I am leaning heavily towards getting a RTT.  I have watched plenty of YouTube videos but was curious what people here thought.  I am not getting a hardshell if that helps.

I"ve looked at them for my jeep,  then thought,  what does it provide that a normal tent doesn't for that cost?

My answer was the small advantages don't justify the price or flexibility of a normal tent or hammock.

In AK it would make it harder for a predator to get you.

I've had a few of them. Tepui and 23 Zero on the soft shell side. 23 Zero wins that one due to it having black out fabric. That is a total game changer when camping. The sun could be right on top of you and you wouldn't detect any brightness, ha. The downside of the softshell is that it takes a bit longer to pack back up. Especiialy if you are trying to keep a sleeping bag or blankets and pillows inside.

After those, I switched to a hard shell. Setup and takedown are way faster/easier. First hardshell was by Desert Armor. It had dark fabric but not blackout, I replaced the latches and then mounted a flexible solar panel to the lid. Ran that for a couple of years. I just recently switched to another hard shell. The 4x4 Colorado Alto Mini. This one checked all the boxes for me. Slightly bigger that the Desert Armor, more room inside to store gear, true black out fabric again, HVAC vent, ha, more pockets, and a rack which I mounted hard solar panels to.

With all of them, the OEM mattresses are the not good. You'd think for the price of any of them, that would not be something they'd miss, smh. After a lot of trials and testing, I found replacing the mattresses with the Exped Megamat Duo is the best replacement option. Its a hybrid air and foam mattress. I got a cheap rechargable mini air pump off Amazon to inflate it. Set that up while I'm setting up camp. Almost feels like a real bed now, ha.

I prefer the roof top to the ground for a few reasons.

-Any where I can get my truck to, I can camp. I don't need a clear space, I don't need to look out for rocks, mud, sticks, or whatever. Just park on a level space and setup.
-Ease of setup/takedown. Pop a couple latches and open it up. No stakes, no poles, no tarps to layout.
-Comfort. I'm not laying on the ground, ha. I'm not dealing with bugs or critters down there either.
-I have a better vantage point with the high ground, ha.

Thanks for the replies.  I wound up getting one off of Facebook marketplace.  Picked up a 23zero for $500.  I have a Tacoma as my daily driver and a Yakima Overhaul HD rack that I got for free from my former brother-in-law before he pcs'd.  With space being a premium I can't carry a regular tent and kids around all the time.  All of my other tents are light weight or ultralight and floorless either BD megamids, Seekoutside cimarron or zpacks.  The RTT has thicker material and has insulation in the floor.  My RTT had the mattress removed and had 2 foam pads that I will probably replace with a queen size 3 inch memory foam pad.

Get a 4" foam pad if the tent will allow when packed up. Quite a difference in insulation and cushioning over a 3", at least in my experience. I think I got 4" queen size off of slamazon for just under a hundred, but that was pre-bidenomics.

Nice score! I've got a Tacoma as well. Running a KB Voodoo rack while I wait for my Xtrusion Overland rack.

Went across the country with a friend. He has a rooftop tent. His biggest complaints were it took time to set up and once it is set up you ain't driving anywhere. I slept in a 4 man pop up tent. I like having room. I was on the ground but that never really bothered me. Not even in snake and bear country.
Oh, the tent screwed up aerodynamics bad, driving down the road he gets occasional bangs and suck from where the wind under the tent pushes the roof down and it pops out again. It also makes it much louder on the inside. He still likes it though.

Too much weight and wind resistance.

I got an Ursa Minor top for my jeep.  I can setup or takedown from inside within 30 seconds.  Lets you stand up inside.  Super quick and easy, never need to get dirty, but not for poors.  

I love the idea of a rooftop tent, but in my area it is usually hard enough to find a flat spot to put up a tent -never mind park the SUV anywhere close to level.

Or you can go the super-cheap redneck route.

@Alaskagrown

Just curious as to why you're excluding hard shells? What's your budget, as that will really impact some decisions?

My wife is the RTT expert and just put a down payment on our next upgrade (Woolly Bear trailer).

She decided on the Roofnest Sparrow hardshell. Very fast to deploy and take down, we can keep bags and pillows stored inside. We haven't upgraded the mattress yet, but I actually find it adequately comfortable. She started with it on her old Subaru Crosstrek and then put it on her new Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk.  




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When mounted on the roof, there is some loss of fuel efficiency, but it wasn't too bad airflow has been excellent and it's can be buttoned up pretty tight in heavy rainstorms. A little over a year ago, she picked up the tiny little Sylvan Sport trailer and mounted the Sparrow on that. She liked that setup more as we can leave the trailer/tent to head into town if we're at a campsite or we want to drive up to the trailhead for a day hike.

Everyone younger 10 years younger than us has a camper or RV; my wife refuses to go that route (yet) and simply likes this upgraded style of car camping. This will be the new platform for our RTT:





We also bring bikes, kayaks, and inflatable paddle boards, so this will give us the extra space. She wants to do a cross-country trip and would like to try the RTT on top of the car. Pull over, sleep, get up, teardown in 5 minutes and start rolling....we'll see

ROCK6

I excluded hardshells mainly due to price.  I wound up getting a 23 Zero Breezeway used. I took it on one trip before winter hit it.  Overall I am happy with it but will probably upgrade in the next year or so.  Gotta finish paramedic school first and make some more money.

My wife really likes the concept. For backpacking, we almost exclusively use hammocks, she hates being on the ground in a tent

Our Woolly Bear trailer will be delivered later in January, and she's gone off the deep end, but it's a hobby I dig as well, so it's all good

ROCK6