Well, it’s been a year using the Tentbox Cargo roof tent and it has been used loads and not just by me. It’s been used in the snow, wind, rain, winter and summer. Its been driven from one end of the country to the other so I can safely say it’s been tested.
Pretty much everywhere I park up questions have been asked about this tent so there is a lot of interest in this style of camping.
It’s so easy to turn your car into camper and like thousands of others it’s a great way to visit the world.
Roof tent camping has it’s pros and cons like any form of camping and especially if your comparing it to a campervan. As a previous campervan owner there’s couple of things I miss like if you’re on a long journey and you want to stop for a sleep you could just pull onto a quiet road in a town / village, park up pull the bed out and you can sleep inconspicuously.
It certainly beats hiding from the rain under a tarp when hammock camping.
Roof tent camping is a great way to explore, having everything you need in your car without the hassle of pulling out a tent (this gives you space for a packraft) or kneeling on the ground packing a wet tent away.
The down points of a roof tent.
With a roof tent this isn’t possible. As soon as you pull up and setup your tent, every man and his dog knows there’s someone sleeping.
The other down point is, with a campervan if the weather is bad you can just pop the roof, turn the chairs around and you have everything there for a bad weather day: stove, bed, sink etc. With a roof tent a bad weather day means you’re confined to your roof tent.
This is where an awning and the newly released awning room from Tentbox comes in handy.
Then onto the pros:
- You can pretty much go anywhere: no more sleeping on the floor, having to pack away a wet ground tent.
- Elevated Sleeping Space:
- Roof tents provide an elevated sleeping platform on top of your vehicle. This elevation offers several benefits, including better views, enhanced safety from wildlife, and protection from damp or uneven ground.
- Convenience and Quick Setup:
- Roof tents are known for their quick and easy setup. Most models feature a fold-out or pop-up design that allows you to set up your sleeping space in a matter of minutes. This is especially advantageous after a long day of driving or when you arrive at your campsite late in the evening.
- Comfort and Support:
- Roof tents often come with built-in mattresses that offer superior comfort compared to sleeping on the ground. The elevated platform also provides better support for your body, resulting in a more restful sleep.
- Off-the-Ground Camping:
- Being off the ground means you’re less exposed to crawling insects, small animals, and moisture. This can enhance your overall camping experience by reducing the risk of discomfort or disturbances during the night.
- Mobility:
- Roof tents are ideal for road trips and adventures where you’re constantly on the move. You can set up camp wherever you find a suitable parking spot, providing flexibility and the freedom to explore without worrying about finding suitable ground for a tent, although sometimes it can be difficult to find a level piece of ground, Level ramps are worth buying.
- Minimal Impact:
- Roof tents have a smaller environmental impact compared to traditional ground camping. They don’t require clearing ground vegetation or disrupting the natural landscape, making them a more sustainable choice in ecologically sensitive areas.
- Gear Storage:
- The space inside your vehicle remains available for storing other gear when using a roof tent. This is particularly advantageous for travelers who need to carry equipment, luggage, or supplies. If you where travelling in your car, with a family and a families worth of sleeping equipment and tent, that will take up a hell of a lot of space. With a roof tent some you can leave the bedding in the tent and of course the tent is on top of the car so you gain loads more storage space in the car.
The Tentbox Cargo.
The Tentbox cargo is the most expensive tent in their range and this is due to its design and materials. It is a hard, robust aluminium shell, therefore it is also the heaviest tent they sell. The cargo weighs 74kg so is really a 4 person lift to get it onto the car.
The cargo is suited for overlanding, wild camping and generally being off-road. That said, many people choose to put the cargo on a road car due to its design and quick pitch.
After modifications to the tent and my setup is was ready to explore.
My modifications on the TentBox cargo.
The modifications I made where:
- Installing a solar panel to the top of the cargo and then running the cable into the back of the truck with a homemade battery box which included a leisure battery, inverter and some USB ports.
- Running a cable back up into the cargo through one of the ventilation holes with a multi-charger cable.
- Instaling a net on the underside of the rear of the truck (for clothes, waterproofs ect).
- Elastic straps on inside of truck to hold fishing rods.
The solar charging battery box.
Please take a look at the video above if you’re interested in making your own solar charging battery box for your rooftent. Below is a list of pretty much all the items you will need:
- 100w solar panel: https://amzn.to/3Q3nqn0
- Solar controller: https://amzn.to/3tB2qN7
- Cable: https://amzn.to/3QlDF0e
- Crimping tool and connectors: https://amzn.to/3Qmrctp
- Sikaflex (adhesive): https://amzn.to/3M4EGXW
- Box: https://amzn.to/45zNCeQ 90ah
- Leisure battery: https://amzn.to/3QmM5Es
- 12v usb & cigarette lighter socket: https://amzn.to/3s16Wnt
The gear boxes.
- 3 x plastic boxes (which are great!)
- Box 1, Camp gear: One Tigris table, lightweight camp chair (can be used for hiking as well), 2 x bivvy lights (more on these later as these are a great investment, Flextail Tiny Repel (Mosquito repellent (doesn’t work with midges).
- Box 2, Cooking gear: gas stove (these are brilliant), i’ve had this one years and the replacement gas is cheap as well, foldable washing bowl, chopping board, Stabilotherm JÄGARSTEKPANNA ORIGINAL Carbon Steel Frying Pan (one of my best investments, see video), cutlery roll, Ridge Monkey frying pan (can be used as a sandwich toaster or two separate frying pans, Washing up kit (including soap, dishcloth and tea towel, Silicone kettle and no cook box should go without a tub of Old Bay Spice
- Box 3, Fishing and Bushcraft gear: a X5 Adventure Fishing rod by rigged and ready, opinel filleting knife, Fiskars Camping Axe, Mora Knife, Atwood and various bits of fishing gear.
Camping in the Tentbox cargo.
The first real test was a camping session with a few friends in North Wales in January. It supposed to be a paddling expedition down the river Dee but due to high water levels most people called it of but myself Simon a bloke in the woods, and Matty from Magpie outdoors decided to go ahead.
So as you can imagine January in North Wales was cold. It was very windy, with wintery showers.
The one thing I did learn is that if you face your cargo into the wind it basically deflects the wind. The cargo is rated for wind up to 39mph (Gale force 8) and at times it was near this.
Warmth.
It was cold, to the point the pub was calling in Dalgarog! The mattress I find is really comfy and I felt no cold through it. I was sleeping under my down quilt the Ginge had made for me which is really made for hammock camping but fits perfectly in the Tentbox cargo and also in my fishing bivvy, its actually really versatile.
The tent itself doesn’t have any insulation and it did get cold so I had my Fjallraven blanket underneath me and I threw a dry robe on top which was fine. We still had some great adventure, trout fishing on a reservoir and walked up to Dulyn bothy and spent the night to find the place covered in snow the next morning.
I did find a great place you could setup your tent at the car park to walk up too the bothy.
In the tent.
I don’t really take much into the tent with me but the most valuable bit of equipment is the Pee Bottle! this is a god send, stopping you from getting out of the roof tent and negotiating the ladder in the dark.
Here’s a list of in tent items I use.
- Pee bottle: £11.99 on Amazon A must! i’d recommend this to every one, it’s unisex, but make sure that you don’t over flow after a night in the pub! (honestly, It didnt happen to me).
- Sunblesa bivvy light: really helpful piece of kit. As it has a metal back plate that the magnets inside the bivvy light attach to, it can be attached on the outside and with the remote control you can turn it on before unzipping your tent. You can also turnout around and use it in your tent, I was hoping it would just clip onto the roof but the shell is aluminium,
- Power cables: mine runs from my battery box in the back but it would be easy enough to take a battery pack into the tent with you (this one is 50,000 mAh).
- Head torch if you need to go out in the night. I use the Sunblesa Gen 2 which is really light and bright (see review on the bivvy light and head torch).
- Water: It’s also very helpful to keep a small bottle of water in one of the two pockets in the tent.
Ingress and Egress into the Tentbox cargo.
Obviously you need to negotiate the ladder, the ladder I have has no grips on the rounds, so I purchased some tape to stick on the rounds. As mentioned above the bivvy light really helps when it’s dark. The only issue I came across is if it’s raining and you are accessing from one of the side doors.
The rear of the Tentbox cargo has a rain fly, so if you have yours setup with the ladder at the back the rain fly will help stop rain ingress when you are going and out. The problem is if you can’t use the rear entrance and you are using the sides, there’s no rain fly.
Utilising the awning.
Personally, I think the awning is a necessity. It protects you from the sun and also if the heavens decided to open. As mentioned before you are space limited with a roof tent if the weather is dreadful so having an awning gives you cover from the rain.
Just remember in a down shorten one of the post so the rain will run off, otherwise it will pool and suddenly drop!
The problem with the awning is it will protect you from the weather but not the insects: call the new awning room!
The awning room has been designed to fit on the awning on any car. There’s two sizes: for cars upto 1.7m tall and 2.2m.
The awning is a spacious room. Keep the doors down to create an enclosed weatherproof room, or roll them up to create an airy chill spot. For even more flexibility, use a set of Telescopic Props to enter “wing mode” to create a massive shelter.
In this mode you can keep the mesh closed to protect you from the biting insects..
It comes with a hanging pocket system with 4 mesh pockets to store gear, plus a ground sheet to keep your feet dry!
Weekend Camping
The great thing about a roof tent is you can literally decided to go for a weekend and off you go, no real pre-planning is needed if you vehicle is setup for roof tenting.
Using a campsite local to me (Three Rivers Pitch and Paddle), myself and Simon where driven to the start of our trip, paddled down the River Waveney, stopped off at the Secret Sauna (which is not needed now as Three Rivers now have there own sauna) then made our way back to Three Rivers Pitch and Paddle, setup the Rooftents and had a great evening of fondue and local beers from Greenjack Brewery.
Short local trips are a great way to trim down your packing system and gear organisation.
The first long expedition with the Tentbox Cargo.
So a week worth of solo adventure was set, the back was packed full of packrafts, gear, food and rum and of I go, I had planned to drive straight to Dunkeld but the weather was so good I decided for a stop on a campsite I use regularly on the edge of Thirlmere.
Now the one thing I learnt here is the need for the awning for sun protection and that being a black tent, if you are facing the sun in the morning, you will wake up to parts of you cooking, it does get very hot inside when you are in direct sunlight. The best thing to do is roll up all the doors (if your in bright sunlight you shouldn’t have many biting insects about.
Up on Loch Etive, I unpacked my packraft and headed out on the Loch for a couple of days wild camping, the only concern was leaving all my gear (and the roof tent) in the carpark.
I have a couple security devices to try to deter it and my gear being stolen. I setup a trail cam pointing at the truck, there’s and airtag in the awning and the roof tent and security nuts on the roof tent.
So, finally in Scotland in the land of legal wild camping, how does it go in a roof tent? Well it’s a bit of a grey area, as many forest carparks are being used under ‘Stay the Night’.
This is setup in many carparks but its states ‘self-contained motorhomes and campervans will be able to park overnight for one night’
Is a roof tent self contained? With my setup I would say yes, but still you’re cooking outside.
Can you stop anywhere in Scotland with a Rooftent?
In Scotland, wild camping is legal in most areas, as long as you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. This code outlines the responsibilities and best practices for wild camping, such as camping away from houses, being respectful of the environment, and leaving no trace.
The law states staying in a roof tent isn’t covered by the Scottish Access Rights. Public or private land owners can restrict or regulate parking on their land, you must comply with this.
However, there are still plenty of places where you can ‘wild camp’ or camp for free. To find these places, use the Park4Night app which gives you information on facilities. Read the comment as sometimes no camping signs have been put up, local shops, attractions and reviews.
This means that if you have a roof tent and want to go camping in Scotland, you have plenty of options.
The most popular spots.
One popular spot for roof tent wild camping in Scotland is the Cairngorms National Park.
This stunning area reminds me of the nordic tundra and offers plenty of opportunities for wild camping, with stunning views of mountains, lochs, and forests (try Glen Etive in the highlands near Glencoe).
If you can find a secluded spot to park your car and set up your roof tent and then spend the night under the stars just make sure you respect where you are.
Just be sure to follow the local signage, the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and respect the local wildlife and environment.
On this trip, I paid for one night to stop in a carpark near to Dunkeld as I was fishing the Tay the next day.
I had no issue here, setup late and packed down early.
Overall this was a great trip and I really could have used the awning room when it was rainy and the noseeums (midges) where out in force.
In this instance I was confined to the roof tent but I did find the pushing the front seat forward in the truck gave me a comfortable seat with a good bit of space to see out the rain and the bugs.
Other uses for the Tentbox Cargo.
The great thing about the cargo is that you can attach a roof rack to it, so you can carry, kayaks, bikes, roof box (just make sure you don’t go over the dynamic load rating for your roof rack).
Extra bedroom on your day van.
If you have a camper without a poptop roof, attach Cargo to the top and you have another bedroom.
We find the the cargo gives us an extra bedroom when we a using the caravan: 1 child in the front of the caravan and one in the roof tent, he loves it as it has power, he has his own space and it saves setting up a bed in the caravan awning.
Another great gadget for overloading: Lifesaver Cube.
The lifesaver cube is a 5l water filter that I would really recommend buying if your into overloading or off road wild camping in you roof tent.
Check the review on the Lifesaver Cube.
Designed and developed with International NGO – Oxfam, the LifeSaver Cube delivers clean water for individuals, families, groups and communities on the move. It is the ideal clean water solution for emergency preparedness – small enough to be transported or to be stored in a vehicle, or to used as a water filter in the home.
The LifeSaver Cube is like a superhero for storing and carrying dirty water. It’s designed to keep that water separated from the clean stuff, so you don’t have to worry about any yucky germs making a comeback. Just filter the water through the cube when you’re ready to drink it, and voila! Clean, refreshing water without any nasties.
Summary of the Tentbox cargo rooftent.
All in all its a great roof tent, my current setup in the truck means I can tow the caravan for the family (as the campervan was too small for as all) and pack up and head off on my own adventures with everything fully packed for fishing, camping, hiking and packrafting.
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