Roof top tent or double swag?

[Brodie Tas]

Hey been wanting a easier set up for nights away with my son who is 3. I have a camp trailer but setting it up for a night by myself can just be a pain and take a bit of time, so I have been looking at the double swags and rooftop tents and cant decide what way to go
, i have set up a mates roof too tent and was real quick amd easy form1 person, i do a bit of lake fishing so snow can be expected at times and being of ground sounds a bit of a bonus, those anyone have much experience with both of them to give me a idea what way to go thanks

[Bird]

what about a blackwolf tent. 4 pegs, push up the center it springs into shape. then the fly actually clicks into place with buckles.. real quick.

Give you the space to get up, walk around, get changed, and if its raining a bit of room to play with ya young bloke


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6BgJHLzqws
it can be done quicker than this dude does it..

got mine used off ebay for couple hunge

Rooftops, once setup, you cant go for a drive.

[peter01]

https://www.4wdsupacentre.com.au/products/swags/big-daddy-double-swag-combo-deals/double-swag-big-daddy-canvas-50mm-mattress-adventure-kings.html

[Hookie]

Rooftops, once setup, you cant go for a drive.

This is always my thought when I see a rooftop tent. I'm constantly moving my car when I'm camping. You can get swags on legs that keep them up off the ground. And with a tarp, a couple of short poles and some extra pegs you can keep the weather off the top of them as well. Or a gazebo. I always thought a swag and easy up gazebo was a pretty sweet basic camping combo.

[D4D]

Oztent, works for my 7yo son and myself.

[Hookie]

Would have said oztent, but I thought price might be an obstacle, because i was thinking about swags. I guess it's not out of the range if you're talking rooftop tents. If you don't need a ton of space and you want easy setup I don't think there's anything to beat an oztent.

[Brodie Tas]

The tent look likes a good idea i will look into them more, but for me the swag or rooftop tent already have the mattress in them ready to go and just leave the sleeping bags in them,

[marvellous_matt]

My wife and I used to use a swag, while it is easy to roll out I found that the mozzie dome, and its fly when needed made set up and pack up a bit too much work, I think a quick erect tent with gear would be similar but more comfortable and flexible. 
I have not used a roof top tent.

[rossm]

Swag on a stretcher works for me.

Very quick set up, you are off the ground and there are king size dome swags around that should accommodate an adult and small child. Bigger stretchers might be harder to find but they are out there.

Double swags can be pretty big rolled up.

I am older and climbing a ladder to a RTT in the dark is simply not an option for me.

   

[Hoyks]

Rooftops, once setup, you cant go for a drive.

You can't just not far. Pull the two guy ropes, hook the ladder into the rope loops so its clear of the ground and move around the camp, dead easy!

Even when I tented I didn't roam far from camp in the car. I'm not a trusting soul and like to know where my gear is. A bloke I camped with had his keys stolen, which made it a bit inconvenient to get home, another had his whole camper go missing, which can also ruin your weekend.

I camp alone with kids and love my RTT, I can fold it out in less than 5 minutes, mattress is in there, sleeping bags and the beds are already made (just have to add pillows). Then I can get on with cooking and still keep an eye on the yard apes and making sure they don't fall off a cliff or drown or something, rather than have my head in a canvas bag sorting out somewhere to sleep before it gets dark.
That's the main reason I ditched the tents and went for a roof topper as I was doing it all myself because they were exploring. As a bonus everything seems to stay cleaner and drier as it isn't being dragged in and out of the tent flap and the kids shed the mud climbing the ladder, rather than wiping it off their feet in your bed .

Packing up is around 10 minutes, but can be done in installments (lay the sleeping bags flat, go do something else, close the windows and zips, go do something else), actually folding the tent up and zipping on the cover is around a 5 minute job, but can be a bit of a bugger with icy fingers. A thin rope loop on the zipper and some silicone spray on the zip helps.

[Bird]

You can't just not far. Pull the two guy ropes, hook the ladder into the rope loops so its clear of the ground and move around the camp, dead easy!

Shit... i forgot to get milk, gotta go 10klms back to town

[Hoyks]

Id tell you to have your coffee black and harden up

[Bird]

Id tell you to have your coffee black and harden up

forgot the coffee

[Brodie Tas]

You can't just not far. Pull the two guy ropes, hook the ladder into the rope loops so its clear of the ground and move around the camp, dead easy!

Even when I tented I didn't roam far from camp in the car. I'm not a trusting soul and like to know where my gear is. A bloke I camped with had his keys stolen, which made it a bit inconvenient to get home, another had his whole camper go missing, which can also ruin your weekend.

I camp alone with kids and love my RTT, I can fold it out in less than 5 minutes, mattress is in there, sleeping bags and the beds are already made (just have to add pillows). Then I can get on with cooking and still keep an eye on the yard apes and making sure they don't fall off a cliff or drown or something, rather than have my head in a canvas bag sorting out somewhere to sleep before it gets dark.
That's the main reason I ditched the tents and went for a roof topper as I was doing it all myself because they were exploring. As a bonus everything seems to stay cleaner and drier as it isn't being dragged in and out of the tent flap and the kids shed the mud climbing the ladder, rather than wiping it off their feet in your bed .

Packing up is around 10 minutes, but can be done in installments (lay the sleeping bags flat, go do something else, close the windows and zips, go do something else), actually folding the tent up and zipping on the cover is around a 5 minute job, but can be a bit of a bugger with icy fingers. A thin rope loop on the zipper and some silicone spray on the zip helps.

Yeah thats my thought with the rooftop tent the young fella can still run around i can keep a eye on him while setting it up and same as i pack it up. Plus all i would need to chuck in  would  be esky clothing cooker and head off, even with the camp trailer i dont head of to far from it, just to get a bit of wood but i would  just bring some with me if my son is with me can be harr cutting wood by yourself and watching a 3yo

[Brodie Tas]

Swag on a stretcher works for me.

Very quick set up, you are off the ground and there are king size dome swags around that should accommodate an adult and small child. Bigger stretchers might be harder to find but they are out there.

Double swags can be pretty big rolled up.

I am older and climbing a ladder to a RTT in the dark is simply not an option for me.

 

Yeah i have seen those double swags folded up and there huge

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

Black wolf tent for me as mentioned earlier.
Packs down smaller than any size RV Oztent.
The RV range of Oztents have to go onto a roofrack, or into a similar size space, for transport.
If they folded in half somehow, it'd be far easier to cart them around.

[Bird]

All the quick erect tents are huge to pack - its how they go up so fast.

Its all give and take - my double swag takes up the whole back seat in GU from door to door... no chance in the cargo area
Havent used it since getting the blackwolf... I should sell it.

[IanS]

Hi my 2c worth, I looked long and hard at rooftop tents a couple of years ago and a couple of things you need to think about are, as already pointed out once your set up  you are limited to how much you can move around, you need a relatively flat area to park on or be prepared to jack up or drive your vehicle up onto blocks, although they don’t weigh a lot the weight is up high and they have the aerodynamics of a brick, dependant on vehicle height but in my case on a Ute canopy I couldn’t fit in a standard height garage or into some underground car parks. I was using a single pole Freedom tent at the time and ended up not going along the RTT path because I couldn’t make the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in my mind.

[Pottsy]

forgot the coffee

Betcha didn't forget the beer 

[Brodie Tas]

Hi my 2c worth, I looked long and hard at rooftop tents a couple of years ago and a couple of things you need to think about are, as already pointed out once your set up  you are limited to how much you can move around, you need a relatively flat area to park on or be prepared to jack up or drive your vehicle up onto blocks, although they don’t weigh a lot the weight is up high and they have the aerodynamics of a brick, dependant on vehicle height but in my case on a Ute canopy I couldn’t fit in a standard height garage or into some underground car parks. I was using a single pole Freedom tent at the time and ended up not going along the RTT path because I couldn’t make the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in my mind.

Yeah some good points there, im lucky with car parks etc because my 4wd only gets driven on weekends. I, just going to have to write down the pros and cons and weigh it up

[Hoyks]

If there is a camping and caravan show nearby in the near future, they are the best place for a quick test drive of them all in one place. Failing that, trawl the camping stores on a weekend.

Take what the salesman says with a grain of salt, but try erecting and stowing the various tents that you are interested in to get a bit of a feel for them. I like mine, but they aren't for everyone.

[Bird]

Betcha didn't forget the beer 

dont drink beer.. but I have forgotten the mix for the Black Russians before

[wada4wd]

Swag. And in a year or so, get the son his own swag, he will love it.

We ran the camping with the Blackwolf tent for a few years, but got tired of packing it up and it was heavy. Moved forward for swags and our son loved it more than we did. He has his own and we updated our old one to the double Darche and it is excellent. Easier and faster to setup and packup, comfortable and better.

Rooftop tent isn't on our list. Drags the economy of the vehicles and risky for someone tired getting up in the middle of the night climbing down to the dunny. Saw someone in the camp breaking their arm falling off the ladder in the night.

[nab]

One issue with the rooftop tent is if you need to take the young fella to the toilet in the middle of the night, if he is still sleepy you will have to carry him down those dodgy ladders!!!!

[Alan Loy]

If you are considering tents then one of the old style pyramid tents have 4 pegs and 1 pole.  If you use coach bolts and a cordless drill instead of pegs then these are really fast to set up, are cheap and they pack up small.  https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/oztrail-tourer-9-tent

You will still need bedding, self inflating mats are quick and easy. https://www.tentworld.com.au/camping-equipment/bedding/beds-mattresses/self-inflating-mats/single