Reviews: Smittybilt Overlander Hard Shell Rooftop Tent - 2983

Spent all summer visiting state parks in ohio. Getting ready for a for a road trip out west. Just one question. Should the tent be removed for winter and stored inside?

After one use of this tent, I am very happy! It has lots of little features I did not anticipate, indicating that actual tent campers designed (or helped to design) this tent (from well-placed hooks to storage). I installed this on a Subaru Forester and initially worried it might hang over the sides of the vehicle too much... not at all! It is a good fit and looks good too. Installation is easy once you lift the tent on top of the car. Actual use of the tent is straightforward. Popping it up is as simple as undoing the 8 latches and gently pushing up the top. Done! Jump inside and zip up screens, etc. Take down of the tent was a big concern for me. Some reviews indicated that it is difficult to take down.... I disagree. There are long straps on the front and back of the unit that I simply pulled down carefully to close the tent. After walking around each side and sliding loose tent materials inside, it closes quite easily for one person. Bottom line, I love this tent! Highly recommended!!!

We've used ours for several months now, several trips offroad. This tent is just fine. Set sup easily, comes down slightly less easily, but a single person can manage it, and no...it doesn't take 30+ minutes. If you want to keep things inside, you need to move them around to align with the space available under the upper hard shell - so more o the center of the footprint. This is obvious and self evident. That said, while the unit arrives with the ladder and mattress inside (and the supports for the window covers), you're just not going to fit much more inside. If you want a tent capable of swallowing a mattress topper, extra pillows and sleeping bags, you're going to be paying a LOT more money. Unexpected benefits of adding this RTT to our Rubicon included increased fuel economy (it encouraged me to slow down and not drive like a maniac) and it makes the interior quieter by directing air from the windshield over the roof instead of onto the thin fiberglass. (For those interested, the MPG has been as high as 18 mpg on the highway - 65 - 70 mph, and we have the 2.0 turbo engine in a 2020 JLUR) Styling is subjective, but I like it. It's comfortable for 2 people and legit sets up in only a few minutes. Take-down takes a bit longer to accomplish, but is manageable by one person. Start with the front, then move to the back, pausing to tuck in the fabric along each side. The hooks that latch the top down are adjustable, so take the time to adjust them and things flow well. Pro tip: use small/med dog booties to wrap those latches if you have wind - that'll stop any rattling against the sides. this can happen on ANY tent that has latches, so will work on them all.

I outfitted a 100 series Land Cruiser with one of these last year. I also have a CVT Mount Helens which is a similar style RTT. I found the Smittybilt to be of similar quality but with some added features like more and larger awnings that made it a great buy and at the time it was cheaper too by about $700. I thought the Smittybilt at $2200 was the best hard shell RTT deal on the market. Now its $3200 for 2021, at that price I see other options in the market that I would prefer from cottage industry vendors. At $3200 you are in the aluminum RTT range not mass produced china range.

I am giving 4 stars because it is well made and is roomy and comfortable. I would like to do another review once I use it for I haven’t used it yet.

I just got this tent and it’s really nice can’t wait to get out and use it. Only issue I had was the mounting the lock nuts seized up during install and broke a couple of bolts. I’m pretty Impressed so far the mattress seems comfortable and super easy to put up. Taking it down is a struggle still trying to figure out the easiest way.

I could do without the canopies on all 4 sides i feel they just get in the way when packing it up.

Follow-up to previous review. After finally using the tent a few times I will update some of my comments. First, this tent is very stable on the roof and roomy. We did add a 1 inch foam pad to beef up the provided 2 inch pad. Was still able to completely close tent with added 1" pad and sleeping bags remaining inside the tent. The ladder we store in the vehicle. Going down the road the tent is very quiet with minimum wind noise due to it's low profile aero design. The metal rods for the window awnings (which are straight new) have all remained bent after first couple of uses. But there still seems to be enough tension to work properly. Will see over time. And the rubber pads on the feet of the ladder have already cut trough (either the aluminum is to sharp, or the rubber is to weak). Overall happy with the purchase and would recommend it. What could be a few simple improvements - thicker pad, higher quality mounting bolts, thicker rubber feet on ladder, and ditch the led lantern. What I like the best - all windows have awnings, sturdy ladder, weight, low profile, quilted cover over mattress, and color.

Just took tent out over the weekend and it did a very good job, no real weather but we had 15 mph winds and it handled it very well. The tent itself is very light so my wife and I can hook it up on weekends and take it off for driving day to day. Feels sturdy and well put together though the fit and finish is not great with edges not lining up from the the hard top to the floor portion when latched shut. No issues with function just looks a bit off. The sleeping pad is about 2 inch thick but I am average size 5'-10" 190 Lbs. and sleeping on my side bottomed the pad out to the floor, for me additional padding will be needed. They use a grommet and toggle set up to hold the rain shields and I am not sure how long they will last as the nylon on the fastener feels thin. Only big complaint is the hardware (bolts) provided to secure to rack are junk, 3 bolts cross threaded and broke after first install. Easy fix just bought real stainless steel square top bolts and nuts from hardware store, so problem fixed but I didn't want to have replacement ones sent because I think the quality of steel to make the bolts from the manufacture is very poor. So Smittybilt get better hardware and you will have much fewer warrantee issues IMO. I have no other experience with roof top tents and this is my first so I cannot give any comparisons, but overall am very pleased with product, and its much better than my "ground" REI base camp 4 tent, but its not perfect. Happy Camping!

Purchased recently and have not yet camped in it. Overall the tent looks well made and deploys and collapses fairly easy. Some times when pulling the front or back down first, it will raise when pulling down the opposite side. It’s best to pull down one end and have someone hold it while you pull down the other end. it’s very nice that all 4 windows have awnings over them. If it’s raining you can keep all widows open. Some tents don’t provide for this. Mattress sms fine but don’t know until a night sleep on it. Can easily sit up in tent and will sleep 2 adults easily. Ladder is very robust. Fit and finish seems up to par. One test drive on X-way and very little wind noise. Only had 2 small issues and when informed to company they were quick to get back with me. 2 issues - one carriage bolt and nut locked up when trying to secure to roof rack. Can’t tighten or loosen it. Will need to be cut off and replaced. Since it was about 1 inch treaded before seizing, it was not cross threaded. No damage to thread can be seen. The 2nd issue was a fabric loop that was miss sewn. The fabric loop takes a bungee that runs side to side to pull the tent in when folding it up. This can easily be fixed. Again, Smittybilt was quick to come back to learn more about the issues. One thing I noticed wile in my driveway (live in south Texas). I went to put the tent up and the ladder and poles which I stored inside the tent were almost to hot to touch. So I question these RTT’s with black tops. It must get really hot inside. I would be interested to getting a reflector material to pit on top for them hot sunny days to keep heat down inside the tent. Maybe the Smittybilt team can come up with an option for a top coating for those that live in hot sunny areas. Will provide update to review after camping trip.