We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: if you’re looking for a way to improve your car camping game, one of the best things you can add to your repertoire of gear is a rooftop tent. It makes setting up and tearing down your campsite far easier, spares you from sleeping on the cold hard ground, and keeps you away from nosy critters.
But there are downsides, too. Rooftop tents tend to be bulky things, difficult to mount and dismount on a roof rack (especially on SUVs and pickups, where they’re often higher than your head) — which means you’re less likely to go to the trouble of removing it to use the roof rack for other pursuits, like carrying kayaks. And once you’re on the go, watching that flat-packed tent shake and rattle at speed can be an unnerving experience.
Luckily, the crew of nomadic racers at Go Fast Campers have come up with a new rooftop tent that addresses some of the major concerns: the Superlite.
As we discovered when we went out West to interview their team, Go Fast Campers is very much about what you’d expect from their name: making car camping solutions that can withstand the rigors of off-road racing. The Superlite roof tent weighs just 80 pounds and sits just six inches tall when folded up, keeping it from raising the center of gravity too much. (GFC says that, like all their products, it’s “extremely huckable.”
When the time comes to make camp, however, the Superlite opens up to reveal 44 inches of headroom at its highest point —enough for almost anyone to sit up comfortably. At 90 inches long, the sleeping area is big enough for even Yao Ming to stretch his legs — though given the Superlite’s 50-inch width, two of him would probably have to spoon pretty tightly.
And while some high-end roof tents can run close to the price of a fun used car, GFC’s Superlite is, if not supercheap, at least relatively affordable. A basic model can be yours fo $1,199; add a ladder and a custom-fit mattress, and it still comes in under $1,600. High demand (and coronavirus-related production delays) mean it sadly won’t be yours immediately, but if you place an order now, you should have yours by November.