The TentBox- Lets hear your defence/excuses

Surly their purpose is to enable car drivers to avoid camping fees just like camper van users ?

The extra 20oddK for a T6 camper would pay for a lot of camping pitches!

The extra 20oddK for a T6 camper would pay for a lot of camping pitches!

Except the full purchase price of a van is false – it’s the depreciation that you need to cost.

Having just been offered £5k more than mine cost a few months ago, I’m currently ‘up’ in my head…

I knew I would find a discussion on STW regarding these things, never let down by you lot. A bit disappointed by the dislike of the TentBox I have to admit, I have had my head turned by them recently after spending the last 2yrs either paying for an airB&B or driving 100’s of miles in one day to ride somewhere decent.

Reasons I thought they would be good:

1. They come with a built in matress so no uncomfortable lumps and bumps to keep me awake

2. I am off the floor so not sat in an inch of water if it pisses down

3. I have a car with a massive boot which I often think would be perfect for sleeping in, but what do I do with the bike? Bike stays in boot, I go on roof

4. No, really, driving a T5 or converted transit is not “just like driving a car” But driving my car with a TentBox is just the same as driving a car

6 months since the last post, do we have any real life experiences to shatter my rose tinted view of TentBoxs?

Cheers

what do I do with the bike?

When i car camp (or use the transit which has a fold down bed a kitchen) bike goes across the front seats with the wheels off.

And yes, the transit isn’t like driving a car. It’s shit, slow and rattly.

I have never fancied one , but then again I’ve always thought tarps are only popular for people who don’t go out of their gardens in bad weather and they seem strangely popular for people on gravel adventures

The one parked next to me the night before last was very noisy in the wind. Sounded like professional grade snoring – must have been great fun in there hearing that all night.

We had a PSA on here for cheap roof tents when Wiggle went tent pegs up.

I ended up with this instead.

For…

– £50k less than a T6, and it drives like a car not a transit van with shit handling.

– when not in use, it’s (for me) in the garage – so I doubly don’t need to drive a shit handling rough riding T6 around

– for the argument of ‘the cost of a T6 is only depreciation- no – not unless you have a spare £50k lying around. Otherwise you have to finance it through… Finance – which costs (or for some, unavailable).  + the risk that if it’s nicked or burns down you also cop the £££ gap too.

– on my properly driving AWD I don’t get stuck in fields, unlike T6s around every event and festival where there’s wetness.

Now the reality of use.

– goes up pretty quick (a few mins once used to it) + can leave sleeping stuff in too.  Lot less faff than a real tent.

– piss wet through tent stays OUT of the car when packing down

– Piss wet tent east to air amd dry on driveway when back home for me.

We got a zip-on awning with a ground sheet built in (used the folded-out half as the roof) so we can still store stuff like table and chairs out of sight, and doggie can sleep in the awning safely overnight.

Is it perfect ? No.  It depends what you’re doing.  Unlike a normal tent you can’t just drive away and leave stuff set up.   And will take longer to pack up than in a T6.

“when the roof tents a rocking….”

1. They come with a built in matress so no uncomfortable lumps and bumps to keep me awake

2. I am off the floor so not sat in an inch of water if it pisses down

3. I have a car with a massive boot which I often think would be perfect for sleeping in, but what do I do with the bike? Bike stays in boot, I go on roof

4. No, really, driving a T5 or converted transit is not “just like driving a car” But driving my car with a TentBox is just the same as driving a car

£200 of decathlon inflatable tent + thick decathlon SIM achieves all that. Not much slower to put up either

Some people ought to maybe get some training in camping. .

Your not supposed to pitch up in the river ….or the flood plain.

Otherwise I cannot conceivably see how you wake up in inches of water. – unless of course you pitched the tent inside out and upside down.

£200 of decathlon inflatable tent + thick decathlon SIM achieves all that. Not much slower to put up either

Don’t disagree much on that.  It’s a bit ‘horses for courses’.  Mine’s just easier when it’s pishing down or the grou d is rock hard and Stoney (i don’t bother with guys on it).

But we have both.

Roof tent works for a night around the back of a pub better than a floor tent.

Halfway up an Alp or in the Andes, it’s tricky driving the roof tent !

I do refer to ours as a ‘poor man’s camper van”.. if I had a spare £50k to spaff out (and another grand or so yearly costs for insurance, service, habitability service, MOT) then there would be a camper van on my drive.  Or actually a Merc Vito based van instead actually.

There is a place for all different tents, and a roof tent is great for upto a couple of people and a short term pitch.

Surface water. Just takes one bit of ground to be lower than the other and unless you are on a crown bowling green, that is more than possible.

Surface water. Just takes one bit of ground to be lower than the other and unless you are on a crown bowling green, that is more than possible.

Not without making some very bad choices or some seriously bad weather – that would likely see you abandoning your tentbox also.

I’d love a tentbox for the van TBH, The faff involved in fitting/removing/storing them puts me off though, need the roofrack for ladders most of the time.

I don’t know that I’d stick a pop-top on an aging t5 though – some do – but it’s 4k. Would prefer a roof-tent type thing that could be transferred / sold-on..

We tend to plan months in advance and rent a pod though

How are people getting them on and off the car?

Not without making some very bad choices or some seriously bad weather – that would likely see you abandoning your tentbox also.

You’re acting like you’ve never camped at Inners. Remember the year we turned up and it had been waist deep only a few hours before? Was still soaking.

Remember Pitfichie? With the Fiesta that just slid down the hill in the rain?

Ae when it absolutely pished down and everyone got stuck till Laur towed them out with his 90?

Roof tent would have been amazing for those occasions, not gonna lie.

How are people getting them on and off the car?

If alone, the options I’ve seen are ceiling mounted hoists, an inclined frame with a winch, or an engine crane with an extension.

I look at these roof tents every few months. I now have a few threads off here and other sites bookmarked to quickly remind myself why not to get one.

We’ve had a Tentbox classic on our van for coming up to 4 years now, it stays permanently on the van and so far have had no issues with mold etc, currently in Spain on an 8 week tour through Spain and France.

I always picture someone pissed getting up in the middle of the night and forgetting they’re high up…WAhhhh

I’ve done that. Fort William YH. The bunk beds are 3 high and i just leaned over to put my hand on the bedside unit to swing out and… there was no unit. Result – landing face first onto the floor.

I personally think there roof tents are a fantastic idea, and they’ve been out for decades. I remember Volvo had an option on one of their cars back in the late 70’s

It allows more things to be carried inside the car or somewhere safe to leave the expensive bike overnight.

And yes, the transit isn’t like driving a car. It’s shit, slow and rattly.

So much like driving my car.

Thanks all. Still can’t decide, but will be looking at the blow up tent option mentioned by @robertajobb. Didn’t know blow up tents were a thing, I am intrigued

I bought the previous version of this for about £550 delivered (this new version already isn’t far off now with the 15% Bank Holiday discount code on their site also) and it’s been great:

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/19611994/oex-vertex-lite-130-roof-tent-19611994

For my use case it’s perfect:

1-2 people

1-2 nights with the bikes securely locked away in the van (VW Caddy so not really big enough to sleep in with a bike or two without too many compromises) along with my kit etc. down in the New Forest/Brecon Beacons etc. staying at very basic (just a field with a toilet block) type camp sites.

It won’t be ideal for everyone but it means I’m doing more mini trips where I’ll drive down the night before a big day out on the bike rather than trying to squeeze in a trip to the Forest of Dean including travel both ways in a day for example, for the sake of an extra ~£20 for a cheap campsite stay.

For the price I paid it’s ideal for me and I’ve already more than got my moneys worth, if it was £2k+ I’d have probably talked myself out of it in favour of a decent regular tent but after a few decent weekends away for me it’s already “free”/paid for itself compared to staying in a couple of cheap hotels/BnB’s so I’m happy.

You’re acting like you’ve never camped at Inners. Remember the year we turned up and it had been waist deep only a few hours before? Was still soaking.

Remember Pitfichie? With the Fiesta that just slid down the hill in the rain?

My fiesta ? I remember turning up to pitfichie and going up the hill in reverse in my fiesta the first year it was reintroduced and taking one of the few dry pitches at the top of the hill and watching chaos ensue. I recall taking one look at the AE bog and deciding to move on to an actual campsite. A By product was my bike wasn’t stripped for parts while I slept like many others.

I did have some friends pitched right next to me on a sodden campsite on Skye where our tent footprint was waterproof and theirs……well it wasn’t.

Not sure a tent box would have helped as we were cycle touring.

Similarly a friend brought a light weight north American tent to sleepless in the saddle. It was an equally bad decision as the bathtub and fly just didn’t have enough overlap for the driving rain and wetness ensued

@jfab this is interesting. Like you i am doing FoD every other week with a 5.30am start and a 7pm return home plus some BPW and Dyfi days which get expensive when you throw in the accommodation.
2 questions:

1. How easy to remove and refit if you don’t fancy driving around with it on all week?

2. How easy to set up and take down?

Saw loads of these at the campsite on our holiday this summer. They kept having to take them down and pack up to go to the shops, and basically lose their pitch.

Mind you, it appears no-one knows how to put tents up properly – it was pretty windy and many tents were demolished after some absolutely atrocious pitching efforts.

My fiesta ? I remember turning up to pitfichie and going up the hill in reverse in my fiesta the first year it was reintroduced and taking one of the few dry pitches at the top of the hill and watching chaos ensue. I recall taking one look at the AE bog and deciding to move on to an actual campsite. A By product was my bike wasn’t stripped for parts while I slept like many others.

I did have some friends pitched right next to me on a sodden campsite on Skye where our tent footprint was waterproof and theirs……well it wasn’t.

Not sure a tent box would have helped as we were cycle touring.

Similarly a friend brought a light weight north American tent to sleepless in the saddle. It was an equally bad decision as the bathtub and fly just didn’t have enough overlap for the driving rain and wetness ensued

So in summary, for all except cycle touring the roof tent would have solved the problem just as effectively as luck / judgement / choice of ground based tent.

I always wonder how it’s killing the mpg and how long it would take to pay for a hotel for the night in savings if removed.

I used to put my bike on the roof of my Puma, it would knock 8-10mpg off the consumption. And it wasn’t that great to start with, about 33-35 mpg if I drove it how it was supposed to be driven. It wasn’t possible to put a carrier on the rear hatch, because the glass went all the way to the top, with no frame.

So in summary, for all except cycle touring the roof tent would have solved the problem just as effectively as luck / judgement / choice of ground based tent.

i never argued it was anything other than judgement. Poor judgement.

See also the folk using a roof box recently to do london to capetown ending up with a roof tent full of water and having a real hard time trying to get it to dry out.

Works both ways.  you cant simply kit your way out of it .

Uber common here (Aus) as above. They have their uses.

Personally, not keen or interested. The thought of having to pack up everything, just to nip into town for a grocery run or to pick up another slab.

Yeah, nah.

I keep looking at diy teardrop caravans and thinking they look like a good idea.

But i could stick a tent box on top aswell i guess.

Uber common here (Aus) as above. They have their uses.

Yes because Aus is infested with evil snakes and crawlies that want to kill you.

For UK use they are just stupid.

I’d break my neck in one – guaranteed I’d need a piss in the night and forget I was 4ft off the ground! 🙂

Not much protection from drop bears though.

@johnjn2000 I have just left mine on the roof of my Caddy as it’s parked off the road and only really used for bike trips but I’d say initial install/minor assembly of brackets etc. was probably an hour with a cup of tea and some biscuits and no real urgency.

1. Removal/Refit to the car if your roofbars are already on and you’ve done it before is probably 10 minutes and is a 2-person job to hoist it up just because of the awkwardness/size of it. Actual weight is sub-40kg so physically lifting/moving it alone isn’t an issue it’s just getting purchase on it to get it up and onto the bars safely.

2. Set up if you wanted to do it gameshow style I reckon you could easily go sub-60 seconds. Unclip the cover at two corners and pull that off, grab the end of the ladder off the top and you use that to swing it open and down as the ladder extends. Then one clip-on pole inside to push the porch section out and lock it into place.

Packdown is just as quick up until putting the cover back on, that probably takes me 5-10 minutes because it actually fits a bit too well from new so getting it fully down and cinched up tight at each corner takes a couple of circuits of the car just to get it nice and snug so it doesn’t look naff. I think it might loosen up a little with more trips but if you needed to get going in a hurry/there were two of you doing it you could do a neat enough job in a couple of minutes in reality, it’s just two clips at each corner that pull tight but I’m always a bit funny about trying to get it packed right down and tightened/square so it looks presentable and doesn’t flap at all.

I think they should be viewed as a superior alternative to sleeping in your car, similar to an overnight stop in a camper van (but far cheaper). They aren’t ideal for a 2 week family holiday.