Family trip sleeping solution???

[SteveS]

I forgot to add.......why buy one - you can probably find somebody that will rent an RTT or Tentipi and/or buy and sell. We lived in our roof tent for 8 months in North America and we really love it for its flat comfortable sponge mattress. We really loved our Tentipi in the deep snow of the Arctic c/w its wood burner.....it is about horses for courses

 

[SteveS]

Oh.....and something else. 2x RTTs on the roof is a lot of weight - 100kg. Not am impossible amount but something you may wish to consider. We just completed 35k miles in North America including 7k miles of dirt and some serious 4x4 trails with 90kg on a Hannibal rack without any problems

 

[cmcmill01]

Thanks @SteveS lots of good info, good to hear the Tentipi was ok in high winds. Probably need to get a good thick groundsheet if we go for the Tentipi.
One of the major factors is the rolling up of the 5 sleeping bags and SIM's compared to just leaving it a roof top tent, but that said where can you cook in a roof top tent if the weather is rubbish!!

Think I am leaning more towards the Tentipi, but will go and see 1 first.

 

[SteveS]

thick ground sheet would be good. Bear in mind that the size of the tent as specified by the manufacturer is for people sleeping in expedition style - essentially like sardines in a fan shape - so you may wish to get something larger. By the way if you went with a RTT solution then you can buy an enclosed room underneath - this you can cook in (be sensible re fumes etc). Some friends of ours also vented their Webasto in. However, the under-room will only really seat 2 + stove, 4 at an absolute push. The larger tentipis will accommodate 6 or 8 seated, put all your gear around the outside. You may also want to consider tent pegs. Tentipi ones are rubbish lightweight alloy and in Iceland you will likely have a mix of hard rock and ash - so I suggest that you get some proper rock pegs and some sand pegs in case you get to some ash. Packing sleeping bags - yes a pain, but so too will be your air mattress or camp roll. We leave our bags loose in the back to air (even though you can leave them in most RTTs). Out in the highlands there is little shelter so putting your truck on the windward side is a good thing. Some campsites have purpose made banks to provide wind shelter for ground tents

 

[SteveS]

sorry - just thinking around the problem a little......why not go for a Hybrid solution with one RTT for adults and a medium sized expedition tent/Tentipi for the kids?

 

[cmcmill01]

sorry - just thinking around the problem a little......why not go for a Hybrid solution with one RTT for adults and a medium sized expedition tent/Tentipi for the kids?

Or RTT with heating for adults and a pop up tent for the kids!!! Not sure I'd get away with that.
Thinking about the Safir 9 for the 5 of us.
Do you have the inner and the floor for your Tentipi????

 

[SteveS]

Or RTT with heating for adults and a pop up tent for the kids!!! Not sure I'd get away with that.
Thinking about the Safir 9 for the 5 of us.
Do you have the inner and the floor for your Tentipi????

yes I do. You can fold back a section just inside the door to create a wet/dirty area for changing out of boots. It fits nicely with the main tent (toggles) and can technically be left connected when you roll up the tipi but we have never used it like that. We have found with extended use that the floor material has blistered a bit but I think this is where we had the Eldfell fire running red hot and scorched it - we now put some insulating material on the floor under the fire. The floor is waterproof but it is not stiched/velcro'd in to the main tipi, relying instead on the fact that the connecting points are above floor level by a couple of inches (ie water passes underneath). You can find quite a few youtube videos showing how to put the tent up. BTW - we have used it in proper torrential rain and the canvas material worked perfectly. The other thing is that the whole thing is light enough (think moderately heavy back pack) to take hiking with you if you wish. Another point to consider re Iceland is that the ground is incredibly abrasive and keeping everything clean of this dust will be worthwhile. Keep the rubber door seals clean etc and be prepared to fully review your bushes, oil seals, cylinder rubbers etc when you get back

 

[Dave_S]

Bit off topic, but last time we visited Iceland we toured, but didn't camp, we stayed in a variety of farm cottage, bunk houses, etc - worked out pretty cheap too. Just a thought.... ;-)

 

[StarCruiser]

Interesting Dave, may I enquiry what passes for 'pretty cheap' as I hadn't associated the 'c' word with Iceland?

 

[Dave_S]

£30-40 a night for 2 adults, from memory. I can dig out the paperwork if you need specifics. Some stuff in Iceland is expensive sure, but we were surprised accommodation is not bad, especially once you get out of the tourist area in Reykjavik. Stayed at some cool places too - working farms, etc.

 

[AndyCook]

We found Tentipi was shaking violently in 40-50mph gusts, didn't not have stove on either. I have a safari 9cp. A friend has heard of poles snapping in high winds and one bit of advice was to get a pole for a 13cp and cut it down to size, since it is thicker and stronger

We always cover Tentipi ground sheet (£500) with a massive canvas tarp, and other flameproof rugs under the stove area. Since the Tentipi ground sheet may be punctured by chair and table legs etc.

A nine man tent is ideal size for two of us and a dog, and stove and kit. A 5 man would have been a bit tight.

 

[StarCruiser]

Wow, that is remarkably cheap Dave, was this recently, and what time of year?
Also did you take your cruiser or hire one? It's tempting to hire one even though it would be expensive (@Lund will know) it may well pay dividends especially with prices like that for accommodation.

 

[Dave_S]

First time we went up and rented a Vitara, second time we took our 2 Defenders up, via Scrabster in Scotland - ace trip! We booked the accommodation in advance through one of the Icelandic tour companies. This was just before Kass was born, so 7 years ago I guess. But I looked again recently and the GBP prices were pretty similar..

 

[StarCruiser]

Thanks Dave, that's whetted my appetite. What sort of cost was shipping a vehicle? I spoke to one of the organised trip people at the AO show who leave from Immingham, but I think it's vehicle only and the occupants have to fly.

 

[Dave_S]

Ferry cost wasn't bad, I'll dig it out - but its a 2-3 day trip both ways, came back via Norway... I've got a file with all the info I'll look it out over the weekend.

 

[StarCruiser]

That would be interesting though I can see I would need to dart my wife to get her to go on a ferry for that length of time!

Apologies for the threadjack.

 

[Dave_S]

My missus is not a good sailor - she binge watched Harry Potter in the cabin and spent a lot of time in the bar, using the dance arcade game LOL!!!! Was a great trip though...

 

[Lund]

Iceland can be both cheap and expensive, all depends... we rented a AT LC120 for a week, cost was about £1500 all in, but that's 7 years ago.

Lovely place!

 

[Shayne]

Wonder if you could hire an Arctic trucks style camper ?

 

[Lund]

saw a merc sprinter on 44" , massive!