black / airtop roof tents

[Chas]

I had an Airlander and now have got an Airtop, neither has ever leaked in any rain although I've never been in torrential stuff,
Unless I had a curry for supper there's been no problem with wind, Having a fibre glass roof will stop any rain from entering and the sides are made from a dralon material which can be put away wet as they will not rot

 

[AndyCook]

cheers for info Chas

Do you think the extra £300 spent on the Airtop is worth it over the Airlander?
why did you change to the airtop?

did you have a small or medium? and 2 people in it?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Used it this weekend just gone in heavy wind and rain Andy and as ever it's not a problem, no leaks, no flapping about just a nice warm nights sleep Both mornings it was put away wet but the nature of their design means that 'wet' means most of it is actually dry. I've opened it up just now out of curiosity and there are quite literally a couple of drops of water on the front wall that was facing into the worst of the weather on Saturday night and as Chas mentioned you can just leave it anyway the draylon won't care. I gather from chatting to others at the weekend some of them didn't use their fold over RT's because drying them afterwards is a pain and other minor irritations with water pooling over the entrance so you can have a shower when you get out in the morning

There are no supports for the flaps, that's one of my customizations, normally you roll the flap up and secure it with straps if you don't want it in the way. Poking a hole in the bottom corners of the drivers side flap and sticking a short pole each side has been working very well for me but ideally the flap would be wider so rain can't drive in the side of it. You can buy an awning for them, which I have and is quite easy to put up but still just a bit too much mucking about for me most of the time so I'm going to buy a strip of fabric and make a hybrid set up much the same as I do now with the flap but covering a wider area to stop rain driving in past it.

If you are taller than say 5' 11" then the extra internal length of the airtop is worth it IMO, otherwise there are advantages and disadvantages in both types but I prefer the Airtop unless I could afford a carbon fibre mag then I'd have a bit of a dilemma choosing

 

[AndyCook]

ta Jon - great feedback as usual- thanks

I'm a smidge under 6ft tall so an airtop maybe better

ah - so the supports are a "Wildsmith" customization, think I would do similar if I get a mag as i have the foxwing anyway as a main awning and side-opening door on a colorado would mean the awning would see little use

need to check that the length of a Mag tent wouldn't obstruct me fitting my CB antenna (at front of roof) or i could move antennae if it does

I simply prefer the sleek look of a maggiolina tent compared to other RTT, quicker to put up and less material to flap around in wind and seems less leaking or improntu "shower" moments

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I pop'd it up again to show you what I've been doing with the flap and then thought I might as well say how I put it down but my phone struggled with the bright sky so the pictures are not great.

The wildsmith flap mod

The yellow arrows indicate where there is a loop each end into which you fit a pole when using the Autohome awning. I plan to get a length of fabric nearly as long as the tent and about as wide as the flap, attach it via a pole through those loops and make some holes in the same place as my flap mod which should leave some wings of fabric to pull down where the bungy straps are and shelter the entrance from driving rain. If the pole is a two piece then it can be split while still in the fabric, fold it all in half and roll it up, stick it in a bag and it can live in the tent when not in use.

Putting it away, I pull the front down from the drivers side because that is easiest for me with having the fox wing on the passenger side and as it comes down push the front wall material into the tent if it has billowed outwards then put the strap onto the 1st click. Side wall material will have bunched under the front strut so rearrange it over the top of the strut.

Go round the other side of the front and put that strap on the first click and rearrange the fabric to be over the strut.

Go round the back and pull the top down with the pull cord pushing the back wall fabric in as you go so it doesn't billow outwards. Elasticated straps inside pull the side walls in for you. I have adjusted the length of the pull cord so the handle can be placed under the lower part of the catch while I tuck everything in. I stand on my back bumper to do the back and from there I can also rearrange the fabric at the rear sides to go over the struts as at the front.

At this point the side flaps are still hanging out so go to each side and tuck them in.

I just fold them back on themselves.

Tuck the rear pull cord in and pull it down the last bit so the strap is on a few clicks

Then pull the front down all the way, then back to the rear and pull that down the last few clicks. Going back and forth a little makes sure it seals down evenly.

In the time it took me to do that those few drops of water evaporated and the tent is completely dry again

 

[Chas]

cheers for info Chas Do you think the extra £300 spent on the Airtop is worth it over the Airlander?
why did you change to the airtop? did you have a small or medium? and 2 people in it?

The Airlander was a medium and was much bigger inside than I needed, I've always traveled alone, my wife says she's more 4 star than 4x4 plus it overhang the sides of the roof rack by about 5cm each side. The Airtop is a small, it's the same length as the Airlander, but because there is no wind-up mechanism at the ends there is more usable length inside, you do lose a bit of width because of the hydraulc rams that lift the roof but two people will fit in comfortably, the empty space when the rams are up leaves handy spaces for storing small items (remember to remove them before you put the tent down ) It also fits my roof rack perfectly, it's exactly the same width
Because of a back problem I can't manage to pull down the front from the side, so I've devised a system where I attach a rope to the cord and run it under my roof light bar and pull from in front of the truck
I sold my Airlander for £750 but the Airtop cost me £1738, I got the black one which BOAB sold to me for the same price as the white one because there was slight damage to the gel coat, they had to point out where the damage was as I couldn't actually find it it was so slight. I've no idea why the white ones are about £300 cheaper.

 

[AndyCook]

excellent pics - thanks - explains the system well

look forward to the MKII flap mod pics

 

[AndyCook]

do the side and rear door flaps have zips? to stop them being blown around
I know the inner netting does..

 

[Chas]

do the side and rear door flaps have zips? to stop them being blown around
I know the inner netting does..

Every flap has zips and roll up ties.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

and an extra flap along the inside of the bottom of the flaps that you can tuck between the shell and the mattress to stop drafts

 

[BrendanB]

Jon has given a very comprehensive description of an Airtop

A couple of small points. When putting the roof tent away for a long time i.e. over winter ensure that the mattress is bone dry. Or put mattress in spare room so it is well aired.

The rubber catches are not suitable for positioning the Airtop on all positions on all roof racks.

The front rubber catches are positioned so that they sit on top of the slats on a Patriot rack. This means the rubber catches go through a right angle which makes them a PITA to undo. Positioned at the front of the rack and it is no problem

Obviously not a problem if mounted on roof bars (3 preferable to 2)

It is a good idea to try and compare any roof tents side by side if possible. Standard size is 2.1 m long

Brendan


PS We are Boab's northern stockist

 

[AndyCook]

cheers Brendan

i would plan on mounting on 3x rhinobars

i may be in touch in the newyear

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

The LED upgrade of the internal light is great BTW, much better

 

[AndyCook]

Jon

did you have to specifiy a longer ladder to come with the tent? as i have seen mentioned on web of there being two ladder lengths
one for cars (8rungs)
and another for 4x4 & vans (10 rungs)

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

did you have to specifiy a longer ladder to come with the tent?

No. Worth checking but I'd imagine all the tents sold by overlanding type outlets would have the 4x4 ladder as standard. I did buy a ladder bag for mine and I give the ladder a quick wipe down before putting it in the bag and then in the tent. Obviously going up and down the ladder in mucky boots gets it dirty so the bag stops it messing up the inside of the tent. I wipe down the ladder where it stands then slide the bottom up with it still hanging to wipe the bottom then slip the bag on I drilled an extra hole in my ladder between the existing ones because they were either a bit shorter or a bit longer than I felt is idea for my setup. Before going up the ladder I unlace my boots and tuck the laces in then up top I sit in with my feet out, take my boots off and put them in a super market bags I keep in the tent and put them in the cut outs in the matress for the struts. Sorry if that's more than you wanted to know but no one seems to talk about these arrangements

 

[AndyCook]

all good info - my you are very organised! usefull tips

 

[Chas]

did you have to specifiy a longer ladder to come with the tent?

I did buy a ladder bag for mine and I give the ladder a quick wipe down before putting it in the bag and then in the tent. Obviously going up and down the ladder in mucky boots gets it dirty so the bag stops it messing up the inside of the tent. I wipe down the ladder where it stands then slide the bottom up with it still hanging to wipe the bottom then slip the bag on take my boots off and put them in a super market bags I keep in the tent and put them in the cut outs in the matress for the struts. Sorry if that's more than you wanted to know but no one seems to talk about these arrangements

I also use a bag for the boots, sometimes I got a ladder bag supplied with the tent, but I've not used it yet because it was a faff to get the ladder in it easily, it hadn't occurred to me to slide the bag on while still hanging from the tent I shall do that next time . . . . . now where did I put that bag

 

[Charlie]

I have just purchased a small Airtop, but undecided if a sleeping bag is the way to go. What do you all use when sleeping in a roof tent, Duvet or sleeping bag?

 

[Chas]

I have just purchased a small Airtop, but undecided if a sleeping bag is the way to go. What do you all use when sleeping in a roof tent, Duvet or sleeping bag?

Duvet everytime, Two when it's very cold

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I use a sleeping bag, a 3 season one most of the year and an arctic one when it might be a bit chilly. Not sure how they compare with a good duvet though?