Car Camping Gear Favorites from a Car Camping Pro
Shelter: Thule Foothill Rooftop Tent
I’ve never had an issue with sleeping on the ground, but when the Swedish kings of carry at Thule came out with their Foothill Rooftop Tent, my interest was immediately piqued by its comparably compact footprint. Nearly every rooftop tent on the market hogs the entire roof of the automobile they rest on, but the Foothill’s narrow-packed size frees up enough real estate to fit a small cargo bin, bike rack, or kayak rack. But, let’s not also ignore the undeniably child-like joy that comes from sleeping in a little elevated fortress in the woods (or at least at a tree line’s edge).
Setup times are longer than their quick-deploying, hard case relatives, but the increased airflow, wide rain fly, and relatively low 122-pound weight work hard to make up for the penalty of slower setup speed. The comfort of the included mattress ranks high in my opinion; most nights, I won’t even bother inflating the air pad at all. Two average-sized adults will find the 84” by 47” sleep area to offer comparable space as the average two-person backpacking tent and a generous perch for solo campers. I’ll still be sleeping in tents on the ground, but likely only if it’s arriving by backpack, bike, or watercraft.
Price: $1,700
Source: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/best-car-camping-gear-upgrades
