Buying a hardshell rooftop tent
Buying a hardshell rooftop tent is a few thousand euros you will live with for five to ten years. This page covers what a hardshell actually is, which types exist, what to check before you order and what it costs. If you want the wider comparison with softshells and the whole buying question, start at buying a rooftop tent.
We are LCM Offroad from Hoogwoud in North Holland. We sell three hardshell rooftop tents and we dragged them through Mauritania and the Sahara ourselves for five weeks before we started selling them. Everything below comes from that, and from the questions customers ask us.
What a hardshell rooftop tent actually is
A hardshell rooftop tent has a hard shell that opens as one piece. Ours is aluminium. You release the clamps, the gas struts push the shell up and the bed is ready. No pegs, no cover to unzip first and wrestle back on afterwards. It is up in about a minute, and folds down just as fast.
Because the shell forms both the roof and the floor, the mattress always stays inside. Thin bedding and a sleeping bag can usually stay in place when you fold down. That saves time every evening and every morning, and that is exactly where you notice the difference when you sleep somewhere new every day.
Three kinds of hardshell
They are all called hardshell, but they do not all open the same way. That decides how you lie in it and how much wind you catch.
- Clamshell opening at the front or the rear. The shell lifts at one end and forms a wedge. Little wind resistance, very fast to open, and lower over your feet than over your head. The Savannah opens at the front, the Dune is a quick-setup clamshell.
- Side opening. The tent opens along its long side and the ladder hangs at the side. You get usable height across the full width and you climb in beside the car rather than behind it. That is the Oasis.
- Pop-up with a flat roof that rises straight up. The same headroom everywhere, but heavier and a good deal more expensive. We do not sell one, so if that is what you want you will have to look at another brand.
Why a hardshell, and when not
A hardshell wins on speed, on bad weather and on hassle. The shell keeps off rain, hail and sun, it catches less wind than a softshell with a cover, and you are inside in a minute. In the rain that is the difference between going to bed dry or soaked.
Fair is fair: it is heavier and more expensive than a softshell with the same sleeping size, and you usually cannot hang an annex off it. If you spend two weeks a year on the same campsite and want an extra room to sit in, a softshell or a ground tent makes more sense. If you keep moving and sleep somewhere new each night, the hardshell is worth the money.
The full comparison is in hardshell or softshell rooftop tent.
What to check on a hardshell
- The shell material. Aluminium rather than plastic. Plastic discolours in the sun and goes brittle over time.
- Gas struts and hinges. These are the two parts that work hardest on a hardshell. Ask whether they are available separately, because that is the difference between repairing and binning it.
- The waterproof rating, in writing. At least 3,000 mm. The Dune, the Oasis and the Savannah are all three waterproof to 5,000 mm.
- The mattress. Look at thickness and size. A three centimetre foam sheet feels like a floor after two nights. Check whether a topper is available, or whether the size is common enough to find one yourself.
- The ladder. Length and load rating. On the Oasis that is 2.3 metres and 150 kg.
- The floor. An aluminium honeycomb floor, as on the Oasis, is stiff and light at the same time.
- The mounting bolts. They decide whether your tent stays on the bars. When you collect, we fit stronger ones than those supplied as standard.
- Warranty with the seller. Two years, handled by whoever you buy from, not by a factory on the other side of the world.
Weight and roof load
A hardshell weighs something. Ours are 60.5 kg (Dune), 66 kg (Oasis) and 74 kg (Savannah). Add the roof bars on top of that, around 7 kg for a set. So you need at least 68 kg, 73 kg or 81 kg of dynamic roof load.
Dynamic roof load is what your roof can carry while driving. Parked it can take far more, which is why the sleepers do not count. Do the free roof load check for a first estimate based on manufacturer figures for over three hundred car models. What your owner's manual says is always decisive, our check is subject to confirmation. The explanation is on Roof load: how it works.
On a pickup the tent does not go on the cab roof but above the load bed, on a hardtop, a canopy or a bed rack. See rooftop tent on a pickup.
Which hardshell suits you
| Dune | Oasis | Savannah | |
|---|---|---|---|
| People | 2 | 2 to 3 | 2 to 3 |
| Weight | 60.5 kg | 66 kg | 74 kg |
| Opening | clamshell | side | front |
| Interior | 207 × 117 × 144 cm | 206 × 152 × 124 cm | 200 × 131 × 148 cm |
| Mattress | 198 × 116.5 × 5 cm | 198 × 137 × 4 cm | 199 × 130 × 5 cm |
| Colour | grey or khaki | grey | khaki |
In short: the Dune is the lightest and the longest inside, so the first one to look at if your roof load is tight. The Oasis is the widest and opens at the side. The Savannah is the tallest inside, so you can sit upright in it, and it is double layered for four seasons. All three are up in about a minute. The full comparison with every dimension is on which rooftop tent suits you.
What a hardshell rooftop tent costs
Below a thousand euros you will not find a decent hardshell. What sits there is usually a softshell or a plastic shell with no spare parts. Between two and three thousand is the bracket we are in: aluminium shell, gas struts, a proper mattress, two years of warranty and parts you can reorder. Above four thousand you are mostly paying for the brand name.
Our current prices in the Dutch shop: the Dune €2,159, the Oasis €2,499 and the Savannah €2,555. Prices on this English site are shown in pounds. Ladder, mattress, mounting hardware and the manual are included. Roof bars are not, with any brand. You pick those to match your car.
Buying a hardshell rooftop tent in Europe
You order online or you come by appointment to Gouwe 15 in Hoogwoud, in West Friesland north of Amsterdam. Message or call +31 6 28075883 and the tent will be open when you arrive, so you can lie in it before you decide. If you collect it yourself, we help with fitting free of charge.
Ordered today? It is at your door in 3 to 5 working days. Collect it in Hoogwoud and you drive home the same day with the tent mounted, with stronger bolts than the ones in the box.
Shipping is with DHL, 3 to 5 working days. We ship to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and the rest of the EU. Shipping rates are shown at checkout, before you pay.
After the purchase: 2 years warranty on everything, and warranty claims go through us. Winter storage and servicing are possible too, see service and winter storage.
Rent first, buy later
If you are not sure a hardshell suits you, rent one first. You can rent the Dune from us for a weekend of three nights, a week or two weeks, collected in Hoogwoud. Buy from us afterwards and the full rental is deducted from the purchase price. Everything is on rent a rooftop tent.
Frequently asked questions about buying a hardshell rooftop tent
What is the difference between a hardshell and a softshell rooftop tent?
A hardshell has a hard shell that opens as one piece and is up in about a minute. A softshell is a folding tent with canvas and a cover: cheaper and often lighter, but slower to set up and pack away, and a wet softshell has to be dried at home.
How fast is a hardshell rooftop tent up?
In about a minute, and folded down just as fast.
How much does a hardshell rooftop tent weigh?
Ours weigh 60.5 kg, 66 kg and 74 kg. Add around 7 kg of roof bars and compare that with your car's dynamic roof load.
Is a hardshell rooftop tent waterproof?
The Dune, the Oasis and the Savannah are all three waterproof to 5,000 mm water column. We dragged them through Mauritania and the Sahara ourselves for five weeks, sandstorm nights included.
Can my bedding stay inside a hardshell?
Thin bedding and a sleeping bag usually fit fine with the tent closed. With a topper plus a thick duvet it gets tight.
What does a good hardshell rooftop tent cost?
Reckon on two to three thousand euros for an aluminium hardshell with warranty and available parts. Our three models sit between €2,159 and €2,555 in the Dutch shop.