TWELVE Advantages of the Haven Tent Over Rooftop Tents (Part One)
- Randy Reek, The Great Out There
- Oct 12, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 8
How to spend THOUSANDS less than a #RTT and enjoy camping MORE!
“Overlanding” is the collective term for vehicle-supported travel.
Most “overlanders” enjoy a combination of on and off-road travel with the journey as the goal. Remote camping (“boondocking”) is a big part of the wilderness experience.
For many, rooftop tent camping has become synonymous with the overlanding experience.
But many overlanders are considering alternatives. Rooftop tents (RTTs) provide a bed at the end of the day but are not without their limitations and problems. In the next two articles, we will look at an alternative to RTTs: the Haven Tent.
I hope to illustrate the MANY advantages that the Haven Tent has over the ubiquitous rooftop tent.
Contrasting the ADVANTAGES of the Haven Tent with rooftop tents for overlanding.
The Haven Tent is a complete sleeping shelter SYSTEM.
The Haven Tent should be considered as an alternative to rooftop tents. Don’t compare the Haven Tent SYSTEM to cheap banana-shaped hammocks. Like rooftop tents, the Haven Tent provides a comfortable elevated sleeping space, protected from the elements and insects.
The first reason to choose the Haven Tent over rooftop tents is the LOWER cost.
Haven Advantage Number 1: COST Savings.
Like a RTT, the Haven Tent is a full shelter system, including the floor, roof, insect netting, and the sleeping mattress.
My Haven XL Tent currently retails for $365.00. I have owned FOUR rooftop tents, including some that cost over $3,000. Even at this price, I have neeced to spend hundreds more to upgrade the stock mattress.
In total, the rooftop tents (which I bought, disliked and ultimately sold) cost 10 TIMES MORE than my Haven XL Tent!
You should ALSO note that the costs of a rooftop tent DOES NOT include the expense of the mounting rack for your vehicle or trailer. Don't think that you can mount a rooftop tent on the plastci cross bars of the "luggage rack" on your SUV! Be prepared to spend $500 to over $1,000 for racks required to support the occupied RTT and carry the folded package at highway speeds!
Haven Advantage Number 2: SPACE
But wait, you say: The rooftop tent will sleep two people.
My last rooftop tent had a mattress that was 50” wide by 76” long. The stock mattress was pathetic and uncomfortable, so I upgraded to a more expensive replacement. But the replacement mattress didn’t enlarge the sleeping area. Most couples simply want more space.
Yes, to sleep TWO people you will need TWO Haven Tents.
With two Haven Tents, each person will have a larger 30” x 80” mattress with more total sleeping area. Camping is uncomfortable when you need to squeeze two people into a RTT. The average rooftop tent is much more comfortable for one person.
If you are a solo camper, you save 90% of the cost of a RTT with a Haven Tent. If you are a couple and buy two Haven Tents, you still save 80%.
Couples might voluntarily sacrifice comfort to squeeze into a rooftop tent. Two buddies on a cross-country adventure will likely require their own personal space. A RTT might be great for a father and son outing, but you still need to overcome the 400% cost disadvantage
Haven Advantage Number 3: COMFORT
As noted, many rooftop tent brands (and aftermarket suppliers) now offer “upgrades” to the thin, stock foam mattresses.
You can easily spend hundreds of dollars on upgraded mattresses. But the Haven Tent System INCLUDES a deluxe, insulated air mattress. Each mattress is independently adjustable for air pressure and firmness for each camper. In addition, each person can customize their own sleeping bag or quilt.
The unique, patented “bridge” suspension of the Haven Tent combined with the deluxe air mattress provides a roomy and flat bed surface.
Side Benefit: The Haven mattress can also be used when camping in another tent, on the ground or a cot. (Or when pitching the Haven Tent in a ground “bivouac, as we discuss later.)
Suspended within the Haven Tent, the mattress is literally floating on air! But I use my Haven air mattress year-round in multiple camping situations during the year in other tents, too. When camping with overnight lows below freezing, I add the insulated cover for added R-value. You can also inflate the air mattress at home for an overnight guest.
Haven Advantage Number 4: LIGHT WEIGHT
Rooftop tents – and the supporting vehicle or trailer rack - have weight limitations.
Most rooftop tents have a weight limit of about 500 pounds. This includes everything in the RTT – that includes the mattress, bedding, clothes, shoes, miscellaneous gear, AND the occupants (humans and animals). The fact is that a large (no pun intended) segment of the American populace will exceed the space and weight limitations of most rooftop tents. The Haven XL has a weight capacity of 285 pounds, and the new Haven Safari is rated for 350 pounds.
Remember: You CANNOT install a rooftop tent on the factory rack on any vehicle.
NO vehicle has a standard roof rack capable of supporting the occupied weight of 500 pounds or more. NO vehicle has a standard roof rack rated to safely carry the “dynamic load” of the rooftop tent at highway speeds.
This means that you need to spend an ADDITIONAL $1,000 for a rack capable of transporting and supporting your rooftop tent.
Haven Advantage Number 5: NO INSTALLATION REQUIRED
Most rooftop tent owners hate driving around with the bulky RTT on their vehicle 24/7/365.
Once bolted to the expensive rack, you can’t fit in your garage. You can’t drive through the car wash or into most parking ramps. Mileage is sacrificed due to the weight and bulk. Removing the RTT between camping trips requires an overhead hoist and a large storage space.
Instead, one or two Haven Tents weigh only a few pounds, fit in the truck of the smallest car, and store on a shelf or in the closet between trips and in the offseason.
Haven Advantage Number 6: EASE of USE
The next disadvantage of rooftop tents is the complication of leveling the vehicle each night.
A good night’s sleep depends on a level bed from front to back and side to side. I leveled my truck with a combination of blocks under the tires and shallow holes that I drove a tire into. This wasn’t a terrible process, but a requirement at each campsite. (Probably less than 10% of campsites offered a level parking surface that didn’t require any compensation).
Add to your rooftop tent expenses a set of leveling blocks for the vehicle and a shovel. I also added a set of bubble levels along the sides of my RTT.
In contrast, the Haven Tent is essentially self-leveling.
Side to side leveling is a non-issue. Lengthwise, you attach the hammock via tree straps at both ends. You may actually prefer to adjust the suspension of the Haven Tent with your feet slightly higher than your head. You can always adjust your sleeping position with slight movements along the 6'8" mattress.
The Haven Tent is suspended at two points, with the suspension proving infinite and effortless adjustment. Campers can select the most scenic locations, regardless of the ground conditions, and beyond vehicle access. This is a prime advantage of the Haven Tent - not only for overlanding, but for other forms of camping.
Here is Derek, the inventor of the PATENTED Haven Tent to demonstrate the self-containing sleeping system:
In the following article we will continue this discussion of the Haven Tent advantages over the overlanding default standard: the rooftop tent.
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