Decathlon car/van rooftop tent MH500 – £1000

This seems much cheaper than lots of other rooftop tents I’ve seen. On the upside, Decathlon tents are really good and the 5 year guarantee is appealing. On the downside, it’s not at all aerodynamic and perhaps they missed a trick by not using their own inflatable tent design to create a squarer, more spacious tent…?

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/roof-tent-mh500-fresh-and-black-2p/_/R-p-331938?mc=8642422

Am I the only one that doesn’t get these things? Are they not the worst of most worlds? Wobbly, chilly, more exposed, and relatively small? I know they’re the latest fad, and I’m not a hardcore camper, but is the main benefit that you don’t have to fit them in the car and they’re relatively quick to put up? I just assumed that’s countered by the high fuel impact and theft risk.

No, I don’t get them either. Every time you want to drive somewhere you have to pack the whole thing away and take it with you, and they seem to cost about 5 times as much as a equivalent for the ground.

They look good on Instagram though so that’s why they sell.

they have their place in countries with dangherous wildlife that wants to kill you like Australia.  In the UK?  Not for me

All the disadvantages of a tent with very few benefits.

When it’s windy you’re not gong to get a great night’s sleep and you can’t pitch behind a bush for shelter (I include pop-tops in here, too, although with pop-tops being single skin they’re more prone to condensation). Trying to find a level spot to park is harder than pitching a ground tent on level ground. When it rains there’s a decent chance you’ll get wet as you have to climb into /out of it at some point. The set up is a bit of a faff unless you’ve a hard shell that simply opens.

They’re expensive for what they are (including Decathlon’s offering at ~1/3 the price of most).

Would rather have an estate car and sleep in the back. Or a van.

Agree with the above, heavy cumbersome things to take off too so I guess it’s quite a hassle getting it up on the car for a short break!

You could mount it on a trailer and can it a trailer tent…now your talking 🙂

They are curious. They remind me of a trailer tent without wheels

The ones that come in a clamshell that pop open so you can keep bedding etc in there look good…

Think I’d rather have something like this for that kind of outlay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266737012376?itmmeta=01J0A1HEMCPJY1Q7N0FKWJAPFP&hash=item3e1ac3ce98:g:sW4AAOSwEMRlSme-

looks like no comments from anyone who owns one so far

I live in Canada and I’ve had one for a couple of years {not decathlon}

Best thing I could have bought, its a higher quality tent that is warmer and more comfortable, really quick and easy set up too

I recently went to Squamish it was around 10 deg c and raining hard, we stayed warm, dry and comfortable. All the ground tent people had packed up and left or slept in their cars

Fuel economy wise over about 1000 km it cost me 1.5L/100 extra

I can’t see the point but see loads in the lakes, at least vans can go stealth.  The layby at southern end of coniston was full of car tents 2 weeks ago.  As they are obviously overnighting I wouldn’t be surprised of some restriction coming in.  Near me at the beach where overnighting is prohibited, the odd stealth van gets overlooked, but a car tent the locals would be knocking on your window and sending pics to council.

When I buy a new work vehicle, I’m going to keep the current Discovery and use it for a bit of off roading and some camping duties.

I quite fancy something like this. Has a memory foam mattress that stays in place and has to be easier than pitching a tent. Leaves the back (it’s a commercial so no back seats) free for luggage, bikes etc

https://www.sterling-automotive.co.uk/products/vickywood-mighty-oak-160-hybrid-roof-tent?variant=40247681155118&currency=GBP&srsltid=AfmBOoqsDzqygeRTW0M8M6FQYoGP0hKWtX4QKPKzm-BVp6U7W9audS9z-So

I’m guessing you have to buy the roof bars as well? So more cost unless you have some already.

Pitching a tent out of the boot might take a bit longer than setting one of these up but are people really that short of time when they go camping? Surely part of the appeal of going camping is slowing down and not having to do everything at 100mph. I don’t find pitching my geodesic tent in anyway stressful either.

And I reckon breaking camp can be almost on par for time if that is important, especially if you take into account having to get it off the roof when you get home.

I think I’ll stick with my tent in the boot, I can sit up in it, the dog can come and go as he pleases as well (he’s not learnt how to climb ladders yet).

Be quite handy for what I do, which is going to (running) races in out of the way villages that probably don’t have any nearby campsites. Get there the evening before, park up in a quiet backstreet somewhere, dinner at a local bar then pop up the tent and get a decent night’s sleep.

As above it’s for those who want to circumnavigate the rules about camping

Benefit of it as well is that you don’t have to paint your car white and you can fit down even smaller lanes than most camper vans . Also fraction of the price of a camper van whilst still allowing you to break camping rules

whilst still allowing you to break camping rules

Hardly covert. More like pitching your tent . Then putting up a giant tall billboard saying….. Over here. Camping where I shouldn’t be.

I’m another who doesn’t really get them, but each to their own.

Do note: it’s 56kg+5kg of roofbars, and says it needs 75kg load rating. That over or close to a lot of roof load limits these days. Only my V70 was over that, most including people carriers, were 50 or 75kg.

Can I ask – this one seems to keep the mattress in, stored next to wet fabric of the outer. Do these things, like tents, get damp & wet inside over the course of a few days or wet day?

We had a Howling Moon RTT on our Defender that we did Europe and Morocco in.

They are good in rocky dry barren landscapes and where you need to catch a breeze to keep cool, they also pack away quickly with bedding still inside.

Ours held its value really well when we sold it on.

The reason I wouldn’t have one now is that we have a dog and also that the Defender was slow (~60mph on motorway) so the aerodynamics of a RTT didn’t matter much. On modern vehicles where cruising speeds can be a lot higher then the aerodynamics are more of an issue.

They do need bolting to the car/roofrack/rails with shear bolts as scroats now realise their cost/value

Hardly covert. More like pitching your tent . Then putting up a giant tall billboard saying….. Over here

That’s the point though isn’t it. Put a tent up not far from the road and you will probably get asked to move on . Park a great big ugly motor home on the road and that appears ok, so same logic for these car things.

Ive also wondered how you keep it all dry must be near impossible

Our Howling Moon was thick polycotton with a flyshield / rain cover over the top. Occasionally you got some light condensation inside (not enough to drop) but in general it had good ventilation. We used it in baking sun through to gale force rain and it was fine. Left it on all year round and the transport cover never leaked.
Bedding/mattress was always fine.

This was for a Howling Moon who along with Hannibal and Eazi Awn were the S.African leaders in the market. In the decade or so since we had ours the market has exploded with a lot of Chinese rebranding going on so I don’t know well these ‘copies’ perform.

I’ve got one. A Ventura whatever it is that folds out (Ventura tents). Definitely at the low end of prices for roof tents but no complaints about it.

It’s great for what I need it for. We use it mainly for race weekends (SDA, BDS) where we’re camping in a car park. Think Glenshee, Fort William, Innerleithen,… A van would be the right answer but lacking the 10s of thousands of pounds for a van just now, the roof tent does very well.

It stays in the garage most of the time – just put on for trips out. Takes about 10 minutes to fit but need the help of one of the kids to put it on top of the Octavia. Very quick to pitch (unfold then 2 guy lines to secure).

It’s proven waterproof and holds up fine in the wind (3 days in stormy Torridon was a good test), comfortable (well, it’s OK but might look to put a thicker mattress in it or extra padding under it) and easy to use. Gets me, the lad and the dog in no problem (6′, 6’3 and a 23kg Vizsla).

Normal camping, we go back to the ground tent. Largely because I’ve got about 6 or 7 of them and can choose the size I want for the trip.

Re: the Discovery I mentioned earlier – would also fit an X-Lifter which allows you to independently control the air suspension.

That’s the point though isn’t it. Put a tent up not far from the road and you will probably get asked to move on . Park a great big ugly motor home on the road and that appears ok, so same logic for these car things.

all the people who think they are “stealth camping” in a van with no windows etc are kidding themselves on far more than the public.  There guys are just being slightly more honest and perhaps are less offensive as a result – clearly temporary, not trying to be sneaky.  I don’t know if the users will be any better at waste disposal though which is the sort of issue that people don’t like about “unofficial” camping once it becomes popular.

Ive also wondered how you keep it all dry must be near impossible

ive assumed that these were mostly people doing one or two nights mostly in fair weather or a week of summer camping rather than hard core campers going for the maximum… but I’m not sure how many take it off between use as that seems like it would eliminate any faff benefit.

I dont have one (have a VW camper) but one advantage would be that your large tent is on the roof as oppose to taking up lots of space inside. My daughter goes camping with her boyfriend and their German Shepherd takes up most of the space in her Mini, although they do have a roof box. Should imagine if you need the car they can be folded quickly and stuff left out as I often do when camping on a site.

I used to do something similar but with a decathlon pop-up tent.

Drive somewhere late a t night, pull into a quiet car park / layby in the Lake District, throw tent out the boot into a field, sleeping bag and mat inside, get a solid 8 hours sleep, swim in a lake, fry-up on the Trangia, meet friends, have to listen to them moan about their early start and 2 hour drive to get there.

Having it on the roof would have been a bit more comfortable.

Maybe a bit harder to find quiet / empty spots now that every man, woman and dog are enjoying #vanlife.

That’s the point though isn’t it. Put a tent up not far from the road and you will probably get asked to move on .

I was never caught/asked to move on.

TBH with that setup all you’d see was a car parked.  The tent was over a wall somewhere.

And really, unless you’re in a big / popular Lake District car park with a no-overnighting sign, who’s going to be out disturbing your sleep?

they have their place in countries with dangherous wildlife that wants to kill you like Australia.  In the UK?  Not for me

It’s a well known fact that the sort of animals that aren’t stopped by some mosquito mesh are also unable to climb 4ft off the ground.

To be honest, the ‘Wiggle PSA’ that appeared on here for roof tents lead me to getting a rather fantastic Nordisk tent. It’s absolutely brilliant ! I’ve even bought a Nordisk tarp for the rainy days/sunshine.

Having looked at the roof tents, they are pretty small.

I don’t really understand these, as roof-loading on cars is limited by the manufacturer – often to 50-80kg in my experience.  So a full roof tent with 2 people sleeping in it is going to blow that out of the water!

@fossy

I can’t remember if we’ve had this conversation before but which one did you end up with?

I got the Nordisk Utgard Sky, groundsheet and zip in bedrooms for not much at all, but haven’t used it yet. Is it good then?

@RustyNissanPrairie

I got the same tent. Done 12 nights in it by end of May. It’s quality. I would, however mark one corner of the ground sheet and one corner of the tent with ribbon as the groundsheet only zips in one way. We faffed thinking it didn’t matter first time as it looks symmetrical. We got one bedroom as only two of us and only really needed to keep bugs out being poly cotton. Gets loads of remarks from other campers and it’s easy to pitch once you get the groundsheet to tent sorted. So good I bought a Kari Diamond 20 tarp for £100 recently. List is £360. Old stock.  Seriously quality tents.

I had a long explanation both for lovers, curious, envious, and the haters, last night. But the STW forum site ate all the words and seized up when I tried to post. 🤬.

So  here’s the 2nd go, a bit more staccato…

I’ve a different make – Lattitude. I have the zip-on ‘extension’ as per the earlier link, that hangs under the folded out half

I do refer my set-up as  “poor man’s camper van”

Pro:

– £50k less than a camper van.

– £80-100k less than a mobile home.

I can afford neither of those.

– I get to drive a nice-to-drive car. Let’s be honest – T5s and T6s drive like a rattly harsh uncomfortable transit van with shit cheap-old-fashioned suspension – because that’s precicely what they are.  And my fillings + hearing are not being rattled to death at 70mph.

-still fits in normal car parking spaces in supermarkets, service stations etc

– fits down small lanes just like a normal car. Because I’m driving a normal car.

– 4WD  (ok, AWD) so less chance of getting stuck in fields at events than a T5 or T6 (we’ve all seen them !)

– levelling / slope. No different to a campervan. Maybe even better – I can set the ‘fold-out’ half at a bit of an angle (using the ladder as a prop) if really needed

vs. a regular tent:

– easy pitch – a couple of mins after a few goes.

– can leave the bedding inside – instantly ready, doesn’t fill car with sleeping bags or duvets.

– robust (much heavier materials, poles etc as it doesn’t have to be man-handled the same way to pitch.

– rock hard ground ? A non-issue – I’ve not had to use any guys (I have a near 2 tonne vehicle to stop it blowing away).

Worried about getting wet getting in the tent ? Well guess what – you’d be even wetter using a regular tent !    The extension sits under the folded out half,, has access into the car door, sewn in groundsheet. Access front the car to the extension to the roof tent without stepping outside.

– no piss-wet-through tent in the car. It’s up outside on the roof out of the way !  (My boot is filled by a big dawg and his cage, so everything has to go on the back seats – or the towball mounted box when we use that.

Downsides:

– it is a heft to take on/off the car. Mine’s 54kg.  Defo a 2 person thing unless you have a gantry or a v high garage roof where you can have a hoist.

– it can make SOME car parks inaccessible- just depending on your base car’s height.  I’ve a Ford Kuga, and with tent = 2.05  to 2.1m.  But not as bad as most camper vans and defo less worse than mobile homes.

often to 50-80kg in my experience

that rating will be dynamic, static roof load will be much higher

I’m in different to roof tents, they have there place for sure. Hassle of getting up for a pee puts me off, plus lucky enough to have a camper. But if I couldn’t afford the van I think I would consider one.

As for roof bars… I have several already of differing designs from 35+ years of carting bikes and kayaks around. So no cost there for me.

Roof load. You DO need to take thst into account.  My Kuga has a 60kg rating (down from the usual 75kg, as its got the big glass roof). So I’m just inside the limit with my 54kg tent + 5kg of bars.   Ford of course don’t reveal the reason for the rating – is it the rail attachment ? Or roof panels buckling ? Or A/B/C pillars ?  Under what load condition ? Proof ? Fatigue ? Vertical load or lateral or longitudinal? Crash load case ?   Nobody knows.    This does prevent me using the ‘clam shell’ versions as they are typically closer to 65-70kg.

Aero. Yep, it’s not !  I reckon I’m losing 10% fuel efficiency through the combo of the RTT + the tow ball bike rack with a Thule cargo box on it.

There is more wind noise when doing g.lpre than 40-50 mph. Though at least in my case  most of it is coming off the square roof bars I have rather than the actual tent (most of the noise is there if I leave the bars on without a tent attached. aero bars would reduce that, but I’m not spending £200 when I already have several sets of square bars.  Also having the glass roof probably means I get more noise from the roof than if it was a ‘normal’ steel roof with liner.

“Would rather have an estate car and sleep in the back. Or a van”

So that ticks ALL of the shit-night-sleep boxes.

– mega condensation

– freezing cold in Winter

– let’s all the sunlight in at 4am

Plus all the shiiite characteristics of a van to drive.

@fossy

👍 We bought a caravan hence why we haven’t used the tent yet but hoping to do a roadtrip soon with it.

Useful summary @robertajobb

55 kg for a tent seems like a lot!!!