We know that buying a serious piece of kit such as a roof tent can be daunting – the variety of suppliers in the market, types of construction materials used, and many different prices can all prove very confusing. And you must be wondering, will I make the right choice. Fear not, we, at Mako56 are here to help make the buying process so much easier with our buying guide.
Read through this section first before going through the others – here, we cover the different types of tents, materials that can be used to manufacture, various sizes and accessories needed and storage. I’m sure you will have a much clearer understanding afterwards.
Q. Can I test out a rooftop tent to see what it feels like before I buy?
A. Yes, you can. If you call to our premises, we have all our roof tents set up for viewing so that any prospective purchaser can look and examine them carefully and get into the tent to see what it is like to sleep inside.
We can cater to our customers who prefer to view a tent in the flesh before purchasing and our website endeavours to provide as much information and up-to-date pictures as possible to customers who are happy to buy online without ever seeing the product. We provide a refund and returns policy for all distance purchases which fully protects this customer segment.
Q. What is the best type of roof tent – hard shell or soft shell?
A. This depends on what a purchaser deems the best, the answer is very subjective.
For one person, it may mean the best or keenest price and for another, best may mean the highest quality materials that can be used in manufacture.
The best-priced roof tents are the soft-shell variety. There is less ABS or fibreglass used in soft shells and the roof is usually constructed from canvas or other soft waterproof material. Expect to pay around €1000 for a soft-shell rooftop tent.
Hardshell tents are much more expensive than soft shells and are considered to be of superior design with more expensive materials used in their construction. Such tents are more durable, secure, safe, and lockable as the top and base of the tent is constructed from ABS and/or fiberglass. A basic hard-shell product will cost at a minimum of €1500 and upwards.
Q. What is the best one for sale?
A. The best product that we sell is our fold-out tent. The mattress allows 3 people to sleep in it, in addition, the tent has an annex supplied with it free of charge and this allows you to store camping equipment or install camp beds on the ground allowing more people to use the tent. Fold-out tents are suitable for people who want to bring a lot of equipment or who have larger families and need the extra space.
Q. Will a Roof Top Tent fit in my garage?
A. This depends on how large your garage is. If you can fit a car in your garage, you will be able to fit a roof top tent in your garage too.
Q. What is the Largest I Can Buy?
A. There are tens if not hundreds of manufacturer’s worldwide, it would be a difficult task to trawl through all the specification sheets from every supplier offering to find the largest tent available on the market. The largest Mako56 tent is our fold out option. This tent measures 160cm wide and has an annex supplied at no extra cost. The annex adds considerable covered and waterproof space to the side of this tent.
Q. What is the Cheapest?
A. Following on from the last question, we do not know what the cheapest tent on the market is. However, our keenest priced tent is called Car Camper. Car Camper was the first tent we sold, and it is still our most popular one. It is priced at €2299 (at the time of writing of this page) and with this tent, you get all the usual accessories plus a solar panel, battery pack and lighting system. It represents great value for money.
Q. What do Rooftop Tents include?
A. When you purchase a new rooftop tent there will be a standard set of accessories provided free of charge. These can include mounting fixings to attach the tent to your roof rack, ladder, mattress, solar lantern, poles for the awning, spare hydraulic arm, instruction manual etc. Purchasers of a Mako56 tent have the option to buy a solar panel with a battery pack and lighting system. Different vendors will have a variety of optional accessories including sleeping bags, towels, BBQs, cooking utensils and many others.
Q. Why do you need spare parts for the rooftop tent?
A. If you buy a quality tent from a reputable manufacturer and vendor, spare parts should be available if you ever need them. The likelihood is that you will lose an accessory such as a mounting fixture or ladder before you break one, but it serves as peace of mind knowing that having bought from a reputable business spare parts will be available if the need arises.