lilredwagn
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- South Carolina
Re: Roof Tent? Maggiolina make a good one...
br1anstorm said:
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Roof Tent?
- Thread starter mavrick
- Start date
fscrig75
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Burkburnett/Lawton
Pennsyltucky, theres something i haven't heard in awhile, anyhow...., camp hill here.
i like the trailer idea, most of the time i find myself using my jeep to get out into hard to reach areas and then doing alot of hiking. you can always find a nice flat spot to set up the trailer, plus the trailer is a hell of alot easier to get in and out of then up onto the roof. plus the dog can get in there easy too. it also gives you more storage area, you can put a rack on the front of it and on top of the lid, i also think you can store stuff on the inside when the tent is collapsed. here is another company that makes smaller camping trailers.
http://www.tentrax.com/OffRoadAT_Trailer.html
i like the trailer idea, most of the time i find myself using my jeep to get out into hard to reach areas and then doing alot of hiking. you can always find a nice flat spot to set up the trailer, plus the trailer is a hell of alot easier to get in and out of then up onto the roof. plus the dog can get in there easy too. it also gives you more storage area, you can put a rack on the front of it and on top of the lid, i also think you can store stuff on the inside when the tent is collapsed. here is another company that makes smaller camping trailers.
http://www.tentrax.com/OffRoadAT_Trailer.html
br1anstorm
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- United Kingdom
Re: Roof Tent? Maggiolina make a good one...
Hey, how come my pic won't show in my post, but now lilredwagn can make it appear! This computer technology stuff is beyond me... Jeep mechanicals are much simpler.
And by the way, how do you like the wild and jungly environment in which I took the pic? Actually it's outside my home in Scotland; all my desert-travel pics were taken with a pre-digital camera and I haven't got round to scanning them into my computer. That's another tech challenge that awaits!
br1anstorm...
Hey, how come my pic won't show in my post, but now lilredwagn can make it appear! This computer technology stuff is beyond me... Jeep mechanicals are much simpler.
And by the way, how do you like the wild and jungly environment in which I took the pic? Actually it's outside my home in Scotland; all my desert-travel pics were taken with a pre-digital camera and I haven't got round to scanning them into my computer. That's another tech challenge that awaits!
br1anstorm...
OverlandZJ
NAXJA Member # 101
- Location
- Bristol,PA
Re: Roof Tent? Maggiolina make a good one...
Jungly?...must be a Scottish thing.
Hows the Maggiolina holding up for you? Do you prefer it shape over the typical folding rooftent? How are the sides and zippers in heavy winds/rain?
Do you have any movement with it on the two Thule or Yakima crossbars?
br1anstorm said:
Jungly?...must be a Scottish thing.
Hows the Maggiolina holding up for you? Do you prefer it shape over the typical folding rooftent? How are the sides and zippers in heavy winds/rain?
Do you have any movement with it on the two Thule or Yakima crossbars?
Bones
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Mid Missouri
hadfield4wd said:
I know of one
Grizzly Lake,
Doesn't look like much, but most don't make it up here without a winch.
Old Tincup:
Pearl Pass
Picayne/Placer Gulch
It's also been over Ophir pass, Cinnamon Pass, and has made on road trips to Moab, Tellico, and Attica, IN. Not bad for a trailer built in the 40's
Bones :skull1:
- Location
- Houston, Tx
traitor5150 said:
I'm 5'9" and I attempted to sleep in my Jeep once... thank god I didnt have anyone with me on that trip as the only way I fit was diagonal. I'm sure most of you are taller than me, and I can't imagine that being comfortable.
- Location
- Reno, Nevada
Re: Roof Tent? Maggiolina make a good one...
Yes the Maggiolina tents are very high quality. As with most everything there are advantages and disadvantages to any type of sleeping arraingement, so whats best for one person might not work for everyone. A friend of mine has the Maggiolina on his XJ which he uses as an expedition rig also. One of the things he tells me that you need to watch out for is be careful not to lose the handle. He accidentally left it hooked to the tent and drove off. The handle fell off somewhere along the road. He was VERY lucky to find it. Some people carry a spare handle for that reason.
Interestingly, he has also changed his setup. He moved the tent from his Jeep and mounted it on top of an off-road trailer similar to the one Bones posted. That way he can carry much more gear (with the trailer), and he can leave the trailer and tent at a base camp while he takes just the Jeep on further explorations.
br1anstorm said:I've had two roof tents - a traditional folding one (made by Brownchurch in UK), which was heavy and a pain to open up and close down); and, now, a Maggiolina Adventure - made in Italy. It's not cheap, but worth the money. Here - if I have worked out how to do it - is a pic of mine
I've used this set up for travelling around North Africa and the deserts of the Middle East. Possible downsides are that a tent increases weight up high (adds to rollover risk), and there's a risk of tangling with tree branches. But the plus is that sleeping up there keeps you away from the spiders and snakes (and lions etc...); and you get early sight of any marauding bandits...
The Maggiolina clamshell arrangement takes 2 minutes to open and close, keeps you dry in the heaviest storms, you can rig an interior light, and on the road you can store bedding and clothes inside and spare wheels, tools or other stuff on the rack. Important to have strong mounting-bars (Thule or similar) fixed to the gutter: the Jeep roof bars won't handle the weight. And it's handy to have a pulley-system in the roof of your garage for when you need to lift the tent off - the s-o-b is heavy!
And all that means you have room inside the Jeep for fridge, tools, spares, extra jerrycans of fuel, etc.
br1anstorm
Yes the Maggiolina tents are very high quality. As with most everything there are advantages and disadvantages to any type of sleeping arraingement, so whats best for one person might not work for everyone. A friend of mine has the Maggiolina on his XJ which he uses as an expedition rig also. One of the things he tells me that you need to watch out for is be careful not to lose the handle. He accidentally left it hooked to the tent and drove off. The handle fell off somewhere along the road. He was VERY lucky to find it. Some people carry a spare handle for that reason.
Interestingly, he has also changed his setup. He moved the tent from his Jeep and mounted it on top of an off-road trailer similar to the one Bones posted. That way he can carry much more gear (with the trailer), and he can leave the trailer and tent at a base camp while he takes just the Jeep on further explorations.
justme
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- The Deep Freeze (Evanston, WY)
There was a roof tent on ebay just a few weeks ago. You might want to check there every once in a while...
br1anstorm
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- United Kingdom
Re: Roof Tent? Maggiolina make a good one...
So far so good, I guess. On the specific points, the Maggiolina (though pretty bulky) is, I guess, a bit smoother with curved edges so is more aerodynamic than the folding roof-tent I had (which was shaped like a very large brick!). And having to take off and put on the vinyl(?) tent cover was more of a hassle than winding the Maggiolina roof up and down. My Maggiolina has 'luggage rack' bars around the top for carrying extra stuff: some of the smaller and more recent models have a sloped top and no rack so are even more aerodynamic.
One of the few pluses of the Brownchurch or other 'fold-out' tents is that when open it gives a shaded/sheltered area beside the jeep, under the opened half of the tent. But with the Maggiolina you can always set up a separate awning...
Any tent that extends 4 feet or so upwards from the Jeep roof is going to catch the breeze if a gale blows. The Maggiolina scissors/ratchet opening system means you can get the canvas sides real taut, and in effect you have a rigid frame (which is probably better than a flexi/flappy tent secured with cords etc, except maybe in a Force 10). We've survived Saharan sandstorms in ours. And there's less canvas to get wet if it rains (though like any tent you have to remember to dry it out as soon as possible and before storage...)
Need to look after and lube the (nylon) zips, but they seem to be pretty tough. One point to watch is to fold the canvas sides inwards fully when closing: the top and bottom shells rub against each other - any canvas caught between them will suffer.
On serious trips I fix the Maggiolina on 3 or 4 Thule bars, and I leave the curved original Jeep bars in place under it - they help to support and spread the load a bit more. Plenty of room inside for two (wife and I are about average size/weight) on airbed or foam mattress. Dog sleeps inside the Jeep...
br1anstorm
John B said:Jungly?...must be a Scottish thing.
Hows the Maggiolina holding up for you? Do you prefer it shape over the typical folding rooftent? How are the sides and zippers in heavy winds/rain?
Do you have any movement with it on the two Thule or Yakima crossbars?
So far so good, I guess. On the specific points, the Maggiolina (though pretty bulky) is, I guess, a bit smoother with curved edges so is more aerodynamic than the folding roof-tent I had (which was shaped like a very large brick!). And having to take off and put on the vinyl(?) tent cover was more of a hassle than winding the Maggiolina roof up and down. My Maggiolina has 'luggage rack' bars around the top for carrying extra stuff: some of the smaller and more recent models have a sloped top and no rack so are even more aerodynamic.
One of the few pluses of the Brownchurch or other 'fold-out' tents is that when open it gives a shaded/sheltered area beside the jeep, under the opened half of the tent. But with the Maggiolina you can always set up a separate awning...
Any tent that extends 4 feet or so upwards from the Jeep roof is going to catch the breeze if a gale blows. The Maggiolina scissors/ratchet opening system means you can get the canvas sides real taut, and in effect you have a rigid frame (which is probably better than a flexi/flappy tent secured with cords etc, except maybe in a Force 10). We've survived Saharan sandstorms in ours. And there's less canvas to get wet if it rains (though like any tent you have to remember to dry it out as soon as possible and before storage...)
Need to look after and lube the (nylon) zips, but they seem to be pretty tough. One point to watch is to fold the canvas sides inwards fully when closing: the top and bottom shells rub against each other - any canvas caught between them will suffer.
On serious trips I fix the Maggiolina on 3 or 4 Thule bars, and I leave the curved original Jeep bars in place under it - they help to support and spread the load a bit more. Plenty of room inside for two (wife and I are about average size/weight) on airbed or foam mattress. Dog sleeps inside the Jeep...
br1anstorm
br1anstorm
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- United Kingdom
Re: Roof Tent? Maggiolina make a good one...
Damn right! I keep mine in the glovebox. I guess a failsafe would be to store the handle clamped to the roofbars and fix a length of cord to it? Or have the right size square-socket in the toolkit as a backup.
br1anstorm
EricsXJ said:
Damn right! I keep mine in the glovebox. I guess a failsafe would be to store the handle clamped to the roofbars and fix a length of cord to it? Or have the right size square-socket in the toolkit as a backup.
br1anstorm
OverlandZJ
NAXJA Member # 101
- Location
- Bristol,PA
For those who like the utility of a trailer without having to drag it behind....you could always follow this lead and add a Roof-Top Tent.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4304
I'm looking for an MJ! :worship: Props to the guys at Adventure Trailer for their insight. :cheers:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4304
I'm looking for an MJ! :worship: Props to the guys at Adventure Trailer for their insight. :cheers:
OverlandZJ
NAXJA Member # 101
- Location
- Bristol,PA
Gojeep said:Why do you think the thread is called "Roof Top"
Yeah, but if ya notice i did "mention" rooftents...so technically i did keep on topic. And how do ya not share something that cool?! :dunno: :gee:
That's it, i recind (is that a word?) my invitation to join us "over there". We already have half your continent anyway.. :jester:
SpazMoid
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- No! Your Not Stealing It!
I was thinking of doing this as well to my XJ, but If i did this, it would have to be used for more of expition purposes than offroading, as I'd have no where for my spare/lights/gear + I looked at the ARB one and it weighed around 119lbs
OverlandZJ
NAXJA Member # 101
- Location
- Bristol,PA
Spaz said:
Yeah, most RTT's weigh in around 120lbs. Where did you see an ARB RTT?...last i heard they were not being exported to the states.
SpazMoid
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- No! Your Not Stealing It!
ARB in Kent Washington, their Headquarters are there now. I stopped by to pick up some free advertising stuff for some of the guys here in the NW, and they had one set up in their show room. I think it was something like $900.00, but not to sure about that. They did have one though and they were selling it.
Is your XJ to short to sleep in?
Remove back seat. Cut plywood to extend to front seats with seats at front of it's rail. Cut and hinge plywood so when folded up you may. Move seat back for driving. Use space under it for storing. Make a crude backseat etc.
I'm 73 inches tall and can just fit (more or less) with this mod. Better then any soft tent in a hard rain. I have seen more then my share of rain when camping. Adds almost no weight or wind resistance.
To my way of thinking, the roof rack is for my junk the inside is for me. Let the junk spends the night on the roof. But as always whatever floats your boat.
Remove back seat. Cut plywood to extend to front seats with seats at front of it's rail. Cut and hinge plywood so when folded up you may. Move seat back for driving. Use space under it for storing. Make a crude backseat etc.
I'm 73 inches tall and can just fit (more or less) with this mod. Better then any soft tent in a hard rain. I have seen more then my share of rain when camping. Adds almost no weight or wind resistance.
To my way of thinking, the roof rack is for my junk the inside is for me. Let the junk spends the night on the roof. But as always whatever floats your boat.
