Chance saw the Adventuring Pals kick off their travels with a rooftop tent. But is it viable for long-term travel?

After a two-year break from full-time family travelling with our caravan, we had decided to hit the road again. Before our departure we had decided to upgrade our vehicle to be able to carry more weight. Along with our caravan, we had acquired a rooftop tent and really wanted to include that as part of our setup hence the extra weight. 

Changing Plans

We were planning on taking our trustee old caravan that’s done us so well for our first three years on the road. The van would take us to most places, but then the rooftop tent would take us further off the beaten track where the caravan was not suited, well that was the plan. 

Our plans were dramatically changed when just weeks before our set departure date, our caravan was written off due to storm damage. This left us with not enough time or funds to get another caravan. With our itinerary set and booked out for the next three weeks straight, we decided to hit the road with just our ute and roof top tent setup. 

An Easy Start

We had previously done a three week trip with our ute and rooftop tent setup and so we were very familiar with what to expect. Our biggest hurdle was cutting down what we could take with us. We had a lot less space in the ute than we had in the caravan. We managed to get it down to the bare essentials and we set off. 

At first it was great going. Not stressing about towing the caravan behind us, saving on fuel and being able to go anywhere without worrying if we will have enough room for the caravan. Our ute is also set up to be completely off grid, in fact we don’t have anything that even can be plugged in. We have 60 litres of water onboard and our portable toilet and shower so we can camp anywhere without any worries. 

Privacy Matters

But pretty quickly we found ourselves missing the caravan life. We mostly missed having a private space to ourselves and our ensuite. Somewhere to get changed that doesn’t involve walking to the amenities block. Somewhere to take shelter when the weather isn’t camping friendly. We have a great awning but after days of rain and or wind, it can definitely take its toll on morale. We especially missed our van when we had early morning or late evening activities to do. Having to get the kids out of the rooftop tent and into the car when they are fast asleep was not an easy task. Then having to pack away and set up our setup in the dark was getting tiresome after a few weeks. 

What Now?

Luckily, our setup is efficient in that it just takes minutes to set up and pack away. This is due to having a great hard-top rooftop tent which contains all our bedding for our entire family inside, saving us time and space.

Now, we are on the lookout for an affordable and suitable caravan to get us back into caravan life. But we are definitely still enjoying being back on the road again. We have already taken to staying in cabins every now and then especially when the weather is not so friendly.

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