Skycamp 2.0 Mini

So worth it! I did a full year of camping and put it up and took it down several times a week. It got so easy after the first month's practice. The mattress was super comfy, and there was so much room. I had a camp potty with me, so no worries there. Occasionally I used my ground tent, and that system, as small and compact as it was, was way more complicated and took way more time. Highly recommend! I had the iKamper Mini 2.0

I had an iKamper Skycamp 2.0 (hard top, king bed) for 5 years. Pros: \-Quick setup \-Don't have to haul extra tents, cots, and factor in their weight and how much space they take up in your car \-Off the ground and easy to keep the inside clean \-Good ones hold value better, only took about a week to find a buyer when I was ready. Used market is also pretty decent and I'd likely pick that over alibaba (seriously you can get a fabric damaged ikamper 2.0 CHEAP and then buy the 3.0 conversion kit and it's basically brand new) Cons: \-Have to park your vehicle kind of level \-Have to take it down in order to go ANYwhere for any reason (which takes longer as you do have to generally remove the pillows/bedding first) \-Reduces your fuel economy a wee bit \-Parking garages are, for the most part, out of the equation \-Climbing down to pee at night I don't regret it. It was a great way to have somewhere for my 3 teens to sleep when we went out for a weekend. I had it mounted on 3 different vehicles over the time we had it. I sold it because my oldest graduated and never camps anymore, my youngest rarely wants to go, and for the VERY few times I DO take extra people, a Gazelle T4 gets strapped to the roof. Mind you, I'm coming from the perspective of "the adults sleep in a teardrop"... if I didn't have the ability to have a teardrop at all, I'd have kept the rooftop tent.

I've had a rooftop tent, many kinds of ground tents, teardrop camper.... If you're gonna go for a RTT, go hard top and quality. We had an iKamper Skycamp 2.0, they now have a much bigger line up and if you'll always be solo or just two people, the iKamper mini would be just fine and cheaper and easier to wrangle. That being said, the 2.0 pupped up and was ready to go in about 30-40 seconds, I never staked out the side windows just the entry (which is also still optional, technically). The stock mattresses aren't great if you're a side sleeper, but many folks install self inflating sleeping pads instead (we finally did after 3 years... it added another 3-4 minutes to setup and take down, though). The only other step is tossing your bedding inside, since most hard top RTTs (though not all) don't tend to have room to store all the bedding inside. Hard tops are also better on fuel economy. Also, for an upside, a RTT doesn't take up any cargo space. That being said, I sold the RTT since I don't consistently have a ton of folks with me anymore (kids grew up). For guests I do have a Gazelle T3X and T4, as well as some Byer of Maine Quick Cots. Each Gazelle tent takes about 60 seconds to assemble completely. The longest part is putting the stakes in the ground. The cots are 60 seconds a piece as well, they just pop outwards and open. And the bonus is that you have standing room inside for changing clothes, which you will NOT in a RTT. Here is a video for setting up a Gazelle: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uErC8FmqfQ8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uErC8FmqfQ8) I do the rain fly differently (I hook on 2 of the corner poles, then toss the other two across the roof) but don't overthink it. I also have to put my foot on the bottom of the tent to pull out the hubs for more leverage. The T3X is a little shorter and therefore easier (I'm 5ft 5, if you're tall it won't matter as much) but the T3X is also slightly smaller dimensions and I wouldn't put 2 cots in it, it's about perfect for a solo traveler IMO (as a bonus it'll also fit sideways in most cars whereas the T4 in storage bag is... quite long and will need to be stored front to back). For what it's worth, I've also set up a T4+/T8 solo (basically double the size, with 6 hubs to pop out) and it's still just as easy if you prefer a really big tent. I'll say this politely---if you can't set up a Gazelle tent, solo camping is probably not for you. You can't go wrong with either, they both have their pros and cons, but an iKamper Mini 3.0 is $3995 and a Gazelle T4 Overland (upgraded stakes, ground tarp, waterproof bag) is $469... a substantial difference. Another option you may not have considered, and it'll depend on your specific vehicle and how it's set up, is you can also outfit your vehicle and have a self inflating sleeping pad or mattress inside of it, and get mesh screen things for the windows and such. Then you don't have to set up ANY sleeping quarters... just your chair and table/stove.

I had an ikamper mini on a Tacoma. I’ve travelled across Canada and most of the States in it. Got the annex now too. It’s def not a real quick set up take down. Gotta consider leveling vehicle, moving stuff up to tent. Once it’s up it’s up. At least for us. Either way. We love it and it allows you to camp in places harder to get to. Have fun.

Had a iCamper mini on an Outback for a couple of years after my wife and I retired. Camped from Washington to Baja, great memories. The cons are mostly about the ladder, we are on the older side and when midnight nature calls it can be a hassle . Also a small annex when it’s raining is a must to keep it dry in the tent. Had some strong wind gusts in Baja that was scary at times but the tent was not damaged. We now have a Metris van with a pop top which is working great for us now.

I do not have experience with the vertical options. From the time i decided on adding a RTT I had already decided on an iKamper. I usually park so that the three window views I have are what I want to see. I am not sure about the setup time on the vertical opening tents - the skycamp is literally setup and ready to jump in in under 3m and the takedown is closer to 5m due to my making sure the flaps close in such a way as to block any moisture from getting in while it’s closed due to rain, washing, etc. I love the skycamp, only thing I didn’t love is the mattress that comes with it. My first couple of trips with it were great but my back felt the thin foam on the last couple of trips so I added the comfort mattress which is a combination of foam and air. If I had it to do again I might have upgraded to the skycamp DLX but I definitely would have ended up with another iKamper.

I do not have experience with the vertical options. From the time i decided on adding a RTT I had already decided on an iKamper. I usually park so that the three window views I have are what I want to see. I am not sure about the setup time on the vertical opening tents - the skycamp is literally setup and ready to jump in in under 3m and the takedown is closer to 5m due to my making sure the flaps close in such a way as to block any moisture from getting in while it’s closed due to rain, washing, etc. I love the skycamp, only thing I didn’t love is the mattress that comes with it. My first couple of trips with it were great but my back felt the thin foam on the last couple of trips so I added the comfort mattress which is a combination of foam and air. If I had it to do again I might have upgraded to the skycamp DLX but I definitely would have ended up with another iKamper.

I've camped 287 nights in the last 5 years, and have not missed a single month since 2017 (I keep a log). This in the blazing heat of mid desert summer, and the sub-zero temps (-10 is common) of Colorado at 11.5k feet out elk hunting. Over half of that has been in RTTs. Only cons is naive at best, and disingenuous at worst. And given this oft-repeated hate parade, I'm leaning towards the latter. A hardshell roof tent has offered the most comfortable sleep and best warmth by a country mile, even over my 7.2 R value Nemo air mattress and mountaineering tent or my Eno hammock setup. It's the fastest option by far (15 seconds up; 45 or so down). Even over inflating an air mattress in the back of the Suburban. All the bedding stays inside so it never needs to get laid out, and I gain space in the cab of the truck to boot. I can still carry a kayak and fishing poles on top in the ski rack, my MPG difference is all of 0.3, and no-you don't need to climb down a ladder to pee. That's what a bottle is for. People seem to get really bent out of shape about RTTs and act like they have zero utility or legitimacy. It's wild.

I'll re-iterate what I have before the last 100 times we've had this conversation in the last decade: 12 month a year camper, snow/rain/shine alike from Colorado to Arizona to Washington. 287 nights in the last five years personally, most of which has been in RTTs. iKamper Skycamp, CVT Mt Hood, 23Zero Kabari, Roofnest Falcon XL, 23Zero 62 Walkabout, you name it; I've owned/tested/tried it in every state west of the Dakotas. Anyone who says there aren't pros or it's LARPing or whatever falls into one of these camps in my experience: A. They've never used one personally and are speculating/repeating what someone else said. B. They've used an old school softshell for a few nights and decided they know everything about every design. C. They're jealous or hating on them for whatever reason, and are intentionally exaggerating to try to end the trend. I'm personally all about aluminum wedges/clamshells. you can park them into the wind, mount roof racks for kayak/solar/etc., they setup and teardown faster than any other option besides a basepad cowboy style, they're extremely well insulated, the most comfortable way for me to sleep with the included mattress (I'm 6'2" 225), all your bedding stays inside the tent, you never have to fight water intrusion, you never have to pack up a muddy tent, etc. Here are some cons I often hear that also aren't true/understood correctly. "You have to climb down a ladder to pee." *Use a bottle. Ladies too; my GF uses a She-Wee. Problem solved.* "It's gonna murder your fuel economy." *I lost a whopping 0.3 MPG putting a RTT on my Suburban. Biggest loss was like 1 MPG on my old Jeep.* "If you wanna go somewhere you have to tear it down." *Correct. But if you use a hardshell tent, this is a non-issue. The only time it would be a pain is if you used an old-school softshell design.* "Yeah, but it's too expensive." *It's 2026 and the economy is in the toilet. You can buy a tent that sold for $4K in 2021 for like $2100 now. People will say that's still too much...then go buy a $400 Marmot tent, a $140 Exped air mattress, a $200 Kelty sleeping bag, and a $150 Osprey Atmos backpack. And that's not counting their boots, poles, headlamp, JetBoil, etc. It's not any more prohibitively expensive than MTBing, snowboarding, or through-hiking IMO.* I've built sleeping platforms in my FJC, sleep in the back of my Suburban quite a bit, have a Gazelle T4 for my rock crawler, and a whole rogue's gallery of backpacking tents and three hammocks. I do it all, so you can believe me when I say: **RTTs have extreme merit and are my favorite option that clocks in at a reasonable value.** You wanna talk prohibitively expensive and obtuse? You're thinking of a slide-in or bed camper setup. A 4WC Hawk in a 6.5' truck bed is an RV you can drive through the Rubicon...too bad you're into it for over $20K. But I'll leave that for another day...

Never hear this story about an ikamper. (But also I'm a three season camper. I intentionally don't camp in the worst weather.)

I've never gotten wet inside my tent BUT I have been through wind strong enough that the support bar inside keeps blowing down, and that's annoying but you just push it back up 40 times.