EVERYTHING ABOUT THE TENT ON THE VEHICLE!
With the introduction of social distance into our lives, many things have changed in the way we travel.. Well, we’ve changed too! After thinking for a long time, we got ourselves a vehicle top tent, believe me, it’s like a tiny house..
First of all, let’s start with the simplest thing, this thing called a vehicle top tent, a tent that is mounted on the vehicle you know.. There are countless pluses compared to a regular tent or caravan, but of course there are also minuses.. That’s why we decided to prepare a vehicle tent article from A to Z for those who are considering a vehicle tent..
In this article, we will talk about everything that comes to mind, such as how to choose a vehicle top tent, which car it fits, how to mount it, what are the types of vehicle top tents, the pros and cons of the vehicle top tent.. If you have any questions, you can leave them in the comment section..
Types of Vehicle Top Tent
There are two types of vehicle top tents..
1-) Box-shaped ones (material generally fiber)
Maybe you’ve seen Thule’s roof racks. Here these box-shaped tents are put up like a roof rack and open and close in the same way over the car.. Extremely easy to open and close. This is our tent.. First of all, let’s tell why we made our own tent selection from box-shaped ones, namely their advantages;
For us, the resistance of the tent to cold weather and wind is very important, because we use it not only in summer, but also in rainy and windy weather.. The shell of these vehicles is highly resistant to wind, both with the tent open and closed.. It’s also waterproof. That’s why we feel comfortable even if the waters flood outside.
Not every box-shaped tent’s material is fiber, but if you find fiber material it’s perfect. We slept in the tent without really feeling the wind when it was a very bad weather in Austria.. Being wind resistant is also important when the vehicle is on the road.. Due to the design of the tent, the wind that the box-shaped ones get is not felt that much while driving on the road.
It is very important for us to be practical when opening and closing the tent.. Triangle shaped ones are also practical, but boxes are more practical. You can even see how we turn it on and off in our Youtube video here!
If we compare it in terms of size, it is as follows; the box shaped ones have different sizes and can be smaller or larger than the triangular ones depending on which tent you buy. But let’s say this, although we have Small size, its height is 1 meter, and Umut does not bend and bend while sitting despite his height of 1.90, which is quite enough for us! It seems to be 2-3 times more expensive on average.. Still, we are very happy with our choice..
Let’s come to the triangular ones;
2-) The triangular ones
When the tent is opened in triangular tents, some of them are opened on the roof of the vehicle and the part that opens to the side is instantly opened to the vehicle. , and this part is supported by ladder. Don’t think it’s not safe when you say it like that, but we still thought it was a little more comfortable for the box-shaped one..
It may be necessary to put an additional cover on the triangles for rain, in the same way, the same disguise is put on after closing them.. It makes more noise in the wind.
As for the advantages, it’s definitely worth the price.. Second is the inner height of the tent. Third, it is much lighter than box-like ones.. If we were only going to camp when the weather was nice, we think we could buy a triangular tent..
Now, let’s get to some information about tent tops;
Is the top of the vehicle attached to every car and does the roof of the vehicle not collapse?
It can be mounted on any vehicle that can be fitted with a carrying system. This means that if you can put a bar on your vehicle, you can place a tent on it.. Thus, the weight of the vehicle gets on the laths, not the roof of the vehicle..
However, the carrying capacity of each vehicle is different.. For example, our vehicle (Mini Cooper Countryman) has an average roof carrying capacity of 300 kg.. Total weight of both of us + tent is around 200 kilos. You need to calculate this.
How do I get in and out of the tent and will I fall out of the tent while sleeping?
There is no possibility of falling out of the tent while sleeping.. So once you close the door of the tent, you don’t have to tear the tent out of your sleep while sleeping in a normal tent, and you also have no chance of tearing the tent and falling down while sleeping.. This was one of the questions we laughed at the most..
Tent’s ladder comes with the tent.. You can put the ladder inside when you are sleeping or not using it at night and close the tent while inside the ladder..
Can we fit 3 people or a baby in the tent?
Our tent Small size and dimensions 220x130x100. We fit two people very comfortably in it, leaving room for other things.. Those who want to stay 3 people or those who want to stay with the baby will be much more comfortable if they look at the Medium size.. Here, we also need to think about the maximum weight issue we mentioned above.
How do we disassemble and reassemble the tent, is it easy?
Unfortunately, it is not so easy to disassemble and reassemble the tent.. Think of it this way, the tent is close to 60 kilos and you need to mount it on the laths.. It is impossible to assemble one person, at least two people are required.. That’s why the most logical thing to do is to put it on at the beginning of the months you will camp and remove it at the end.. For example, the tent has been on our car for months now.. We don’t know when we will release.
It is very easy to open and close the tent.. Both take 2-3 minutes max..
Do you put a mat inside the tent?
The tent has its own mat inside. Thus, we do not need to bring a mat for additional sleep.. However, we recommend that you always take pillows and sleeping bags with you.. Sleeping bags save lives and for example we have never been camping without a sleeping bag so far..
What other materials should we take to the camp?
The answer to this question is waiting for you in our camping equipment article, right here..
Where to camp in Turkey?
Let’s take it here for our article on the most beautiful camping places in Turkey.
Our posts about the vehicle tent will continue on Youtube. Here is our video about our first camping experience with a vehicle top tent!
Love everyone,
We are also on Instagram and Youtube and we are waiting for you.
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