TentBox Go review: set up camp in seconds… on top of your car

I’ve used, abused, tested, and reviewed umpteen tents, from lightweight backpacking shelters to palatial family setups, but this is the first time I’ve managed to get my hands on a car-top rig, so naturally, I was childishly excited by the prospect of driving it out into the wilds and setting it up.

The TentBox Go is basically a pop-up tent that goes on top of your vehicle. And why would you want to camp on top of your car? Stupid question – why wouldn’t you want to camp on top of your car? It’s like asking, ‘What’s the difference between a shed and a treehouse?’ It’s just better. More exciting. And you get to use a ladder.

You don't have to worry about lumpy ground (although you do need to park on fairly level land). Also, it means your tent is always packed and ready to go, and it doesn’t take up any room inside the car, so you can take loads of other stuff like camping chairs and other camping kit.

TentBox Go review

Price and availability

The TentBox Go is available now directly from the manufacturer and various dealers for a recommended price of £995 in the UK, $1199 in the United States and €1199 across the European Union.

Specifications

• Style: Pop-up car-roof tent
• Packed size (Width x length x height): 122 x 225 x 45cm
• Pitched dimensions (Width x Length x height): 122 x 225 x 114cm
• Weight: 33kg
• Seasons: 3+
• Capacity: 2 people
• Vestibules: 0
• Flysheet hydrostatic Head rating: 3000mm
• Pitch time: 1 minute
• Colours: Black

Design and installation

Many people drive around with TentBox set ups on top of their car all the time, but if you don’t want to do that, it’s easy to install and uninstall the Go. The whole thing comes mounted on a frame, which bolts to a standard roof rack. The only problem then is finding somewhere to store the rig, which measures 122cm by 225cm and takes up a fair bit of floor space when laid flat – it’s only 45cm high, though, and you can stand it upright.

The benefit of keeping the Go on your vehicle is that you’re primed and ready to go camping at the drop of a hat. Weighing in at a not-too-terrible 33kg, and being streamlined in shape, it won’t add too much to your fuel bill, so if you’re someone who regularly goes camping, this is probably the best option (at least during the summer months). The outer cover not only keeps everything neat and tidy during transit, and it also protects the tent from sun damage.

Like all good pop-ups, the TentBox Go really should be a quick and easy shelter to erect, and it lives up to that promise. Once you’ve found a campsite you’re happy with, just unzip and remove the outer cover, reach inside the tent, locate the two support poles and slide them vertically into place. And that’s it. No pegs. No guy ropes. And because it’s a single skin design, no flysheet. You’re done. It genuinely takes about one minute to put it up.

The main tent is constructed from a waterproof, breathable ripstop fabric (which offers UV50 protection) and the seams are all silicon taped. The components are also made with robust materials including powder-coated aluminium tubes and heavyduty YKK zips.

There are two doors on the TentBox Go, so you can have the ladder (see below) set up on either side. Both doors are double-layered, so you can zip open the main material and just have the see-through bug mesh layer to protect you from mosquitoes and other annoyances. Extra ventilation is available with a big window at the head end of the tent and a roof flap, which can be thrown open to enable star gazing on dry nights.

Inclusions

Because the tent is on top of your vehicle, you obviously need a ladder to get in and out of it (and to put it up in the first place). Fortunately the tent comes complete with an absolutely ingenious telescopic ladder, which is easy to fit in any car but extends up to 2.6 metres. There are two hooks on the top of the ladder that connect to sturdy hoops on the bottom of the tent, so everything stays securely and safely in place.

The floor of the TentBox Go is tight-stretched material, so it feels like a hammock. If you’re sharing the shelter, though, you will need to install the middle bar (which comes included, but is optional), to avoid rolling into one another all night. There are no internal pockets in the walls of the Go, but it does come with a hang bag that clips to the centre pole and can be used to securely stash a headtorch, phone, keys and other important items you might need to find in a hurry.

The self-inflating mattress, which works just like a camping mat and is tailored to fit the interior of the TentBox Go exactly, is not included (it costs £95 extra), but I do recommend it. Another good addition is the anti-condensation Roof Liner, which stops moisture from gathering on the inside of the roof while you snore.

Performance

I have been testing the TentBox Go this spring, while travelling around Dorset and Devon, staying in a mixture of commercial campsites like Cloud Farm on Exmoor [external link] and subtle unofficial locations.

Obviously, you can’t actually take this tent for proper wild camping – since it’s big and heavy, and attached to your car – but on occasions when you just want to discreetly pitch up somewhere for a bit of shut-eye, it’s brilliant.

The tent pops up in seconds, so you can wait until dusk before discreetly erecting it, and likewise, in the morning, it’s quick and easy to drop. My only slight concern when doing this was that someone would pinch the ladder, leaving me high and dry (obviously, that never happened).

The ability to get the tent up in seconds after reaching an official campsite is superb too – no one wants to spend ages getting the camp set up, you just want to start exploring and enjoying your surroundings.

Likewise, pack-up is usually a part of the camping experience I dread, but with the TentBox Go, breaking camp is genuinely effortless – you can even leave your sleeping bag, pillow and other soft items inside the shelter, if you’re travelling on to another spot.

Although it is very easy to drop, I did worry that it might be tricky to get the coversheet back on; the fit is quite tight, but so long as you fully undo all the zips first, it’s simple to do (especially when you’ve done it a few times) – just allow 5 minutes.

Besides the hard-to-explain childish excitement that comes with climbing a ladder and sleeping on top of your car, I really loved the elevated perspective the TentBox Go offers. It’s great sitting up in your nest with a brew and a view, looking out over the coast and countryside.

Obviously, you do need to be conscious of where you are if you’re prone to waking up to answer calls of nature during the night – remember you can’t just get out the door, you need to find the ladder and climb down.

Also, being high up, the tent does get a bit buffeted by wind – it’s a sturdy shelter and can handle gusts and fairly feisty weather (one of the nights I spent in the Go was properly wet and wild), but you do move around – especially if your vehicle has soft suspension, like mine – and it can be a bit noisy.

You do definitely need to park in a wind shadow if possible, and position your vehicle so the pointy end of the tent is facing the wind. In very high winds, I'd avoid using the TentBox Go altogether.

The windows are excellent on the TentBox Go, so you can really appreciate the view from inside your car-top eyrie. and I also loved the fact that you can open the roof up and go to sleep staring at the stars. The first night I slept out in the Go the sky was cloudless I could clearly see several planets and constellations as I lay in my tent.

TentBox say the material used in the main shelter is waterproof and breathable, but while I certainly had no problem with it keeping the rain out, I did find that the single-skin design led to the build-up of condensation on the inside of the fabric if some of the vent panels weren’t left open overnight (and on some nights I was testing the tent it was too chilly to have these open). I was flying solo, but I imagine this would be worse with two people breathing in the tent. The brand obviously recognise this because they produce a condensation absorbing Roof Liner (available as an optional extra), a sheet that can be installed across the ceiling, which prevents drips forming and falling on you.

While the TentBox Go is ideal for individuals and couples who are car camping and road tripping, obviously the internal space is limited and it’s not the kind of shelter you can comfortably sit around drinking tea and playing cards when the weather is wet. (TentBox also make much bigger rigs, which offer more space.) So long as you are aware of this, it’s a great set-up.

A good tip, by the way, is to make sure you double-lock your vehicle otherwise the car alarm might go off while you’re tossing and turning in the night, which will scare the hell out of you and annoy everyone in earshot .

Verdict

For solo travellers moving from site to site, couples planning on doing regular roadtrips, or anyone who habitually spends weekends heading off on impromptu camping escapades, the TentBox Go is a great shelter, especially if you prioritise exploring destinations rather than hanging around in your tent. Ultra speedy to pop up and drop, reliably weatherproof and very well constructed, it will serve you well for many years and facilitate all kinds of alfresco adventures.

Also consider

If you have a young family and/or you’re looking for a roof tent with more room, check out the excellent TentBox Lite XL, which can sleep four people and has much more floor space. If you’d prefer to keep your roofrack free for things such as bikes and kayaks, check out a trailer tent from TAXA Outdoors.