Best Roof Top Tents for Your 4Runner
A roof top tent on a Toyota 4Runner is guaranteed to make everyone a happy camper. For overlanders and off road fans, a roof top tent is a home away from home. Whether you’re exploring a desert, going fishing in a remote lake, or pursuing an exciting trail, you won’t have to worry about hurrying so you could go back to a hotel or find nearby accommodation. With a roof top tent and your very much capable 5th Gen Toyota 4Runner, you just need to find a nice, quiet, and safe area, and you can turn your rig into a one-stop campsite.
What are the Advantages of adding a roof top tent to your 4Runner?
4Runner roof top tents are robust, comfortable, and spacious dwellings that save overlanders time, effort, and even money in the long run. They pop up and fold out in seconds, come in a vast selection of forms and sizes, and mount easily to your vehicle. The other benefits of roof top tents on 4Runners include the following:
- Provides sleeping comfort
- Gives your much-needed privacy
- Protects you and your family from nosy campers or curious animals
- Serves as additional storage for bags, camping gear, and other tools
- Accommodates 2-5 people
- Supplies better ventilation and warmer environment than ground tents
- Ensures durability and weather-resistance
- Offers better high-ground view
What to Consider When Choosing the Best 4Runner Roof Top Tent?
Buying a roof top tent is not as easy as picking a new pair of jeans or eating a “piece of cake”. Because it’s a big investment, it takes a lot of back-and-forths and thinking. Going over a lot of 4Runner roof top tent recommendations can be exhausting. To make it easier for first-time roof top tent buyers, we have compiled a checklist of what you can look for in a good product.
✓ Size (weight and height)
✓ Cost of the tent (plus shipping fees)
✓ Ease of installation
✓ 4Runner roof top tent rack compatibility
✓ Number of people it can accommodate
✓ Quality of material(s) used
✓ Brand name and reputation
Hard Shell Vs Soft Shell Roof Top Tent
Before we reveal our top 4Runner roof top tent list, let us quickly distinguish what the differences are between a soft shell and a hard shell roof tent through the table below.
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Hard Shell Roof Top Tent |
Soft Shell Roof Top Tent |
|
More durable and weather-resistant |
More affordable |
|
Easier and faster to set up |
May take a couple more minutes to set up and fold out |
|
Better aerodynamic because of its hard shell covering |
Gives vehicles the most aerodynamic drag |
|
Lesser noise when traveling |
More lightweight |
|
Higher headroom |
More spacious and customizable due to its flexible build |
|
Built-in storage |
Better airflow and visibility |
Recommended Roof Top Tents for Your 4Runner
Now, the most awaited part. We are letting you into our best-selling and well-loved 4runner roof tents. We have listed below our top 5 roof top tent picks, together with short product descriptions.
Tuff Stuff® ALPHA Hard Top Side Open Roof Top Tent, 4 Person
The Tuff Stuff® Alpha™ is the perfect roof top tent for your family affairs.
Housing comfortably up to 4 individuals, this premium tent features plenty of windows for viewing the amazing wilderness.
It includes a mattress, telescoping ladder, moon roof, and interior and exterior LED lights among many others.
It has a hydraulic assisted mechanism that aids in setting up the tent in less than 2 minutes.
Despite its roomy dimension when opened, this tent is actually designed to be light, versatile, and aerodynamic through its sloped hard shell covering for minimal wind resistance when driving.
Tuff Stuff Ranger Roof Top Tent 3 Person 65"
The Tuff Stuff® Ranger 65 inch roof top tent is another great option for those traveling in groups.
It has a large sleeping area that can hold 2-3 full-sized adults and a child.
There is also an option to add an annex room with a floor—giving you a lot more extra space.
It comes with a retractable ladder and a 2.75-inch mattress. This 4runner roof top tent weighs 164 Lbs and has a weight limit of 800 Lbs.
Eezi-Awn Blade Hard Shell Roof Top Tent
Eezi-Awn’s Blade is a two-tone color-scheme, all-aluminum hard shell roof top tent.
Sleeping up to 2 adults, it comes with a lot of noteworthy features.
These include rip-stop canvas with double-entry privacy mesh panels, low-profile aerodynamic design, LED light on the interior roof, insulated roof and floor, built-in double-size mattress, ladder with built-in extension, and more.
Freespirit Recreation Evolution Series - Hard Top Tent w/ Black Top
The roof top tent for all seasons, this product is made up of the premium Freespirit Recreation tri-layer fabric—making multi-season camping comfortable.
It is available in two sizes: 49” (which accommodates 1-2 people) and 55” (which accommodates 2-3 people). It comes with a gas strut that assists set-ups in seconds.
It also has an integrated LED light strip inside, which gives you light when you need it. Its enhanced look features a textured black top design, as well as four oversized windows and doors that let you get the most out of your rooftop views.
Badass Tents 2009-2022 Toyota 4Runner (Gen 5) CONVOY® Rooftop Tent w/ Low Mount Crossbars- Pre-Assembled
This product is ideal for overlanders who also use their vehicle for daily commute. One of the lightest and thinnest hard shell roof top tents in the market, it stands 5” tall and weighs 122 lbs. It has an ultra-slim 4” tall extruded aluminum frame that can support up to 500 lbs. Its Pre-Assembled Kit makes life easier for you as it already includes a fully assembled rooftop tent ready to install on your vehicle using its included low mount crossbar kit.
How To Mount a Roof Top Tent on Your 4Runner?
Installing a roof top tent to your 4Runner is not as hard as you think. Most installations can be done in an hour or less with a help of a friend to carry the roof tent to the top of the vehicle. All roof top tent products (regardless of brand and model) come with installation hardware and instructions to follow. Most of the latest models also feature a 100% bolt-on installation, which requires no drilling or major modifications to your vehicle.
4Runner Roof Top Tent Accessories
While roof top tent installation is typically straightforward and painless, there are other products that can make your job even easier. These include 4runner roof top tent mounting feet, roof top tent mount kits, hard shell tent mount brackets, and quick-release roof tent mount kits. One important thing to keep in mind is to equip your car with the right 4Runner roof racks as this is one of the most vital support for using a roof top tent.
Closing
Roof Top Overland is a one-stop shop for all overlanding needs, including 4Runner roof racks and roof top tents. We only promote well-reputed brands that have been proven and tested through time and experience. Browse through our list of products and accessories or speak with one of our experts.