Does anybody have any first hand experience of these tents? Web site looks convincing (especially the Evolution). Was trying to get hold of a second hand Eezi Awn with a shower skirt, but considering cost, weight and durability the My Way Evolution looks like the way to go. It's about half the weight of any others! We'll be away for 6 months in W Africa, so need something that's up to it.......
Chers, Jon

MyWay Roof Tents (UK)

I saw something similiar on the roof of a car at the place I got my eezi awn. The nylon really bothered me, it came across as being very flamable. It also seemed that it wouldn't breathe at all. Construction of the tent was fine just the material was a bit off.
Also the shower skirt by itself is not that useful, you're better off spending a bit more and getting something like the T-Top, it adds alot of extra room.

I've not seen these, but I have seen similar NYLON roof top tents, and can't see anything wrong with them at all. After all it's lighter, easier to care for and almost all walking/hiking tents are made of it. Seems strange not to make a tent from nylon in fact. As for breathability it's got a seperate fly, and plenty of mozzie netting, so it should breathe fine, just like a normal tent in fact.

__________________

We bought a brand new nylon tent for our 8 month trip down through africa and it was OK but interestingly at the end it was fit for the bin. It had become so weak you could easily push your finger through the fabric. I think this was from the UV sunlight that slowly rotted the tent. We only had rain less than five times and not too windy so it might have failed earlier had the conditions been worse.
I heard there are brand new roof tents on ebay that usually go for less than £350 inc delivery.

Check them out here:

CAR TOP TENT, CAR ROOF TENT, BRAND NAME, 240x140x130 CM on eBay, also, Other Camper Caravan Parts, Campers, Caravans Motorhomes, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 23-Mar-08 20:03:07 GMT)

I have a MyWay.

Last year we went to Morocco with it and also a Howling Moon tent on the top of our 80 series:

See Picasa Web Albums - Julian Voelcker - Morocco 2007

And our friends had a larger family version:

See Picasa Web Albums - Julian Voelcker - Morocco 2007

I think that the MyWay is a great tent and a lot easier to live with (taking a fraction of the time to put up and pack away) than the heavier Howling Moon, Eesi Awn, etc, however my biggest beef with it is the fact that the material doesn't breath - having said that nobody else seems to have had problems with it.

The heavier material on the HM meant that the tent was warmer than than MW at night, but then you started to cook as soon as the sun was up. With the MW you need to keep the vents open to allow it to breathe which isn't that great when it's cold or there is a howling gale, although if you are using sleeping bags inside I suspect that this isn't such a problem - we had duvets and would rather have had the vents closed, but this lead to too much condensation.

The other disadvantage of the thinner material of the MW is that as soon as the sun is up it was light in the tent where as with the HM and other similar brands it is pitch black inside due to the heavier material. This was an issue at first, but actually you soon get used to it when travelling since you tend to adjust you sleeping patterns around daylight hours.

When we got back from Morocco we provided a lot of feedback to Jan in SA on the design and I gather a number of improvements have been made so I wouldn't dismiss them totally - call Paul who runs MyWay UK and have a chat to him - he is a great guy and will bend over backwards to help you and I am sure will be more than happy to give you a demo.

__________________
Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

Thanks for everyone's reply.
Julian - I found your comments very useful as you have had first hand experience of these tents. Is yours still in good condition or has it suffered the effects of UV as mentioned by Richard (previous to your post?)
As far as the breathability goes, maybe the 'Serengeti' (being canvas) would be the best choice but unclear as to how heavy they are.

Does anyone have or have used this tent and would you recommend...?

MyWay Roof Tents (UK)

Cheers, Jon

I haven't used mine for a year so haven't had a chance to check it however I believe that the Oxford Nylon that they use for the tent doesn't suffer from the UV problems.

I'll be dusting mine off in the next couple of weeks - you are always welcome to come and have a look at it before you spend your cash, I'm just up the M5 from you.

__________________
Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

Thanks for the offer Julian. I rang Paul and your'e right - he is very helpful. In fact they're exhibiting at the Land Rover 60th at Gaydon (nr. Warwick) on 3&4 May so we'll check the tents out then.
Cheers, Jon

Hi jonnie_bee

I have ordered a My Way tent for our Unimog and Paul is fitting it for us in about 3 weeks time. I obviously can't give you first hand experiance but I did spend a lot of time researching roof tents as our trip is 2 to 3 years through Europe and Africa and we will be using it through all the 'hot' bits!!

I found that My Way tents are considerably lighter and very easy to set up on my own as long as you have access all round the tent. Both of these are big considerations for us but obviously not for everyone. We are not having the shower curtain as we have a shower room in the mog!

One other consideration was the heat inside the tent and the My Way tents are all constructed with a 3" air gap which keeps the tent cooler.

We are going for the nylon version, which is the same weight as the canvas, as when we discussed it with Paul he mentioned that when the canvas becomes wet it can collect dirt and dust from the air (we will be travelling through Africa) and this will create a muddy surface on the tent over time - whereas the nylon version doesn't. I think it depends on where you will be using it.

I hope this helps your decision. I would like to add that I don't have first hand experiance with any make of roof tents and these comments are purely from research I have done!

Kate

Canvas is of course hotter but that can be easily solved by connecting a 12V ventilator with a 3 mts. extention from the cigaret lighter (actually a good idea should be that roof tents came with a 12V plug..!)

see it here



.

__________________
Mario T. - southing

Kate (and others),

One thing you will find with the MyWay tent and actually most others that the ladders, etc can creek a bit if you move around - OK, not a problem if there is only one of you, but if you are with others it's a bit like one of those annoying rattles in your truck.

Anyway, get some silicone based lubricating spay often sold as something like 'Dry Lube', 'Silicone Lube' etc - is will soon become one of your best friends on a trip.

The way the MyWay ladder is made up it makes a lot of noise - if you soak it in Dry Lube a couple of times it will soon be silent.

You can also use the Dry Lube for things like creeky roof rack mounts, basically anywhere you might end up with two items rubbing together.

__________________
Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

It is available at all plumbers merchants

Graeme

Yes, sorry should have said - you can also get it from most Motor Factors and probably even Halfords.

__________________
Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

Hi Julian

We are actually opening the tent fully onto our roof rack and therefore not using a ladder to directly enter the tent - we climb onto the cab roof and onto the main roof from there.

However, it's a good idea that we carry a can of spray so we can use it on anything else that squeaks!! (no mice will be harmed in the operation of this product!).

Thanks for the tip.
Kate

Thanks Kate (and Julian for your squeekey tip).
I agree that being light, airy and well made / long lasting are the main qualities for such a tent. Looking forward to trying them out at Gaydon....