Hard Shell vs Soft Shell Rooftop Tents: Which is the Right Choice?

The moment will come when all the dedicated 4WD enthusiasts have had enough resting on rocks. The feeling of the stones piercing their backs, being constantly afraid that some poisonous animals might bite them while sleeping in their backpacks, and the desire to camp somewhere peaceful will get to them sooner or later.

This is the exact moment when people decide to look upwards. Sleeping on the roof of your car brings some great opportunities when travelling all across our vast land. Not only do you have access to fresh air and spectacular views, but you are getting a secure place to sleep in too. 

The problem begins as soon as you start browsing rooftop tents from Sharp 4×4 Australia because then you are inevitably faced with one of the biggest debates among off-road enthusiasts. 

Choosing between buying a hard shell vs soft shell rooftop tent is not an easy decision, especially considering that it may mean the difference between relaxing next to a fire drinking cold beer or unpacking your stuff from canvas in the dark.

The Rise of Rooftop Tents

The Australian love affair with camping has been alive and well since the beginning, but there has been a huge change in recent years as far as the touring lifestyle is concerned. 

Australians are travelling longer distances, going completely ‘off grid’ for longer periods, and doing so while maintaining a degree of luxury that simply was not possible for our parents back in the day. 

This paradigm shift has made rooftop tents the go-to choice among tourers. Take a walk through any coastal caravan park or distant campground out at a station all the way from Cape York to the Kimberley, and you will see hordes of customised vehicles with large square blocks mounted to their roofs. 

The elevated sleep quarters ensure that one stays clear of both the mud and the crocodiles, yet they have room to carry more provisions, more equipment, and maybe even a slightly larger esky. However, it is important to understand the difference between these types of tents before modifying your rig.

The Traditional Soft Shell Rooftop Tents

Let us begin by examining the conventional option, which sparked this entire trend. The soft folding rooftop tent styles have been a staple of off-roading adventures for many years. In essence, these tents are folded up as if opening a very large, robust book. 

Their construction consists mostly of rugged, weather-proofed canvas fabric that surrounds a metal framework, covered with a thick, waterproof PVC cover while in transit mode. Once parked, the cover can be removed, and a ladder is utilised as leverage to extend out the entire unit. 

The floor simply hinges outward to allow more space for the bed, either on the side or back of the vehicle. Through this clever arrangement, the area occupied by the sleeping platform usually doubles that of the compacted unit on top of the car.

The Modern Hard Shell Rooftop Tents

At the complete other end of the spectrum, we have the very stiff, aerodynamic beasts, which are turning touring on its head. These systems do away with the floppy PVC touring cover in favor of a solid exterior shell made of fiberglass, sturdy ABS plastic, or high-grade aluminium. 

Talking about clamshell vs soft shell RTT examples, we are talking about particular hard systems that just open out like a clam hinge. Other hard designs come straight up from all four corners.

The solid roof serves as the roof itself, and there is no unfolding, no excess floor boards to fold down, and definitely no complex frame to deal with. You simply unlock the catches and push it up, and the gas struts do all the hard work.

How Do Hard Shell vs Soft Shell Rooftop Tents Differ?

If you were to ask any traveller of the Australian circuit what they despise most about camping, chances are that they would list setup and breakdown time as one of their top concerns. 

Picture yourself arriving at an isolated free camp after driving for ten hours along a very bumpy and corrugated dirt track. You are tired and covered in red dirt. The sun is quickly setting, and there is not much time left. 

If you have a hard-shell setup, by the time your engine is cold enough to stop it, you are already sleeping. You undo the latches, install the ladder, and you are completely done. 

The foldable roof-top tents, on the other hand, need a fair bit more work. You have to circle around your car and undo a bunch of straps, take off a stiff, usually dusty PVC cover, extend your tent, and carefully install the flexible window spring poles so as to elevate all of your rain awnings.

Rooftop Tent Pack Down Struggle with Morning Dew

Even though pitching a tent in the dark is unpleasant, taking apart a wet tent is even more of a hassle, if not twice as bad. This is when the discussion begins to get heated. With hard shell tents, everything just packs up quickly. 

One picks up a strap, pulls the hard roof closed, folds up a small piece of excess fabric, and clicks on the latches. The whole process could take less than two minutes, with the tourers being ready to hit the road right after. 

Folding canvas models present a completely different reality. You have to remove all the window poles, fold the massive floor back over onto itself, and then wrestle a tight PVC cover over a bulky mass of canvas.

If it rained overnight or there is heavy morning dew, the canvas gets stiff, slippery, and incredibly frustrating to compress. Doing this in the freezing cold before a dawn departure has tested the patience of many veteran tourers.

Spreading Out the Rooftop Tent

Although the set-up time is considerably long, there is one enormous reason why folding canvases have such immense popularity among camping enthusiasts. You will be amazed at how much living space there is available. 

As they fold out more widely compared to the base of your vehicle, a king-sized mattress will fit into many of them without any problems. They are absolutely fabulous for those small families that require somehow putting up a small child between the parents on the mattress or for those taller guys who cannot stand the idea of having their feet touch the canvas sides. 

Hard pop-up tents are only as large as their boxes on your vehicle. You do not get anything extra in terms of space. If your vehicle has a relatively low roof, you do not get anything extra in terms of space either. 

There are no complaints about size limitations for singles and couples, but if you like sleeping fully extended, like a starfish, you might feel claustrophobia in the clamshell. If you plan on taking the sleeping bag with you to the campsite, then hard pop-ups will work much better.

Rooftop Tent as Protection for Harsh Aussie Weather

It cannot be denied that the weather in Australia is no joke. One moment you find yourself struggling with extremely hot and humid conditions, and the next you are caught up in a fierce southerly buster. 

Comparing the two options on bad weather days, the former wins hands down. Having an entirely fibreglass or aluminium roof acts as great protection from the rays of the blazing sun, making the temperature inside the house much cooler. 

However, even more importantly, having a solid casing oriented towards the wind will deflect it easily. The sides in both instances are usually held tightly together by means of gas struts. 

Therefore, there is not much room for them to flap. On the contrary, folding canvas structures have lots of loose material, and it is impossible to sleep in such windy conditions.

Roof Platforms and Bars

Prior to even considering your use of credit cards, you need to take a good hard look at what your 4WD payload and roof loads can actually handle. Every 4WD has a definite maximum dynamic roof load.

It is the weight it will be capable of handling when it is in motion. In regard to heavy-duty roof platforms and bars, they are essential if you want one of these setups. However, the weight of the tents alone differs immensely. 

The classic models that feature folding canvas are usually lightweight, often ranging between fifty and sixty kilograms. This will allow you enough excess room for your recovery tracks and possibly an extra solar panel. 

With solid case models, especially the aluminium ones, there are times when their weight is just shocking. They can sometimes weigh in at well over ninety kilograms. This immense weight at the topmost part of your 4WD significantly affects the balance of your 4WD.

Aerodynamics and Fuel Tank

Regional Australian fuel prices will have you bawling in no time. The shape of the box that you bolt on the roof is an absolute key factor when it comes to fuel efficiency. These types of boxes have hard and slick exteriors, built for cutting through the wind. 

These are quite low profile, with air being streamlined over the top of the car by design. A tent made out of canvas material, covered by some type of bulky PVC cover, will basically be one large square block of resistance. 

This block, being so un-aerodynamic in nature, will result in large amounts of drag while driving. When going across the Nullarbor for extended periods of time, the differences become very noticeable. The extra cost associated with this option pays off in the end.

The Financial Reality: Best Rooftop Tent Type

Where cost is concerned, let us not forget about the huge price difference here. The whole discussion about the best rooftop tent type often ends up with the simple question of whether you can actually afford it to be mounted on your roof rack system. Soft folding types are extremely budget-friendly. 

It is easy to get hold of a high-quality and long-lasting soft canvas rooftop tent at an affordable price. However, hard ones are not cheap at all, as it takes a lot of engineering to build such a sophisticated construction as a rooftop tent from aluminium or fibreglass with strong gas struts and quality hinges.

Deciding Between Hard Shell vs Soft Shell Rooftop Tents

Choosing between a hard shell vs soft shell rooftop tent all boils down to your personal camping style. In case you are the adventurous type who camps daily, moving from one place to another, having to cover vast distances in your journey as well as pitching up late into the evening, then nothing beats having the fast pitch and aerodynamics associated with the hard one. 

It is something that you will always thank yourself for after having slept soundly at the end of the day while the rest of the group struggles outside trying to deal with the canvas in the rain. 

But in case you are a family group that likes to head out for camping on weekends and spend a couple of days at a national park nearby, there is no doubt in your mind that the large living area as well as cheaper prices offered by the flexible canvas option would be ideal for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much weight can the vehicle roof actually support when I am sleeping inside the tent?

There is a massive difference between your dynamic load limit, which is the weight limit when driving, and your static load limit, which applies when the vehicle is completely parked. Most modern four-wheel drives have a static load limit well over three hundred kilograms. As long as you have high-quality, heavy-duty roof platforms and bars installed by professionals, the combined weight of the tent and two sleeping adults will be perfectly safe and well within the structural limits of the vehicle while parked at your campsite.

Can I easily remove the tent from my vehicle between camping trips?

While it is technically possible to remove them, it is rarely considered an easy or quick task. Because they are securely bolted to your rack system to prevent disaster on the highway, unbolting them is tedious. Furthermore, due to their massive size and awkward weight distribution, you will almost always require a dedicated pulley hoist system in your garage or the assistance of at least three strong mates to physically lift it off the vehicle without scratching your paintwork.

Are these elevated setups warmer than sleeping in a traditional ground tent?

They are significantly warmer in the winter months. Because you are elevated far above the freezing, damp earth, you completely avoid the cold seeping up through the floor. The thick, high-density foam mattresses provide excellent insulation, and because the total air volume inside the enclosure is much smaller than a massive family ground tent, your natural body heat is trapped much more effectively, keeping the interior incredibly cosy.

What happens if I have to pack up while it is pouring rain?

Packing up wet is an unavoidable reality of bush travel. Both styles can be packed away dripping wet without causing immediate damage to the internal mattress. The crucial thing to remember is that you absolutely must open the tent back up at your earliest convenience, ideally the moment the sun comes out at your next destination or when you arrive back home in your driveway. Leaving a wet canvas closed up for more than a couple of days will inevitably result in severe mould and mildew ruining the fabric.

Upgrade Your Camp Setup Today

Selecting the best rooftop tent between a hard shell vs soft shell rooftop tent is definitely one of the most difficult choices that you will have made while making the effort of building the best off-road touring vehicle ever.

Whether you love the fantastic aerodynamics and speed you get from the hard shell rooftop tent or like the spaciousness and flexibility offered by the folding camping tent, seeking professional guidance should be done.

It is very important that you consider whether your car can bear the weight and your mounting kit can stand up to the extreme conditions you get when going on tours on the corrugated Australian roads. You should not assume that this or that type of tent is what you need.

Contact us today for assistance. At Sharp 4×4 Australia, we specialise in making fantastic off-road touring vehicles. Let us assist you in getting the perfect raised accommodation for your next visit to the Australian wilderness.