Refrigeration Without Ice

 

When car top tent camping off the beaten path, one of the first things you are liable to be looking for is a bag of ice To top off the cooler..  In our early days of cartop camping we attached a trailer rack to the hitch mount on the back of the car and used this Pelican cooler designed for long-lasting ice storage. It was made to keep ice for up to seven days and did so very well.  The cooler was heavy when filled with food, drinks and ice, But it worked well just leaving it mounted to the car and using it As we traveled without ever taking it off. Unfortunately, the walls of the cooler are thick and that limits the space inside the cooler. By buying a wire shelf accessory to keep some items dry and out of the ice water, there was even less room for food items. On more than one occasion we had food wasted by immersion in the ice water, containers leaking etc. There was no way to keep anything frozen so most packed food items were only going to last a few days.  For short trips where ice was readily available, this was a very good cooler and did fine. However, for boondocking or traveling to areas where ice was not as available, this was not a good option.  

 

I started checking boondocking and off road overlander sites to see what other people do when off-road in remote locations where they don't have access to ice. One of the most popular and best reviewed products was the Dometic line of refrigerated ice chests.  There are several different shapes and sizes and different features at different price points. The first thing I did was measure the area in the back of my SUV that I would mount it and haul it.  I decided that this needed to be inside the car for security and protection from the elements.  The second thing I did was figure out how I could access this while on the road without having to remove it from the car.  After measuring I determined that I could accommodate the Dometic CFX3 DZ (Dual Zone) 75 (Liters), MSRP $1399.99.  This unit has two separate compartments where the temperatures can be set independently.  The two lids are the same size, but the compressor is located below the bottom of the smaller compartment, reducing the capacity on that side.  I determined that I could use one side as a freezer, and the larger as a refrigerator. There is the option to freeze on both sides, refrigerate on both sides, etc.  I will review my unit later in this blog, and include a link if you would like to purchase one from the manufacturer.  If you do, I'll get a small commission.  I carefully checked the dimensions and decided to build a slide out rack to mount it on.  There are commercially available slideouts, but they are expensive, and I thought I would build my own.  More on that later.  

 

 

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Transitioning from Roof Top Tent to Tent Trailer

So why did I decide to get a trailer for my tent? While we have been very happy with the rooftop tent, there are some downsides that a trailer would resolve. First downside was putting the tent on the roof of the car before each trip and taking it off after returning. I made a pulley system that I used to lift the tent in the garage and drive under it to mount the tent. Some people are able to lift the tent in place with two people, however, my wife is short and the car roof is high. Using the pulley system, I was able to take the tent on and off in about 45 minutes.

 

The second major factor was having to open and close the tent and remove all the gear in order to drive each day.   This meant that we were not able to set up a campsite and leave it in place. There were other smaller annoyances that contributed to the decision as well; wind noise while driving, reduced gas mileage, and negotiating a six foot ladder in the middle of the night.

 

I decided to buy the Yakima Easy Rider adventure trailer which includes a rail system specifically to mount rooftop items. This is designed as a two tier trailer where canoes and kayaks can be mounted below. This major advantage allows us to carry both the rooftop tent and our tandem kayak at the same time (which I was unable to do when the tent was mounted on top of the car).  I made a plywood floor for the bottom so I could mount storage boxes, carry our kayak, or both.  I will go into more details about this trailer and how I modified it in a future post.

 

I had room in our garage to store this trailer. Because of the low ceiling height, a hard side trailer or RV would not fit.  I am able to leave the tent on the trailer during storage and keep my bins packed for the next trip. It is very easy to hook up and go! 

Should I Mount My Car Top Tent on Roof or Trailer?

 

If you read my first blog, I talked about the inconvenience of putting a rooftop tent on top of the car and taking it off after each trip, then the super easy convenience of popping it up and down while you are camping.  The alternative is to mount it on an adventure trailer with crossbars designed for rooftop mounting systems and then leaving the tent attached while in storage.

 

In this blog, I’ll talk about my considerations to mount the tent on my car.  In the next, I’ll talk about our considerations to transition to our Yakima Easy Rider Adventure Trailer. https://yakima.com/products/easyrider

 

In order to use my Yakima Skyrise 3 rooftop tent on my Volkswagen Touareg, I first had to determine how I could safely mount it on this medium to large SUV.  I had to find the weight rating for my factory roof rails which I was able to find from the manufacturer.

 

I knew my rooftop tent weighed about 110 pounds with mounting hardware. What I didn't know was how much weight the roof could hold and how to figure that out. It turns out that when you are considering how much weight you can have on your roof while driving down the road, that is called the dynamic minimum driving weight. Most manufacturers of rooftop tents recommend at least 165 pound capacity of your roof rails. Many small SUVs manufactured today do not have factory rails that can support that amount of weight. There are aftermarket systems that can beef up or be used in place of the factory rails to support that amount of weight.  Some cars simply cannot accommodate a system involving that much weight on the factory roof, so a small trailer may be your only option.  Also, many current SUV's do not come with factory crossbars, which have to be purchased as an accessory or from another manufacturer after market.

 

After learning about stationary versus dynamic weight limits, I learned that my factory rails and Volkswagen OEM crossbars (purchased from the dealership) were adequate to support the weight of the tent.  As shown by this Thule help FAQ, the acceptable stationary weight when camping and the tent open with ladder extended is about three times the weight limitations of the dynamic weight. https://thule.elevio.help/en/articles/118-can-my-vehicle-carry-the-weight-of-my-rooftop-tent  

 

Because weight in the tent is spread out and also partially supported by the ladder, There really were no issues to worry about with two people and equipment in the tent on top of the car.

 

If you are considering the tent for the top of your car, and your vehicle and rack system can support the weight, this can be a good option for you. When I first bought this system and mounted it on top of the Volkswagen, I developed a pulley system mounted in my garage to hoist the tent to the ceiling where I could back under it and lower it onto the roof rack. With two adults, we could have possibly lifted it on, but given the height of the roof and the short stature of my wife, this really wasn’t an option for us.  For two people, it isn’t that heavy, but it is very bulky.  I left it on for the duration of our camping trips then took it off using the same process in reverse after returning home. Once off the car I was able to store it in the garage leaned up against the wall.

 

Using the hoist to put the tent on and off the car was time consuming and a little scary at times. It generally took me about 45 minutes to put on and take off before and after each trip.

 

While camping, I could easily pop the tent open in about 5 minutes and close it up and get the cover cinched down in about 10 minutes. Working with the top on the roof of the car was a little bit difficult, opening and closing it while standing in the door wells and sometimes needing to use a short stool to be able to reach the attachment points straps, etc.  once it was open. We would transfer our sleeping bags pillows, etc. into the tent for the evening.  Keep in mind, once you open the tent and the ladder is sitting on the ground you cannot move your vehicle until you close the tent up again. That involves taking the things out of it and storing them in the car. You have to decide, therefore, how late you need to use your car during the day while still having time to set the tent up before it gets dark.

 

We successfully used the tent on the roof for a few years before buying the Easy Rider Trailer.  More on that next time!

What is easier than tent camping but cheaper than buying an RV?  Car top tent camping!  There are a wide range of car top tents, at various price points.  If you are thinking about this option to camp, here are a few things to consider;

Cost.  This is a show stopper for many.  It is always a more expensive option than tent camping.  The roof top tents range in cost from several hundred to a few thousand dollars.  How you will mount it on the car can add to this.  If your roof rails cannot support the weight of the tent, you’ll have to add aftermarket rails from companies like Yakima or Thule.  If you don’t have crossbars for your roof rails, you’ll need to buy that too.  These costs add up.  Maybe the most obvious of all is the vehicle you will put your tent on.  Many cars are difficult to add racks to, and some compact SUVs are too small for the dimensions of the tent.  If you have a suitable vehicle and are willing to pay for the tent and the method of safely putting it on your vehicle, you can get many years of fun adventure without paying for the cost of an RV, and storing it when not in use.

Convenience.  Once you have a roof top tent, you have to consider where you will store it, because it is a large rectangle that weighs about 100 pounds (on average).  Then, how you will put in on and off your car before and after trips.  Most take two people, or a pulley or winch system to put it on an off.  Once you do have it on your car, you generally will leave it on for your whole trip (some people with clamshell style tents leave them on their jeeps and trucks year round).  Once on your vehicle, it is very easy to pop up and take down.

Bang for the Buck.  If you prefer car camping, go frequently, and want an easier, off the ground camping experience, you may find this is the perfect thing for you.  

We have had a Yakima Skyrise 3 roof top tent for several years, and have used it with two different SUVs, and now a tent trailer (Yakima Easy Rider).  I will post blogs about our experiences and why we transitioned from the roof of the car to an adventure trailer, our lessons learned, and how to camp and boondock with a tent trailer with minimal services or amenities.  Stay tuned!