Roofnest Falcon XL Roof Top Tent Installed On A Ram ProMaster

Roofnest Falcon XL Roof Top Tent on a Promaster Van? Yes, please! No doubt in the future Rooftop Tents will be commonplace atop many Adventure Vans.

Why? Because they are awesome. A dry and comfortable treehouse on wheels. Need I say more.

Installing a Roofnest Falcon XL Rooftop Tent on Our Ram ProMaster Van

In this post, we take a look at our latest project. Following up on our Top Ten Roof Top Tent Shootout. We are adding a new Roofnest Falcon XL Roof Top Tent to our Weekender Van Life Ram ProMaster.

The Inspiration:

I don’t recall where I first saw the idea of a Roof Top Tent on top of a van, but once the seed was sown it grew pretty quickly! A quick bit of research uncovered a couple of well-known Van Conversion companies making this idea available to anyone interested.

Roambuilt GFC Rack

Roambuilt GFCRack. Roambuilt calls it a “Tee Pee Terrace”, “Room with a View” or “Penthouse Suite”. If you’ve seen Roambuilt’s other products you know it will be well built.

VanDoIt Roof Top Tent

You can find a lot of images of Roofnest Roof Top Tents sitting nicely on top of many Vandoit Adventure Vans. RTT’s to a T.

Van Craft

Van Craft is a #VanLife campervan rental company offering Roof Top Tents on their fleet of well-equipped sprinter vans. These guys know what’s up!

Benefits Of Using A Rooftop Tent over a Ground Tent

Ground tent camping has its challenges, with uneven ground, gravel, roots, and sharp rocks being just a few. Let’s touch on some of the benefits of using a Roof Top Tent over a Ground Tent.

Overland Flooding

This first point one is huge. On one of our first RTT outings, we witnessed firsthand how good the Roofnest Falcon is in heavy rain. Looking out the window high and dry at flooded tents sitting in inches of water. 😖 It’s hard to come back from a washed-out tent.

Creepy Crawly Animals

Insects, reptiles. bears, wolves. Different places, different Creepy Crawlies. Being off the ground far lowers your chances of an unwanted encounter.

Ground Chill

This is one of the best things. No more of that bone-chilling coldness that comes with ground tent camping in the cooler times of the year.

Moisture

Moisture is a big one in any enclosed space, but with ground tents especially. In an RTT you don’t get the moisture and condensation permeating up from the ground beneath. Anyone who has been camping in the PNW will have experience with this.

Cleaner

Climbing a ladder to get into your tent is a great way to keep debris from entering your tent. This and a no shoes in the tent rule will keep your tent in a much cleaner state.

Things We Considered Before Purchasing A Roof Top Tent For Our Ram ProMaster Weekender Van Life Conversion.

We looked over a multitude of wedge-style clamshell rooftop tents and narrowed down our choice with the following criteria

Setup and Pack Down

The number one consideration was set up and pack-down time. Being able to set up camp quickly is particularly helpful when you have little people asking you to come play. And a quick pack down is just as equally appreciated.

Height

High roof vans are tall as it is. Add on roof-mounted accessories and you add more and more drag for your engine to push. We wanted to keep the Roof Top Tent as slim as possible.

Weight

Extra weight up high has significant changes to vehicle handling.

Length

Being cramped in a tent does not facilitate a good night’s sleep. We wanted to be comfortable with room to stretch.

Availability

We wanted to order our RTT knowing it would be delivered in a reasonable amount of time.

Well Reviewed

There are a few newer Roof Top Tent manufacturers out there. And while their products look good it is always daunting to buy something without any real-world customer feedback.

Some Other Things To Consider When Installing A Roof Top Tent On Your Van

I mentioned this information in our ProMaster Van Unistrut Roof Rack Project and it is also very relevant here.

Weight Limits

Make sure you read the FCA Body Builder Instructions and ProMaster Design Recommendations. In there you will see a very important note about the ProMaster’s roof rack weight limitations.

Maximum Admissible Load: 150kg Including Roof Rack, regardless of the wheelbase length.

Center Of Gravity

Another thing to consider before adding a roof top tent is the changes to your van’s center of gravity and vehicle handling. If you are a BLAT (Brake Late And Turn) style driver, you may want to reconsider installing a rooftop tent or at least keep it minimal.

Always remember to abide by your vehicle’s roof attachment weight limits.

Unboxing Our New Roofnest Falcon XL Roof Top Tent

What’s In The Box

Check The Hardware.

#ProTip: It is always a good idea to make sure all the parts are there before you start.

DIY Unistrut Roof Rack

We have already installed this versatile DIY Unistrut Roof Rack on our Ram ProMaster. Unistrut’s modular design and ability to be built in many configurations makes it the perfect material for a Roof Rack.

Roofnest Roof Rack Guide

We took a look at the Roof Rack Requirements as set out by Roofnest in their Roof Rack Guide. However, Roofnest does not list the roof mount options for our ProMaster. Regardless, we are confident the Roofnest Falcon XL will have no issues bolting onto our unistrut Roof Rack System.

How We Installed a Roofnest Falcon XL on Our Ram ProMaster Van

Disclaimer! This is how we installed a Roofnest Falcon XL on our van. DO NOT take this information as professional advice. Do your research and make your own decisions accordingly.

Step-1 Building The Cross Rails

Cutting

The Cross Rails are made from 2x2x1/8 aluminum tubes. I tapered off each end by cutting with this aluminum cutting blade in a miter saw. Then we drill a hole in each end to bolt onto the strut channel roof rack rails.

#ProTip. Step bits are very useful! I use this particular one along with others for just about every project 👍

And Painting

New metal is often coated with oil from production. Some steps to ensure the paint will adhere well are scuffing the surface with a scotch pad. Then wiping clean with isopropyl alcohol. Before spray painting with mat black enamel spray paint.

Step-2 Mount The Cross Bars Under The RTT

Rather than bolt the crossbars to the van then deal with the Roofnest mounting hardware up on top. Instead we mounted the crossbars while the tent was closer to ground level. This saved a lot of time and effort during the lift.

Step-3 Crane Lift

Some type of mechanical lift is the only way to get a large RTT onto a high roof Van. $100 well spent.

Step-4 Roof Top Deck

We cut out a piece of ⅝ outdoor-rated plywood to use as a deck. Cutting a hole to fit over the roof vent fan and two coats of polyurethane to seal it from the rain.

Step-5 Enjoy 😉

Let the fun times begin.

Challenges We Have To Deal With When Using Our Roofnest Falcon XL Roof Top Tent

While the benefits are numerous, there are some challenges and disadvantages to using a Roof Top Tent. Here are our thoughts

Condensation

Condensation is a huge issue when using an RTT in cooler weather. Especially if you don’t have some type of (dry) heat source. To control the moisture and condensation we have implemented an air and dry schedule to ensure we don’t have issues with mold and mildew. We are using these 50 Gram Silica-gel packets to help remove trapped moisture and this simple Temperature and humidity gauge has been helpful to get an idea of how humid it is inside.

Fuel Economy

Although I am trying to remain blissfully ignorant to the added fuel usage. The decreased fuel economy is hard not to notice. ☹️

Vehicle Handling

Before installing the RTT, the van was somewhat nimble and spritely. At least for a High Roof Van. The minimal interior helped to keep weight down. I knew it would be bad, and the vehicle handling has been severely affected. The massive amount of sway and decreased acceleration are hard to miss. More on my plans to help with this in the next section.

Accessing a Roofnest Roof Top Tent on top of our Ram Promaster

Climbing up to the tent is easy via the Prime Design Rear Door Ladder for Ram ProMaster. This ladder is extremely solid and easy to climb. And arguably better than the included telescopic ladder.

Changes and Modifications

Redesign The Roof Rack

When we designed and built our DIY Unistrut Roof Rack, we did not foresee the idea of adding the new Roofnest. The Roof Rack as it is adds a lot of unnecessary weight. This extra weight needs to go. A Roof Rack redesign is in the works. “Update” We have completed our DIY Aluminum Roof Rack.

Heat and Ventilation

While the Roofnest is warmer than a normal ground tent. When the temperature drops it is less comfortable to camp upstairs. Being that we have 5kw of heat in the van already, we need to design a way to get some of that heat up to the RTT. This shouldn’t be too hard.

Power Supply

The LED light strip included with the Falcon is great. It has a dimmer option and is great to use as a night light so you don’t wake up disoriented in complete darkness. While the light is good. The need to bring up a portable power bank is less convenient. Adding a permanent power supply will be great for several things including but not limited to, lights, a fan, and charging devices.

Roofnest Falcon Keder Cord Adjustment

Our first maintenance project was a Roofnest Falcon Keder Zipper Cord Adjustment. An easy adjustment of the Keder Cord holding the tent material to the top shell.

Do you use or plan on using a Roof Top Tent? Share your experience in the comments box below.

How We Heat Our Van During Winter Adventures

Some Other Fun Van Projects

Thanks for reading, I hope you get some value from this post. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or drop me a line on Facebook or Instagram.

Catch ya on the trip.

Weekender Van Life – Van Life Blog – weekendervanlife.com