Rooftop tent heating/ventilation

[Sterling Doc]

We are planning a trip to Yellowstone/Glacier/Waterton park in late September, and will be staying in our new Roofnest Condor Overland RTT.
Ground camping in the past, we kept warm with electric mattress pad heaters run to the 110 on the Rivian. That may be enough again, but I was looking into some heating/vebtilation to keep us toasty and the condensation down. I was planning on using the Campstream setup, but the are out of business. So looking at options

1) Ecobreeze heat/AC. Big money for something we may not need much or even at all.

2) Fabricating my own ducting for the HVAC - a fair amount of fussing. Same issues the Camp stream had

3) A diesel heater - probably the most cheap and effective, but the hassle and irony of having to fill up and deal with diesel.

4) A cheap 1000 watt or so heater ducted into the tent. There are some meant for indoor gardens that have hoses attached. Cheap. Issues a fair amount of energy, but would probably only use them in the morning, or coldest times.

5) Heated blankets and mattress pad. A little battery powered fan for ventilation.

Thoughts/experiences?.

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[VSG]

Sounds like overkill. A good sleeping bag should be sufficient in those conditions. If it gets much colder then a simple heated blanket plugged into the car works for me with my iKamper.

 

[Thunderbolt Adventure]

Agree that a simple heated blanket is likely sufficient. And for condensation, a small fan can help. We also have the Roofnest Condor Overland and we just keep several of the windows open enough to vent and that keeps the condensation pretty well in check.

 

[f1racer328]

I've gone down to about 25 ° F with just a heated blanket and a good sleeping bag in my roof top tent. No problems.

You need high quality sleeping bag rated way lower than the temps you're expecting to be comfortable. Bunch of good info online about sleeping bag temperature ratings.

EcoFlow Wave is an (expensive) option too but heat pumps don't work super well in really cold temps.

 

[Thedude]

A good sleeping bag and open vents on the tent are the best and easiest answer. The diesel furnaces are nice but overkill for such a small tent and it will be cycling on and off constantly or you will be sleeping naked and sweating. Propane ice fishing heaters are a fairly cheap and very simple way to warm up the tent in the morning to make getting out of the bag more comfortable. You won’t run it all night but a couple minutes right when you wake up will have the tent at 70° in a hurry.

 

[JacobAZ]

You need to be prepared for nighttime temps in the teens or possibly colder ... and snow (we lived in Wyoming). Yellowstone is over 8,000 ft and Glacier I believe is over 6,000 ft. I am not familiar with Roofnest. We have Skycamp mini. With the skycamp mini ventilation is not an issue, we adjust how much of the window/door/roof is open (still screened). You should be able to do similar. As for warmth, the Skycamp is warmer than the ground. I expect the roofnest is similar, so you should be good with what you did on the ground. On frozen ground you need a lot of floor insulation because your body is trying to warm the ground. The skycamp floor has a couple inches of insulation which is plenty to keep the bottom side warm and you do not have to warm the ground.

Separate topic ... Make sure you have a good charging plan. Yellowstone and Glacier (along with most of Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas) are kind of fast charging deserts. Near the parks you are pretty much restricted to L2 charging if you can find it. Those two parks are big so you will probably do a lot of driving. Maybe there is a campground outside the parks with TT30 electricity?

Anyhow, enjoy.

 

[Sterling Doc]

Might well be. Expected temps into the 40’s but could get lower. I just want to make sure the experience is good for my wife. It’s been a few years since we’ve been camping.

 

[Sterling Doc]

Thanks all, that is really helpful. We have a campground just outside of Yellowstone that has 50A charging for several days. Grand Tetons is harder - the powered spots seem booked, but there are a few sites in reserve that open 8/30, so we will be in the cue right when it opens. There is a 50KW charger in Jackson - hopefully not crowded this time of year. There is also a RAN fast charger at Yellowstone’s north entrance. I am plotting all the charging options on the Map!

Looks like we need to find some nice sleeping bags, and a little heater for the morning, not all night. One we get to Waterton, we are treating ourselves to a couple of nights in the Prince of Wales Hotel.

 

[JacobAZ]

Might well be. Expected temps into the 40’s but could get lower. I just want to make sure the experience is good for my wife. It’s been a few years since we’ve been camping.

You are being very optimistic on the temp, but you could have a heatwave. We lived in Laramie, Wy which is about 1,000 feet lower than Yellowstone. We always had some snow in September. By the end of September most nights were below freezing. We had a saying for visitors "If its dark its cold" even in July. Western Wyoming is beautiful, just prepare for the worst, hope for the best and have a great time.

 

[R1Thor]

I've been using an Ecoflow Wave2 with great success. Keeps my tents cozy almost year round.
It's not without its limitations, but I don't recommend camping in 14F degree weather too often...

 

[Swiszo]

We are planning a trip to Yellowstone/Glacier/Waterton park in late September, and will be staying in our new Roofnest Condor Overland RTT.
Ground camping in the past, we kept warm with electric mattress pad heaters run to the 110 on the Rivian. That may be enough again, but I was looking into some heating/vebtilation to keep us toasty and the condensation down. I was planning on using the Campstream setup, but the are out of business. So looking at options

1) Ecobreeze heat/AC. Big money for something we may not need much or even at all.

2) Fabricating my own ducting for the HVAC - a fair amount of fussing. Same issues the Camp stream had

3) A diesel heater - probably the most cheap and effective, but the hassle and irony of having to fill up and deal with diesel.

4) A cheap 1000 watt or so heater ducted into the tent. There are some meant for indoor gardens that have hoses attached. Cheap. Issues a fair amount of energy, but would probably only use them in the morning, or coldest times.

5) Heated blankets and mattress pad. A little battery powered fan for ventilation.

Thoughts/experiences?.

Good sleeping bag, heating pad, BougeRV fan, Howl gas campfire, morning sunny campsite, works for us

 

[slillie]

While we are on the subject, I am considering purchasing the GFC (GoFastCampers) V2 PRO Rivian Camper. It has the lowest clearance/height above the glass top of 6” and it bolts to the existing vehicle crossbar mounts. If anyone has any experience with this pop-up I would love some feedback. Tia.

https://gofastcampers.com/pages/riv...Xoodfz6DnbfgvzzpWXeFTHLmOazDXnHPSuNSHwy5z7m-p

 

[zgStevieD]

While we are on the subject, I am considering purchasing the GFC (GoFastCampers) V2 PRO Rivian Camper. It has the lowest clearance/height above the glass top of 6” and it bolts to the existing vehicle crossbar mounts. If anyone has any experience with this pop-up I would love some feedback. Tia.

https://gofastcampers.com/pages/riv...Xoodfz6DnbfgvzzpWXeFTHLmOazDXnHPSuNSHwy5z7m-p

GFC = HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

 

[BigSkies]

While we are on the subject, I am considering purchasing the GFC (GoFastCampers) V2 PRO Rivian Camper. It has the lowest clearance/height above the glass top of 6” and it bolts to the existing vehicle crossbar mounts. If anyone has any experience with this pop-up I would love some feedback. Tia.

https://gofastcampers.com/pages/riv...Xoodfz6DnbfgvzzpWXeFTHLmOazDXnHPSuNSHwy5z7m-p

I picked up this camper in the spring. I've had eight nights in it so far.

I'm happy with it. It's a lot of money for the number of times I've used it, but that's no surprise. I'd buy it again.

My thoughts, in no particular order:

1. I like to sleep on firmer mattresses. I find the bed extremely comfortable. My wife likes softer beds, and it's slightly too firm for her. It's a massive step up over inflatable pads.

2. I really appreciate the ability to stand up in the camper while changing or doing other things. I hadn't appreciated this advantage over the tent-only configurations.

3. The Molle panel is nice for strapping things to.

4. The rear-brake light is a PITA to wire. I think I have it figured out, but I haven't actually done it yet. I'll do a write up if I ever get around to making it work. The camper install shops won't touch it.

5. You need a power source for the lights. My little power bank wasn't enough. If I hadn't already bought a battery, I'd buy the SOONish 12V power adapter that taps into the air compressor.

6. You lose the ability to use some carwashes.

 

[slillie]

I picked up this camper in the spring. I've had eight nights in it so far.

I'm happy with it. It's a lot of money for the number of times I've used it, but that's no surprise. I'd buy it again.

My thoughts, in no particular order:

1. I like to sleep on firmer mattresses. I find the bed extremely comfortable. My wife likes softer beds, and it's slightly too firm for her. It's a massive step up over inflatable pads.

2. I really appreciate the ability to stand up in the camper while changing or doing other things. I hadn't appreciated this advantage over the tent-only configurations.

3. The Molle panel is nice for strapping things to.

4. The rear-brake light is a PITA to wire. I think I have it figured out, but I haven't actually done it yet. I'll do a write up if I ever get around to making it work. The camper install shops won't touch it.

5. You need a power source for the lights. My little power bank wasn't enough. If I hadn't already bought a battery, I'd buy the SOONish 12V power adapter that taps into the air compressor.

6. You lose the ability to use some carwashes.

Thank you for the good info. I plan to have the install done at their Montana production facility. I will check with them directly about the electrical.
Thanks again.

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