Traveling and camping with a rooftop tent involves more than just attaching it to the roof of your car. The same goes for a standard tent. You can’t just pitch it on any campsite; you need to ensure that it’s secure and you’ve found the right place for it. A rooftop tent is no different. There might be times when you need to readjust it, and we can help you. Here’s a quick guide to leveling a rooftop tent.
With a rooftop tent, you don’t want to sleep on unleveled ground. For starters, you’ll never get your tent leveled if the ground is uneven. Because you’re outside, you won’t find a completely flat surface as you would indoors. Instead, find the flattest surface you can for a campsite and park your car there.
Your vehicle will deal with most of the unevenness, so you don’t have to worry too much about making it perfect. Even if you’re not camping in a traditional park, you still want to find a relatively flat location.
You’ll need a ladder to get on top of your vehicle to level your tent. Make sure you position your tent ladder uphill. If your ladder is positioned downhill, it might not even reach the ground.
Point the ladder uphill and level the non-ladder side as much as possible. Finding a relatively flat surface is important because you don’t want to be off-balanced when making sure your tent is secure and even.
Humans make mistakes, which is why you need tools to reduce errors. Don’t rely on your intuition and eyes to take measurements. Bring tools to take precise measurements.
You’ll want to bring either a T level, an electronic level, or a level app on your phone. Leveling blocks and a shovel are also good tools to consider depending on your site location. You might need to do some digging or use the blocks to make the ground even for your vehicle.
Remember what your rooftop tent is attached to. It’s on top of your vehicle, and that means you need to level your car just as much as your tent. You might need to elevate one side of your vehicle with the leveling block, or you can use the natural resources around you, like rocks or scraps of wood.
It won’t be too difficult to get leveled, especially if you have one of our lightweight truck campers. Just make sure the rocks and wood are big and secure enough to hold the weight of the car without causing any damage.
Here at Super Pacific Inc., we are more than happy to provide you with more information and tips on camping in addition to this guide on leveling rooftop tents. Visit our website for more information.
