If you’re like most RVers, your love of the outdoors started with tent camping adventures. With a four-wheeled vehicle, tent and sleeping bag you could go nearly anywhere.
Now that you’ve traded up to a RV, do you ever wish you still had the flexibility that car camping offers, but with the comfort of a RV? If so, a new breed of camping shelter could be in your future. Vehicle camping tents for RV toads and tow vehicles can take you into the outback once again.
Canadian Napier Outdoors started the trend in 1990.
The evolution of vehicle tents for RV toads and tow vehicles
Car camping isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days when we tried to sleep on the cold, hard ground in damp shelters that could barely accommodate our height while sitting up. Whether they’re made for backpacking or car camping, modern tents are better than ever. Made with weather-resistant materials and durable designs, they’re roomy, yet they can collapse down into practically nothing.
Tent structures are no longer shelters to set up away from your vehicle. Today’s tents actually become a part of your vehicle. This is why vehicle camping tents for RV toads make perfect sense for RVers.
Tents for every kind of vehicle
Napier Sportz Cove 61500 model for SUVs.
Tents for RV toads and tow vehicles give you back the thrill of wandering into rugged camping spots where no RV would dare wander. As a bonus, there’s no need to unpack your gear. You can keep all your car camping accessories in the vehicle as you tow it with your RV.
If anyone knows about staying comfortable in the outdoors during adverse weather conditions, it’s Canadians. That’s why it makes sense that vehicle camping tents for RV toads and tow vehicles began with the Ontario-based Napier Outdoors.
In 1990 the company launched the first elevated tent configurations for truck or SUV cargo areas. Now, campers could sleep in their trucks but stay clean and dry.
Minnesota’s Topper EZLiftSystems.
By incorporating shade protection awnings for cooking and gear, Napier’s shelters grew even more useful. Twenty five years later, more vehicle camping tent manufacturers are creating their own ingenious designs. The SEMA 2016 show spotlighted two unique vehicle tent designs that take the concept one step further.
Owners of bumper-pull trailers who tow with a truck and hard-shell topper will love the TopperEZLift. Made in Minnesota, it’s an electric system that uses your truck’s battery to raise and lower the topper.
What’s more is it’s capability of being able to lift up to 900 pounds and lifting height of 17.5 inches, allowing it to accommodate back country gear or other cumbersome equipment.
The pop-up camper tops made by California-based Ursa Minor are made just for RVers towing Jeep Wranglers or Honda Elements. This pop-up camper is a conversion that replaces the hard or soft-sided factory top.
You can order the conversion online, have it shipped to you, and installed in minutes. Both models only add about six inches to the vehicle’s height.
Ursa Minor’s Jeep and Element camper tops.
These vehicle camping tents for RV toads have many optional conveniences, like a two-person mattress, interior LED lighting, electronics charging stations, and zippered screen windows. Buyers can even customize the window screens.
Return to the backcountry with comfort
Further, the kind of vehicle you own doesn’t really matter. So, from Jeeps and pickup trucks to minivans and SUVs, there’s a manufacturer with a tent that will fit your set of wheels.
The most comfortable models work best with tow vehicles for bumper-pull trailers and motorhome toads. However, even fifth wheel owners can find models that don’t need to utilize the truck bed for a base shelter.
Now you can venture deep into back country adventures like you did long ago, but carry many RV creature comforts along for the ride.
Rene Agredano and her husband, Jim Nelson, became full-time RVers in 2007 and have been touring the country ever since. In her blog, Rene chronicles the ins and outs of the full-timing life and brings readers along to meet the fascinating people and amazing places they visit on the road. Her road trip adventures are chronicled in her blog at LiveWorkDream.com.
I love these styles of tents especially the ones from Napier. Super easy to set up and your shelter is virtually element proof no matter what’s happening and your off the ground which is the most important thing.
For outback camping with my Jeep SUV Toad I ended up with three different canvas tents. Even though canvas requires more care than nylon tents. I prefer canvas over nylon as it breaths and doesn’t create the type of condensation and humidity found with nylon tents.
One of my tents is a Springbar tent weighs approx. 30 lbs with poles. Sleeps up to two people.
https://www.springbar.com/springbar-compact-2-tent.html
Springbar tents come in various sizes: https://www.springbar.com/springbarreg-tents.html
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The second tent sleep up to eight people. I find is about the right size for one or two people.
10 x 14 Kodiak Deluxe Canvas Tent.
http://www.competitiveedgeproducts.com/Kodiak-Canvas-10×14-ft-6014-8-person-Deluxe-Canvas-Tent_p_18.html
Ceiling Material: 10 oz Hydra-shield canvas.
Wall Material: 8.5 oz Hydra-Shield canvas.
Floor Material: 16 oz vinyl. Polyester reinforced, seamless.
Frame: 1-inch, galvanized, steel tubing. Flex-Bow Rods: 3/8-inch, solid, spring steel.
Once in a while and each season I use some SILICONE based waterproofing such as Kiwi Camp Dry. Which allows this type of canvas to breath. You don’t want to treat this type of canvas with a petroleum based waterproofing products, bees wax, etc. This type of canvas works well without any waterproofing, additional silicon spray such as Kiwi Camp Dry helps to keep the canvas pretty much water tight while allowing the canvas to breath and dry out.
Kodiak Tents also has a couple of pickup truck tents, Short and Long beds. Made from the same canvas materials as t;he Flex-Bow tents.
http://www.competitiveedgeproducts.com/Truck-Tents_c_14.html
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The third tent is made from a hybrid canvas of ripstop cotton-poly canvas This 10 x 10 canvas tent is very easy to setup and breaths very similar to a 100 percent cotton canvas tent.
Black Pine Deluxe 6 Canvas Turbo Tent 4 season tent, 10 x 10, sleeps up to 6 people.
http://www.blackpinesports.com/black-pine-pine-deluxe-6-turbo-tent
The (non pickup) Springbar, Flex-bow and Turbo Tents it’s important to remember to first stake these tents on fairly flat ground then erect the tents. I recommend for some areas to use a canvas or nylon ground pad underneath these tents.
These tents, (especially the cotton-canvas) should be cleaned off and 100 percent dry before storage. You need to keep canvas tents away from any mold and mildew while in use and in storage. Over longer periods of time (such as weeks and months) mold and mildew latches on and gets into cotton products, especially in humid climates.
These tents, (especially in humid climates), need to be periodically aired out, while in use. Or just leave a vent or window partly open to provide some air flow. In dryer desert climates there are usually fewer or perhaps no problems of this type.