Car-Top Tents

[diane o'thirst]

For those who don't have enough money for a yurt and don't have a van/SUV for a liftback tent, here's another shelter.

This is a self-contained tent with ladder and foam mattress integral that attaches to your roofrack. It fits cars, vans, SUVs, extended cab trucks and even motorcycle trailers. A little pricey, one model was being advertised on sale for $750
Still, might be worth it. The company says it'll sleep a family of four.

http://www.car-top-tent.com/introduction.asp

[HughMungus]

Nice idea. Keeps you off the ground for one thing (for both physical safety and mental peace of mind). I wonder if it would stand-up to the wind.

This company is in Arlington which is near me. I wonder if I could get one to demo. Maybe I'll go over there this week to chek out their durability and suitability.

I do wonder what the downside is though....

[diane o'thirst]

To me, thr downside is the price. Who has $750 lying around just twiddling its thumbs? Also, it seems to take up <i>all</i> of the roofrack and as we know...you need <b>a lot</b> more than just shelter to do Burning Man. It'd be fine if you had a utility trailer for the rest of your schtuph, though.

Let us know your findings once you've done the recon

Afterthought edit: the structure could do double duty as your shade patio, though it'd be a pretty small one.

[Kinetic IV]

I know how my small cargo trailer / camper rocked and rolled in the wind this year and that was with an extra 30 gal of water on board and a big RV parked just South of me. I could only imagine a tent like that on top of a lightly sprung car. Bring your motion sickness pills.

[diane o'thirst]

Bring your motion sickness pills.

Yeah, most of the scenes they show it in aren't known for 60-mph winds. Seems mostly for rod runs, hunters in the forest and sporting events that require sleepovers.
I was thinking it might be better for multi-day horse shows and circusing than for Burning Man but I've seen some suspended-above-the-ground shelters out there, specifically that guy who lived in a pyramid tent suspended inside a PVC pyramid frame.