Elevation: Being raised off the ground can provide a sense of safety from wildlife, while providing protection from any ground water or rocks. Rivian’s camp leveling feature means that no matter the terrain, you always have a dry and level place to sleep.

Comfort: Many rooftop tents have built-in, high-quality mattresses, which can be more comfortable than sleeping directly on the ground - but be sure to read the cons here too.

Setup Ease: RTTs are designed to be deployed quickly and easily. This can be a significant advantage over traditional tents, particularly in bad weather. Most can be setup in 1-2 minutes after a few practice runs.

Space Savings: Since your tent is stored on top of your R1, it doesn't take up extra space inside your vehicle, leaving more room for other camping gear.

Durability: RTTs are typically made with robust materials to withstand various weather conditions, making them more durable than many traditional tents.

Cost: RTTs are significantly more expensive than ground tents. You'll need to be prepared to make an investment.

Efficiency: This is arguably the biggest con aside from cost. Rooftop tents are giant bricks on top of your roof. If your tent is installed directly above your bed below the cab, you shouldn’t see much, if any, efficiency loss. However, if it’s installed on an R1S or over the cab of an R1T, your efficiency can drop 10-15%.

Access Difficulty: Climbing up and down a ladder to get into your sleeping area could be inconvenient or difficult - especially if you have heavy pets that need to be lifted into the tent.

Comfort: while this is a pro, the mattress that comes with nearly every RTT is uncomfortable, especially for side sleepers. This can be fixed by adding an air mattress but that does add to the cost.

Camping Limitations: While a RTT can open up more camping spots since you always have a dry and level place to park, your camping spot will be dictated by where you can park your Rivian. In some locations, this could be a limitation.

Packing Up to Drive: If you decide to drive somewhere during the day, you'll need to pack up the tent each time.

RTT Storage: unless your tent is installed full time, you’ll need a place to store the tent whether that is on a pulley system in your garage, or by having friends help lift the tent to store elsewhere.

Cargo Storage: this only applies to the R1T, but if mounted over the bed, your bed storage height is reduced. If you transport large items often, this can be an issue. A resolution is to either not keep your tent installed full time, or by using a bed rack like one from our partner Xtrusion Overland or Overland Ruff Rax.

There are many rooftop tent brands including: iKamper, Roofnest, CVT, 23Zero, 4x4 Colorado, Thule, Yakima, Freespirit, Tuff Stuff, and more…

A majority of the tents are made in just a couple of factories, one brand built alongside the next, with the exception of iKamper who has their own factory.

At the end of the day, brand doesn’t really matter. Pick the color, shell, and features that fit within your budget, and you’ll be happy with whatever you buy.

ECRC highly recommends a hard-top tent. They are more durable, and significantly easier to put away compared to a soft-top, taking only 1-2 minutes vs 5-10. It may not sound like much, but it can make all the difference, especially when packing up in the rain. They also look better in our opinion, and some offer rails to mount accessories.

Hard-tops are more expensive, but the added durability mean they often last longer.

Standard: this awning pulls straight out and often needs two legs for support. They are typically the length of the cab and offer very basic shade but are small and won’t cover more than two camp chairs.

180: these offer additional wings to provide extra coverage above the “standard”. They can very in length so be sure to measure.

270: this is a great upgrade over the 180 as it provides additional coverage over the tailgate, however, many 270s aren’t as long as a full 180 degree awning.

270+: an unofficial name - but this is a full 180 degree awning with additional coverage on the tailgate. This is a long awning so a tall bed rack is highly recommended as it is much too long to only mount on two cab crossbars.