Rooftop Tent

gingerbarry62 · Mar 28, 2018

Has anyone installed a Skycamp (or similar) roof top tent on their 2015 GSW?

The load limit seems to be ok as Skycamp states your crossbars must have a dynamic load of 165 pounds and I believe the GSW has a dynamic load limit of 165 pounds.

I'd be mounting the Skycamp on my Thule Crossroad Bars.

demagxc · Mar 29, 2018

I own a regular Golf and not the GSW but I have installed my home made RTT on my Whispbar flush bars that have a max load of 165 with no issues. I think I weighed the tent at around 125 lb. Both the car and the bars survived a 2000 mile road trip and multiple days of camping with two people no problem.

KITEWAGON · Mar 29, 2018

There was a great thread on here a couple years about about someone rooftop tenting in their JSW. Maybe you can find it with a search. It was pretty cool.

kjclow · Mar 29, 2018

That might have been in the show what you tow thread.

demagxc · Mar 29, 2018

In case you were interested I was able to find a few photos of it in action.

STOKTDI · Mar 29, 2018

demagxc said:
In case you were interested I was able to find a few photos of it in action.

Wow that looks like a blast! How much did that setup run you besides the rood rack obvisously

demagxc · Mar 29, 2018

STOKTDI said:
Wow that looks like a blast! How much did that setup run you besides the rood rack obvisously

I didnt keep great track of all of the costs but I think it was around $500 in materials for the final tent setup. Because I was building it on the fly there may have been around $150 worth of wasted cash due to ideas not working out or buying the wrong materials for certain things.

1854sailor · Mar 29, 2018

How much noise does that make a highway speeds?

1854sailor · Mar 29, 2018

Here are some pictures of a really neat set up from TDIFest 2015 at Sunday River, Maine.

The solar panel slides under the pop-up housing for travel.

The "kitchen" is on a hinged bracket off the rear bumper.

demagxc · Mar 29, 2018

1854sailor said:
How much noise does that make a highway speeds?

Its definitely not silent but it it wasn't much noisier than my ski racks. The only time it was an issue was when one of the straps came un-tucked and was fluttering against the side of the cover.

1854sailor · Mar 29, 2018

demagxc said:
Its definitely not silent but it it wasn't much noisier than my ski racks. The only time it was an issue was when one of the straps came un-tucked and was fluttering against the side of the cover.

Roger that. Just wondered about the fabric flapping around. All that I have seen use a hard plastic or fiberglass case.

demagxc · Mar 29, 2018

1854sailor said:
Roger that. Just wondered about the fabric flapping around. All that I have seen use a hard plastic or fiberglass case.

The fabric cover is actually marine vinyl that gets clipped under the base of the tent in 4 places on each side and then cinched down tight.

gingerbarry62 · Mar 29, 2018

KITEWAGON said:
There was a great thread on here a couple years about about someone rooftop tenting in their JSW. Maybe you can find it with a search. It was pretty cool.

Thanks! I'll take a scan for it.

gingerbarry62 · Mar 29, 2018

Oh wow. That's a DIY? Nice work on that.

gingerbarry62 · Mar 29, 2018

1854sailor said:
Here are some pictures of a really neat set up from TDIFest 2015 at Sunday River, Maine./QUOTE]

So cool.

gingerbarry62 · Mar 29, 2018

demagxc said:
I own a regular Golf and not the GSW but I have installed my home made RTT on my Whispbar flush bars that have a max load of 165 with no issues. I think I weighed the tent at around 125 lb. Both the car and the bars survived a 2000 mile road trip and multiple days of camping with two people no problem.

Thanks for all the info and the pic followup. I was mostly concerned about being in the unit and if the bars (and roof) are ok with the weight. My wife, me and our dog. 150 pounds for the Skycap. 125 + 190 + 12 + extras = 465 not including the extras. All in just over 500 pounds when stationary and setup of camping.

demagxc · Mar 29, 2018

gingerbarry62 said:
Thanks for all the info and the pic followup. I was mostly concerned about being in the unit and if the bars (and roof) are ok with the weight. My wife, me and our dog. 150 pounds for the Skycap. 125 + 190 + 12 + extras = 465 not including the extras. All in just over 500 pounds when stationary and setup of camping.

I had similar concerns and tried to do as much research as possible to try and put my mind at ease. I wish I could find the link, but someone did a the math to show how the roof of even a small car can withstand a significant amount of weight. He calculated the force put on a roof/roofrack when a car traveling on the highway hits a bump with a 150lb load on the roof. I forget the force he came up with but it was significantly more than the weight of 2 adults, a tent and some gear. He may have even calculated going over a speed bump at low speeds resulting in a force considerably larger than what you would ever fit into a RTT.

740GLE · Mar 30, 2018

The roof is designed to support the weight of car in a roll over, the rails are attached at the most solid potion of the car A and D? pillars.

I think the weight rating of the bars is dramatically impacted by highway speeds and also any lift what's up there may create.

Heck even VW media is saying "it's cool"

http://newsroom.vw.com/app/uploads/2017/06/golf_alltrack_country_concept_editsize.jpg

Bit pricey, but that'd be about 20 nights in hotel rooms.

http://www.bigfoottents.com/hard-shell-roof-top-tent-white.html

gingerbarry62 · Mar 30, 2018

demagxc said:
I had similar concerns and tried to do as much research as possible to try and put my mind at ease. I wish I could find the link, but someone did a the math to show how the roof of even a small car can withstand a significant amount of weight. He calculated the force put on a roof/roofrack when a car traveling on the highway hits a bump with a 150lb load on the roof. I forget the force he came up with but it was significantly more than the weight of 2 adults, a tent and some gear. He may have even calculated going over a speed bump at low speeds resulting in a force considerably larger than what you would ever fit into a RTT.

Well you've put my mind at ease anyways. Thank you.

gingerbarry62 · Mar 30, 2018

740GLE said:
The roof is designed to support the weight of car in a roll over, the rails are attached at the most solid potion of the car A and D? pillars.

I think the weight rating of the bars is dramatically impacted by highway speeds and also any lift what's up there may create.

Heck even VW media is saying "it's cool"

http://newsroom.vw.com/app/uploads/2017/06/golf_alltrack_country_concept_editsize.jpg

Bit pricey, but that'd be about 20 nights in hotel rooms.

http://www.bigfoottents.com/hard-shell-roof-top-tent-white.html

That alltrack is a dream ride. Thanks for that though. Now I have good idea what mine will look like! I really like the Skycamp. It's pricey, but seems to have all the features I want.
https://www.ikamper.com

meerschm · Apr 1, 2018

Air Top roof top tent (RTT)

This is my air top made by a french company who has done these since the 50s.

http://www.autohomeus.com/roof-top-tents/air-top/

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=459918&highlight=tent

outlines some of my travels with this tent on the TDI GSW.

When we get back from Key West (with a sprinter camper) I will put the RTT back on the 2017 GSW.

I did put air bags in the rear springs of the GSW to haul more pairs of skis and also camping gear. The GSW roof rails seem to slope down more in the rear than the 2009 JSW did. I got some one inch thick pickup cap mounting foam to take up the gap between the Thule rail and the camper bottom.

Will post a couple updated photos on the GSW when I get it like I like it.

The way I look at the weight, the 120 LB tent is well under the 165 lb rating of the Thule rack, and this is dynamic load. (think curves, jumping over rail crossings, and the like. an extra 300 pounds of people rolling over in bed should not be too much for the structure.

gingerbarry62 · Apr 6, 2018

meerschm said:
This is my air top made by a french company who has done these since the 50s.

http://www.autohomeus.com/roof-top-tents/air-top/

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=459918&highlight=tent

outlines some of my travels with this tent on the TDI GSW.

When we get back from Key West (with a sprinter camper) I will put the RTT back on the 2017 GSW.

I did put air bags in the rear springs of the GSW to haul more pairs of skis and also camping gear. The GSW roof rails seem to slope down more in the rear than the 2009 JSW did. I got some one inch thick pickup cap mounting foam to take up the gap between the Thule rail and the camper bottom.

Will post a couple updated photos on the GSW when I get it like I like it.

The way I look at the weight, the 120 LB tent is well under the 165 lb rating of the Thule rack, and this is dynamic load. (think curves, jumping over rail crossings, and the like. an extra 300 pounds of people rolling over in bed should not be too much for the structure.

This is exactly what I was looking for. I was thinking the 84" might be too long to have mounted on the roof, but your is 80" and I assume it's fine.

Did you have any issues driving with it? I'm assuming just keeping your speed down a bit. Nice setup btw, and I like your idea of the foam inserts to "lift" up the top sloping roof.

meerschm · Apr 7, 2018

The MPG drops some, but this is offset by my slowing down a bit. I think I put MPG info on my road trip posts.

the foam I am using is high density stuff meant to seal pickup truck caps. will add a link next week if you are interested.

You do have to pay attention to clearance, only an issue for some parking garages. most of them are high enough for no problem. even with the RTT installed, it has less clearance than many pickups/SUVs with empty roof racks.

The only critical point is to make sure the rear hatch opens ok with the tent installed. this makes it a little forward from what is totally centered. but the overhang actually provides some nice shade for the windshield in some conditions. I also use a tape measure to center the mounts side to side.

gingerbarry62 · Apr 7, 2018

Looks like you still received solid mileage.

A link to the foam would be great thanks.

Ah yes, never really thought about.

Still concerned about the overall length of the Skycamp at 84" as I feel the overhang might be a little too much. I'm considering the the Tepui Kukenam 3 as well as it's only 48" x 56" but sticks up like a box at 12" on the roof... The more aero/ hardshell is a much better option if it fits.

meerschm · Apr 9, 2018

https://www.cargogear.com/OneItemInfo.aspx?partnum=MPPRETS

https://www.cargogear.com/OneItemInfo.aspx?partnum=MPFRONTS

The first I got to prevent some rubbing between the fiberglass tent body and the more rigid mounting rails.

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