Rooftents - Hannibal or Eezi-Awn ???

Hi Jon,

The girlfriend and myself are in a similar position, we are going to morocco next march and the roof tent is what we have decided to go for.

I'm fitting the tent on some rhino roof bars as the full rack option wouldn't work for me, they are generally something you tend to leave on once fitted which would mean I couldn't get into any of the carparks or the local tip. If I was pushed I would have gone for the patriot, extremely well/over engineered (British too) so you can strip each section off i.e. side rails, then floor sections then finally the roof bars.

We recently had the opportunity to use a Hannibal 1.2 roof tent for 2 weeks in France, once we were back I went and had a look at my mates 1.4 ezi awn to compare. I'll list the good and bad points of each below:

Hannibal:

Good bits:

Protective cover very easy to remove and refit, zipped along lower edge then strapped. Fly sheet has side panels by exit thus shielding entry points from rain better. Base seems thicker and more stable!? Has porthole entry meaning totally sealed panel once zipped up. Side windows zip all the way round Thick mattress, split in the middle which helps opening and closing

Bad bits:

Lower half of ladder is stored separately in side landy Top support pole for fly sheet falls out of pockets everytime its folded down thus you have to re fit this everytime you erect the tent. no air vents, need to leave windows or doors slightly open to allow air flow through tent fly sheet is very thin nylon type material and prone to damage Internal support bars need repositioning once tent is fully open Stitching of seems and zips are poor. When opening zip of protective cover tends to get pinched between the mating parts of the base board.

Ezi awn:

Good Points:

Ladder is light weight aluminium and both section are part of the tent Stitching of zips and seems are better quality but still no where near what I would expect +£700 worth of tent to be. Has continuous air vents to allow air flow through tent Tent opens out well and internal support bars are in correct positions Fly sheet is of a rip stop material and very hard wearing

Bad Points:

Door has vertical side zips but nothing attaches the bottom of the door panel to the tent base: thus fly's (mozi's) can enter, gather the fix for this is to add Velcro along the bottom. Side windows only zip up on sides this means that in windy conditions the sides balloon out/flap around. Protective cover is completely removable and very difficult to resecure around tent when packing up! There is a strap around the base of the cover which has a ratchet on one side, this is tends not to pull the cover tight all the way round. Mattress is one piece which means that when opening the tent the joint of the base board pinches the mattress meaning it wont interlock to gether properly. No side panels on fly sheet by entrances Protective cover a tad thin and corners of the tent base tend to damage it when it being secure up

Well I think that it!

Both tents are canvas made which means that even on the brightest days the tent stays very dark inside! The ezi awn has alu section rails along the bottom which makes fitting easier, Hannibal is bolt through the floor type but I would bolt the ezi-awn through the floor I think if rough offroading was to be encountered.

For a Tent costing + £700 you are not getting a very good quality built tent but instead I believe you are paying to the concept, as I was told these tents are made in south Africa and quality is very poor even when they sack the workers and re-employ the quality soon drops down again.

The ezi awn is better made but has poor design for something that is to be used in Africa (door/window sealing is very bad), all the issues on the ezi awn can be fixed fairly easy but if you want a tent that works straight out the box then Hannibal is in my opinion better.

I would recommend going to the LRO show in September and having a look at them in great detail, also check the difference between the 1.2 and 1.4. We were going to go for a 1.2 but after seeing the difference in the 1.4 I think we shall be going for that instead after all we will be spending over

4 weeks in this tent and the 1.2 can get a little tight at times.

We had a look at a AUTOHOME overland at billing, there made in Italy and have a good mattress, good ladder and the quality as I remember is very high, only bad point that I saw was the material is not canvas so not as hard wearing or as dark when inside. see BOAB.biz, chaps name was Chris I think. we are going to the LRO show to have another look at these first before we decide.

The only other make that I know of is Howling moon but seen or heard much about these.

Hope this helps

Mark

e-mail me at snipped-for-privacy@btopenworld.com if you want to ask me anymore questions etc

Some quick observations:

1. While I don't have any personal experience with roof tents, there was a discussion recently on
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   about keeping warm up there. Being suspended with cold air between you and the earth/roof has been problematic.

1. I have outfitted my 95 Discovery with a system of duffel bags that get lashed to the rooftop carrier. I find this to be very satisfactory. Tent (small dome type), 2 sleeping bags, pillow, foam pad all fit in one duffel, which I just heave up onto the roof. When I get to where I'm going (just got back from a trip to near Mt. Adams, here in Washington State), I pull the bag off the roof, set up, and have the bag ready to pack again when I go. Works great.

2. My system accomplishes what you say you want to, which is to keep the truck free of camping gear. I also carry some misc. truck recovery tools etc in another bag, freeing up more space.

1. Downsides of course are hauling the stuff up and down off the roof, but I bet I would spend more time and bother climbing up there to sleep, nap, change, etc, etc. anyway.

2. Yes I realize I'm talking about a Discovery, and you aren't, but it would seem the principles are the same. I'm also talking about less gear in general than you are (2-man tent vs 6-man, etc), but with some organization it could work quite nicely (most essential gear in one bag, long term gear in another, etc).

kip ps my Posh Ted window sticker looked great with Mt. Adams in the background. I'll try and post pics this week.

It may be leaving it a bit late but if you can last till Sunday 13th Feb for your answers why not come to the Indoor 4x4 Show at Donington Park race track - most of the various rooeftents and accessories will be on display all in the same hall so you can make on the spot comparisons and choose the one you want there and then.....

David

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 21:28:39 -0500, Kip Kniskern wrote (in article ):

That is one problem I hadn't thought about. One I had thought about is how well they stand up to the wind. I camp out on Big Shell ( near Corpus Christi Texas) a lot and the wind will knock down most tents. I use an Alaskan Guide Dome tent and it holds up. Nothing else I have tried will. I was in West Texas once and the wind got so high it started to blow a tent away with some one in it!

I don't know what they cost in the U.K. but for what one costs in the U.S. I would put the tents and sleeping bags in water proof duffle bags and stick them on the roof rack. It is somewhat of a pain loading it back up but it leaves the rear area free for things like firewood.

Hud

I have a safari trailer with a Hannibal tent

and have camped both in moderate cold (35F in Yellowstone) and high winds (30+ mph in the Florida Keys). The only problem I had was the rain fly not staying secure in the wind and I fixed this easily with some nylon cord anchoring the fly stays. The mattress and plywood base are good insulation from the cold I have camped in so far. FWIW

In news: snipped-for-privacy@texas.net, Disco Duck blithered:

Isn't that Montana?

and the wind got

I almost succombed to the appeal of a RTT this summer, when a dealer in Canada was letting go some Howling Moon tents at an unbeatable price. However, I had just finished setting up my 110 to sleep in the back, so felt the RTT would be a little redundant. Plus I don't have a major road trip planned for a while, so thought it better to invest the money in other things. In a 90, obviously a RTT would pay greater dividends than in a 110, since you can't as easily sleep in the back of a 90.

There's an excellent thread on this subject, including advice from people who have used all kinds of RTT's on expeditions, etc., at the site

in the thread entitled "Hannibal the Cannibal" (in Misc Chit Chat).

Have a look there and I'm sure many of your questions will be answered.

In my case (I'm 48), one concern I had about RTT's is my frequent need to get up in the middle of the night to you-know-what. THe thought of going up and down that ladder was a little intimidating. Younger folks wouldn't have that concern (unless they consume a lot of alcoholic beverages before calling it a night and crawling up to the tent! :-)

Bottom line: there are a LOT of advantages to a RTT, but they can be bloody expensive (compared to a top of the line ground tent, I mean), so consider your needs and intended usage patterns.

Cheers, --Robert (Ottawa Canada 1987 110)

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 11:05:17 -0500, GbH wrote (in article ):

If I understood your question correctly, Big Shell is in the Padre Island National Seashore near Corpus Christi, TX.

Hud

In news: snipped-for-privacy@texas.net, Disco Duck blithered:

There used to be a standing joke that Texas had everything, someone said they were going to work in Montana, which got that response from a Texan, Texans seem to have a limited perspective of things non Texan, like they doubt they exist.

Thanks for all the replies.

I spoke to the Lady at Trek Overland yesterday as they sell the Howling Moon Tents. The lady was very helpful and made their tents sound like the dogs do-da's. Clearly she will be biased buthas anyone any experiances with them?

Thought I would go and see them all at Peterborough.

The other option I like (Cos its cheper) suggested by kip in his post is to get some kind of weather proof box for the rack that will accomodate my tent and sleeping bags - this way I can save money, keep my "living space" and keep the equipment outside of the 90. The only inconvenience with this is that I would need to climb up onto the roof to unpack - hardly harsh though.

On this note, could anyone suggest where I could get such boxes (dont want the expense of a Thule typre roof box or I may as well get the tent (££'s)!. The other option is get a box made from alli that will hold the fold up table and chairs as well and bolt it to the rack.

Thanks Jon

I had a look at the Howling Moon ones at Gaydon and they look to be pretty well made.

they use Aluminium C-Channel to mount to roofracks which may be a point against them, but bolting through the bottom of them shouldn't be too difficult.

The ladders on them are some of the sturdiest I've met and supported my 19st frame without complaint.

One thing that impressed me about the Howling Moon ones is that the awning actually covers the entire rear of the tent rather than providing a cubicle below it, which means that you can get out of the tent and into the back of the car without having to expose yourself to the outside conditions at all.

Also, the awning on the one I was looking at was sufficiently large to have

2 camp beds inside it on the ground giving you a 4 berth tent in the space of a normal 2 berth one.

The HM roof tents look to be some of the best you can get.

The Technitop ones aren't *too* bad, but they have a few flaws, such as the awning being suspended from the base of the tent and giving you a cubicle, and they don't breathe very well giving you a rainstorm inside in the morning.

If you want to try a rooftent then Allisport under the guise of "A Sense of Adventure" hire the Technitop ones for £100 for 2 weeks and will give you a £100 credit towards the purchase of one if you decide you like it. The Technitops they sell are around £650 each, so towards the bottom of the price range for roof tents. They also mount directly to rails with bolts through the base of the tent.

P.

On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 02:12:06 -0500, Jon wrote (in article ):

Try this site

Look under camping/ luggage. I use the boundry water bags. I have driven through some good Texas rainstorms with these on the roof rack and everything was still dry at the end of my trip.

I decided I don't like boxes. Edges are too hard if you drop one on your foot.

Hud

We don't have any mozi's in Africa.

We don't have any wind in Africa.

We don't have barins in Africa but labour is cheap ;-)

We never sleep in Africa.

We have no fl4eis in Africa either.

Nothing is ever African proof in Africa ;-)

At Billing 2003 we ordered and paid for a new Oztent from Chris Simonds of BOAB. While pegging it out the first time we used it, I noticed that the built-in PVC groundsheet was split at both rear corner welds.

A replacement Oztent was eventually received, but this was also damaged in the same places. It also arrived too late to be used, so we had to go B&B.

The third Oztent arrived with a bent frame, so was also unusable. He wanted me to pay about £80 for warranty repair work.

It is my opinion that Chris Simonds repairs customers tents with parts exchanged from his stock of new tents and later sells them as new tents. Excuses are used to explain the problems.

We are now attempting to have our payment refunded.

I can't recommend anyone to purchase anything from Chris Simonds.

Reg.

By contrast though, I too bought an Oztent with fly sheet and side panels, from Boab at Trentham 2003. On inspection of the side panels, I found that some of the stitching had missed the Velcro pole loops(which fell off) on both panels. After phoning Boab to inform them of the faults, I chose to return them a few weeks later at the Peterborough show because it was more convenient for me. Chris didn't have any more in stock but promised to get replacements as soon as he could.

OK, so it did take well over a month(probably nearer 6 weeks) for replacements to come through. But before they did, he did offer me a full refund for the complete tent if I wasn't prepared to wait for the replacements.

So Reg, the chances are you may well get your refund as Chris appears, from my conversations with him and Nichola, to value customer opinion.

Bottom line for me, is that I'm well pleased with the Oztent and the only damage I have to repair is a very small hole in the groundsheet caused by a sharp flint, due to my own failure to inspect the ground thoroughly prior to pitching.

Neil

(Reply via NG please)

panels,

didn't

With experience of Chris Simons that extends more than a year with the

3 faulty tents suppied, he has never had any stock over that time , always waiting for more to arrive. As he is always taking longer to do anything, I suspect that he orders a replacment as required.

He also offered me a full refund, and I asked for it about six weeks ago, but am still waiting. I returned the 3rd faulty tent's frame at Billing 2004. I was told that it would be repaired in about a week. About a month later I had to to send an e-mail to remind him that I was going on holiday. Then he dicided that he wanted to charge me about £80 for the warrenty repair. He refused to send it until I paid him.

We went on holiday with an old tent and found a new frame on our doorstep when we got back home, probably as I had given him a statutary limited period to provide the full refund.

appears,

opinion.

That was my opinion for a good year, but he turned nasty recently.

We were also very impressed with the Oztent, but with 2 Oztents with holes in the rear corner ground sheet corners and 1 bent frame (with him telling me about numerous problems he has had with bent frames), we have lost all confindence in the Oztent being able to withstand use for any reasonable period without major repairs to the groundsheet and bent frames. His speed and ability to service is also very poor.

Incidently does yours have a loop handle for pulling up the front top of the frame?

The 1st and 2nd Oztent had one, but was missing on the 3rd. He told me that the manufacturers had stopped fitting them as users were using the loop to hang heavy items and then bending the frame top. The 4th frame however did have one fitted!

Reg.

Reg,

To answer your last point first, yes, mine(an RV4) does have the pull-up loop, but I do not use it, as I consider it a liability as it is has a tendency to slip to one side and then you end up pulling up the frame one-sided, which could easily bend the frame. I use a cord through the two eyelets near the top corners of the frame top rail and use two hands to keep the frame level. I will be completely removing the fitted loop next time the tent's used.

It doesn't surprise me that the tents are coming in with differing bits fitted, it seems the manufacturers in China haven't yet got their production properly sorted. Chris does seem to have to find excuses for these differences. Chris himself doesn't have the same professional approach to selling the tents as does Nichola. I have personally seen him open up sealed boxes to see what tent bits he's got, and then neglect(or forget) to put them back in. It's not very professional, but alas it seems that's just the way he is! Nichola by contrast, is so much more organised, and would make a much better person to take charge of selling the tents completely, being far less slap-dash in her approach. Chris is probably better at arranging the trips and raids they organise!

I can't think why Chris would be wanting you to pay for warranty repairs unless it was to cover carriage costs. But I'm glad you've got your replacement frame at last. I hope your tent will now serve you well, as does mine.

Incidentally, it looks straight forward enough, but how easy is it to remove and re-fit the frame, should I need to do so?

Lastly, my tip for a really good repair to any part of the fabric or ground sheet, should the need arise: A tube of McNett's SeamGrip and a small bottle of McNett's Seam Excel. I have successfully repaired my ground sheet with these, and many other tents and awnings previously.

Neil

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