CHOOSING A TENT FOR OVERLANDING
There’s often a debate about “tenting” amongst Overlanders, mostly about what’s the best way to go? Roof Top Tent (RTT) or Ground Tent (GT).
That debate depends to some extent on personal preference and on what you want to accomplish while Overlanding, and those discussions normally occur around a campfire and a couple of bevies….
And while there are many other great choices available out there for overland camping enthusiasts such as truck campers, overland trailers, and sleeping in the rig, let’s focus on RTT vs GT for now.
A GT allows you to set up camp and explore the surrounding area then return at the end of your day to relax at your site while getting ready for the next trail adventure. GT’s are easily accessible, they can be purchased at your local sporting goods or big box store at a variety of prices based on quality, size and features. A RTT can offer the same options, however they are not sold everywhere, and when mounted on your rig, like in our case, you are bound to close up shop daily to enable you to roam. That has been our choice, and until now, we only travelled and moved on from trail to trail, campsite to campsite, never returning to a specific place, thus setting up a new camp on a daily basis. Overlanding in this way, you absolutely need to be well organized.
We spent most of the beginning of 2017 doing research on overlanding. We are very well versed on how to use a normal GT as we’ve been car and canoe camping for a while. But we were curious about RTT’s. We finally decided on an RTT as we liked that it offered a basic level of comfort, was big enough for the both of us plus one dog, seemed easy to set up, was off the ground - hopefully keeping the little roaming ground critters away from us (that was her request…I worry more about the big animals with big teeth but I “played along”), and once mounted on the truck it could stay there for the summer, making it easy to head out on weekends by reducing the time to pack up and go.
We quickly found out that there are many companies out there offering roof top tents and we finally chose to go with a Canadian RTT company.
We opted for the “Sundog” Roof Top Tent from Wild Coast Tents. I believe they carry a total of seven models to choose from. We chose the Sundog mainly for its size, the large and thick mattress, and the clear sky windows in the roof fly allowing you to lay in bed at night and gaze at the stars. If you want to close the flap for total darkness, it’s easily done by simply zipping the flap shut. There are windows all the way around, which offer airflow when needed, and a mesh fabric in all the windows to keep bugs out. All of the mesh flaps open up as well, however, they are so fine that once zipped up you don’t ever realize they are there (until mosquitoes try to get in).
The Sundog also came with an annex, which offers optional extra space and privacy on the ground. You can set up a couple of chairs, or one or two camp cots for extra sleeping room. In some of our travels, when not really alone, we were happy to have the annex set up as our change room and wash area, and put our portable toilet in there when there wasn’t a public facility available on site.
The owners of Wild Coast Tents, Trish and Peter van Delft, who are located in Bear River, Nova Scotia (near Digby), helped us make our decision, whether to go RTT or GT, and made the whole process very easy, providing thorough instructions on the purchase, shipping, mounting and set up. They are both avid Overlanders themselves and know exactly what you need to get started. They also carry a variety of other quality Overland products, including ground tents.
Once ordered it arrived in a large box at a local shipping company (all organized by Trish and Peter), then following the well written instructions, we mounted it on the roof of our truck cab (we already had a Baja Rack mounted), the RTT bolted in place in roughly an hour. Now, with a little practice under our belts, our initial spring set up takes us less than 30 minutes - lifting it to the truck, bolting it on, opening, closing, and ready for adventure. As far as driving with the RTT closed, I can notice a slight pull when it’s windy on the highway, however, nothing major.
The fabric is robust, and the stitching and zippers look very strong. I treated the fabric, as it is an old camping habit, however I’m not sure it was really necessary. The interior poles are solid and sturdy, which makes opening and closing the tent very easy. The tent literally folds open ready to use like a pop-up card, and folds closed just as easily. Once mounted on the roof, one person can set the whole tent up in less than 15 minutes (same to take it down).
A telescopic ladder is provided to access the sleeping area that is covered when the Annex is mounted. The mattress is approximately 3” thick (7.5cm), the bottom is covered in vinyl to prevent moisture wicking, and the top is made of cotton. It’s surprisingly comfortable.
Once folded, there’s a thick travel cover that zips around the bottom of the whole tent to protect it from the elements while travelling. The travel cover is made of a heavy duty PVC sealed material with a strong zipper and is UV resistant. The RTT kit also comes with a storage bag to hold the annex and all it’s necessary pegs and cords, and a kit bag with cords and pegs to additionally secure the tent, which we haven’t had to use yet. There is also a gear bag that you hook up near the ladder to put your shoes/flashlight in before entering the tent so they are readily available when exiting.
That’s our side of the debate, recognizing that Overlanding is about the journey not the destination, and it’s about getting out there, not which gear you choose.
Measurements (directly from Wild Coast Tents website)
Size: 56”W X 123”L X 48”HT (Open) 56”W X 48”L X 12”HT (Closed) Sleeping area: 56”W X 96”L (full mattress) Annex floor: 64”X 83” (37 sq ft) Weight: 130lbs Price : $2203 CAD www.wildcoasttents.com