In the world of rooftop tents, nothing divides the community more than the topic of what materials should be used to create your rooftop home. Fibreglass is the more traditional roof tent material, however in recent years many of the more established manufacturers have moved towards ABS.
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Here at TentBox, we use ABS plastic to manufacture our Classic model, as it’s by far the more hardy solution for all your overland adventures. We switched from Fibreglass to ABS for the many benefits. However, in the interest of not being biased, we wanted to take a look at the pros and cons of both to weigh up which roof tent will be ideal for you.
When comparing ABS and fibreglass, it’s natural to consider which material is going to weigh more on top of your car. A lighter rooftop tent will be much more fuel efficient, and will be easier to get onto the roof of your car in the first place.
When it comes to which material weighs more – ABS or fibreglass – ABS is the lighter by far. For the average roof tent, ABS will weigh in at around 60kg, whereas a fibreglass tent of the same size will weigh around 90kgs.
This means that ABS rooftop tents are much more compatible with smaller and larger cars alike. If you’re wondering whether our roof tent will be right for your car, it’s worth considering that the TentBox Classic TentBox weighs 64.5kgs and the TentBox Lite weighs in at 50kg, so they are compatible with most vehicles.
Fibreglass is plastic that is reinforced with glass fibre, so in terms of it’s environmental friendliness, its creation process much harsher to the environment. It releases toxins in the manufacturing process, which is not only harmful to the people working with it, but also the wider atmosphere.
ABS on the other hand is much safer to form and is easily recyclable since it is a thermoplastic material. Fibreglass is impossible to recycle and ends up filling up landfills.
The UK is full of some amazing, rugged natural landscapes. If you’re planning on going on some off-grid microadventures on rocky terrain here in the UK, there is a chance that your rooftop tent will endure some impact here and there. This isn’t a problem with a sturdy rooftop tent, however it’s important to know which material will be right for the kinds of adventures you plan on going on.
ABS is a far more sturdy and impact resistant material than fibreglass, which can have a tendency to crack under impact. It is plastic-based and was created for the purpose of impact resistance and toughness, so it makes sense that it is a lot more impact resistant.
Fibreglass was accidentally created back in , and hasn’t evolved that much since it’s conception. Fibreglass can and does suffer from age. Whilst the deterioration sometimes feels minor, with microscopic cracks in the formed fibreglass plastic, overtime these cracks get bigger and separate the fibres and resin that hold them together.
In contrast, ABS is a more modern material that has been especially created to withstand more impact and damage. In this sense, ABS is able to withstand the vibration of the road and remain unscathed by adventuring for longer. You’ll be less likely to have to get your ABS rooftop tent repaired or replaced, compared to a fibreglass roof tent. We also use an anti-UV agent in our ABS, which helps reduce the effects of sun damage.
TentBox now uses ABS instead of fibreglass, due to the many benefits listed above. The ABS thermoplastic that we now use can be moulded into much more unique forms, is better for the environment and is much stronger than it’s fibreglass counterpart.
Our rooftop tents have an added UV treatment and a high gloss finish to help reduce the effects of sun damage.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Fibreglass Roof Top Tents.
If you’re wondering why roof tents are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to camp, then hopefully this will give you more of an idea!
Normal ground tents can take quite a while to set up as they often have inner tents as well as outer tents to put up. Then obviously you've got to pack them away too- not too pleasant when you’re doing it on a dark and rainy night! Good roof top tents typically only take around 30 seconds to open up and only slightly longer to close, so you can imagine the time and effort you’re saving with them!
Roof tents are typically cheaper than caravans, campervans and certainly motorhomes both when you first buy them and from not having the same ongoing costs that you would have with these alternatives. You would often need to pay for a storage facility to keep all of these. Plus you’d have to get additional van insurance with campervans and motorhomes, so both of these will cost you money even when you’re not using them! Also on top of these expenses you have the extra breakdown, repair and renovation costs you often need with campervans and motorhomes. These can especially add up on the older campers you can buy as they’re often not the most reliable of vehicles and need lots of renovating before they’re good enough to hit the road with!
You have the freedom to camp in more places with roof tents as unlike with tents you don’t need a large, flat, dry, soft surface to get set up. The need for such a specific type of conditions with a tent often restricts you to fewer of the free/wild camping locations on offer. Caravans/large motorhomes are often caught out by the amount of space needed for them here, so you’re usually restricted to just staying at campsites with them.
Because roof tents are up high on top of your vehicle, there’s no chance of getting flooded in the night after a heavy downpour like with a normal tent. So if you’re planning on going anywhere with unpredictable weather, these might just save you a very wet trip to the dry cleaners!
The elevated position of roof tents being on top of your vehicle means that the views are much better than if you were down in a tent/campervan. You also get 360 degree views with roof tents that have two doors and two windows too, which makes the scenery look just that much more beautiful!
With roof top tents you get extra vehicle storage space for your belongings than with tents because you can put your things in the roof tent when it’s closed too. This comes in especially handy when you want to quickly pack up and leave your bedding in the tent as it makes it so much faster and easier to do!
Good roof tents generally have more durable material on the canvas than tents and the hard shell roof tent designs have a stronger structure to them, meaning it’s both leakproof and quieter inside the roof tent when it’s windy and raining, which all leads to a better night’s sleep for you!
The thicker canvas material and hard ABS/fibreglass shell that good roof top tents have over regular tents also means that heat doesn’t escape as easily, so it should stay nice and toasty for you at night. This should come in especially handy if you plan on going anywhere during the Winter as we all know the nights can get very chilly at this time of the year!
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