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Car Roof Tents?

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A100man
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PostPosted: 12:00 - 13 Oct 2021    Post subject: Car Roof Tents? Reply with quote

Spotted a car with a thing call tent box or summat which piqued my interest.

Seems like they're a thing.. but why? What's the big advantage and why would I spend a grand on one that still only sleeps two? Where do you cook - in another tent?
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MarJay
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PostPosted: 12:02 - 13 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

For safaris where getting eaten by large animals is a possibility. Otherwise I think they are a waste of money.
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Nobby the Bastard
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PostPosted: 12:04 - 13 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

MarJay wrote:
For safaris where getting eaten by large animals is a possibility. Otherwise I think they are a waste of money.


Pretty sure they wouldn't really protect from a fucking lion...
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MarJay
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PostPosted: 12:32 - 13 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

But they keep you off the floor, away from snakes, scorpions, zombies etc. I don't make the thing, I just know the vague application for them.
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A100man
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PostPosted: 12:39 - 13 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

MarJay wrote:
But they keep you off the floor, away from snakes, scorpions, zombies etc. I don't make the thing, I just know the vague application for them.


well, yes I can see how that might be of benefit in some inhospitable territories but this lot seems to be pitching them (pun unintended) at the European 'adventurer'..

https://rooftentutopia.com/
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Tarmacsurfer
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PostPosted: 13:13 - 13 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's exactly it, they're mainly aimed at "overland" adventure types, often to be seen on the roof of jacked up 4x4s and so forth. They're OK to use for a weekend away but I find them hideously uncomfortable in UK weather, because they're atop a tall vehicle they sway enough to make motion sickness a real issue and opening your tent door to be greeted by a face full of horizontal rain isn't something I'd recommend to anyone.

On the flip side, they're convenient because it's basically a caravan tent, you just unfold to use. They leave the rest of the vehicle free for stuff and makes it possible to fit out a middling large (think Hilux Surf or Discovery) competent off roader as a rough camper for longer trips.

These days it's more the 4 (or 4x4) wheel equivalent of a BMW adventure bike with the full Charlie&Ewan™ options package.
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MCN
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PostPosted: 21:11 - 13 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

PM the Back Scuttler.
I'm sure he's probably fought off lions from his air bed in a roof tent.
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WD Forte
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PostPosted: 23:21 - 13 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bet they're good for watching herds of Wildebeest
sweeping majestically across the plain.......................
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UncleFester
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PostPosted: 06:34 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

WD Forte wrote:
I bet they're good for watching herds of Wildebeest
sweeping majestically across the plain.......................


Youtube performs that function admirably without the travel feck on / being eaten by lions thing.
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A100man
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PostPosted: 09:19 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cable Tie wrote:
WD Forte wrote:
I bet they're good for watching herds of Wildebeest
sweeping majestically across the plain.......................


They just look a bit daft on the top of a Berlingo on a campsite in Bournemouth.


how about a Porsche Boxster on Dunstable Downs?

https://rooftentutopia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Femkes-Khosi-on-Porsche.jpg

..only £2550
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ThunderGuts
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PostPosted: 12:24 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

Weight is unlikely to be an issue if the mounting points are half decent; roofs are designed to hold the weight of the car these days so they don't collapse if a vehicle flips onto it's roof. The reason you see low load limits on car roof systems is due to dynamic forces, i.e. braking/cornering etc. - you can put a lot more load on them when they're not moving.

Back to the tents themselves;

Pros: they're probably better at preventing condensation as you're not on damp ground, nothing crawling in, no worry about finding smooth flat grass and possibly (ironically) greater privacy, depending on the height of your roof. Might even get a good view from campsites next to the sea/mountains etc. as you will probably see over walls.

Cons; I imagine they're cold as air can circulate underneath them, no shelter, ladder access for a 3am toilet break could be interesting, access back into the tent after returning from the pub at 2am could also be interesting, I imagine they're generally small and I wouldn't want to cook in one as if the thing caught fire, it's both going to be more painful than average to escape and it'll probably take the car with it when it burns down. You're also not going to be able to "set up camp" for a weekend then go out somewhere during the day, unless the car isn't moving.

I saw a lot of these in Iceland on top of Jimnys; I imagine to enable easy exploring of the F roads without having to worry about finding luggage space for a tent. Seemed popular so I assume they're acceptable, even in harsh Icelandic weather conditions (if you've not been, it redefines what we call "windy" in the UK).
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A100man
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PostPosted: 12:32 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

So let's say you've wined and dined a Tuscan beauty and you head for the hills in the boxster (or whatever model that is..)

..you arrive at a panoramic location and gaze at the view while engaging in some pre-coital fumblings.. At which point you toss her the camp chairs and say 'stick these up will you luv I'm just going to set-up the roof-tent..'

..right.
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ThunderGuts
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PostPosted: 13:30 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

A100man wrote:
So let's say you've wined and dined a Tuscan beauty and you head for the hills in the boxster (or whatever model that is..)

..you arrive at a panoramic location and gaze at the view while engaging in some pre-coital fumblings.. At which point you toss her the camp chairs and say 'stick these up will you luv I'm just going to set-up the roof-tent..'

..right.


I guess the alternative is fiddling around trying to get your pole through the opening? Question
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Ste
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PostPosted: 14:12 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

They're warmer because you're not on the ground.

They're warmer because the tents have built in mattresses and are built more solidly than normal tents.

They can be put up really quickly.
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 18:13 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

A100man wrote:

how about a Porsche Boxster on Dunstable Downs?

https://rooftentutopia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Femkes-Khosi-on-Porsche.jpg
..only £2550


Cool Thumbs Up , how about a tent on a Fiat Panda?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UEVDZBVPvwI
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Last edited by pepperami on 18:14 - 14 Oct 2021; edited 1 time in total
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MarJay
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PostPosted: 18:14 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

A100man wrote:
Boxster


*cough* Cayman *cough.
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 18:53 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can I just say "HOW MUCH" Shocked
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
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PostPosted: 19:52 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

why can't we have bike roof tents that's what i want to know
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
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PostPosted: 19:53 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

* paging aaron adams *
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Kawasaki Jimbo
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PostPosted: 20:07 - 14 Oct 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

Slightly off-topic but there seems to be a vogue round here for black sheets over rear passenger windows. At first I thought it covered vandalised glass but now they’re so common I think it’s a commercial sunshade for the little treasures.
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