After reading the 'Pros vs Cons' section of the posts, I will agree with the philosophy of them. Originally I was thinking an Autohome but they are was too expensive.

I got the RTT because there was a really good deal on it through Todd and because it makes for a better sleeping arrangement with more than one person. My partner has no problems sleeping in the dirt, she actually enjoys roughing it, me...not so much. I am so very lucky in many respects.

When going by myself I sleep in the pinz, it is big enough to hold me and all the gear I may ever need. I have seen one pinz with hammocks fitted in the back, that is very possible.

I mounted the RTT (with Todd's help) on the trailer (see member photos) so 'cog' issues are not there as far as the vehicle is concerned. It allows a small sitting area under the side of the trailer as I attached it to open to the side. It would be way too high on top of the pinz and I have a soft top anyway, so there would have to be some sort of top rack, not a good idea for me. Imagine the additional wind resistance on an 80hp vehicle that is already almost 7' high. It could work on the Liberty though.

As it is the pinz is too tall to go in the garage without mods to the garage frame and door (that is next on my list of projects).

I like my RTT.

 We bought the Overland 4 person because we thought the whole family would sleep up there but we haven't done that yet. The only drawback I have seen is that (someone mentioned it earlier) on a base camp type trip it is a pain to keep putting the cover back on. Getting it off is pretty quick. Putting it back on takes a little more. It is not nearly as bad as you think it is going to be, but I always think it will be a drag.

the other Craig

We bought a used cheaper variant of the fold-out canvas type tents (rooftoptent.com made in China) and it was easy to set up, big and comfortable enough, and for the most part we reailly liked it. There were some downsides though:

1. Stowing the tent was a bit more of a PITA clambering all over the vehicle to get all the bits tucked in, and the cover back on, made breaking camp more tedious.

2. Large volume (we had the earlier model with a footprint almost as big as a queen-size bed) meant it could get a bit chilly on colder nights.

3. Bad condensation issue on inside of tent in the cold.

4. Thin cheap "mattress"

5. Not much awning overhang from the rainfly protecting the windows.

6. And the big one was the cover leaked in heavy rains. If left on the vehicle full time this was going to be a problem.

We had initially considered an AutoHome hardshell tent but were deterred by the astronomical price and really wanted to see and get inside one before laying out that much ca$h.

Used ones are very hard to come by but we found an Airland Medium down in the S.F. area and decided to just go for it. We went down over Thanksgiving to pick it up. We used this as an opportunity to take an awesome trip back up the Lost Coast and King's Range areas of CA and into the OR Siuslaw coastal area. We camped 5 nights coming back up and loved the tent immediately.

It has almost none of the faults of the foldout style. It sets up and tears down quickly and easily, it's a snug warm tent with no condensation issues, great cross ventilation for hotter camping, decent mattress, stays dry as a bone inside when mounted full-time. It does also have the same window area no-overhang issue though, and with the canvas sides and doors/windows lacking stormproof zipper flaps, it could mean getting wet in a sideways driving rain. We haven't had that type of weather when camping yet so I can't really say for sure.

We did opt to replace the mattress for something more comfortable though. Being a used tent, the original was getting that "crunchy" foam texture and probably wasn't as comfortable as new. We decided against a memory foam topper since, being temperature sensitive, we thought it wouldn't work so well in cold weather. We got some very high quality latex 3" foam and had a quilted matress cover sewn on it. It is extremely comfortable and we sleep sounder / longer in it than we ever do at home.

We've probably got 20 nights in it since buying in November last year (used it last night actually) and we love it. We're going to be going x-country to Nova Scotia/Cape Breton and back in a couple weeks and plan on using it as much as possible. If you can justify the expense to yourself, I can pretty much guarantee you won't have buyer's remorse if you buy one of these tents.

Also I second Dale's recommendations on both awning and ramps, and Craig's on bar mounting.

We have an F35 Pro 180 Fiamma we bought used off CL. Great awning for the price. The ramps we got from Camping World down in Tacoma.

We mounted the tent on two Thule bars sitting on low profile mounts. I can barely get my hand underneath to tighten the tent mounts. With OME lift and rear airbags the truck handles well on the highway. Still does raise the COG and cause a bit more body lean.

We do have height issues though. With the lift and tent we're clearanced at about 7' 6". We squeak in under the WA ferry overheight fee threshold, but this is still too high for almost all parking garages, car washes, etc. Low overhanging limbs have to be dealt with offroad but we haven't encountered anything we couldn't get under or around... yet.

How much do the hardshell tents weigh?

Oasis tents are 39lbs
RTT sold by Todd at racktents.com are 120lbs

Craig

They weigh pretty much the same as the fold-out style, +/- a few pounds depending on size. Our Medium weighs 128lbs.

The dimensions/weight are in a table at the bottom of this link: www.autohomeus.com/rooftop/maggiolinaAirlander.php

Yeah, the first generation Roof-Top-Tent model was nice and big, but it had some things to work out.  I have heard about complaints on the ladder as well.  The second and third generation product is much better.

I've added an Rooftop Tent Comparison article to the articles section that includes the specifications of the various tents.   If there are tents that have been missed, please let me know and I'll add them. 

The content for the article was originally gathered by jstroud at fjcruiserforums.com.

I've gotta say, if money were no object that Autohome Carbon Fiber Columbus sure is sweet.

You're right about that. The steel ladder was junk. I dealt with most of the known issues though; I changed the mounting h/w to a clevis pin style, upgraded to the later aluminum ladder, replaced the internal pull ropes and rope stays, mended the corner seams on the cover etc. I recouped a good portion of the original used price before the modifications. In their defense Roof-top-tent sent me the aluminum ladder at no charge.

You can read what I think of them in my blog here.
www.yotatech.com/blogs/corey/2-roof-top-tents.html

I slept in regular tents for years, and after getting my Maggiolina last year, it would be very hard to go back.

Here is a YouTube video showing how it sets up.
www.youtube.com/watch

Campinglab awning too.

What a fantastic thread. You guys have so much knowledge and experience with these. I am baffled and had no idea that there so many options. its leaning towards a full canvas tent for cost reasons though. Thanks again all for all your input.

I skimmed this thread and didn't see anything about the RTT's sold by OffRoving.com

Anyone have one; opinions??

www.offroving.com/36066/19215.html

I wondered if that was the case, they do look really similar.

They're selling them for $495 on Ebay right now... I'm not sure I can pass that up!

Vince,

I don't have any direct answers for you.  But I do have a couple comments about RTTs in general.  As most of you know, I recently sold my beloved 2000 Tacoma XCab.  But I held on to the Columbus tent and my Fiamma awning.  Nanc still wants to go "camping" and we can mount both the RTT and the awning on our dependable 2004 Subaru Outback for light excursions.  The tent/awning package weights approximately 135 lbs and works O.K. for car camping like this. 

IF I were to do it all over again, and starting with the wonderful new products available today, I would probably end up with a rig very similar to the one Dave Bennett built, which is described in the Summer 2010 issue of the Overland Journal.  The article starts on page 73.  One of the key upgrades that i like on Dave's rig is the Adventure Trailer's AT FlipPac camper that he mounted on his four door Tacoma.  This is by far the best use of space and weight I have seen so far for a expedition style shelter mounted to a truck.  Check it out!  this truck epitomizes the compromise most of us have to make; a vehicle that can be driven every day and still do an outstanding job as a light expedition vehicle for up to four people.  Very impressive. You can even get a 12v heated mattress with it.

Vince,

AutohomeUS used to recommend an external frame system for mounting their tents on Jeeps. If memory serves, it is/was made by a company called Olympia 4X4 or something like that.  I believe they are/were located in western WA state.  They may still have the link on their website.  It would work well for just about any kind of RTT.