#3: What AI Thinks About Rooftop Tents
There are some downsides to this elevated form of camping
I have a few thoughts about rooftop tents, having just ended my relationship with the Roofnest Condor in the Fall of 2022. We bought the tent during the pandemic, based on the promise that it had the capacity to change the way we camped (less hassle…more fun…changed perspective!). This ended up true more or less, but not in the ways that I had really hoped.
So I asked ChatGPT to help validate my experience of owning a rooftop tent. Query: What are 5 downsides of rooftop tents? First an AI qualifying statement:
> Rooftop tents have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly among camping and outdoor enthusiasts.
Response: True, I am a camping and outdoor enthusiast and I totally bought into the social media hype, which was my first mistake. I was looking for things I wanted to see, like hanging out in cool places enjoying sunsets in the mountains. It never really ended up LIKE THIS…mostly due to my own lack of imagination and planning. But there were other factors involved in our breakup.
What follows are the downsides of roof top tents, according to ChatGPT:
Cost: Rooftop tents can be expensive compared to traditional ground tents, with prices ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.
At 3K and change, our Condor Roofnest was not cheap. But it came with an assist from US pandemic relief funds, so I felt okay about it then. After selling the tent at a loss 18 months later, I could not justify that now, knowing how the tent actually performed and the number of times we would use it. So yeah, ChatGPT. I hear you.
2. Accessibility: Climbing up and down a ladder to access the tent can be difficult for some people, particularly those with mobility issues.
Okay so this is 100% accurate. The telescoping ladder is pretty easy to use overall, and there are plenty of videos out there explaining this. However, more than once I felt uncomfortable sliding out of the tent, getting oriented to the ladder and climbing down. It always felt awkward and unsafe. The latter is steeper (and higher) than you think, especially if your tent is mounted on a midsize SUV. So you need to be cautious when nature calls at 3 AM or if it’s been raining.
3. Limited space: Rooftop tents are generally smaller than traditional ground tents, which can be a downside if you need more space for gear or want to accommodate more people.
100% right on this one. Our family of three often hung out there to play games or chill, but it was way too small to sleep three average sized adults with swinging elbows. When we had a third on longer trips, we usually set up a backpacking tent or hammock. We could squeeze in gear with the clever pouches on the base of the tent as well the sides next to and above the mattress. So this was never really a problem. But the limits were always clear about what you get up there.
4. Weather limitations: Rooftop tents are not ideal for extreme weather conditions, such as heavy rain, high winds, or snow. They also may not provide adequate insulation in very cold or very hot weather.
I did not feel this in any way, shape, or form. Our tent did extremely well in the rain and we never experienced any water inside the tent. We’ve weathered a few huge storms and have stayed 100% dry. With the rain fly fully engaged, the water rolls off the top on the slope toward the front. Another point: the rain fly in our Condor was attached to the very top of the tent when deployed, and you had to open up the moon door and stand up to unroll it. This can get a little tricky if there’s a flash storm and it’s starting to rain. It also performed well in the wind as it came with metal supports that clipped on to the springs to prevent sway. We never tested the tent in the snow because we're fair weather campers to be honest. When it comes to hot weather and a tent, nobody's getting any relief in August whether it's a ground tent or a rooftop tent. Nobody.
4. Setup and takedown time: While rooftop tents are generally easier and faster to set up than traditional ground tents, they can still take some time to install and pack away.
OMG! This was the reason I feel out of love with our rooftop tent. Set up time was always pretty quick. Pop a few straps and the tent opens into place. The time it took to break camp, for us, was over triple from setting up camp, or more. Since we could not keep any bedding up there due to fold down issues, we had to pack it all up and get it into its containers and back in the car. Mattress deflation was also involved, and we admittedly made this more complicated than it needed to be. But if you only have sleeping bags up there and use the stock mattress, your mileage may vary on this point. I described that whole process, which involved 6 steps that had to be performed to specific order HERE. We learned by making MANY mistakes along the way. Make one and you’ll need to backtrack. It all looked so easy before we purchased, but it really wasn’t.
5. Weight and bulk: Rooftop tents are often heavy and bulky, which can make them difficult to install and remove from the roof of a vehicle. This can also affect the handling and fuel efficiency of the vehicle.
It took a few neighbors to lift our tent into place on top of a Honda Element and it stayed up there for the balance of our time as owners. Our unboxing and install video is HERE. As far as gas mileage goes, we didn’t notice a significant drop off with the tent in our travels, as we used to travel with a loaded down cargo carrier. We ended up packing less overall, and ended up being pretty ruthless about what we carried, so we didn’t end up losing MPGs in the ways ChatGPT suggests.
Finally, in playing around with the AI image generators, DALL-E came up with the perhaps the best image, which is a “Honda looking CRV” (perspective bending?) with the canopy on top. The Tetons in the background need some work.
Two more points from BARD, Google’s AI:
They can be dangerous in high winds. If there is a strong windstorm, your rooftop tent could be blown away.
They can damage your car. The weight of a rooftop tent can put a lot of stress on your car's roof, and this could lead to damage.
Both of these points are valid. Users should take particular care to manage each circumstance, and prepare accordingly.
Overall, I’d say ChatGPT provided a decent list for understanding the drawbacks for rooftop tents. If I had to grade its responses out of scale of 0-100, I’d score this an 90%, especially as it recognized issues with the ladder. What did ChatGPT miss? Let me know in the comments.