The Best Rooftop Tents of 2025

If you’ve never slept in a rooftop tent, it’s hard to imagine how different it is from sleeping in a traditional tent. In general, we’ve found that rooftop tent sleeping has certain key advantages over sleeping in a tent on the ground. Rooftop tents offer a bird’s-eye view of your surroundings, airflow that’s unheard of in a ground tent, protection (and peace of mind), and generally superior comfort.

After hundreds of nights of elevated sleeping and hours of poring over specs, expert tester Berne Brody has decided that the rooftop tents on this list are the best of the best. Not every rooftop tent fits every vehicle or every budget, so we cover a range of sizes and price points, with the iKamper Skycamp 3.0 Mini being our favorite, while the Topoak Galaxy 1.0 is an awesome, less expensive alternative. Rooftop tents are all pricier than even the plushest backpacking tent, but if you’re able to invest, you won’t regret it.

In recent years, the GearJunkie team and our greater network of expert gear testers have researched and sampled all of the leading styles on the market. We’ve used these tents for overlanding, car camping, and cross-country road tripping. We’ve closely examined their features at trade shows and expos in far-flung corners of the globe.

Editor’s Note: Updated February 28th, 2025 to be fresh for spring adventuring, we’ve added our new favorite soft shell model, the Thule Approach M. We also included the Topoak Galaxy 1.0, a great RTT at a great price.

The Best Rooftop Tents of 2025

Other Excellent RTTs

The following tents are all worthy contenders that fell just short of the top spots. However, one of them may be the best RTT for your specific needs.

Rooftop Tent Comparison Table

How We Tested the Best Rooftop Tents

The GearJunkie team is composed of overlanders, auto experts, and seasoned car camping fanatics. Over many years, we have tried and rigorously tested nearly every kind of camping gear on the market — including rooftop tents.

Our lead tester for rooftop tents is Berne Broudy. Based in Vermont, Berne has amassed over 20+ years of hiking, cycling, climbing, ski touring, and overlanding. Berne’s broad portfolio of outdoor activities has added up to many nights of camping outdoors — many spent in a rooftop tent.

To compile this list of the best rooftop tents, Berne and the rest of our team combed the market and compared the pros, cons, and specs of dozens of models. We’ve mounted tents on rigs of all shapes and sizes — from compact sedans to full-sized trucks. We’ve spent many nights — some glorious and others full of tosses and turns — testing the quality and comfort of rooftop tent mattresses.

Our assessment process is detail-oriented. No subtle feature or flaw goes unnoticed. On this list, we’ve included a wide variety of excellent rooftop tents to meet all sorts of needs. From compact SUV drivers to large-family road trippers, at least one of the models on this list should be a good fit.

For more info on car camping options, take a look at GearJunkie’s guide to truck campers and motorhomes.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose the Best Rooftop Tent

What Fits Your Vehicle?

Not every rooftop tent will fit every vehicle. Know the load capacity of your roof rack, and the distance between your roof rack bars to determine if a specific rooftop tent will fit. The spread of the bars is the distance between the front roof rack crossbar and the back one. Most rooftop tents have a “minimum bar spread” spec. Before purchasing a rooftop tent, be sure to physically measure your rack’s spread to ensure your rack and tent are a match. 

When in doubt, contact the rooftop tent manufacturer and verify that your planned setup will be safe and sound. Many tents on this list can work with sedans, trucks, trailers, and everything in between — provided you’ve got the proper rack and mounting system.

What Else Do You Need to Carry?

Some rooftop tents require you to carry the access ladder inside your car. Other tents incorporate the ladder directly into the tent’s packed-away design. Some tents have accessory options, including awnings and extensions. Typically, these will need to be stored separately inside a car or truck bed.

As for sleeping bags, and pillows, many rooftop tents can be fully folded and tucked away with the bedding stored inside. This feature is more common in hardshell models.

Some rooftop tents with smaller footprints leave extra space on your roof for bikes, boats, and other gear. Of course, the square footage of your leftover roof space will depend on the size of the tent and the dimensions of your rack.

Some hardshell rooftop tents provide gear storage on top or space to mount a solar panel. In most cases, you’ll need to purchase additional racks to utilize the roof of your tent’s shell for storage space.

Hardshell vs. Softshell

Hardshell rooftop tents are sleeker looking when compressed and more aerodynamic. They also tend to be lower clearance when packed — an important consideration for those planning to park in a garage.

In general, hardshell rooftop tents are quick and easy to set up and pack up. Most come use hydraulic struts that do most of the heavy lifting for you. Softshell tents typically come with traditional aluminum or fiberglass poles that require assembly. Inflatable tents are relatively new to the market. They’re almost as quick and easy to set up as a hardshell, and can be spacious inside.

Some hardshells have useable storage space on top of the outer shell. But many are wedge-shaped and don’t give you 360-degree views.

Softshell rooftop tents are generally similar to traditional camping tents. They tend to be less expensive and harder to set up. But they usually have great airflow and some are large enough to accommodate three to five people.

Space vs. Weight

Rooftop tents typically sleep two to five people and fit a double to a king-size mattress. The bigger the tent and mattress, the heavier and more cumbersome the rooftop tent.

Most rooftop tents weigh between 100 and 200 pounds — an important spec to know, especially in relation to your roof rack’s recommended capacity. For a family of three or a couple with a dog, we like the Roofnest Falcon 3 — a roomy and comfortable option with a plush wall-to-wall mattress.

If your roof space is limited and you’re looking for a svelte on your roof, full size when unfurled sleeper, the Dometic TRT 140 Air is compact and well suited to smaller rooftops.

Manual vs. Automatic Opening

Some hardshell rooftop tents lift with a gentle nudge, whereas most softshells have to be flipped open manually and the awning bars inserted. Rooftop tents with gas struts that lift the tent open are becoming more common. They often cost more, but they’re convenient — especially when you’re setting up your tent in the rain.

Whatever tent you buy, initial assembly can be challenging with a steep learning curve. Some tents offer the option to ship fully unassembled. That can save you up to $400, and it can take hours and tools to build the tent platform and attach the tent to it before you load it on your roof. 

Once assembled, rooftop tents require a heavy lift to get the tent onto a vehicle’s roof rack. Pan to get a hand from a friend or two depending on the weight of the tent and the height of your roof. While you can repeatedly install and uninstall, it’s always an awkward operation.

Durability

Rooftop tents are a major investment — they can cost up to $5,000. Take care of your investment, and it will last for many years. 

We recommend storing your rooftop tent in a dry, covered place when not in use. When the tent isn’t on your roof, place 2x4s or 4x4s on saw horses to mimic your roof bars and store the tent on top in the same orientation that the tent was on your roof. Go easy on the zippers, struts, ladders, and poles — these intricate mechanical components tend to break first. And always thoroughly dry the inside of your tent after use. 

In our experience, all of the rooftop tents on this list offer competitive durability when properly cared for.

Price & Value

Rooftop tents are more expensive than most ground-staked tents because of the materials required to build them. They’re built on a strong and stable base. In some cases, that base folds for storage without losing structural integrity. Rooftop tents must withstand weather off the ground, where winds and rain can be severe. And they have to be weather-proof as a semi-permanent fixture on your roof.

That’s a whole lot more complicated than creating a structure with a fabric floor that gets placed on the ground. Size, ease of setup, and features all affect how a tent is priced. Remember, these tents are on the roof of your car as you’re barrelling down the highway, so for safety, they need to be secure and durable.

Budget

The least expensive tents (sub-$2,000) in our guide have a soft shell and usually take longer to set up and take down. Our budget pick, the Topoak Galaxy 1.0 ($1,299), has a great feature set and is very easy to set up and take down.

Mid-Tier

In the middle price range ($2,000-3,000), you’ll start to see some hardshell models that set up fast and easily. The Sylvan Sport’s Loft ($2,195) is lightweight, and sets up and packs away quickly. It also includes a fan to maintain airflow from comfort and moisture control.

The Yakima SkyRise HD ($2,499) is a soft-shell tent, but it has room for three. The Thule Approach M ($2,500) is our favorite two person softshell with a great mattress and bomb-proof rainfly. Tents in the middle range use lighter materials and aren’t insulated, so you’ll need to spend more if you want better long-term durability and winter camping options.

Premium

The premium tier ($3,000 and up) will get you the full-on go-anywhere-anytime convenience that you’d expect from a rooftop tent. These tents are made from polyurethane-coated polyester and cotton blends like those found on wall tents, are insulated (or at least have the option) and once they’re mounted, set up and take down is a breeze.

Our top pick, the Skycamp Mini 3.0 ($3,979), has a waterproof cotton-poly shell that keeps the inside dark in the daytime (looking at you, festival goers), big windows, awnings, and plenty of headroom. The Roofnest Falcon 3 EVO ($3,495) is of similar quality and has internal LED lighting, an optional insulation kit, and optional rack mounts so you can store even more gear on top.

Frequently Asked Questions