roof tents

[Vanguard]

Hey Guys,

Check this out. It actually looks pretty good to me.
Utility Campers

 

[Roman]

G'day,

I have been thinking about how I am going to setup my ute for a 6month trip round Australia.

I am keenon the rooftop tent, but also will be carrying a Kayak on the roof. Also I want to improve aerodynamics, so I have come up with this idea:

I would like to mount the rooftop tent over the tub, but set the top of the tent roughly level with the my roofracks. To achieve this, I will need some sort of custom canopy which is half the height of a normal canopy.

Here are two pictures - one is a custom canopy which i found on the net, and the second pic is photoshopped to show how I want my setup to look.

Does anyone have any Ideas on where I could get a canopy like this made somewhere around Brisbane or the Gold Coast...

Any comments about the setup of ideas for improving it would be appreciated....

Cheers,

Roman

 

[will]

Not in Qld but these guys do the canopy your after.

http://www.bartlett.net.au/ute_covers_trailer_canopies.php

 

[WoodyD40]

I agree with Tony and Dion.

We have opted for a camper trailer, as we are more inclined to take a lot of stuff with us (family of 3) and would prefer base camping most of the time, and then exploring track local to where we camp.

But it is still possible to do touring with a camper trailer, you just make sure u dont unpack too much crap in the evening, so there is not too much to repack next morning.

I am finding the NAV to be a really good tow vehicle, so i'm not too worried about the weight of the trailer behind me. So far there has only been ONE track i would not take the camper trailer on - that was a steep decline with heaps of tight switchbacks. I needed to do 3 point turns on most of the corners. Would have been virtualy impossible with a 4m trailer.

But, the roof top tent would be great for a couple who want to do some exploring and not to stay in one place too long. It would give you a great amount of freedom whereas a trailer would start to limit you. I think it comes down to a personal choice of how and where you plan to go.

Also, needs change. You may well enjoy a roof top tent for a few years, then upgrade to a camper tailer, and then eventually upgrade again to a off-road caravan.

WELL, the Mrs and I bit the bullet yesterday. We already have a nice Camper Trailer but there are trips i'd like to go on where taking the trailer is not suitable. So i've talked the Mrs into letting me get a roof top tent for our mighty D40 and she finally agreed.

So i am off this afternoon to pick up a TIGERS11 branded Roof Top tent, ex display model so it doesnt have the side awnings for the lower area - which i'm not likely to use anyway. So being an ex demo model, and some bits missing we got it for half price of a similar spec'd brand new IRONMAN unit.

I see that this purchase will allow us to do short notice trip touring (for a night or two) and is even easier to set up than the camper trailer - particularly if your travelling interstate. So there might be some trips where we have the roof top and the camper trailer.

But it is fast gotten to the point where i'm going to seriously look at taking the roof rack frame off when its not needed. The beast is getting too tall to even think about going into melbourne and expect that i'm going to be able to enter any carparks with it.

i'll post up some photos tonight after i've picked up the tent and figured out how to bolt it to the roof rack frame.

 

[Roman]

i got my rig sorted yesterday - its a RedCenta Boulia from TJM $1500 ... should be good

 

[WoodyD40]

Thats great Roman. Just like your photoshop piccys ... LOL

I have picked mine up this afternoon - but i'm too stuffed to set it up today, so its just sitting on top of the roof rack frame sideways with a lazy rope over it. It will stay like that until Xmas day - i'll have time in the afternoon to play around with the fittings and fixings and get it set up the way i want it. So photo's will have to wait until then.

 

[Roman]

cheers Woody - mine was a bugger to fit, took all afternoon in the baking hot sun. it was really a two man job, so get someone to help you if you can. Merry Cristmas!!

 

[WoodyD40]

cheers Woody - mine was a bugger to fit, took all afternoon in the baking hot sun. it was really a two man job, so get someone to help you if you can. Merry Cristmas!!

sounds like damm good advise ... thanks.

 

[will]

Looks Awesome Roman, i can see why you're happy with it. Good work.

Let us know how you find it once you've used it a few times. Keen to hear some feedback. i was in ARB today looking at them, they are doing theirs for $1750 with the annex and an roll out Awning. Merry Christmas.

 

[71DJP]

Hi Tim Duncan I have had few differnt things for camping on trips we have been on including the following -

Simpson Desert - 2 x Swags me and the wife only worked great for 3 weeks

Cape York - Hanniabl Roof Top Tent 1.4 wide on a Patrol wagon me the wife and 18 month old boy all fitted fine and again 3 weeks (best tent I have ever used) No real noticable effect on fuel economy No rock and roll in fact we had 2 other couples with us using ground tents and I always had a beer in my hand way before them.

Kimberley WA - Soft floor camper trailer me the wife and our 3 year old boy. Worked well for this trip because we were away for 2.5 months. I personally hated towing and using the soft floor camper because it leaked so much dust. I will spend the big money and buy a hard floor camper for the next long trip. Towed with 3.0ltr Patrol Auto and the fuel ecomomy was teriable

Simpson desert - June 2011 next year. Now own the D40 Navara Auto D/Cab only going for 3 weeks and have now got a 5 year old boy and 18 month old Girl and of cauce still have the wife. For ease and of cause for not wanting to tow a trailer across the Simpson Desert we are going for another Hannibal Safari tent this time 1.8 Mtr wide and all 4 of us will fit easily. I have just picked up an alloy box canopy that has replaced the tub and that is where the tent will sit I will post a picture when it all set up.

I can definatly recomend a roof top tent however never buy one on Ebay, you get what you pay for. Hannibal is a little dearer but are a great solid product. They do not rock and roll unless you have shit suspension on your car. You get great wind cross flow ventalation becauce you are up high and you can close it all up and leave all your bedding in the tent this leaves you with much more room down below for everything else. Downside if you are staying somewhere for a couple of nites if you want to drive somewhere you have to close it up. It takes approx 5 min to close. At the end of thay day it all depend on what type of traveling you are going to do. As you can see by the trips we have done and are going to do and for how long each time.

Take a look at Hannibal Safari Equipment Australia - Live The Adventure Dream they are a great product if you are still keen on a roof top tent

FYI info any TJM, ARB or Ironman, Tiger and other cheap ones are all made in China. Hannibal is the only one that has Australian Made canvas the others are OK but don't expect them to be absollutly water, Dust proof or last very long.

 

[WoodyD40]

WELL, the Mrs and I bit the bullet yesterday. We already have a nice Camper Trailer but there are trips i'd like to go on where taking the trailer is not suitable. So i've talked the Mrs into letting me get a roof top tent for our mighty D40 and she finally agreed.

So i am off this afternoon to pick up a TIGERS11 branded Roof Top tent, ex display model so it doesnt have the side awnings for the lower area - which i'm not likely to use anyway. So being an ex demo model, and some bits missing we got it for half price of a similar spec'd brand new IRONMAN unit.

I see that this purchase will allow us to do short notice trip touring (for a night or two) and is even easier to set up than the camper trailer - particularly if your travelling interstate. So there might be some trips where we have the roof top and the camper trailer.

But it is fast gotten to the point where i'm going to seriously look at taking the roof rack frame off when its not needed. The beast is getting too tall to even think about going into melbourne and expect that i'm going to be able to enter any carparks with it.

i'll post up some photos tonight after i've picked up the tent and figured out how to bolt it to the roof rack frame.

It is amazing how my thoughts on the issue of Rooftop tent have changed in the year since i first posted in this thread. We have also had the Rooftop tent for almost a year.

The Rooftop is fantastic for touring type trips - whilst i'm out setting up a camp fire or doing some other 'unpacking', the roof top tent is so simple to setup the MrsWoody does all that for me and makes the bed ...

We have generally put Woody-jnr in the back seat of the Navara to sleep - but he is quickly giong to outgrow that, so during the muster we tested him sleeping in his OWN mini-tent (which he loved). So with an upcoming trip to Alice Springs planned, the Roof top tent will be going back onto the canopy and we'll be leaving the camper trailer behind.

But, at the muster we loved the setup of having the camper trailer as a 'home' base, so the Navara was free to roam the tracks.

 

[justdrinkbeer]

It is amazing how my thoughts on the issue of Rooftop tent have changed in the year since i first posted in this thread. We have also had the Rooftop tent for almost a year.

The Rooftop is fantastic for touring type trips - whilst i'm out setting up a camp fire or doing some other 'unpacking', the roof top tent is so simple to setup the MrsWoody does all that for me and makes the bed ...

We have generally put Woody-jnr in the back seat of the Navara to sleep - but he is quickly giong to outgrow that, so during the muster we tested him sleeping in his OWN mini-tent (which he loved). So with an upcoming trip to Alice Springs planned, the Roof top tent will be going back onto the canopy and we'll be leaving the camper trailer behind.

But, at the muster we loved the setup of having the camper trailer as a 'home' base, so the Navara was free to roam the tracks.

Hey mate, how old is your little un? We have a 1 year old and were thinking that upgrading from the double dome swag (which I love) to the roof top might work, just wondering at which point that will get too small too?

 

[WoodyD40]

What we did for the first year, is that wife and I slept in the roof top, and put the little UN on the back seat of the Navara. We packed the floor area behind the front seat with lots of stuff so he did not fall off the seat. Where we have camped we do not need to worry about locking the car. That has worked well for us all year. Samuel turned 6 today (happy birthday to my son) and looks like he will be a tall bloke like me, so we have turfed him out into his own little single person tent which looks like a light weight swag almost. He loved being in his own little cubby tent, and slept right through the big wind and rain storm the first night of the muster.

At one year of age, I think sleeping the 3 of you in the roof top will be fine for a year or two. Might be a bit tight when you want to roll over. You will know when the time is right for JNR to sleep by themselves either in a car or in a small single tent.

Problem with the kid sleeping in the car, is whenever they move - the whole car (and tent) move too. Hence kicking Samuel out into his own tent, as he is a real wriggler in the morning (worse than me).

I hope that wordy response has your answer somewhere in there ....