Rooftop tent experience: camping in the Vosges mountains

Rooftop tent experience – Imagine opening your eyes on a clear evening and gazing directly into the sparkling starry sky. Sounds like an unforgettable adventure, doesn’t it? You can experience something like this when camping with a roof tent. Here we would like to tell you about the fascinating night that the bloggers from the YouTube channel Motorreport experienced in the mountains. You too can learn a lot from this for your next adventures with a roof tent.

Dawn in the mountains: try out rooftop tent camping

What does it actually feel like to be on the road with a roof tent? Imagine it’s early in the morning, the sun is just rising and you’re up at 1,500 meters above sea level – with a roof tent! Sounds like a crazy trip, doesn’t it? Today I want to tell you about the adventure night from the YouTube channel Motorreport in the mountains, where bloggers Anja and Matthias spent the night in an iKamper roof tent for the very first time.

You can find out more about iKamper roof tents here:

You can watch the video here:

On the road in the large version: Skycamp roof tent

The two bloggers had the Škoda Enyaq Coupé as their base vehicle, and on the roof of the car they had a roof tent called the iKamper Skycamp 3.0. As usual with the Skycamp models, the Skycamp 3.0 is available in a Mini Edition and a large version. They had the large version here, which offers space for up to four people. Anja and Matthias slept in it to see how spacious it is.

Tip! You can read more about this roof tent size here: Rooftop tent for 4 people.

Setting up the roof tent: Let the adventure begin!

Anja put up the roof tent for the very first time at the very beginning. To put up the roof, she first had to unlock the eyelets with the key and then fold down the tent. Now they could fold up the roof in pairs. The wind was blowing quite strongly, but the roof almost raised itself. Depending on the dynamic load capacity of the vehicle, the ladder can either be stowed directly on the roof tent or in the trunk. In the video, it was stowed in the trunk. Next, it was locked into place, extended and the roof tent was up.

Once at the top, the awning could be erected, which was surprisingly easy. The awning already came with poles that just had to be inserted into the brackets on the tent. And Anja already had a protective roof over her head.

You should remember this procedure for your first roof tent assembly:

  1. Unlock eyelets with key
  2. Folding down the base plate
  3. Fold up the roof in pairs
  4. Ladder in the roof tent or trunk depending on load capacity
  5. Engage ladder & set up securely
  6. Insert awning poles into brackets

Freezing temperatures & wind: experience & advice

For the overnight stay, Anja and Matthias decided to close the roof tent completely. It has three layers: the outer layer, a fly screen and a blackout blind. This meant they could be sure that they would not only stay dry, but would also be protected from insects. During the night, however, they felt the wind. The thermometer read around 5 °C. They reported that thinner sleeping bags would not have been a good idea.

As a conclusion to their first night in the roof tent, they had these suggestions for improvement: Wrap up thick and maybe put something under the mattress. But challenges aside, the view from the roof tent in the morning was simply breathtaking. When they opened the windows, a breathtaking panoramic view awaited them. Even the wind wasn’t so bad.

For your next roof tent adventure: Warm sleeping bags & put something under the mattress.

Unforgettable experience in a rooftop tent: adventure

On the whole, the rooftop tent experience was certainly unforgettable, but the bloggers are more likely to be occasional campers. One thing is for sure: it was an adventure that they will remember for a long time to come. However, those who want to travel in a smaller vehicle and be as close to nature as possible should definitely find happiness in a rooftop tent.

Rooftop tent manufacturer: Overview for beginners

Are you considering buying your own roof tent after reading this experience report? There are countless manufacturers on the market. So that you can get to know the most important ones, you should read on in this overview:

Roof tent comparison: the best roof tent?

However, you not only need an overview, but a recommendation as to which roof tent is best suited compared to others can also help you. Then it won’t be so difficult to choose the right roof tent. You can find our roof tent favorites here: