Choosing a rooftop tent can be a daunting task, with so many brands offering all shapes and sizes its hard to know what features are important. This guide will allow you to distinguish what specs of a collapsible tent will give you the best camping experience.

First and foremost, the purpose of a Hard-shell tent is to be an improvement over a traditional tent. Thus creature comforts are of significant importance. Different brands offer all types of mattresses the Adventure Kings Grand Tourer MkIII Aluminium Rooftop Tent features a massive 75mm thick high density foam mattress. Most brands only offering 50mm this will make your Pop-up tent envy of campers everywhere. Another important factor of a Car tent is internal storage pockets and cable access points. An access point for your cables allows you to easily run cables from your vehicle to then inside the Vehicle tent so you can charge devices or use a light.

Kick back and watch the sunset in no time as some 4wd tents can be set up in as little as 30 seconds. Its is important especially with an Aluminium Rooftop Tent that it has quality heavy duty gas struts. This will allow you to simply pop the latches, give the handles a light push and the gas struts will take over. The Kings tent has gas struts weighted to 550 newtons this is powerful enough to pop open even with your gear strapped to the roof of your Rooftop tent.

No one likes a wet bed so another essential feature of a collapsible tent is water proofing. A good measure to go from is using the ingress protection system. 1) The sleek Hard-shell tent design with no external rivet or bolt joints, reduces risk of water ingress into the Pop-up tent via holes. 2) An automotive grade rubber pinch weld seal keeps water and dust out of the Car tent for good. 3) A custom extrusion aluminium prevents water coming inside the Vehicle tent even if the water passes the rubber seal. 4) Every join is sealed with automotive grade polyurethane sealant, making the 4wd tent extremely watertight and built for extreme weather. So find a brand that features all 4 stages and you will certainly be staying high and dry.

A tough construction is vital when choosing an Aluminium Rooftop Tent. So look for models that offer aluminium honeycomb sandwich panel system that are integrated into the Rooftop tent’s frame for an incredible amount of strength and durability. Also look for a custom-designed, extruded aluminium frame that allows a drastically increase in strength of the collapsible tent while making the overall dimensions incredibly compact. Be sure that the external gas struts of the Hard-shell tent , along with the nuts and bolts in the included DIY fitting kit are ultra-high quality 316 marine grade stainless steel. As that is a must have for a Pop-up tent if you live near the coast or love to hit the beach.

 If you’re going on a long trip in your Car tent then a big sleeping area is key. The kings tent offers a huge sleeping area of 1300mm wide by 2145mm Long. That is almost as wide as a double bed and longer than a king. Also make sure that getting changed is a breeze and get a Vehicle tent with a whopping 1.65m of head height. For extra convenience get a 4wd tent that has enough internal space when closed to leave all your bedding gear inside, 110mm is a go stand to go by. Not only should you get a Aluminium Rooftop Tent with a 75mm high density foam mattress, but an extra tip is to ensure your Rooftop tent is fitted with a soft quilted top that can be zipped off and removed for machine washing so you’ll feel right at home.

Benefit over a canvas tent is that some Collapsible tent have insulation just like your home. The superior designs use the aluminum honeycomb sandwich panel that is built into the frame of the Hard-shell tent’s roof and ceiling to double as insulation, keeping you cool in summer and cosy warm in winter. Another good benefit is internal carpeted floor and ceiling with the option to remove the carpeted floor of the Pop-up tent for easy cleaning.

If you want to stay dry, then ensure your Car tent uses waterproof 320GSM canvas. You’ll sleep tight and the bed bugs wont bite if all three sides of the Vehicle tent feature zippered midge and mozzie proof flyscreen mesh which will stop the bugs, but not the breeze. All 3-entry points of your 4wd tent should zip from the bottom so they can be sheltered from the rain with an integrated awning system allowing for excellent airflow, no matter what the weather is doing.

The awnings of practically Aluminium Rooftop Tents should be held in place by incredibly strong tension poles which allow the awning to flex in the wind without flapping around and making noise, ensuring you sleep tight all night long in your Rooftop tent.

The ability to customise your Collapsible tent setup by relocating the ladder mounts to any of the 3 door options is a great feature. Make sure your Hard-shell tent comes with included heavy-duty telescopic ladder which extends to over 2.3m. So it’s perfect for just about any sized rig. A good note is that 80mm deep anodised angled ladder rungs make climbing into your Pop-up tent incredibly easy on your feet.

Streamline of a Car tent is important due to fuel economy. When closed a good size is measurements of 2261mm long, by 1415mm wide, by 264mm high. Weigh of your Vehicle tent should be around 95kg including the mattress, telescopic ladder, fitting kit, awning poles and the heavy duty lock out pole. A heavy 4wd tent will put too much strain on your vehicle.

The final important tip when looking for an Aluminium Rooftop Tent is to ensure it comes included with ultra-heavy-duty mounting kit, with six powder coated mounting plates, 12 x mounting track adaptors & 12 x M8 marine grade stainless steel nylock nuts and bolts.  That way your Rooftop tent will be the perfect addition to just about any flat roofrack.

Although choosing a rooftop tent can be a daunting task, using this guide should allow you to distinguish what specs of a collapsible tent will give you the best camping experience.

So get out there and grab yourself a Hard-shell tent for your next adventure.