Your first roof tent weekend
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For a first outing, book two nights at one campsite not far from home. Keep the plan small and give yourself time to learn the tent's routine. What you're aiming for is to find out how your setup works: what you can reach, how you sleep and how you pack it all away.
This plan assumes the tent is already fitted correctly and suits your car and bars. If you haven't confirmed that, start with will a roof tent fit my car? and add up your figures in the roof load checker before you book.
Choose a campsite for the setup you have
Stay close enough to change plans. Pick a site within an easy drive. If the weather turns, something doesn't fit or someone sleeps badly, you can go home and try again another weekend. A short journey also leaves more of the day for setting up.
Confirm the site accepts your setup. A roof tent stays attached to the car, so a tent pitch where you park somewhere else won't work. Tell the campsite you have a car-mounted tent and ask which pitch to book. Give them the car's length, the tent's open footprint and where the ladder sits.
Some sites say how they handle roof tents. The Caravan and Motorhome Club says roof tents are welcome at all its UK campsites, on grass and hardstanding touring pitches. You book using the Touring option, and some sites are open to members only. Caravan and Motorhome Club: roof tents. The Camping and Caravanning Club lists its pitch types, from grass to hardstanding and standard to larger sizes. Camping and Caravanning Club: pitch types. For any other site, ask before you book.
Toilets, drinking water and somewhere to wash up mean fewer problems to solve on a first trip. Confirm the facilities, the latest arrival time and the checkout time. If you're thinking about camping away from a campsite later, read the camping rules first.
Practise before leaving home
Open and close the tent at least once at home, using the manual for your exact model. Have the helpers it needs on hand. TentBox, for example, says you'll need an extra pair of hands just to lift a tent onto the bars. TentBox: installation guide.
Work through the ladder, latches, covers, poles and any guy lines the maker specifies. Check what bedding, if any, can stay inside when the tent is closed, and don't force a lid shut around your belongings. Time how long it takes so you know how much daylight you'll need.
Make sure everyone using the tent knows how to get in and out at night. If a fitting doesn't behave as the manual describes, sort it out with the maker or fitter before you leave. The fitting guide lists the questions to ask.
Pack for two nights
Use the camping kit you already have where it suits. A basic list:
- Bedding for the expected weather, pillows and dry clothes to sleep in
- A torch or head torch you can reach after dark
- Drinking water, simple meals and what you need to make them
- Waterproofs, spare socks, footwear and a bag for wet clothing
- Medicines, wash kit, towels and a first-aid kit
- The tent manual, any tools it needs and the campsite's details offline
- Rubbish bags, and a plan for drying the tent when you get home
Use the kit list builder or the overlanding kit list to adapt this. Pack the first evening's things where you can reach them without unloading the car. The Highway Code says you must not overload your vehicle and must secure your load (rule 98), so count passengers, luggage and kit against the car's limits. Highway Code rules 89 to 102.
A Friday-to-Sunday routine
| Stage | Main job | Leave room for |
|---|---|---|
| Before Friday | Practise, pack, check the booking and forecast | Sorting out fit or kit questions before you leave |
| Friday | Arrive in daylight, check in, set up | A simple first meal |
| Saturday | One local outing or a day on site | Closing the tent if you need the car |
| Sunday | Breakfast, pack away, travel checks | Checkout time and a wet pack-down |
| Back home | Open, dry and put kit away | Noting what to change next time |
Friday: arrive with daylight to spare
Aim to arrive with plenty of daylight left, more than your practice run took. Setting up a tent for the first time is harder in the dark, and you'll want light to check the pitch, the ladder's footing and where everything goes.
Find out where to park before you unpack, and ask about pitch boundaries and site rules. Open the tent following the maker's instructions, and check that the ladder and doors work within your pitch.
Keep the first evening's food simple. Choose something that needs little cooking and washing up, or nothing at all, so you can concentrate on the tent. Whatever you cook on, do it outside. nidirect warns that carbon monoxide can build up to deadly levels quickly in enclosed spaces, including awnings. It says not to take gas stoves, lights or heaters into a tent, and never to bring a lit or smouldering barbecue inside. nidirect: carbon monoxide when camping.
Put the torch and dry bedding within reach before dark. If the weather or the pitch doesn't allow a proper setup, go home or use your backup plan rather than improvising.
Saturday: learn the routine
Keep the day local and get back in time to cook and settle before dark. If you need the car, close and secure the tent first, and do your travel checks every time you move.
Notice the small things: where shoes go, what gets wet, whether the bedding fits and which bag always ends up at the bottom. Keep a short list for next time rather than buying something new for every niggle.
Sunday: plan for a wet pack-down
Check the forecast on Saturday evening so rain on Sunday morning doesn't take you by surprise. Start packing well before checkout. Stow or remove bedding as the manual says, count every pole and loose part, and close the tent exactly as the maker describes. Walk round the car and the pitch before you drive off.
If it rains, you may have to pack the tent away wet. Keep a bag for wet kit ready, and plan time at home to open the tent again. TentBox says to shake off as much water as you can before closing, then reopen the tent within 24 hours to stop mould and mildew. TentBox FAQs. Check your own maker's advice, and read the drying and storage guide before the trip.
Plan the next outing
Once the kit is dry and put away, note what you used, what stayed packed and what made things harder. Change your packing and routine first, then decide whether you need different kit or a different kind of campsite.
When you're ready to go further, the route guides suggest regional breaks. The Northumberland coast and Pembrokeshire plans both work from one booked base.
Your vehicle and tent manuals, the campsite's conditions and official safety guidance always come before this suggested plan.
More in Roof tents
Sources
- TentBox: check vehicle compatibility and the roof load limit; the tent mounts on cross bars; you need an extra pair of hands to lift it on (checked )
- TentBox: dry the tent before closing; if packed wet, shake off what water you can and reopen within 24 hours to avoid mould and mildew (checked )
- Caravan and Motorhome Club: roof tents welcome at all UK Club campsites on grass and hardstanding touring pitches; book via the Touring option; some sites are member-only; book the right pitch for your vehicle and tent (checked )
- Camping and Caravanning Club: pitch types include grass, grass with hook-up and hardstanding, with standard and larger pitch sizes (checked )
- Highway Code rule 98: you must not overload your vehicle and must secure your load (checked )
- nidirect: carbon monoxide can build up quickly in enclosed spaces including awnings; don't take gas stoves, lights or heaters into a tent; never bring a lit or smouldering barbecue inside (checked )