X-Cover

I have a ikamper xcover (first Gen) and we did a three weeks road trip, sleeping three adults in there (no funny business so we had to have some space between all of us). So four kids could technically be doable. But I don't know it's a good plan. It may give some sardine can vibes. Pros: 2-5min setup, depending on how well organized you are. It's kinda cool. Can be set when it's dark. Cons: it'll be annoying if you move multiple times a day or want to stay a couple nights at the same spot. Your setup means you won't be able to pack a lot in the car for the whole trip, since you want to sleep in the car as well (For 6people I don't see how that would work, at all: clothes, cooking gear, extra stuff... That takes some space). Someone else mentioned a trailer with pop-up tents. I think I'd recommend either that or a proper modern family tent. Since you talk about a road trip in Europe, I strongly recommend anything "decathlon". Their quechua tents are the best quality/features/price you can get. (And it's valid for pretty much all the gear they do). You could even consider getting two "2 seconds" tents and be done with the setup in almost no time.

I love my iCamper. Pops up or down in less than a minute. It has a king size bed - it's huge. And the thing I love most is being that far off the ground. Less dew, less noise, and you feel safer perched from above. We spend about 20 nights a year in it. We have an easy on/off pulley system in the garage. I can put it on or off by myself in like 5 minutes. One of my friends bitched about the cost while we were camping. He has a $30k camper trailer, so yeah, I'll take the $3k option. Most of my friends have $60k+ trucks with $30k+ campers or trailers. I have less than $35k invested total into my system.

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.

I second iKamper. Also, get a diesel heater if you need to. Tons of options out there and make the tent 70+ degrees in zero temps.

https://preview.redd.it/k68tdqpnewmg1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1920185dea43167c98087526cec9c484b6c35d7f iKamper's aren't cheap.... but they fit perfectly on the Crosstrek. Pros and cons for sure - but as someone who lives in Utah - the ability to drive in late a night, pop a tent on BLM land within a minute and leave just as quickly makes it great for us. We don't stay in one place other than to sleep, so it's perfect. I keep it on year round because we can just go south whenever we want.

https://preview.redd.it/spnza1jvfwmg1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fbce9929a6da74b07de3c73e92dabdc4470a6901 Use it all the time. We live in Utah so we can literally decide last minute to go somewhere and it's all packed and ready to go. Definitely not for everyone, but we love being able to find a random BLM spot when it's getting dark and be set up in a minute.

I love my RTT but as I've gotten older I've started to look at trailer RVs. Nothing is more frustrating than getting to a campsite, setting up, and realizing you need to run an errand because you forgot something. Or, when we went to Glacier National Park and camped in a dedicated campground and couldn't leave to explore because it was raining and I didn't want to pack everything up wet for a short day trip. You're kind of anchored to where you set up your campsite with a RTT and that is a big downside that I didn't fully comprehend when I bought mine. I fully comprehend it now. Usually it isn't a problem but when it is, it's a very frustrating problem. Having a bed that is comfortable is a huge benefit. I feel like I'm actually rested when camping with one. I also like how warm they are compared to tents. I have an iKamper and the vestibule is incredible, especially when it's raining or you don't have shade in the hot summer sun.

I’ve been down this path. Find one that has enough room to keep your bedding in it. And not one you have to climb on top of to close and smash down. I had the Ikamper and it worked great,, although I don’t really use it a more because on my jeep I prefer to keep my center of gravity low. I’ll use it for overlanding trails. But not for any rates trails over 6