Is sleeping in a car overnight a thing of the past? Your road trip sleeping arrangements just got quicker, more comfortable, more convenient, and easier to use than ever with the invention of rooftop tents. What is an RTT, or rooftop cartent? Imagine placing your mattress from home on top of your automobile, folding it in half, and adding a heavy canopy over top: They attach to the roof rack of your car and unfold like a clamshell to reveal a sleeping experience that is far more opulent than anything you’ve ever seen on the ground. Why then should you use one?
Fast Setup Is A Given.
Nothing is really simpler than pulling into a campground or dispersed campsite late on a Friday night or after a long drive, finding a level spot to park, and setting up your cartent. If you get it down, you can go from being parked to being in bed in less than a minute. It also means less time spent fumbling with tent poles, realizing you accidentally used the blue ones on the red side, having to redo it, or battling a fly on top of your body in the wind. Simply unzip the cover, use the ladder to force open the tent, stretch the fly (if necessary), and enter.
Even More Quickly Is The Packing.
Reversing the process has the same effect. Quickly moving on in the morning or attempting to beat the weather? To leave, descend, fold the tent shut, and zip it up.
Uneven, Rocky Terrain Is Not A Problem.
All you need for a cartent is a relatively level parking space (but with some camper levelers, you can make do just about anywhere). Since you’ll always be sleeping on a flat surface, there’s no need to look for a location free of rocks and roots. Instead, consider these options for places where it would have been uncomfortable to sleep on the ground: You name it: parking lots, gravelly riverbanks, gnarly camp sites. After several days of rain, are you going camping? Wet, muddy terrain is also no problem. Never again will you have to be concerned about a flood rushing into your tent during a downpour.
It Is The Most Cozy Mattress We’ve Ever Used.
The mattress in an cartent is comparable in comfort to your bed at home, so you won’t have to worry about packing (or blowing up) a sleeping pad. Few cartents have mattresses built-in.
Sleep Away From Animals And Creatures.
Since the 1950s, cartents have gained popularity in South Africa and Australia, largely because they raise campers above the savannah, which is home to huge insects and other animals. The Northeast may not have dinner plate-sized spiders to be concerned about, but being a little bit higher than the creatures that are around your campground at night gives you more confidence. Not to mention that you may observe anything from a bird’s eye perspective if you hear it coming through.