Most people with an off-road vehicle are into off road camping as well. We researched many off-road camper options and settled on an iKamper rooftop tent for our family. It has a ton of cool features but in the end it needed to pass the family test for it to be a true winner.
So, is the iKamper good for camping with kids? We have a three and a four year old and the idea of a rooftop tent was intimidating. Luckily, the nervousness was all in our heads and all four of us enjoy camping in the iKamper.
Read on to find out our favorite features of the iKamper, add on acessories, why it beat out the competition when we were looking for an off-roading camper, and the biggest drawback to going this route.
Table of Contents
Family Friendly Features
My favorite feature of the iKamper Skycamp 2.0? Speed of setup. You can install this thing in five minutes flat even with two toddlers whining and screaming at you. There is no complicated snaps and adjustments. It flips open and you’re ready to go!
Another advantage the iKamper has over other rooftop tents and standalone off-road campers we researched was SIZE. This thing is BIG. It is a giant king size sleeping area which means the four of us can easily sleep together. The tent is tall enough for the kids to stand up and my wife and I can comfortably sit in it without our heads hitting the top. (I am 6’2 and my wife is 5’8 so we are above average height) The mattress is comfortable and the tent stays fairly warm. There are two windows that open up for fresh air and that is it. We liked the simplicity as we tend to do the majority of our “camping” time outside exploring not inside a camper or tent.
My wife’s favorite feature is the thickness of the tent fabric. Have you ever been camping with kids and as soon as the sun peeks over the mountain the kids are up and running wild? Not the case with the iKamper. The fabric is thick and DARK so you can count on having a few more morning hours to sleep in…maybe?!
A small thing maybe but since we are talking family friendly features, I’ll add it. One wall of the tent has a giant world map that my kids love. Don’t underestimate these small things when it comes to kids. It makes the tent feel a little more like home and the kids always remember it.
Add on Accessories
I’m going to run through the top accessories for the iKamper. We haven’t purchased them all and we did a few hacks of our own to cut the cost of some of the brand name stuff.
We were lucky enough to score a free awning with our purchase. This gives you a HUGE shaded area that is a must when camping with a rooftop tent. This is a perfect place to set up your kitchen area, camping chairs and a dining spot. And if it rains it gives everyone a spot to hang out that isn’t the sleeping rooftop area.
When we were gifted the awning with our rooftop tent purchase, my wife was bummed we couldn’t upgrade to the annex. The annex acts as an entirely separate yet connected tent space. It attaches to the rooftop tent making it so you have an upstairs and downstairs “indoor” area.
For those organization freaks (my wife is one of them!) this portable kitchen option is very appealing. It rolls and it extends to second as a small dining table. It also has a small stove unit and a large container for storage of kitchen gear. Very cool and pretty compact considering everything you get.
Looking to camp in chilly weather? This might be the first upgrade you look at. It’s an easy zip on insulation layer that takes five minutes to put on but adds layers of warmth. This is on our wish list although I have already purchased a small heater that we can use in the meantime.
If you DON’T have the annex or the awning this canopy acts as a rain fly protecting the entrance and windows of the tent to moisture. If the awning or annex isn’t in your budget definitely go this route — but if you can make one of the other options happen it it would be worth it.
iKamper does offer a lighting system but we went the DIY route. I found a LED strip with adhesive on the back on Amazon. I stuck this to the bottom side of the tent to light up the ladder area in the dark. This was pretty inexpensive other than the battery I chose to run this off of. I picked up a Dometic PLB40 which will also run a heated blanket for the kids all night. 
I did not opt to get the shoe storage from iKamper. Honestly I may be going back and purchasing this option as it is very well thought out. I believe it is only $75 and at that price it sure beats having to try to rig something up. Plus it will match the tent, and let’s be honest I am OCD on dumb stuff like that.
Other Off Road Campers and Tents we Researched
CVT, Area BFE, Tepui, Aluma-cab, and 23zero are all tents I looked at in my research. All very good tents, but the amount of sleeping space the iKamper had in comparison made me lean that way. The iKamper is a full king size bed when deployed as opposed to the other clamshell tents on the market at the time were just big enough to sleep 2. I also liked that it had a hard outer shell and wasn’t such a brick on the top of the 4Runner when folded up. Most soft tents are just covered by a zip on tarp and sit very high and square.
Why We Picked a Rooftop Tent over a Standalone Camper
Why not just purchase one of the larger campers mentioned above? Well a big reason why we went with the iKamper was cost. You will be under $4000 with this tent whereas some of the cooler off-road options that are standalone could easily be double, triple or quadruple that. We also loved that we wouldn’t need to pay to store this somewhere else. More on that below.
Drawbacks
By far the biggest drawback of the rooftop tent is storage when it’s not on your vehicle. Our garage is not tall enough to fit in the garage with the tent on, therefore pulling in the garage and hoisting the tent off is not an option either. As I have been researching ways to knock the header out of the garage and raise the door another foot it may not be cost effective. While the tent weighs in at 160 lbs it is big and awkward. When we took it off the 4Runner last time it took 3 people to slide it down a 2×4 makeshift slide. Once on the ground I put the tent on a hand truck and moved it over to an empty wall. it is currently strapped to the wall with ratchet straps.
One other drawback is there is no easy way to sneak out for a middle of the night bathroom run. we don’t allow shoes in the tent so you will be wrestling around trying to find shoes and getting the door open. Not a deal breaker, but definitely not something I would have ever thought about before owning a rooftop tent.
One other note, you will need to bring with you a way to level the car or truck when you find your spot for the night as well. I have used anything from rocks and logs from around the campsite to my maxtrax recovery boards to level out the 4Runner for a level sleeping surface.
Final Thoughts
All in all we are happy with our camping setup. It’s easy to set up, not too big and cumbersome and comfy for a small family of four. As the kids get older and bigger we may be switching it up although we’ve debated just adding on the lower annex to give us two separate sleeping spaces!