Will My Vehicle Work with a Roof Top Tent?

Will My Vehicle Work For A Roof Top Tent 

This is a very fair and important question. The Answer is YES!

It is important for you to know that roof top tents can and will work on any vehicle, however that doesn’t mean your vehicle is ideal for one.  

By far the most common question about a rooftop tent is “Can my car carry one?” While it’s possible to get a tent on most vehicles, there are a few things to know before moving on. 

Just make sure that your racks have a Dynamic Weight Capacity (DWC) of at least the weight of the tent. For example, if the tent weighs 130 lbs, the racks MUST have at least that same DWC. You can simply call your manufacturer; look at the specs of your racks to know. 

Dynamic Weight:  The DWC is the weight that the rack can physically carry while the vehicle is in motion. When the tent is in use, the weight of the tent plus the weight of it's occupants is effectively dispersed over the entire frame of the vehicle, so it doesn't matter that you're adding some extra pounds as long as the vehicle is NOT in motion. This is also known as the Static Weight Capacity (SWC). This is a much much greater capacity, as the frame of the vehicle will be strong enough to hold the weight of the occupants. Rooftop tents typically weigh between 100-200lbs  

Will My Racks Work With The Roof Top Tents? 

Yes, they will. There are a few recommended brands for roof racks such as Thule, Rhino rack and Yakima, these brands almost always support higher weight capacities than a factory rack, but others will work just fine. Roof Top Tents can be installed on flat racks, cross bars or a canopy.  

That being said; Rack companies agree that clip-style racks (the ones that fit into your door jams) are not suitable for carrying tents. 

When tents list people they are considering 1 person to be 200lbs