Rooftop tents in Europe

osoutdoors

osoutdoors

New Overlander
Jan 26, 2021
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Hello friends, I have a question. I did extensive touring/overlanding in Australia. I always used a Swag (which is a small one man tent) and/or an Oztent which is big tent easy to put up. I moved to Europe and shipped the car and I am planning to do some overlanding in Europe soon. I see here in Europe Rooftop tents are very popular. Is there a special reason why? Is because of wildlife? Is it safe to sleep overnight in a normal tent on the ground? Many thanks for you input. Ossi
 
Hi Ossi,
we have a truck camper so you'll probably get better advice from the tent people (!); but I think the popularity of roof tents is mainly because they are better for Africa - animals, insects & safety.
Here in Europe, it might help with keeping wet gear up on the roof & away from the inside, also increases inside storage. We get a lot more rain than you do in Australia...
Hopeyou get a direct response soon.

Cheers
 
Hi Ossi

I live in RSA but toured Morocco and Europe in 2017 for 5 months with a RTT on a Landy Def 90.

For overlanding it is the ease of setup and tear down. Within 5-10 minutes I can have my camp set up completely; tent up, bed made, table out, chairs out, and drink in hand. Also I feel somewhat safer being off the ground...in Africa there are may creatures that can do you harm.

There are cons; the early morning pee can be a mission particularly when it's multiples. The other down side is that you must pack the RTT if you want to use the vehicle to game drive or pop out for supplies. If you are planning to camp in one spot for a week or two the the collapsing of the tent is a pain. We never stay long in one spot so not an issue.

There is an age related 'con'. While young and strong the climb up the ladder is not worth thinking about but when you are in your later years that climb can become Everest in size, particularly for the ladies. Then there is the decent in the morning. There is no gracious way to reach the first step of the ladder without mooning the camp.

All in all, I like the RTT.
 
Hey Ossi it is just easier to stay dry and warm with RTT in Europe and this way i can sleep on any ground level or not.
 
Hi Ossi
i have not used a roof tent but have looked at them .(nearly bought one)
we did a 5 week tour of europe 2 years ago and saw a lot of roof tents in albanaia and the balkans.
we used a normal tent the advantage we found with a normal tent was if staying at a place for a few day the set up can be left set up if we needed to go to the shops the car was ready to go.
if you use a normal tent i would get one with sewn in ground sheet so no bugs can get into you tent and into your kit.
hope that helps .
 
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