Which hard shell rooftent?
 

Hi folks,
need some feedback if possible! I am in the market for a new roof tent, have up until recently had a hannibal folding type one. Now, I don't need roof rack space so the hard shell type really appeal due to their ease of opening and closing, not getting covered in dust and sweat would be nice. My ideal tent would be:
- hard shell
- 1.3 m wide or so
- generally super easy opening and closing
- sourced either South Africa or Germany for better freight deals and especially price from ZA!
Gil

Hard shell roof tent
 

Hi Gil,

I had an EeziAwn roof tent for a few years and it was fine. Now I've gone to the dark side...

My Autohome Columbus is fantastic! Self erects on gas struts in 5 seconds, pull cord to close & tuck in sides in less than 30 seconds. No need to climb on the vehicle, it's all done from ground level.

Sleeping gear stays in the tent - including the ladder. I've used it in the Sahara and 900km north of the Arctic Circle. Cool & airy with 3 windows open or warm & cosy with them zipped shut. A lot less flappy than a conventional roof tent when it's very windy, and very slim so less drag on the car.

I bought the carbon fibre version, expensive I know, but it's only 28kg and it's my home for half the year.

Hannibal copied the design with their Impi tent. The fabric is the same as regular rooftents and there's a small canopy over the rear door.

Hope this helps,

Jojo

Good info Jojo, many thanks. The Impi I was considering as ZA is good for me for shipping, so am getting a mate to quote me. The columbus I hadn't heard of so will check it out if I can find a German seller. I really like the idea of the gas strut opening - call me lazy but I hate ars***g around with wet tents or rolling around on a dusty roofrack.
Thanks,
Gil

Hi Gill, I know someone in SA who made a hard shell that attaches to his roof rack enclosing his tent.
Autocamp also make a hard shell cover for their Marco Polo range which gives you the advantage of a big living space on the ground as well as raised sleeping.

Thanks Chris,
have a done deal - Hannibal Impi being despatched from Durban next week - total price €640 Euros which seems to be a bit of a bargain looking at 2nd hand prices in the sale/wanted section. The autohome columbus tents looked great, no doubt. But 1000 euros more, so a bit of an easy choice! I couldn't help myself, but chatting to my mate and the South African prices being what they are at the moment led to a set of African Outback roller drawers being included as well. Great thing is he is loading a 40' container with various stuff so the freight costs nowt!
Gil

That seems like very good value - here in the UK it would be double the price and a hundred quid fitting charge - happy camping:palm:

900 kms north of the Arctic circle should be around 74.4° north, where did you go?

My two cents:

- I have had a Maggiolina Columbus Variant tent for over a year now, but have yet to actually sleep in it ;-) I brought it because 5 nights out of 7 on all of my my trips I would sleep in a different place each night - and almost every day I would want to drive somewhere. So looking forward to the ease of use and increased sense of freedom when I set off again next year.

- The Hannibal Impi wasn't a very good design when it first came out - Dutch friends of mine who bought one in SA (after starting the trip with a Eezi Awn) complained it leaked badly in the rain - and I've heard similar things from others - so maybe check with Hannibal to see if it has been redesigned or modified etc. This was no more than 2 years ago.

Cheers, dj

Heading north
 

N71 10' 21" actually, all the way to Nordkapp. Just checked my log - it was nearer 1000km. Awesome!

roof tents
 

Hi Darrin,

You'll love the Columbus, such a doddle to use and as comfortable as the conventional types. Plus better mpg.

Not sure if Hannibal are still manufacturing the Impi. I believe there were copyright issues as Maggiolina thought they'd ripped off their design. Not a great fan of Hannibal - my 1.2m was replaced twice and they still couldn't get it right. Bought an EeziAwn second hand in perfect condition which then had 3 years' hard use with no problems. Ended up selling it for more than I'd paid for it and put the money towards the Columbus.

Jojo

Okay, roadmiles... Cape North is approximately 500 kms from the Arctic Circle.

nordkapp
 

Quite right!

Had to take the road as I've not tried the roof tent on the Cessna yet...

ok ok
 

OK guys, stopping pissing. Its 517 km due north as the crow flies.

Nice idea to try the roof tent on the Cessna, like to see that.

cheers,

Noel

Well, Hanibal are definately still making the Impi, whether they have improved or not I don't know, but the price was just tooo good! Never really had an issue with my folding normal type Hanibal, so hope the same with the hard shell one. Will put up some opinion when it arives (hopefully 5-6 weeks). Thanks for the reviews as always folks.
Gil

I've got a Columbus roof tent (medium). I'm 6'4" and it's just long enough. It has an external thermal layer that velcros on for cold confitions. I've got a 3" memory foam mattress in it that's very comfortable.

It doesn't like high winds, other than that it's great.

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