, roof bars, some elbow grease, six minutes of your time to watch the how-to video, half an hour to install and you're away. The version I borrowed was entry-level, with space enough for two people. It requires you to do the grunt work of putting it up, but it can go on a small car. (Pricier models are larger and effortlessly pop-up on gas-filled struts in under 60 seconds.) With practice, I got the set-up to under five minutes and it's doable by one person after a few goes, although two would be handier. You need to unstrap the outer cover, then fold the tent out over the side of the car by pulling an attached ladder, which also acts as support. Then – the fiddliest bit – you stretch to put in some struts that keep the roof taut and flaps extended and hook those in, which is all fine and dandy in a day-lit car park off the M3, less so with a head torch in the pitch black on top of a hill outside Dumfries. There's a comfy built-in mattress and on balmier nights, vents to let a breeze through, as well as zip-open skylights to f){kind=link}
Are they foolproof? No. But they are a great way to explore Dumfries and Galloway from the comfort of a Fiat Panda
I was on top of a hill in Dumfries and Galloway and it was blowing a hoolie. Actually, to be more accurate, I was on top of a hill, on top of a Fiat Panda, in a tent that was attached to the roof, and it was blowing a hoolie. Was I enjoying myself? Yes, despite the fact I felt I might be about to lift off and fly to Ecclefechan.
Tents on top of cars aren’t new. Google the concept and you can see East Germans pootling off with them on smog-belching Trabants back in the 1970s. And safari companies offer them in Southern Africa too. But now several small British manufacturers are producing new versions that suddenly seem to be all over my social media feeds. I decided to give one a spin in Scotland.
Mine was already fixed to the car roof for me, which, as someone who struggles with IKEA instructions, was probably no bad thing. Friends assured me that all you need is a pre-check of your vehicle’s “dynamic roof load” (how much weight it can take), roof bars, some elbow grease, six minutes of your time to watch the how-to video, half an hour to install and you’re away.
The version I borrowed was entry-level, with space enough for two people. It requires you to do the grunt work of putting it up, but it can go on a small car. (Pricier models are larger and effortlessly pop-up on gas-filled struts in under 60 seconds.) With practice, I got the set-up to under five minutes and it’s doable by one person after a few goes, although two would be handier.