RTT, trailer, bed tent, or??

I’ve been trying to really figure out if a RTT (roof top tent) is worth the money or not. They look amazing and seem to be functional (space, off the ground, stable) but wondering if there’s a better option? Is a RTT a fad or is it really the best kind of overland camping there is?

thanks

 

I like the trailer option so you don’t have to tear down camp when you wanna ride or do other stuff. I just mount an RTT on a built rack for the trailer. 29 years in the Infantry and I refuse to sleep in uncomfortable places anymore. To each his own, zero f@cks about fads, determine your budget, needs then desires.

 

Personally I love my RTT. 23Zero Walkabout 62. It's got blacked out interior so when the windows are shut literally no light comes in which means sleeping in is a possibility! Also the stock mattress that comes with it is pretty damn comfy and I'm a side sleeper. That said there are definitely drawbacks. It takes time to set up and put away, it definitely sucks putting it away if it's raining and then you have to open it back up soonish to let it dry/air out. Getting up to "do business" in the middle of the night is a bit rough since you have to go down the ladder. It's definitely not for everyone. For a fraction of the cost of a RTT you can get a really nice ground tent. Or if you're short or have a long bed sleeping in the bed with a shell on it would probably be the way to go. That being said I'm insanely happy with mine. It lives on a mid height bed rack on my truck all year round and I can still park in my garage. Would highly recommend it!

 

Trailer is my endgame goal. Set up basecamp then go exploring.

 

Depends on where you want to camp. I've been to places where a RTT will have you sleeping in a gravel parking lot with a bunch of cars.


A ground tent is still the best bang for the buck, and the most versatile.

 

No argument here, this is a valid point that does limit choices sometimes and entry budget is hands down ground tent.

 

We love our RTT. Definitely an upgrade over our ground tent. The one and only downside we've found was having to tear down camp when we want to go somewhere that's not exactly feasible to ride to on bikes.

RTT is better than a bed tent because you don't lose your bed space. We've even weathered a Lake Superior storm in our RTT without the guy lines coming out despite the front of that being pretty much a parachute in that wind. It's also great being off the ground and it's far sturdier than a ground tent

 

Yeah I'd have a really hard time recommending a RTT to someone who is brand new to camping. The price point is higher, the logistics are more complicated, and if you don't know exactly how you intend to use it, it can be really limiting.

That said, I could see one being super great in certain places, mostly in the western part of the US. Many campgrounds in the east and middle are more developed and the advantages would be less clear. National forests would be a good spot for them though.

 

There's no one size fits all. It depends on your area and how you plan on using the truck. If you do decide on an RTT, scour around for a used one. I got mine for $650 and it's in like-new condition except for a couple of spots on the outer cover.

I used to have an RTT on top of a camper shell and hated it for so many reasons. Sold it after 3 nights in it. My needs changed, build changed and I revisited an RTT but learned from my past. Now, I love it so much and don't see going away from it anytime soon. Setup and tear down is incredibly easy and for where I camp, it's nice to not worry about finding a piece of flat ground with no rocks.

Another big pro is the ease of going camping. All my bedding is in there so that's one less thing to remember to pack when I want to go on a trip.

 

I wanted a RTT because it was the cool thing. I will still occasionally look to what is being sold used, and maybe one day buy one. Ultimately it came down to financial common sense for me and why I haven't bought one yet. as Much as I love to go camping and hit the trails, I can only get out out a few times a year. dropping $1K on a tent that will only see action maybe 10 days a year, doesn't sound like a good investment to me. Plus the hassle of being able to get in out of parking decks for work, or where do I store it at when not on the truck. Also the inconvenience of tearing it down and setting up every day when out camping/trail riding, didn't seem practical. Ground tent with a good air mattress is good enough for me at this point. Long term goal would be a trailer with a RTT to set up camp till done, or a tear drop style camper with a RTT for the kids. But things cost money.

 

1000% subjective.
I hate ground camping. I use a hammock when not camping with my wife. The RTT is great for us. She likes the firm mattress, I like not having rocks and roots in my back. If I wasn't married, I'd probably just hammock camp out of the truck.
But the RTT is not cheap and takes up a lot of dimensional space.
Figure out your intentions and weigh your pros and cons.

 

Sure, they're fads. Cool and functional, but yeah, they're fads. But if we're honest, so is the entirety of overlanding.

Long before roof top tents and $25,000 offroad camper trailers were a thing, generations of people have been "overlanding" in out 4x4s without them. We just used to just call it camping. We didn't need $300 shovels, 100 patches on the ceiling and an instagram account. Just a ground tent, a bunch of beer, and some trail maps.

So, before going waist deep in the expensive overlander stuff, is this something you've actually done before? And by "this" I mean off-grid camping. I highly suggest getting a better feel for the type of camping you enjoy most, and focus your money/effort there.

RTTs are good if you do a lot of single night stay type adventures, where you want to be able to set up and tear down quickly and get moving. They're kinda dumb if you do a lot of "basecamping" where you set up a basecamp for a few days, and go off hitting various trails during the day since in order to move your truck, you essentially have to break camp. For basecamping, a trailer would be better.

For whatever you do, a ground tent will do all of it, is cheaper, lighter, and will get you doing anything you want.

 

just curious. Why didn’t you like you rtt on top of a canopy?

 

It acted like a sail on the highway and I didn’t like the weight that high off-road in off camber situations. It also made setup more difficult since I couldn’t reach everything very easily. And I’m not exactly short at 6’ tall.

 

I started out with ground tents and still have several and use them on various occasions.

I have also had a big toy hauler to house my ATVs and such to the dunes and woods.

Moved to a slide in truck camper and a 16'x8.5' cargo trailer for the versatility of previous mentioned toys, but now have the option to pull my boat or kayaks and still have indoor living space.

Back in 2010, I modified my kayak trailer that I built in 2009 into more of an off road trailer and added a hard top RTT. Still have and use the hell out of this trailer. Tows great behind the Taco.

Last year on a whim I found an older good shape wedge RTT with Thule bed rack system for a steal for $800. I slapped this setup on my son's truck (my old 1997 taco).

I will be using the wedge RTT from my son's truck on my truck for 3 weeks while touring through Montana.

Then in July we will be swapping the wedge RTT for two 100w solar panels on my truck and taking my off road trailer into the deep depths of SE Oregon desert for another 3 weeks.

My point here is that a RTT can be a versatile tool that can be used on your truck or trailer.

 

Are you 8 feet tall? lol

As others said, there's no one-size fits all solution. If you want a RTT, but also have taller gear in the back or a shell, it's gotta be mounted really high. The disadvantages to that are... well it's really high... Which is also especially bad for off roading: it sticks up and more likely to get damaged from branches and stuff, and sets the CG really high which is also bad. I'm also not confident that a couple hundred pounds mounted to the top of a shell is not going to eventually destroy that shell when you're off roading. I've seen some people who have fab'd up a custom internal "rack" to mount the RTT to, so the shell isn't taking the weight itself.

The low mounted racks/RTTs limit what you can put in the bed and block your rear window view, and if the RTT is longer than your bed (a distinct possibility for those of us with doublecabs, lol) it's going to stick out off the back.

In the end, it will always be a compromise. I always caution people from building something based on someone else's build (copy catting) because that setup will more than likely not work best for you. They are making different compromises than you might need to.

 

I do either a ground tent or hammock. I don't get the Instagram cred, but it saves weight and money and I can just drive away from camp if I want to.

 

I did some soul searching about this recently and I landed on a trailer for a couple reasons. Here's my considerations:

1. Where am I gonna stay mostly? - For me, the answer was campgrounds with a small amount of boondocking spread in there. Everything I want to do has a campground directly nearby.
2. Am I willing to have to tear down camp to move my truck? - For me, this answer was no. I wanted to be able to shuttle mountain bikes, go kayaking, resupply, go off roading, etc. and have camp ready for me.
   
3. How much setup am I willing to do? - This one was a bit harder to answer; I would probably have been ok with a pop up trailer, but I wanted to be able to stop for lunch, bathroom breaks, move gear around, etc. without having to set my trailer up.

All this led me to a hard-side trailer around 21ft.

 

pop-up trailer or hammock for me, with a strong preference to trailer. I used to be a ground tenter for nearly 20 years before I upgraded.

Ive said it before in at least two other threads - RTTs throw a complication in planning for emergent/urgent response scenarios. Have a hard think on how to free your vehicle enough for an evac if one person in your group is incapacitated/inconvenienced/needs to poop. That doesn't make them a bad choice. Its just one more thing to consider (and plan for) when considering that route.

 

I prefer, at most a ground tent. My wife insists on indoor plumbing. I’m shopping for a trailer.