James Baroud is a top-tier rooftop tent (RTT) company, and if feels like it’s not serving families and groups of three-plus well. That changes now with the Family Room.
About 8 months ago, at SEMA, one of James Baroud’s dealers, Next Jump Outfitters in Tacoma, Wash., talked about how much of its customer base comes from the local military base. Many of those military customers have deep outdoor adventure passions, have big families, and want to take their friends and families out camping. While a James Baroud RTT on a vehicle is great for this application, it doesn’t comfortably sleep enough people for many of these customers.
There are two solutions on the market already. First is the huge four-person RTT, but that isn’t ideal for families and friends who aren’t comfortable sharing the same bed. The other current option is a ground or hub tent, but they take up a ton of cargo room in the vehicle when stowed and don’t allow a sheltered line of sight between the RTT and ground tent.
With these target customers and pain points in mind, James Baroud quickly developed a solution.
James Baroud Family Room Specs
- Open Size: 118″ W x 87″ L x 67″ x 79″ H
- Stowed Size: 98″ W x 7″ L x 8″ H
- Weight: 99 lbs. + 6.6 lbs. for the floor in its bag
- Construction: Evolution Fabric, transparent plastified fabric windows, mosquito netting, aluminum
- Warranty: 3 years
- MSRP: $1,500 + $450 to add the RTT Tunnel
Introducing the Family Room
This product was first shown at Overland Expo West, and won a Best in Show Top Product award from us. The James Baroud Family Room is essentially a ground tent shelter that stows on the outside of the vehicle, like an awning does. It fits in the space that about a 7-foot awning would. Deployment and stowing take about 4 minutes each, according to the company.
Only the zip-off floor of the tent must be stowed separately — not in the carry case with the rest of the Family Room — in its included carry bag. The zip-off floor is primarily removable, so it can easily be hosed off and cleaned, something that’s an issue with other hub-style tents out there.
The walls are made of Evolution Fabric, which is an aluminized material that reflects solar heat and is very wind- and rain-resistant.
The walls each zip off separately as well, for ultimate versatility. The wall against the vehicle can be zipped off for easy access inside the vehicle — if mounted on an SUV or atop a truck cab — from inside the shelter. There are windows on all sides of the Family Room. Each has shade, transparent, and mosquito netting layers.
While the James Baroud Family Room can be used independently of a rooftop tent, they really work well together because of the tunnel. This patented feature is a large pass-through tunnel from the room to the RTT. It’s great for keeping the elements out of the RTT, and for allowing those in the tent to easily see and communicate with those in the room below.
Camping With the Family, or More Comfortably Alone
The James Baroud Family Room is a great shelter, especially when used in conjunction with a rooftop tent. The main idea with this setup is that it can now sleep up to six, two in the RTT and four in bunk bed cots in the Family Room.
But, it’s also great for a much smaller group to have upstairs sleeping and downstairs living, all completely out of the elements. The Family Room is easily set up exactly as its name implies, with tables and chairs, versus beds.
The Family Room will start shipping to U.S. customers in mid-July. It is available through James Baroud’s website and its dealers.
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