The Best Rooftop Tents You Can Buy

Camping. American culture romanticized it long before it looked macho in John Wayne westerns. But bedding down on the ground and sleeping on a thin pad isn’t everyone’s cup of bucolic brew; it can be uncomfortable, and setup and breakdown are nearly always more time-consuming than expected.

Therefore, rooftop tents — boxes that live above the car and readily deploy to create a dwelling you clamber up into via a fold-out ladder — provide a more convenient solution for a lot of would-be, kinda-sorta semi-into-nature types (a.k.a. your significant other who’s not as into pine-scented goodness as you are).

Think of the best rooftop tents as relatively expensive gateway drugs to the outdoors. Sure, they’ll set you back four figures — but once purchased, you’ve got an instant AirBnB with you at all times. And it’s cheaper and more convenient than buying a custom camper van or cool off-road trailer.

What to Consider When Buying a Rooftop Tent

Aerodynamics: Fuel isn’t cheap. Lower-profile tents will be more costly, but they have less impact on fuel economy.

Ease of Installation and Setup: Tool-free is better than tool-intensive. You may need a friend or partner to help with the initial mounting. The point of a rooftop tent is to make camping quicker and easier. So you’ll want a tent that easily sets up and folds back into place.

Hardshell vs. Softshell: Hardshell tents tend to be the preferred option. They are more aerodynamic while driving, take less time to set up with parked, have better weatherproofing and tend to be less noisy. Softshell tents can fold out to provide more space and — depending on the height of your vehicle — provide some shade.

How easy are rooftop tents to remove? Lifting something that weighs more than 100 pounds onto a car roof can be difficult. You’ll likely want a second person or a hoist system to remove the tent.

Is a rooftop tent an RV? A rooftop tent can be a grey area at certain campsites. RV campsites may have prohibitions on tent camping. Tent campsites may have bans on keeping a vehicle at the camp. The best bet is to consult local laws and regulations before traveling.

Size of your vehicle: You can use rooftop tents with different types of vehicles. But a shorter roofed compact car cannot spread the weight of a heavy, 100-plus shelter like a longer SUV can. More importantly, you need to look into how much weight the roof of your vehicle is rated for. You can find this number in your vehicle’s manual or with the dealer. You do not want to exceed this limit, even if you can attach the tent to your roof. Not only does the tent make the vehicle less stable, but this weight can even collapse the top of your car. Both of these scenarios can be detrimental to your safety and the safety of those around you.

When looking for the weight limit of your roof, you might run into two numbers: a static limit and a dynamic limit. The static rating will refer to how much weight your roof can handle when your car is parked. This is important to consider how much weight will be on the vehicle when you set up camp and go to sleep. Make sure you include the weight of everyone who will be sleeping up there with you. The dynamic rating will be for when you are driving, so this will include your tent and any racks and hardware you are using for mounting. If you plan on going off-roading, your dynamic rating might be slightly lower due to the increased risk of rolling over.

Rooftop Tent Vs. Ground Tent: Factors to Consider

Accessibility: Ground tents are more accessible. Rooftop tents tend to require a steep ladder for access. That can be problematic for older campers, campers with disabilities or those with a history of knee problems.

Comfort: Rooftop tents tend to be more comfortable. Typically a rooftop tent will have an integrated foam mattress. The mattress allows you to use standard bedding and pillows instead of a sleeping bag. Rooftop tents tend to stay drier and better ventilated. And they are less accessible to animals.

Portability: With a rooftop tent, you’re limited to camping where you can park your vehicle. A ground tent allows you to hike and camp at another location or, alternatively, leave your campsite setup while you move your car to a different location.

Price: Ground tents are dramatically less expensive than rooftop tents, which can run well north of a thousand dollars.

Safety: Rooftop tents can be safer than ground tents. You’re less accessible to wild animals like bears when camping in remote areas. In well-populated areas, you’re less likely to be run over by a car in the middle of the night. Alternatively, rooftop tents can be stolen from the top of the vehicle, while ground tents can be stored safely inside.

Setup: Rooftop tents typically can be set up and folded back easily in minutes, taking far less time to set up than ground tents.

Warmth: Rooftop tents tend to be warmer than ground tents. Because they don’t have to be carried, rooftop tents can be heavier with thicker, higher-quality materials and better insulation. And you’re not camping directly on the cold ground in the winter.

Thule

Best Overall Rooftop Tent

Thule x Tepui Low-Pro 3

• $2,000.00 at 4wheelparts.com

• Sleeps: 3
• Interior: 95 in x 58 in
• Packed Weight: 121 lbs

With a closed height of just 8.5 inches, the Low-Pro is, as far as rooftop tents are concerned, low profile. That helps you save on gas while minimizing the lift-off effect a rooftop tent can have on a small car rolling down the interstate.

Like Yakima’s Skyrise, Tepui’s tent is also relatively light at 105 pounds, and uses the same mechanism to transform its clamshell design into a fully deployed shelter — you pry it open by using the telescoping ladder. As for differences, it’s slightly less finicky to work with the rainfly, but the mattress is a thinner two inches.

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Best Upgrade Rooftop Tent

Roofnest Condor

• $3,395.00 at roofnest.com

• Sleeps: 2-3
• Interior: 83″ x 60″
• Packed Weight: 135 lbs

In testing the Condor, we found the design to be extremely well-engineered. The ultra-clever trick the tent pulls is how it unfolds its “wings.” Like most hardshell designs, it pops up, but the lid forms one wall (very much like the iKamper Skycamp Mini). From that position, the tent unfurls like a soft clamshell design. This makes the Condor and Condor XL absolutely huge inside.

Interior height is also maxed-out at 50 inches, and the weight is reasonable too: 135 pounds for the smaller unit, and 160 pounds for the XL. There’s also a zip-open skylight for stargazing and plenty of ventilation, even for the warm summer night that we tested it on. Another bonus is a hardshell lid that lets you rack other gear on top, like kayaks, bikes, or skis.

Read our full Roofnest Condor Rooftop Tent Review.

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Best Budget Rooftop Tent

Front Runner Roof Top Tent

• $1,209.00 at frontrunneroutfitters.com

• Sleeps: 2-plus
• Interior: 96″ x 51″
• Packed Weight: 93 lbs

Front Runner Outfitters makes some of the best roof racks out there, offering sturdy, lightweight cargo solutions for a wide variety of SUVs and trucks, from the new Land Rover Defender to the Toyota Land Cruiser to…well, the old Land Rover Defender. But those roof racks also make a great foundation for the brand’s rooftop tent.

The tent only stands 13 inches high when folded up for travel, but deploys out to be almost eight feet across when it’s time to sleep — yet it weighs only 95 pounds. It’s waterproof and incredibly durable, but also comfortable, thanks to an integrated memory foam mattress. And if you want to easily pop it off to do other things with your roof rack, well, they make a quick-release tent mounting kit, too.

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Best Hardtop Rooftop Tent

Roofnest Falcon 2

• $3,595.00 at roofnest.com

• Sleeps: 2
• Interior: 86″ x 48″
• Packed Weight: 160 lbs

We loved testing the Falcon on a weekend camping trip. Setup and breakdown alike take seconds and the durable construction means it can handle whatever the weather has to throw at it. Accessory channels on all four sides are available to add features like awnings and it can support a set of crossbars for additional gear.

The new Falcon 2 adds major upgrades, including another 150 pounds of gear storage, a smoother and more aerodynamic top shell and a redesigned rainfly zip that can cover all three entrances quickly if you encounter bad weather.

Read our full Roofnest Falcon Rooftop Tent Review.

Yakima

Yakima Skyrise Rooftop Tent

• $170.00 at backcountry.com
  $200.00 (15% off)

• Sleeps: 3
• Interior: 96″ x 56″
• Packed Weight: 115 lbs

At just 101 pounds, the two-person Yakima Skyrise HD is light for this breed and is the most “tentlike” of rooftop units in this guide — by which we mean, it has a domed shape that allows you to sit up comfortably once inside.

The clever opening system — you use the ladder as a giant pry bar to unfurl the unit and get it set up — is the same as several other clamshell designs in this guide. It’s a slight chore to anchor the rainfly, but ultimately not that challenging. However, if you want to use the tent’s top window for stargazing or to stand up through it (which is handy for getting dressed), you’ll have to remove the rainfly and gamble that no thunderheads roll in overnight.

Backcountry

Thule x Tepui Ruggedized Autana 3 + Annex

• $2,305.00 at Backcountry
  $3,000.00 (23% off)

• Sleeps: 3
• Interior: 96″ x 56″
• Packed Weight: 192 lbs

Even the biggest rooftop tent may not have enough room for everything you want to do in private while camping. For those circumstances, you want a tough tent with an annex like this Tepui. Both tent and annex that surrounds the telescoping ladder are made from tough, weatherproof 600D ripstop blend fabric, ensuring that you have a nice wind- and waterproof space to get dressed, make food or use the, uh, facilities.

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Overland Vehicle Systems Nomadic 3 Extended Roof Top Tent

• $1,550.00 at cabelas.com

• Sleeps: 3-plus
• Interior: 94.5” x 63″
• Packed Weight: 165 lb

Using the Nomadic 3 Extended Roof Top Tent has been a dream with the capability to perform in all four seasons. A great option for those who are on a bit of a budget yet would like the luxury of extra space. There are plenty of ventilation options and an impressive rainfly has kept us comfortable and prepared for whatever mother nature decides to toss our way.

We found the comfort-to-cost ratio for this tent is ideal. It has proven to be durable over the course of many months of use with my only true complaint being how loud the rainfly can be in the wind. But this will honestly be the case with most any tent with similar construction.

If you are looking to have even more room for sleeping and storage when setting up camp, you can always buy the annex separately for some extra frills.

Read our full Nomadic 3 Extended Roof Top Tent Review.

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Roam Rambler Hardshell Rooftop Tent

• $3,399.00 at roamadventureco.com

• Sleeps: 2
• Interior: 81”L x 48”W x 36”H
• Packed Weight: 130 lbs

There are tons of hardtop tents on the market, but having a pop-up one gives some extra head space when you aren’t sleeping. The design difference can make the tent feel a lot more spacious and makes it a bit more appealing to spend more time in there before and after you wake up. This can also be said for the panoramic windows.

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