You want a camper with a rooftop tent for your next adventure, but you really don’t want to compromise on luxury or be woken up by the roars of neighbourhood lions. In Colorado, they’ve heard you and they’ve come up with a solution. Meet Redtail Overland’s Skyloft, a rooftop tent that has all the others beat. That’s not least because this rooftop tent dispenses with all and any traditional camping materials and instead uses a favourite from Formula One.
You won’t be travelling as fast as Lewis Hamilton - though Redtail do base their builds on vans made by Mercedes-Benz, so you’ll have that in common - but you will be sleeping in a rooftop tent with a structural frame made of carbon fibre. That means it’s both strong and light, as well as unlikely to be blown away in a wind. Windows are double paned, there’s full insulation and even dimmable lighting. Solar panels to the roof ensure that there is more than sufficient power, too. Five-star rooftop tent in the wilds? Those lions will be envious.
"We enjoy the hands-on, handcrafted approach,” said Redtail Overland founders Ty and Annie Tatro, "being able to design the best products we can without limitation from investors or outside sources.” That means that each Skyloft Van is effectively a bespoke vehicle. When you pop open the Skyloft rooftop tent in the greatest of great outdoors, you’ll be able to recline upstairs in a fully climate-controlled environment, because your rooftop tent’s air conditioning is separate from that of the van below. The evening under the stars is all yours, with views through those insulated windows. Bliss.
Downstairs from the Skyloft rooftop tent and things are pretty comfortable, too. Driver and passenger seats are by Scheel-Mann, soft-touch walls are upholstered. To the rear there is a raised lounge area, where there’s a television on a swivel mount in case the views of approaching wildebeest become boring. You’ll be able to cook up a storm in the full galley area and there’s an enclosed wet bath.
Redtail are keen for you to know that their luxurious rooftop tent can’t be bought separately to be bolted on to your favourite beat-up VW camper. The Skyloft rooftop tent is only available with a full Skyloft Van build, to your specification naturally. They’ll want a fairly big cheque for all this bespoke work, mind. On current conversion rates - and without shipping costs so we’d advise a great American road trip first - you’ll need £420,000. Yes, it’s almost two-Ferrari money but then these are no ordinary campers and the Skyloft is no ordinary rooftop tent. Expect us at your chosen beauty spot for a vodka martini at sundown.
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