Rooftop Tent
Choosing the right rooftop tent for your adventure vehicle involves navigating a market with various sizes, setups, brands, and prices. In addition to rooftop tents, some consider implementing a lifted or pop-up roof with canvas walls on their Defender for increased interior space. While this creates a standing area, it comes at a higher cost and limits the ability to store heavy items on the roof. Weighing these factors and the preference for separate living and sleeping spaces, we opted for a rooftop tent. Moreover, our Defender is converted to allow comfortable sleeping inside, detailed in the Interior Rebuild section.
Selecting the right rooftop tent can be challenging given the multitude of options. Our choice, the Ocean-Cross Gobi 160, boasts a mattress width of 1.6m and a length of 2.4m—an advantage during rainy weather, providing enough space for personal items without compromizing comfort. The tent’s design allows us to sit up straight with adequate headroom. An added benefit is the extension above the ladder, ensuring dry entrances and exits during rain.
The tent’s versatility is highlighted by the ability to completely zip open the front, back, both sides, and the roof. This facilitates ventilation, ideal for cooling down in the summer, enjoying fresh air, or stargazing from bed. To enhance comfort, we’ve added a 2 cm anti-condensation mattress under the primary mattress for extra ventilation.
Price considerations led us to a rooftop tent that doesn’t break the bank, manufactured in China. While the quality of expensive options is subjective, our experience with the chosen tent has been positive so far.
However, rooftop tents have their drawbacks. In windy or heavy rain conditions, the noise may discourage sleeping inside the tent, prompting us to seek refuge in the Defender. Additionally, the canvas is susceptible to mold, but we manage this by airing out the tent and applying a fresh waterproofing coat as needed. Despite these challenges, our rooftop tent continues to meet our expectations and contributes to a camping in nature lifestyle.