Selecting a Roof Top Tent for Overland Adventure

Posted by Tukimin  |  at  12:34 AM No comments

After 18 months of travel with a Roof Top Tent through North & Central America convinced me that this is the best approach to camping for the hardened traveller. Mud, rocks, scorpions, puddles and the rest just ceased to be an issue. For foolish reasons I thought it too impractical to ship the tent to the UK when that journey ended and I sold the tent. Not my brightest move.

So almost four years later, as I put the finishing touches to my plans for my extended African Safari, I've gone through the whole exercise again: which tent? In the UK there are many to choose from, including:

• ARB
• EeziAwn
• Howling Moon
• Hannibal
• James Baroud

Various lesser quality brands at shows and on eBay etc. dismissed on sight.

I'm not going to offer a detailed review of each but I thought I'd explain my selection process and why some models just didn't get my business. Particular criteria include:

• Quality of workmanship & materials
• PVC outer cover supplied
• Internal height & length
• Protection in continuous heavy rain
• Mosquito proofing

Since the price of most of these tents is circa £1,400 rising to £2,100 I feel that we, as customers, have a right to demand quality. I was unhappy to see poorly sealed plywood bases on one brand. I looked at a few brand new models set up at a Land Rover show and was unimpressed by stitching holes tugging at the fabric causing many potential entry points for mosquitoes. Likewise, cheap plastic fittings were evident - and sometimes screwed on badly where a repair been made by the dealer (and quite amateurishly). Let's just say, that EeziAwn disappointed me since they have a great reputation.

Howling Moon have their act together. They use a vacuum laminated composite base construction, and their fabric is 380 gms/sqm Polyester/cotton ripstop material which has been fluoro carbon coated. I was generally impressed until I started noticing the stitching holes on their models too. Ditto for Hannibal, although at a higher cost. Both good products but let down by the range of not so perfect but brand new units being displayed at the Land Rover shows.

I started to wonder if the James Baroud hard-top 'pop-up' design was the way to go? It scored very well on weight, overall construction, warranty, absolute ease of use, speed of deployment and stowage... but, oh dear, if the rain is really persistent I just wouldn't want to have to escape the tent. There's no practical awning option and with no annex or option to ascend from below, I could foresee mud and weather becoming bed companions. Oh, and guys, mosquito nets must zip ALL the way around.

There is an option on the James Baroud to add a sort of awning, but it just didn't inspire me. I remained tempted. Intrigued. God, I loved how easy it was to open and close. Unfortunately it's actually very small inside. Fine for some campers but seriously, for the long term journey, there are days when your tent is your home and you need to be able to move about. Nope. Too little head room.

The ARB Simpson III was re-visited. I'd decided I probably couldn't afford it. But I wanted it. I was feeling a bit jaded by the time I got there and it was like seeing an old friend. No stitching holes (yes, I hate mosquitoes and I am particularly keen to not get malaria, dengue or West Nile Virus). I found it at the show presented by their UK distributor ARBIL AUTOMOTIVE and the very affable Steve Smith who runs Commercial Sales. Apart from showing interest in me as a potential client, I was struck by his attention to detail and, the very next day, the speed of his response.

The mosquito nets zipped up 100% and all of the zippers in the tent were of a robust size. Composite flooring? Check! Fabric quality? Check! T-Top construction for entering from below? Check! Heavy duty PVC cover able to resist abuse from tree branches? Check! Welded seams? Check!

So ARB got my business via Arbil. Plus an awning and an annex. I know from experience that the ARB tent stays dry, doesn't let you get bitten and it works. I'm also very happy to report that I bought the ARB Simpson III at a price below any of the other brands mentioned above, from Arbil, the official distributor. That was a nice bonus since I had been focused only on quality.