Rood tents

[chris667]

Hello everyone

Not sure if I have mentioned this in the wrong place, but I have decided to fit out my Citroen C15 van for camping.

I've been looking at various solutions for the bed, but I really like the idea of one of these. It won't take up any more space than my Romahome, and if I have visitors on my boat it can become a guest bedroom.

But I'm curious about two things.

1. How will campsites see it? My van doesn't look like a van as it has side windows and has never been signwritten. But is it just too weird? Will I not get let onto campsites?
2. Do they leak? Can't imagine them being any different to coachbuilt campervans with a fabric roof, but I don't know.
3. Can I leave them outside all year round? I don't really drive outside of adventures, but I've nowhere to keep it. It would have to live on the roof of my van or boat permanently.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[chris667]

Oh dear, Roof tents, not Rood tents. Damn you, typing skills!

[peterholden]

Have seen this type of thing a number of times in europe. Most of them seem to be German.

Peter

[Ian.C.S]

I have seen one,on the Brighton C.C site.
They shut down to a slim fibreglass clamshell so I guess they can stay on the vehicle all year round, they are probably as waterproof as most awnings,remember most tents/awnings made in Europe as designed to be used in southern Europe where most of them drive to for their holidays, our wet and windy weather is not taken into account, so if kept outside all year they may go mouldy and rot.Also roof tents may be unusable in wind,so what do you do if you are onsite and the wing gets strong? they can make your vehicle unstable in high wind says the A.A

Thats all I can add,hope it helps
Ian

[chris667]

Getting caught in crosswinds is something that occurred to me.

I don't drive when the weather is bad, or at any great speeds. So I'm not too worried about weather. I'll have to look at an old one, to see if it smells.

But the rocking in the event of (ahem) bringing a visitor home did occur to me. Perhaps some sort of corner steady arrangement, like I have on my current Romahome? Has anyone retrofitted these to a conversion?

[glenw]

But the rocking in the event of (ahem) bringing a visitor home did occur to me. Perhaps some sort of corner steady arrangement, like I have on my current Romahome? Has anyone retrofitted these to a conversion?

If adding stabiliser legs isn't possible, a bottle jack in each corner would do te trick, they are cheap enough but are quite heavy. We bought 1 as a support for the step on our old m/h which seemed to bounce too much. It is easily adjustable to uneven ground and is multi use in that it can be used to jack the vehicle if you have a flat tyre etc. We now carry it when we are away in the caravan as a jack for that.

[Vanderella]

Love the design! Looks so modern!!

I too saw similar being used on the Brighton C.C site. A VW camper had one fitted to its roof - useful for teenage children I should think! I think the people were German.

The continentals seem much more adventurous with their campers!

[RomaDenizen]

i love the concept, but am shocked at the price. For that money i could buy a vehicle on ebay and get it taxed and insured. surely somebody in china could knock out these tent things for a couple hundred quid ?

also, without a ladder, surely its a pain to enter and exit ?

[NomadSue]

i love the concept, but am shocked at the price. For that money i could buy a vehicle on ebay and get it taxed and insured. surely somebody in china could knock out these tent things for a couple hundred quid ?

also, without a ladder, surely its a pain to enter and exit ?

Aha! So THAT is whata 'rood' tent looks like!

Yes, I was wondering how you get in and out of it! Ho ho maybe through the reiki window?

They look fun in principle, though you would certainly feel the slightest breeze / gale. Would just have to pick a sheltered spot to camp in. Also rather costa lotta.

Re leaving it up permanently, it reminds me a little of the R20 raising roof...There is rather a knack to putting it away again, but, if the seals are completely secure, I guess it should be ok.

[RomaDenizen]

not sure about security issues while 'wilding'. this is strictly for campsites only.

[MOS]

Hi chris
last year when our youngest decided to go do europe with a friend (in an escort van )we nailed a plywood sheet to the roof rack (not literaly we did use screws and stuf )we got two crossover pole tents and drilled holes for the corner posts ,we fitted half an aluminium ladder on a swivel bracket ,so it lay flat on the roof when not in use ,a length of plastic pipe made a storage tube for the tent in use and meant he only had to pop the corners and roll it up to fit into the tube (up and down in 5 mins )they busked spain and ran with the bulls in pampolona did the festivals and fiestas camped france there and back used the airs and had a good time ,all the stuf was safe in the van and the roof looked like a builders ,with a ladder and pipe rack when not in use
roof tents dont need to be megga expensive or be a wind drag
all this came in under a hundred quid and packs away in the garage till next time they have a `good idea`.MOS

[cedas]

mm MOS' idea sounds quite good I think the cost of the "rood" tent would really put me off and where are you going to camp? Perhaps might be good on warm dryish continental climes but in most of UK?? You could get a couple of top quality mountaineering tents for that price - absolutely weather proof, blizzard proof and everything proof

[Ian.C.S]

I had a dodge van with a full lenght side hinged roof that opened up to over 8 ft total height and had two hammocks up there.when the wind caught it on site,life got frantic.It was seriously cold and very noisy,all that flapping canvas.But Oh boy was it unstable,Roof tents look like a modern version of what I had, but the windy weather is still the same.So many continental outfits are designed for use around the med, not in England.

[NomadSue]

I had a dodge van with a full lenght side hinged roof that opened up to over 8 ft total height and had two hammocks up there.when the wind caught it on site,life got frantic.It was seriously cold and very noisy,all that flapping canvas.But Oh boy was it unstable,Roof tents look like a modern version of what I had, but the windy weather is still the same.So many continental outfits are designed for use around the med, not in England.

----------------
So I gather the 'gentle breezes' did not rock you to sleep?!

[peterholden]

We used to have a Fiat Amigo with a side lift roof and 2 stretcher bunks up there. You could get seriously seasick up there on a windy night. Our Romahome rolls in a gale.

Peter