almost always "it's awesome", then I point out the issues we had and then I hear "well yea, I wouldn't do it again, but we don't really use it that much" or some variation of that. I'm not saying they are a niche gimmick, but I really only see any practical application if doing caravan style overlanding.

Oh, and the tents are GREAT for the people that are afraid of bears and don't think they can traverse the modern miracle that is a ladder ;)

If still loving the idea, I found this for ya and looks like it does what you want: https://prinsu.com/product/ram-1500-bed-bars/
Some valid insight. I appreciate that.

Bears can climb ladders?! lol
 
Keep in mind rear springs on these trucks are soft and you’d end up with a squat look when you have all that weight on the back.

I had that problem on my TRX.
 
Keep in mind rear springs on these trucks are soft and you’d end up with a squat look when you have all that weight on the back.

I had that problem on my TRX.
What kind of set up you have? Any pictures?
 
We had an iKamper skycamp on our f150. It was great, goes up or breaks down in about a minute depending on your mattress situation and how much bedding and crap is inside. I bought it because I thought I would do impromptu overnights, but with a job change, that didn’t happen. I’m thinking about I installing it on top of our little off road Hiker trailer and keeping the RHO with a tonneau for now but struggling to decide. My roof rack on the f150 is really high, and I think it decreases my mileage by a few mpg (hard to tell, f150 having engine issues, hence new truck order). A bed rack could make it lower profile, but my wife doesn’t like the idea of dust on everything in the bed.
 
Wait until 50, maybe 60? And have to pee 3+ times a night and have to climb out of the damn thing or use a jug (a real nice add to a small sleeping space!).
The spouse/girlfreind really appreciates it and the rocking when going in and out….dont even mention having a dog..more pieces to a puzzle I finally stopped trying to solve!!
😉
 
Im 45 and like to pee a lot, don’t trust an XL iced tea jug in or near my RTT.
 
Wait until 50, maybe 60? And have to pee 3+ times a night and have to climb out of the damn thing or use a jug (a real nice add to a small sleeping space!).
The spouse/girlfreind really appreciates it and the rocking when going in and out….dont even mention having a dog..more pieces to a puzzle I finally stopped trying to solve!!
😉
The problem is that we stopped being creative. Time to set up tree pulleys, rope, build what looks like a log raft and now we have Swiss Family elevator. Heck, I might get even more creative a set up my camp at top of an escalator, for that more urban explorer experience ;)

Seriously though, you nailed it. The rack/roof tents are a nifty idea, but the real-world application and drawbacks are not small. If I was homeless, without a dog, and didn't pee throughout the night then I'd have kept mine.
 

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