Roof Tents amd Awnings

[garygiles1963]

Hi

Not sure if this right place to post this.

Just got back from a trip round Norway and Sweden.

The only thing I wished I had was a roof tent and awning. I like to add this before I go o my next adventure.

I would appreciate feedback on experience and advice on the above.

I have a 120, 2005.

Regards

Gary

 

[nick_the_fish]

Hi Gary,

I was asking on here a while ago about awnings and got some pretty positive reviews of the Oztent Foxwing. I also got to go and check out Chris' which was bloody useful. Anyway took the plunge and haven't looked back. Really excellent awning. Massive, and with the side panels makes a really waterproof room. We often put the little travel Weber bbq in there which gently heats the space making a really cosy room on chilly nights.

As for roof tents we had a Hannibal roof tent which we slept in for 9 months across Africa and it was fantastic. We had the 1.6m version so lots of space for 2 people. Really, really good bit of kit. Yes they are quite expensive but really solid and reliable. HOWEVER, we used it in Snowdonia on a wet windy weekend and it felt (and sounded) like being at the back end of an Airbus during take-off. They are not great in the wind.

Cheers

Nick

 

[Chris]

There are many self supporting awnings nowadays. Foxwing, Batwing, Ostrich Wing, Chicken Wing, wait hang on, maybe not that one.

All have great features to lure you in. But the biggie as Nick said, is the sides for the Foxy. Now if you don't want those then it opens up the choice. Say you lived in a hot sunny country, I'd go with a Hannibal probably. Strong and quick to put out. Great shade. Good if it's breezy. Who needs sides?

However, if you live in the real world and it's bucketing down, you'd wish you'd had the Fox and sides. Get the trapezoidal sides not the square ones btw. Plus factor on the Fox is that you can get every single part of it, next day in the UK. Piles, cover, spars, even the rivets and washers. Can you get that for the other brands?

 

[Rosy]

Nick and Chris make some great points but I'll add my 2 pennies anyway.

We went for the 'classic' RTT and ended up settling on the Howling Moon from Flat Dog whose were by far the cheapest option when I was looking. A couple of points to consider based on my personal experience:

Wind - as @nick_the_fish mentioned it can get very loud in the tent in windy conditions. On one occasion I made the mistake of setting up side on into the wind which resulted in a fair amount of movement to complement the noise, not a great experience at 2am!
Rain - like with wind, in heavy rain with the fly sheet drawn tight it can feel like your sleeping inside a drum as the noise amplifies and echos through the tent.
Setup/takedown - it takes us a good 20 minutes to pack away the tent and as I dont have a ladder or rear mounted spare wheel it does take some acrobatics to get up onto the tent to pack it away. Luckily we have ours on a roof rack which gives me some space to walk round when on the roof but I imagine this would be even trickier if you were mounting to a set of roof bars. (Disclaimer: that might just be because I'm little!) Something to consider if you intend to do it alone.

I also went for the 'classic' square awning, in retrospect I wish we had shelled out extra for a 270 (brand of your choice) awning. We have had the benefit of a few downpours while camping with this setup and I can assure you its no fun getting wet every-time you need to retrieve something from the back of the truck while dodging guy ropes and puddles! With the side panels it can also feel a little clostrafobic given the small footprint while the 270's give you the equivalent cover of a small village.

hope that helps!

Rosy

 

[Pumpy]

The tuff treck stuff has come on a long way, the H2 is really a copy of the foxwing, pretty much made from the same stuff, but compare the prices!

http://www.tuff-trek.com/awning-systems.html

 

[Chris]

I looked at fabric pram-hood fold out style tents in some significant detail and went with the Ezi Awn in the end for one simple reason. Having had other similar products the biggest bugbear is getting the damn cover on. The Ezi has a unique throw-over design with a drawstring instead of a zip. Simple, you don't need to be able to get all the way around and fixable in the field with basic components. Beats the hell out of any tent with a zip cover.

The tents themselves have little to spilt them.

 

[Rosy]

@Chris I wish someone had mentioned that before I stumped for the HW! At Lincomb Marie and I spent 20 minutes trying to get the hood zip unstuck from the canvas.

 

[Lorin]

The AluCab Shadow awning is fully self-supporting and also has sides available. A bit more expensive but definitely worth a look IMO.

 

[stumog]

I love my howling moon rtt over the ezi awn. Feels a lot more solid and the ladder is easier to climb up bare foot.
I have tested mine in 50-60 mph gusts of wind and will say 2 things, it's load but you need to drink enough not to hear the wind. Everyone thinks the set up they have is the best. This is because most of us have either brought lots before finding the perfect set up or travel and see people and there set ups then make your mind up what you think will work for you.

Most people will not mine you asking lots of questions on there set up and give the pros and cons.

Where abouts are you based so people in that area will offer help to you?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

A cheap collapsible ladder is very handy for being able to get at whichever bit of the tent needs tucking in etc.

We liked our Hannibal roof tent and the cover was easy enough to get off and back on to use the tent but it doesn't come off completely so when you eventually need to replace it or have it repaired it's a more involved job getting it detached from the tent.

 

[kingtom]

Ive had both eezi awn and howling moon. The cover on the howling moon is a ball ache but i am planning to take it into the sail makers with an old eezi awn cover i have and see if they can modify it to the ratchet strap type

 

[clivehorridge]

Reading all this with interest, even though we've taken the "family" decision that we're not going to be overlander types.

I got very close to buying Chas' Airtop from him, but knowing I'd have to fork out for a flat rack or roof bars on top of the purchase price, and knowing that the thing will be permanently mounted on the truck when only used on average 0.452 days of each year, I decided against.

I am interested in Chris' opinion of the JB hard shell RTT he's got on board at the moment, and how that relates to his enthusiasm for the Ezi Awn tent.

Is it one or the other, or does it mean Chris uses both at the same time? Maybe I don't understand anything and he's talking about an awning, but then he was pushing the benefits of Foxwing...

I'm rather ignorant of the subject, and thus confused trying to follow the above...

 

[GeekOKent]

Hi

Not sure if this right place to post this.

Just got back from a trip round Norway and Sweden.

The only thing I wished I had was a roof tent and awning. I like to add this before I go o my next adventure.

I would appreciate feedback on experience and advice on the above.

I have a 120, 2005.

Regards

Gary

Specifically, why do you wish you had a rtt? What tent and camp setup are you using at the moment?

 

[garygiles1963]

Hi

Thanks to everyone for there input. Lots of great feedback, thank you.

Pumpy, thanks for the link to Tuff-Trek. Got some interesting stuff on there site.

Having done the road trip round Norway and Sweden, I just felt I would have had more options of places to stop over if I had had a roof tent. So that my thinking about getting one. I am concerned about wind but to be honest if its gets that rough I can sleep in the car. I did that a few times on the trip as it was.

This morning I put a offer in for a roof tent and awning on ebay, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hannibal-...tr-/112171139476?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

Its a Hannibal 1.4m, thinking 1.4 would be fine, I then measured the car, I felt 1.4 is going to be to big. I am I right in saying that? Looks to me a 1.2m is the sensible option for a 120?

I'll be interested to hear from anyone with a 120 and a roof tent and what size they are using.

Thanks again.

Regards

Gary

 

[Chris]

I have the hard shell on the truck Clive and the pram hood on the trailer. Best of both I'm afraid. I love the JB but it's a sleeping pod and that's about all. So for journeys that entail driving all day then parking up ready to go again in the morning, especially in a good climate, it's perfect. For camping, it has no other use other than to sleep in. The Ezi is much more tent like and somewhere you might like to sit looking out of the window in the rain (or sun). With it's loft ladder type access, you can put you shoes on etc without getting wet.

 

[clivehorridge]

I have the hard shell on the truck Clive and the pram hood on the trailer. Best of both I'm afraid. I love the JB but it's a sleeping pod and that's about all. So for journeys that entail driving all day then parking up ready to go again in the morning, especially in a good climate, it's perfect. For camping, it has no other use other than to sleep in. The Ezi is much more tent like and somewhere you might like to sit looking out of the window in the rain (or sun). With it's loft ladder type access, you can put you shoes on etc without getting wet.

Got it Chris,

I forgot all about you're trailer!

I can appreciate the sleeping pod vs a home-from-home tent scenario.

Our cheapo Quechua tent is fine for a couple of nights (and more I suppose) and it has a covered enclosed fly area to sit in and cook should it be peeing down. That same area opens up nicely so that in hot sunny weather, you have well vented shade.

The tent bit is slung from the fly support hoops and easily accommodates 4 adults, great for 2 + 1 kid.

 

[Shayne]

5 or 6 days on the road and sleeping in the truck on this years Romania trip increased the appeal of a roof tent for me , an idea i was never much taken with , but i revisited the idea this weekend at Lincomb because there were all sorts of impressive set ups and watching people break camp to nip down the road and have a play only to set up again on return somewhat soured my enthusiasm .

 

[froggy Steve]

Our JB set up on he trailer worked well on the Tabernas trip. The oztent worked as well but i think an investment in side walls would be better for a social evening!

 

[Lorin]

It is all a bit of a trade-off of easy set-up/take down vs usability/versatility. Chris has it spot on. I have a JB clamshell that is one of the simplest/fastest roof tent set-ups you can get. It is not however somewhere you can comfortably hold up and read a book while you wait out a rainy day. Before this I had a Howling Moon RT which you could comfortably hold up in if needed, but was a relative pain and slow to put up and take down compared to the JB. I couldn't really recommend one over the other, they are both good, just with different strengths and weaknesses. I think both are more than capable of handling pretty much anything the weather throws at them.

Adding in an awning does change things a bit though, as it gives you somewhere else to wait out rain other than the tent, and a few other benefits! Only the trade-off is now more one of cost vs ease of set-up, and quality with some options. As Stu says, we probably all think our set-ups are pretty good. Mine was all about speed/ease of set-up and take-down. It suits me for now.

 

[Chris]

On thing I'd add is that with two people who know what they're doing and who work together can get a good fold away tent down and stowed very quickly. Not nice in the rain, but then you can't help that. What makes it easier / harder is the height it's mounted at, the steps and handholds you have, the orientation you mount the tent and the proximity of other stuff like Jerries and so on. On the trailer, putting the Ezi up or down is very quick indeed. No stress. But no climbing and no zip access issues. As Lorin says, really there are trade offs on every set up. The trick is to decide what you are prepared to put up with.