Here’s an easy way to carry your life on your roof and always have a place to stay. The iKamper is a tent that’s packed on the roof of your vehicle. It’s an expandable, hardshell tent. Users simply slide out the extension floor and use an integrated mattress that’s six feet by seven feet and nearly an inch thick (add your own padding to increase the comfort).
The tent is extended after campers unbuckle, then lock two interior stabilizers–the gas struts automatically lift the fiberglass roof. The sides are made of 3,000 millimeter, waterproof, breathable fabric and the floor is honeycomb aluminum. The whole set up takes about a minute and taking it down takes three. An extension–or deck of sorts–is created using a latter with hooks that holds up the extended floor and allows for access.
The iKamper comes in three versions: The Hardtop One (sleeps four), the Hardtop One Jr. and the Roadtrip, depending on your car make and number of people you usually camp with. It’s a pretty sweet piece of gear. One question: roofracks for boards, kayaks or ski gear. No word yet on whether they can be integrated into the iKamper models. Which would put these contraptions over the top as car camping accessories that allow for places to stay while recreating. There are several version of rooftop tents available on the market including Treeline Outdoors, Big Foot Tents and Cascadia.
