How Much Weight Can Rooftop Tents Hold? (With 3 Examples)

For many of us, camping excursions are a time for fun-filled days and relaxing evenings with family and friends.

However, it could be time to move on from traditional forms of camping and move into the realm of rooftop tents as they just so happen to be more durable than they first appear.

Likely, most of us might not know much about rooftop tents, and there is much confusion surrounding how much weight they can hold.

After some research, it’s evident that many factors go into the equation of how much weight a rooftop tent can truly hold, but there are some generalizations we managed to discern.

Here’s How Much Weight A Rooftop Tent Can Hold:

Many rooftop tents can hold roughly 200 lbs at least. However, the true weight holding capacity will depend on the type of rooftop tent you have, who manufactured it, and how many people it can sleep. Generally, a rooftop tent can hold a total weight capacity of between 400 and 900 lbs.

How Much Weight Can The Strongest Rooftop Tent Hold?

In the world of rooftop tents, the upper weight limit that many can hold at capacity is roughly 900 lbs.

Many factors discerning what makes a rooftop tent strong such as the materials used and whether it’s a hard shell or softshell.

Another factor that makes a rooftop tent strong and able to hold 900 lbs is a durable honeycomb aluminum panel flooring. This design immediately makes the tent stronger and able to hold the weight.

Below were going to have a closer look at one of the strongest rooftop tents available for purchase:

Online Roof-Top Tent Stores:

Here are some of the most popular online stores to buy roof-top tents:

Stores	Price range	Models	Visit
iKamper	$$-$$$	4	Visit here
Thule	$-$$$	7	Visit here
CampSaver	$-$$$	24	Visit here
RoofNest	$$-$$$	7	Visit here

1. iKamper Skycamp 2.0

The Skycamp 2.0 by popular brand iKamper is one of the strongest rooftop tents available on the market today, with a weight holding capacity of up to 900 lbs.

With this weight limit, the rooftop tent can comfortably sleep up to four people on a large king-size mattress built-in on top of this model’s honeycomb flooring.

The price of the Skycamp 2.0 is higher than most at roughly $3,900, but it has many features that complement the high price point. Notably, the Skycamp 2.0 is the new and improved version of the older best-selling model, the Skycamp.

With a reputation in the camping sphere for quality rooftop tents, iKamper could be a brand you should consider when looking to buy a strong enough tent to easily hold you and the family’s weight.

Despite the high weight holding capacity, this tent is relatively lightweight at around 155 lbs. The aerodynamic and lightweight design aid in providing you with a rooftop tent that isn’t going to create as much drag and gas milage consumption as some of its competitors.

What’s great about this particular tent by iKamper is that you can set it up in approximately a minute, which is perfect for those who want a rooftop tent without much fuss and hassle. This particular model is also customizable, and you can choose between a few colors depending on your preferences.

If we look at the materials used in the construction of this tent, it’s apparent that iKamper has used quality materials. The tent is made from breathable 300 gsm poly cotton canvas that is also great for insulation, and the rainfly is waterproof made with 150D polyester.

Ideal for those people who want a tent with adequate window panels, this tent offers many with the added benefit that the panels themselves turn to an outer canopy from the windows’ outer fabric.

Additionally, this rooftop tent has a redesigned ladder that provides greater safety features, and the hardshell has locks made out of stainless steel.

How Durable Are Rooftop Tents?

Surprisingly many of us believe that rooftop tents aren’t as durable as their ground floor counterparts.

In many instances, rooftop tents are just as durable if not more durable than ground floor tents.

With many of the rooftop tents available, you will find that most of them utilize heavy-duty canvas for the tent walls and structure. This fabric is more durable than the nylon that is used in other tent models.

Moreover, rooftop tents usually have a special coating on the fabric that makes them waterproof and mildew and UV resistant. This allows the tent to be able to withstand either three or four-season weather easily. Alongside the heavy-duty canvas is the often used aluminum structure, which provides strong support for the rooftop tents.

Rooftop tents are also designed cleverly and with many things in mind, so they tend to, in many instances, last longer than your average tent; however, they are not going to last forever.

It’s important to keep up with proper care to get the maximum lifespan out of your product.

How Many People Can You Fit Inside A Rooftop Tent?

How many people can fit inside a rooftop tent will vary depending on the manufacturer and the model you choose to buy.

On average, a rooftop tent can sleep between 2 to 5 people. With the many options available, we would like to bring two rooftop tents to your attention by two different brands that feature two different sleeping capacities.

Specifically, note the different holding weight capacities, whether they are a softshell or hardshell, and their different dimensions.

These are some of the main determining factors of how many people they can fit inside them:

1. Roofnest Sparrow Eye

The redesigned Roofnest Sparrow Eye is straightforward to set up and can be assembled within minutes.

The Sparrow Eye is a pop-up style and can be utilized on most vehicle types.

This rooftop tent can only sleep up to two people, but because it is a hard shell, it has a static weight limit of up to 650 lbs, which is incredible considering its compact design.

This model’s interior dimensions can be considered spacious for two people with a length of 83 inches and 49 inches. The rooftop tent comes in at only 130 lbs, making it ideal for smaller cars as well as SUVs. However, the Sparrow Eye is slightly more expensive than other rooftop tents that can sleep two with a price of roughly $2,900.

The Sparrow Eye is made with quality materials that account for the higher price point. The shell of this tent is ABD fiberglass molded into an aerodynamic design. Inside the tent shell, the walls are insulated with quilted fabric, and this fabric is soft to the touch and aids in reducing noise.

All of Roofnests models come with a custom built-in mattress, and this model is no exception. Additionally, the 7.5-inch telescoping ladder offers safety and ease of use with its lightweight design and collapsibility.

The material of the tent is waterproof and durable, made with a polyurethane-coated polyester and cotton blend.

2. Thule X Tepui Ruggedized Kukenam 3

The x Tepui ruggedized Kukenam 3 is a relatively well-priced model at roughly $2,300 and includes some impressive features.

Built to be somewhat spacious and comfortable, this tent has a length of 96 inches and a width of 56 inches and comes with a built-in high-density foam mattress. One of the major positives to this tent is that it can be used for camping in all four seasons.

This is due to the insulated fiberglass base and 600D ripstop blend fabric that protects against most weather conditions. Not only does the tent’s canvas guard against the weather, but it’s also UV and mildew resistant.

This softshell rooftop tent offers a static weight limit of 600 lbs and can sleep up to three people.

You might have noticed that the weight limit is lower than that of some models that can sleep the same number of people. The reason for this is because this particular model isn’t a hardshell rooftop tent. That doesn’t mean it can’t compete with many of the other rooftop tents.

Additionally, the x Tepui Ruggedized Kukenam 3 has great breathability because of the numerous mesh panels that increase airflow throughout the rooftop tent.

How Much Weight Can A Car Roof Hold?

Now that we have looked at how much weight rooftop tents can hold, we need to consider how much weight our car roofs can actually hold.

There are two elements to figuring this out. We will need to look at how much weight our car roof can hold without roof racks and how much it can hold with roof racks.

Firstly it’s vital to remember that the roof of your car’s carrying capacity will vary depending on the make and model. Some cars can handle more weight on their roofs with and without roof racks than other cars. You can easily discover how much weight your car’s roof can handle without roof racks by consulting your car’s driving manual.

In general, a car roof can hold between 40 and 100 lbs without roof racks. With roof racks, most cars can handle a load capacity of around 165 lbs. When you think about it, that’s far less than many of us think our cars can hold.

Importantly remember that there is a massive difference between a static weight rating and a dynamic weight rating.

Your dynamic rating, which is usually a maximum of 165 lbs, is how much your car roof can hold while moving, and the static weight limit is how much it can hold while stationary.

Model	Maximum Weight Capacity
Ikamper Skycamp 2.0	900 lb.
Roofnest Sparrow Eye	650 lb.
Thule x Tepui Ruggedized Kukenam 3	600 lb.

Citations:

How Many People Can Really Sleep in a Roof Top Tent?