We Lived on Top of Our Car for a Week
Our routine for a week was as follows: search for the perfect camping spot, park so that we were level, take 5 minutes to pop up our rooftop tent, hook on our ladder, settle in, relax and (probably… no, definitely) have a beer.
Kate enjoying the 60 degree weather, our setup, and the fact we get to travel to these remote locations.
A couple months ago we made the decision to buy a Roofnest Sparrow rooftop tent. We were thinking through options of ways to spice up our camping and travel adventures, as well as keeping it relatively affordable. We talked through options like van life, a mini camper, and continuing regular tent camping. We ultimately decided to go with the Roofnest.
After living on our rooftop tent for a full week, we wanted to share our thoughts and what ultimately led us down this path.
Our first step… research
Prior to buying, we researched how the Roofnest was built. It’s built with a hard shell top that’s coated with insulation, thick waterproof walls, and (the best part) includes a foam mattress. We read reviews of people sleeping during nights that were cold, snowy, warm, and rainy and all were positive reviews. So going into our trip, we knew we’d be safe from the weather.
Being elevated on top of a car also has an added feeling of safety. I mean, a bear is going to have to put in some serious effort to come say hello.
We loved the convenience Roofnest provided
One of the biggest selling points for this type of tent was the setup. It takes max 5 minutes to pop up each of the sides, open up the windows, and set up the window awnings.
We also learned that our bedding can fit in the Roofnest while closed, which makes it 10 times faster to setup and takedown vs. setting up a regular tent where you have to move the bedding in and out.
Lastly, taking down the Roofnest takes about the same amount of time as setting up. Once you get the hang of it and get a rhythm of who latches what, it’s a pretty quick process of closing up the tent.
Being elevated gives you a little extra height to see beautiful sunrises or sunsets… we can’t wait for more!
Our first morning in the Roofnest we had stellar views. We were sitting on top of a hill with several trees. We woke up at the exact time the sky was a pretty combination of pink and orange. We sat inside for a couple minutes, hopped out to take a couple photos, and 2 minutes later it was gone.
It’s like our body knew this was a once in a lifetime view, and was only going to last those 5 minutes.
A casual morning view.
This was a quick and cheaper alternative to van life
We love the idea of van life and we still see it as a potential option in our future, however there are so many places we want to visit around the world where having a van doesn’t make sense. As we’re still figuring out our timeline for everything we want to do, we knew this was quicker and cheaper than van life. It didn’t require the higher up-front investment of a van, whether that was paying somebody to build it for us or in the time it would take to build ourselves.
This was a quick win and we’re happy this is how we’re kicking off our journey.
But, what about just a regular tent? What’s so special about a Roofnest?
In the end, we went this route because of the simplicity and comfort. Yes, you could do a setup even cheaper and utilize a regular tent, but we fell in love with the efficiency of a rooftop tent. We were looking to create a fun little adventure mobile, and that’s what we have. We created our tiny home on wheels, and we can’t wait for more adventures in the Red Tahoe!
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