Buying a rooftop tent
Buying a rooftop tent is not an impulse purchase. The thing weighs sixty kilos or more, it has to fit your car, and you will be sleeping in it for a week at a stretch. This page has everything you need to know before you order one: what it costs, what your roof can take, where the difference between cheap and good actually sits, and how to find out whether a rooftop tent suits you at all.
We are LCM Offroad, based in Hoogwoud in North Holland, the Netherlands. We sell three aluminium hardshell rooftop tents and we dragged them through Mauritania and the Sahara for five weeks ourselves before we started selling them. What follows comes from that, and from the questions customers ask us.
Hardshell or softshell rooftop tent
This is the first choice and it decides the rest. A hardshell has a rigid shell, aluminium in our case, and flips open in about a minute. No pegs, no cover to unzip first. A softshell is a fold-out tent in canvas with a cover around it. It costs less and is often lighter, but you spend longer setting up and packing away, and a wet softshell has to come out again at home.
The honest summary: a softshell gives you more sleeping space for less money, a hardshell gives you speed, aerodynamics and less hassle in bad weather. If you stand somewhere different every night, the hardshell wins. If you spend two weeks a year on the same campsite, you do not need one.
We put the two side by side in more detail in hardshell or softshell rooftop tent. Already know it will be a hardshell? Then carry on at buying a hardshell rooftop tent: that page covers the three types of hardshell, the weight per model and what to watch for on the shell, the gas struts and the ladder.
What does a rooftop tent cost
Roughly three classes. Under a thousand euros you find softshells and plastic hardshells from unknown brands, often with no spare parts and no warranty worth the name. Between two and three thousand sits the class we are in: aluminium shell, gas struts, a proper mattress, two years of warranty and spare parts available. Above four thousand you are mostly paying for the brand name and for finishing you will never notice on a gravel track.
Our current prices: the Dune €2,159, the Oasis €2,499 and the Savannah €2,555. Roof racks are never included, with any brand. You choose those to suit your car, and they must carry the weight of the tent plus the people in it.
Check what is in the box and what is not. With us the ladder, the mattress, the mounting hardware and the manual are included. You arrange the roof racks and your own bedding.
Will a rooftop tent fit your car
This is where most people get stuck, and the answer comes from the car, not the tent. Every car has a maximum roof load, and that is a different thing from what your roof racks can take. Add the weight of the tent to the weight of your racks and leave yourself a margin.
One point that confuses a lot of people: the roof load the manufacturer quotes is the dynamic load, the one while driving. Standing still you can carry more, because the forces in a corner or over a speed bump are gone. That is why two adults can sleep in a sixty kilo tent on a roof officially rated for seventy-five. We explain it in Roof load: how it works.
Run the free roof load check for a first estimate. It uses manufacturer figures for over three hundred car models. What your owner's manual or manufacturer says always takes precedence, our check is without guarantee. Driving a Land Cruiser? Read which rooftop tent fits your Land Cruiser.
On racks: not every roof has the same fixing, and the type decides which set you need. See which roof racks you need for a rooftop tent.
Got a pickup? The tent does not go on the cab
The cab roof of a pickup is small and usually not built for these weights. The tent belongs above the load bed, on a hardtop, a canopy or a bed rack. We sell a universal bed rack for exactly that, fitting single cab, extra cab and double cab, adjustable from 135 to 170 cm wide. How to choose between cab, canopy and rack is in rooftop tent on a pickup.
What size do you need
Two numbers really matter: interior length and interior width. A tent sold as "for 3 people" is often just ten centimetres wider. So look at the centimetres, not at the number of people in the photo.
| Dune | Oasis | Savannah | |
|---|---|---|---|
| People | 2 | 2 to 3 | 2 to 3 |
| Weight | 60.5 kg | 66 kg | 74 kg |
| Interior | 207 × 117 × 144 cm | 206 × 152 × 124 cm | 200 × 131 × 148 cm |
| Closed | 212 × 131 × 11.6 cm | 213 × 151 × 11.5 cm | 212 × 145 × 13.8 cm |
| Mattress | 198 × 116.5 × 5 cm | 198 × 137 × 4 cm | 199 × 130 × 5 cm |
| Opening | clamshell | side | front |
| Colour | grey or khaki | grey | khaki |
| Price | €2,159 | €2,499 | €2,555 |
The short version: 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 sit upright in it, and it is double layered for four seasons. All three are waterproof to a 5,000 mm water column and all three are up in about a minute.
The full comparison with every measurement is on which rooftop tent suits you.
What to look for on quality
- A waterproof rating in writing, at least 3,000 mm water column. Ours is 5,000 mm.
- An aluminium shell rather than plastic. Plastic discolours and goes brittle.
- Solid hinges and gas struts, with parts available separately.
- A proper mattress. A three centimetre foam sheet feels like a floor after two nights.
- Good mounting bolts. On collection we fit stronger ones than those supplied as standard.
- A warranty that sits with the seller, not with a factory on the other side of the world.
More on this in buying a cheap rooftop tent without regretting it.
Rent first, buy later
Not sure a rooftop tent suits you? Rent one first. You can rent the Dune from us for a weekend of three nights, a week or two weeks, collecting in Hoogwoud. We fit it to your car when you collect and take it off again when you return it. If you then buy your own rooftop tent from us, the full rent paid comes off the purchase price.
Rates and periods are on renting a rooftop tent. The decision itself is set out in buying or renting a rooftop tent.
Buying from LCM Offroad in Hoogwoud
You can order online or come by appointment to Gouwe 15 in Hoogwoud, in West Frisia north of Hoorn and Alkmaar, just under an hour north of Amsterdam. Call or message +31 6 28075883 and the tent will be open when you arrive, so you can lie in it before you decide.
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.
- Collection in Hoogwoud: free fitting help. We mount the tent on your racks together, fit stronger bolts than the ones supplied as standard, and show you how it opens and closes.
- Delivery: within 50 km we deliver ourselves, beyond that by DHL. We ship to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and the rest of the EU. Delivery time 3 to 5 working days.
- After the purchase: 2 years of warranty on everything, and claims go through us rather than the manufacturer. Winter storage and servicing are available too, see service and winter storage.
Once it is on your roof
Two things people usually learn only after the first trip. Never store the tent wet, let it dry open at home first, because mould from wet storage is not covered by the warranty. And sleeping freely at the roadside is not allowed in the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, so find a campsite, a farm site or a spot where it is permitted. The rules differ per country and sometimes per municipality, so check locally. More on that in sleeping in a rooftop tent, the rules and in looking after your rooftop tent.
Frequently asked questions about buying a rooftop tent
Does a rooftop tent fit every car?
No. It depends on your car's roof load and on your roof racks. Run the roof load check for a first estimate and follow your manufacturer's figure if it differs.
What does a good rooftop tent cost?
Reckon on two to three thousand euros for an aluminium hardshell with a warranty and available spare parts. Our three models sit between €2,159 and €2,555.
Are roof racks included?
No, not with any brand. You choose them to suit your car, and they must carry the weight of the tent plus the people in it.
How fast does a hardshell rooftop tent go up?
In about a minute, and just as fast back down.
Can I try a rooftop tent first?
Yes. Come and try one by appointment in Hoogwoud, or rent the Dune first for a weekend or a week. Buy from us afterwards and the full rent comes off the price.
What is the delivery time?
3 to 5 working days, or collection by appointment in Hoogwoud.