A Year With A TentBox: All The Joys Plus Why I Wouldn’t Get Another
I love spontaneous adventures. Being able to get in the car on a whim and disappear to the mountains for a weekend camping and hiking.
Getting the Tentbox made for a rollercoaster of a ride over the last 12 months. Camping with it up and down the country on a whole manner of different journeys. Plenty of wonderful memories have been made but also it has enabled us to look at what we value the most from camping trips.
I have always loved my trusty ‘normal’ tent for camping adventures and especially wild camping. I have also had the pleasure of spending a lot of time travelling in and living in a motorhome. So the rooftop tent really appealed to me as a form of fun middle ground between the 2.
It is time to take stock and look at all the great times the TentBox gave us as well as the negatives that have helped make our decision to look at our camping options going forward. There are many pros to a rooftop tent but in my experience there are plenty of cons too. Everyone has different lifestyles so this is based on my own experience.
For reference we had the TentBox lite 2.0.
What Is A TentBox?
Firstly, what is a TentBox? A Tentbox is a portable rooftop tent. It is mounted on the roof of a vehicle, providing a comfortable sleeping space while off the ground. Tentboxes are typically made from durable, weather-resistant materials and feature a foldable design for easy storage and transport.
They come equipped with a built-in thicker mattress for added comfort and can be set up quickly at campsites or during road trips, making them a convenient option for camping and adventure activities.
I would say it makes your car, whatever its size, a little bit more like a campervan. It is not a tent replacement per se in that it is mainly a sleeping compartment only, rather than storage space.
Oh yes, when you first get one, remember you are suddenly a high vehicle when you see Max Headroom signage at car parks. We learnt the hard way, ha.
The Pros of a Rooftop Tent
The growing numbers of rooftop tents you see on the road now is a sign that many see the pros of having them. Here are a few of the positives that I have found:
Quick Setup
Practice makes perfect and after a few trips with the Tentbox you find that you can get onto your camping place and have the tent setup, literally, within 10 minutes.
Unzip the cover off, grab the ladders and pull open, extend the ladders. Voila, the tent is up and ready, no main poles or such like. The nice thick mattress is already in place.
As with most trips in the UK you may need to spend an extra few minutes putting the rainfly poles in.
When I say quick setup, this does not include the initial installation. Plenty more on that in the cons.
The same with putting it down after use. This takes a few minutes longer due to having to make sure you tuck it all in but no great hassle.
Comfort
One of the things I found that enhances the tenting experience with a tentbox is comfort. As you unfold the tent the mattress is built in and ready.
A nice mattress too we found. A 6cm thick foam mattress that has a wipeable cover. This is an upgrade on your average roll mat.
Off the ground. Yes, one thing you do notice is that the cold hard ground you often experience in a tent is simply not there at all.
We found that sleeping in the tentbox, expecially with good ventilation, very comfortable. It also somehow felt more private than a normal tent on a campsite.
Better Views
The TentBox has doors and windows not just on each of the 4 sides but also has to big zip open roof windows/vents and this allows for all manner of great views as you lie or sit inside and watch the world outside.
In the summer, with all open it is a bit like having the roof down on a car. Sleeping within the fresh air properly.
On a clear night and if in a dark sky area it is wonderful to have the roof windows open and lie there watching the stars as you look up.
Also, being perched higher up, on top of the car, you get a more panoramic view out of the doors and windows depending where you have parked up.
One Night Stops
We found the rooftop tent a wonderful way to travel if on a road trip where you just want to quickly pitch up, get some sleep and then pack up and set off again next morning.
Anything beyond that becomes more of a faff.
Can Pitch Without Grass
Yes, you can pitch with a tentbox in more places than a normal tent. No pegs etc means you can park up anywhere relatively flat and set up for the night. Gravel, driveways, car parks. Anywhere safe to park the car you can set up.
Cheaper Than a Campervan
A Tentbox like thsi may cost between £1000 – £2000 but that is much less than the outlay for a campervan or a proper conversion.
Future Use Beyond A Campervan
Campervan and Tentbox travels can be great, different and fun. One of the great things about their design is they can fit on most cars, even mini cars.
If your campervan breaks down or is written off, you lose your accommodation option. With a Tentbox, if your car goes you can simply transfer the tent to the roof of the new car.
The Cons of a Rooftop Tent
Now then, why would I not get another rooftop tent at the moment? Well my main point is security and practicalities in how we travel on some occasions. Not all these cons would stop me getting another but on balance it adds to our current decision.
Installation and Removing
Of course an expensive item like this needs to be attached to the car properly for comfort and security. Once you have worked it out it takes 30 minutes to an hour to spanner all into place, that is if you already have the roofbars fitted and proper.
Also remember that even this TentBox Lite 2.0 weighs at least 50kg so you need 2 or 3 peaople to lift it up and down safely.
The conundrum. When you live a spontaneous adventure life, do you take it off and on between each trip? It is easy to say yes, of course you will. But in reality you will see why many keep them on full time. That leads us onto security and fuel useage.
Security
The biggest worry for us was always the security or lack of. Remember you are strapping a £1k plus item to your car and trusting that nobody will steal it. For this reason we would only recommend getting a TentBox if you have a garage.
Ours was stolen off the car that was on our drive in the middle of the night. Reading reports, rooftop tents are now a hot target for thieves. It is so rife that Tentbox have resorted to moderating their FB page so they can stop people talking about it. Nobody is allowed to talk about theft of tentboxes on their forums.
When I enquired as to why, they stated, ‘we are sorry but we don’t want to give people ideas on stealing them’.
The firms that sell them will upsell all kinds of alarms or extra nuts etc but we are finding that if thieves want it they will get it off. Either by quietly unbolting during the night or ripping the roofbars off and damaging the car.
Insurance – Another grey area. Car Insurance companies may charge more as they may class it as a car ‘modification’. House insurance may not cover it. Caravan clubs may very well insure it but you are looking at another £100 per year approximately.
Fuel Economy
When you are always on the road as we are you go through a lot of fuel. Camping equipment weight would always be there so a tent wherever it is would make extra weight. That being said you do feel that extra weight on the roof and when driving you feel the extra drag.
Fuel usage we found goes up by between 10 – 20 percent with the TentBox on.
Going Out Of Campsite
If you are used to a motorhome/campervan lifestyle this may not be as much as an issue. But if you are staying on a site more than a night to sleep you need to remember that going out or the day or to quickly head out to the shops then all needs to be packed away and tent packed away.
If you travel to base yourselves in one place and go out and about a lot sightseeing etc then you need to get into factoring this in.
If you drive out to the local village pub for a meal from the site then remember you need to re setup on return, perhaps in the dark, without waking others up.
Dogs
Dogs can’t climb the ladders so smaller dogs can be lifted up if you feel safe enough, others need space in the car. We have our 3 so the 2 larger ones went down below in the car.
Differences To a Normal Tent
Ok, we have looked at how much more comfortable the tentboxes are to normal tents but normal tents you can cook in the porch, leave your boots in the porch and set it out how you want.
The TentBox is a sleeping space only in the main. Boots need to be left down below which can make getting in and out difficult in the rain.
Cooking needs to be done outside or in the back of the car. Yes you can get yet another upsell in an awning or small indoor space you can attach but for me you are then entering less spontaneity and purpose.
The car becomes your storage space for everything. Sleeping bags, cooking kit, clothing. If you are happy being on a site a few days and never leaving the site this may be less of an issue.
Differences To a Campervan
The Tentbox may feel like a cheaper way to get a campervan type lifestyle with spontaneous accommodation but you need to factor in storage. If you are on the road more than a few days then the car can end up full of kit. With dogs taking space this can create conundrums.
With a campervan or conversion you can set up for road trips with storage being specially catered for better. Plus you can lock up your campervan, even when home on the driveway.
Campsite Costs
As rooftop tents get more popular then more campsites are adjusting their online booking forms to specifically list them. The majority at the moment I find will give you a campervan space and price accordingly. Only once have I been able to get ‘tent camping’ prices. You will need to ring to book more often than not.
Also, a lot of campsites that are grass only may not take tentboxes because you would need to take the car over the grass and churn it up. If the site states tent only, no caravans and motorhomes etc then generally a tentbox won’t be allowed.
That being said, some pubs etc have started allowing overnight tentbox stays on their hard standing car parks. A great example is the Wasdale Head Inn, Cumbria.
Conclusion and Summary
Having spent a year travelling and using the TentBox I can sum up my experience as being mixed. It is super for one night stopovers with a quick setup and packaway to head somewhere new. For longer stays somewhere it becomes a bind.
You get less in-car comfort and space than a campervan or motorhome but for actual sleep you get more warmth and comfort than a normal tent.
A normal tent of the kind I use can be up and ready within 15 minutes anyway.
Security is a huge concern. They are highly valuable yet easily stolen, even with bolts and alarms etc. There are groups now targeting them as easy prey. Maybe ok with a highly secure garage or if you don’t mind spending hours wrenching bolts on and off.
Not practical on their own for cooking etc in the rain or if you have dogs and need storage. You would basically need to buy extra cover anyway. A tent.
Knowing what I now know and with my form of travels I will be using my ground tent or drive away awning a whole lot more for practicality and peace of mind. For road trip adventures I look forward to a campervan project in the offing. Fun!
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