Hard top fiberglass roof tent

OK searching a few other posts, I see that some have had experience with these hard top fiberglass tents.

http://www.patrol4x4.com/forum/general-discussion-18/you-went-where-113090/

and a few photos on here:
http://www.patrol4x4.com/forum/trips-touring-treks-23/tigerz-roof-top-tent-111986/

 

BCF and Rays Outdoors apparently do one similar to the Craig but I have not seen one in store yet. Might have to take a long drive to Rockingham store.

Im in the same boat and will be watching tis thread!

sorry Gordie cant remember where you live while i type this but can let you know BCF Bayswater has one set up at that store! There do want stupid price compared to Craigs though and almost exactly the same! If i remember correctly they want close to 2K or more!

Found this too:

BCF TV

 

Im in the same boat and will be watching tis thread!

sorry Gordie cant remember where you live while i type this but can let you know BCF Bayswater has one set up at that store! There do want stupid price compared to Craigs though and almost exactly the same! If i remember correctly they want close to 2K or more!

Found this too:

BCF TV

Thanks for that, I might drive over and at least look at the Bayswater store (OH oops again is that Bayswater WA or Bayswater VIC cos that is a little further for a days drive).

I am only about two minutes drive from the Balcatta BCF store and Rays in WA. Neither of them have one in store to look at but say they sell out as soon as they get new stock.

Craigs are a bit more than they advertise as they also include nearly $900 for delivery to WA so that is about $2300 delivered and you do not get to have a good look at what you are buying.

I looked at Getaway Outdoors on Wanneroo Rd. the other day and they have a really similar brand of their own design called a Thorney Devil. It has slightly bigger end windows than the BCF or Rays (XTM) Branded top but is $2290.

 

My 2c worth,
Up until 12 months ago I had a hard shell RTT on the shopping list, seeing the benefits as ultra quick & easy set up, less wind drag and more importantly for here, being dust proof.

Last year I did a trip to Ruddall River National Park and was camped up at Desert Queen Baths.
I was lucky enough to have the place to myself for two days and nights when in the afternoon a group of six or so 4WD's detoured off the Canning Stock Route for an overnight stay there.

One of the vehicles had a HS RTT, three had soft tops. Being beer o'clock when they arrived, I took a keen interest in how each setup camp for the night. The HS RTT was without doubt the fastest setup, not that there was anything wrong with the others, they just took longer and seemed to need the help of the navigator to finish setting up etc.

In the morning I again watched how each managed their packing up, and that's when the fun began. The soft tops were 10 - 15 mins and all done and ready to go. The guy with the HS RTT started to close his up by winding a crank handle inserted into the side when it was obvious that the mechanism jammed up and he could'nt close down one side, after 1 hr & 40 mins, much swearing, attacking it with cordless drills, falling off it once and unsolicited help from his travel companions he ended up using two ratchet straps to keep it all closed up.

One of the others told me they were from Melbourne, heading to Broome and then back to Melbourne doing a loop through the centre. The cause was thought to be the vibrations from the corrugations which had resulted in rivets or nuts and bolts coming loose with the result that the scissor arms at each end were allowed to flex out of alignment preventing the thing from operating as it should. Gas struts were thought to be the answer, but these were known to be difficult to impossible for a single person to close as the top needed to be pulled down evenly for the catches to engage. Thier experiences with the soft tops was that it wise to change out the bolts and nuts that kept the hoops together that supported the canvas with ones with nyloc nuts and carry spares, otherwise all good.

Since then, I have been told of similar stories with the advice that if a hard shell was being considered to get the expensive one to avoid the above from happening.

I was pleased to roll up my swag, break down the turbo tent and stow on the roof rack.

So now I am awaiting arrival of a soft top RTT, having made this decision with these pro's in mind over the hard shell type;

Still able to carry a second loaded spare
Have a shaded area at the rear when open
More privacy
Access ladder is covered from overnight dew and stows when closed in tent
Able to attach when required an annexe that is wind & waterproof
Lighter
Less than half the cost.

Oops! Sorry, looks like its was 10c worth!

It's a personal choice, choose wisely

 

Thanks OneUp,
they are really good points to consider. I am off to look at the cheap ones today and will keep these in mind. Particularly the fittings and lift arms.

My first thoughts about these hard shell RTTs were to get something decent like the James Baroud Expedition which is strong enough and has a space to store the extra spare wheel on top. It has gas struts as well as a wind up mechanism that is supposedly strong enough to lift with the spare in place. However, I have been told you should remove the spare each time you expect a strong windy night. Unfortunately at well over $5 grand to get one here in WA that is a bit out of the question.

 

i have a hannibal rtt and its the best you can get inho, there are cheaper ones but you get what you pay for again imo.

 

Thanks Stropp,
I did think about the Hannibal and other good quality soft, roof top tents such as the Kimberley Camper My Cube as it is small and light. But my main thought about a hard shell RTT was to have a light and streamlined profile that is well sealed against dust, sand and salt.

I have a decent custom made hard top, all aluminium camper trailer, but the roof top tent is mainly so I can take off on boys, fishing and camping weekends without taking the camper trailer in tow (or the wife). This way I can tow the boat trailer, launch over the beach, camp on the beach but up out of the blowing sand drift.

Although I totally agree with you about "you get what you pay for". I do also believe you can modify or improve things to make them functional for a reasonable price. Pay les but spend more time working on improvements.

Today I looked at two cheap hard shell roof tents in camping shops, both were made in China, they were similar but had subtle differences in the windows, lift mechanism etc. Neither had very good seals so on either of them I would probably rip out the sealing foam strip and replace it with proper car door seal like I have done on my camper trailer.

So I then went and bought a new/second-hand Craigs hard shell RTT that I found on Gumtree. New, still in plastic wrap for $800 buckeroos I thought that I can't go too far wrong. It was almost identical to the ones I looked at for around $2000 in the camping shops but it does not have a dust seal foam strip. Went to Clarke Rubber and bought some car door and boot seal strip.

The wind-up mechanisms on these cheap Chinese fiberglass RTTs is pretty basic and quite loose as you wind it up. It seems to rely on the tension of the canvas tent part to help stabilise it once fully lifted, it is quite good.

Zip's and fly-screens are pretty average compared to a $4000 to $5000 model from James Baroud , or Maggiolina. But for a quarter the price, I can live with doing a few repairs, stitching on extra Velcro closures, adding a decent dust seal and probably replacing the latches with proper stainless steel versions

 

Here is the new $800 hard shell roof top tent, sitting on my boat trailer. Raining heavy when I bought it home so gave it a good waterproofing test and it passed. Should be dust proof with the new rubber door seals but it also has a crank handle hole that I will need to fit a rubber plug to seal it.

I have plans to make a roll-bar type rack on this boat trailer so the boat can be underneath and the tent on top. Ideal for quick beach fishing trips.

It will also fit directly on my roof-rack for boys camping weekends.

 

Mate that's a great buy and if you do the bits and pieces you need to then its a steal really. Good work mate, hope to see your progress.

 

Good outcome for the money.

I hadn't thought about some of the things OneUp mentioned, especially the ladder. Maybe something like this could be useful with a HS RTT?

(car belongs to member ZENNON)

 

Good outcome for the money.

I hadn't thought about some of the things OneUp mentioned, especially the ladder. Maybe something like this could be useful with a HS RTT?

(car belongs to member ZENNON)

Yes that sort of fixed ladder on the back door is a great idea so you do not need to climb up to get the other ladder out of the roof top tent. Most of them have the ladder on top, but you need the ladder to get the ladder.

There is actually a neat little sliding ladder stored inside the hard shell. but you have to wind up the top first to get it out.

My son has just reached six foot so not much chance of him being in this roof topper unless he sleeps on the diagonal. But it is an ideal size for me.

Suppose my advantage here is the airbag suspension can let the car right down to the bump stops so even a shortass like me can reach. But being short I am also a good climber.

This is my clearance to the roof of my house all the way along the drive.
With the airbags all up:

and All down:

 

Bloody hell Squalo.. Never thought I would see a carport with less room than my old one
Looking at one of these ladders myself for the roof racks via eBay, not enough space inside a hard shell for our kids
Now...back on topic haha

 

Geordie... can i ask where you got that RTT from for $800?

 

Gumtree classified adds.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/hame.../s-ad/hamersley/camper-trailers/rooftop-camper-fibreglass-hard-shell/1027895182

I had been looking for a while and asking around on here for ideas and advice on what brand to buy and was not thinking that I will get a really cheap unit. But this one came up selling second-hand and just around the corner from me.

The guy bought it on line from Craigs but has not used it as he is too tall to sleep in it comfortably.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-Crai...Shell-Car-Roof-Top-Tent-Camping-Outdoor-4wd-Rooftop-Pop-Up-Camper-/140916822965

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-CAR-...sc=163&meid=1432540774667448168&pid=100005&prg=1088&rk=3&rkt=4&sd=140916822965&

 

Well I have tested this for quite a few trips now and the wife likes the idea of travelling simple and camping on the roof.

I also fitted a flexible solar panel to the top and ran wires down through the camper. I will update some photos of the thing in use soon.

Now that I know we will get some more use out of it, I plan to buy a top quality but much more expensive unit from James Baroud.

So this one will soon be up for sale in Perth. Possibly with the new solar pannel still attached.

 

last years trip to cape. 2 with hard top, 2 with soft top, me with quick erect coleman tent . I would go the tent. we wanted to go somewhere, get in the trol, leave the tent and go, the others, pack it all up and then go. the hard tops were down in around 2-5 minutes and in this example were superior. I would never go soft top after watching them curse and struggle to get them packed up .

 

I would go the tent. we wanted to go somewhere, get in the trol, leave the tent and go, the others, pack it all up and then go. the hard tops were down in around 2-5 minutes and in this example were superior. I would never go soft top after watching them curse and struggle to get them packed up .

I'm with you, the ground based tent is the go. A couple that we regularly camp with have a soft RTT and whenever we go for a drive during camp they ride in somebody else's car to save packing up. A hard shell popup would certainly reduce the time and inconvenience but they leave no room on the rack for anything else. Probably OK if there is just two of you but back seat passengers mean more gear and less space to pack it. I need more rack space than an RTT allows.

Cheers,

 

My soft RTT only takes a few mins to set or pack up but yeah a hard top would be quicker. I tour around with the RTT and it's not too bad.. We have learnt to keep everything stowed etc and don't have to worry about people flogging stuff while I'm not there..

Nice and comfy, like the camper. . I'm nearly over the swag!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

Well I can crank the hard top camper up or down in under a minute. I have spent about 7 weeks all up camping in it so far and only at one place have I needed to leave it up for a few nights. That was at the Patrol4x4 highcountry meet and then it was a great excuse to jump in someone elses truck for a day out.

The new one I am looking at has lever type arms with gas struts for lift and all you need to do is simply release four clips and it is up by itself at least 30 seconds.