My Roofnest Condor 2 rooftop tent has transformed my Can-Am side-by-side. While never intended for anything outside a rack with some external lights, I've created a far more useful machine, one crafted to get me deep into the woods and comfortable enough to stay multiple nights without issue. It's been my base camp for my trek into the elk woods this year, and I couldn't ask for a better companion—although I have one issue I'll be solving in the near future.
But as with all rooftop tents, it has a fundamental flaw in its design, one that's hard to overcome and that's the initial setup and later tear down. What's the problem? It's damned difficult to do.
Rooftop tents are heavy things, especially hard-shell ones like my Roof Nest. They're also ungainly and awkward, as you can't just grab a handle and heave the thing up onto your roof. Even with my shorter-than-average roof height on the Can-Am, it's a pain in the ass to do. For someone with a full-size truck or SUV like Toyota's new Land Cruiser, you're hauling that thing up real high. And that leads to a few options, one being installing it once and never touching it again. But you lose fuel economy and storage, and depending on your vehicle, it could get loud for long hauls. Likewise, you could install a pulley system in your garage to help you take it on or off. But that requires high enough ceilings.
