My conclusion is that roof tents are technologically decades behind ground tents and all pretty much the same heavy costly foldout design (excepting the Maggioline pop-up type). I spent a good couple of hours at Billing last year looking very closely at every roof tent I could find and talking to whoever I could. As for a ground tent on a roof rack as was said fine when it sdry and no wind but otherwise. I would suggest having a really good look at the tents at Billing and then go and talk to owners that are camping with them. It stood upto 65mph winds in Iceland two years ago and all the rain wales could throw at it this weekend!! Off to Sahara with it later in the year.īUT If you dont like roof tents you dont like them. Yes they cost money but its the last tent I will every buy. Right now, they are just a bit too expensive for me, but I reckon I could build an aluminium fold out roof rack for a Velocity 400 and get the family in it easily. For me either this is a problem which will be fixed or Vango will withdraw the range in a year or two. The web reports one or two punctures/leaks to the beams. The web and our local camping shop both indicate that the very large ones have to be blown up first and then the floor straps tightened, rather than the other way round. I have had a good look at a Velocity 200 and Infinity 600 erected, and they look very well made and sturdy. I want a roof tent so we can sleep anywhere (hotel car park, layby, off-road etc), and I want a ground tent so we can leave the tent at a site to go exploring, and I don't want two tents because I want to keep weight low, and am sure with a bit of clever thinking I can have my cake and eat it.
![vango airbeam velocity 200 vango airbeam velocity 200](http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/MLxaee3hUu4/hqdefault.jpg)
Variable weather is why I am keen on Vango - several years of very varying camping experience. PPS I have no relationship with Vango other than as a satisfied customer PS Compared to normal tents airbeams are currently pricy, but if the idea is any good and they take off I am sure they will come down in price a bit Has anyone tried them yet, especially as both a roof and ground tent. OK you still need to build a custom roofrack and have some kind of on-board air, but it might just work. Foldout your custom roof rack, peg down the tent, blow the airbeams up with the on-board compressor and job done.
![vango airbeam velocity 200 vango airbeam velocity 200](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54b93453e4b06e38ad5db55b/1422794649215-8WQZA52DL9PMW04XUBPV/Vango+Velocity+400+Tent+Mesh+Door.jpg)
The idea is pretty much new for consumer tents, I believe, though it has been used by the military for hospitals etc for some time.
![vango airbeam velocity 200 vango airbeam velocity 200](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81P47B0f8FL._AC_SX679_.jpg)
This a new style of tent where poles are replaced by tubes you pump up with air. From a recent purchase, I can confirm that even if you built a foldout roofrack big enough, it would be extremely difficult to erect a Quechua style 4 man popup tent on a roof, and far harder to take it down. I need space for two adults and two kids. I saw a pic of someone putting a Quechua popup tent on a Disco roofrack. And of copurse, you cannot use them on the ground. I am not keen onHannibal style tents and Maggiolina style popup's on the grounds of weight, and cost as against almost all modern ground tents. For some time I have been looking for a roof tent that can be used on the ground as well as the roof.