FAQ’s

The rooftop tent is a perfect comfort camping solution that fits right between an uncomfortable and difficult to set up ground tent and an expensive and cumbersome RV. Very few people can attest to sleeping well in a ground tent especially in poor weather conditions and rocky or rooted terrain. It is also the source of many a wildlife encounter story that is not usually pleasant to experience.

The RV is a major investment and the bigger your RV gets the more expensive the cost, storage, fuel and vehicles that can pull them. You are also limited on where you can go with an RV in terms of off grid spots that are not designed for RV access. This means you will not be going to all the best spots that are away from the crowds with an RV.

The rooftop tent on the other hand gives you an easy to set up camping solution that gets you off the ground into a safe, dry and comfortable sleeping platform. Your bedding can be stowed in the tent so everything you need for a comfortable night’s sleep is already in your tent when you need it. The vehicle that you mount your roof top tent to is the only limiting factor on where you can set up your next camp.

Treeline Outdoors was founded in 2013 and is the first Canadian rooftop tent company. Our focus since that time has been to make the best roof top tents on the planet in terms of functional designs, materials and features.

Our tents are designed to perform here in our harsh Canadian Climate and that means they can perform anywhere on planet earth. If you want a truly innovative, world class performing tent that is packed full of cool features then it simply must be a Treeline.

Checkout our videos listing all the features between the Explorer and Adventure Series here.

Joshua 121 lbs

Mesquite 133 lbs

Tamarack 158 lbs

Ponderosa 185 lbs

Redwood 231 lbs

Our tents come in 3 sizes.

1.4m (56’ wide) which is a Double sized bed only longer with a 96” length. Tamarack and Joshua. This size is perfect for two adults.

1.8m (72” wide) which is a California King sized bed again with a 96” length. Ponderosa and Mesquite. This size is perfect for a family of 3-4.

2.2m (87” wide) which is Bigger than any commercially made mattress on planet earth. Redwood. This is an ideal tent for a family of 4-5.

Keep in mind that an annex room or awning with awning room can give you an additional space to sleep more family members, guests or dogs.

Check out our Dealer Page

Shoe bags are included with the purchase of your tent. Our 2-3 person tents come with 2 shoe bags, our 3-4 person tents come 3 shoe bags and our 4-5 person tent comes with 4 shoe bags.

Organizers are sold separately.

At Treeline Outdoors we have learned that condensation happens when moist air hits cold surfaces.

As you sleep you also are losing some water vapour as sweat and any roof top tent mattress with a cotton mattress cover will allow water vapour to pass through your mattress and condense on a cold floor. This causes moisture issues including mold and mildew. Other companies will sell you an additional anti condensation mat which also robs you of precious space for your bedding in your tent when packing up. Treeline solved this issue by using a waterproof taffeta mattress cover to prevent this water vapor from reaching the floor of the tent in the first place.

All of our tents come with a 2.6m (8.5 foot) telescopic ladder that fits even the tallest lifted vehicles out there. If you have surpassed that height with a monster truck build then we do have 3.2m ladders available.

There are very few vehicles that we cannot mount a rooftop tent to. Most vehicles have either a naked roof line, a raised rail or an integrated rail on the roof line of the vehicle. Each roof line will have different rack systems available either from the vehicle manufacturer or one of the aftermarket roof rack companies.

You can check the availability of a cross bar system from your vehicle manufacturer or from the big three rack companies: Thule, Yakima, and Rhino-Rack. Each one of these companies will have a fit guide that will give you what is available for your vehicle and they should also list the “dynamic” and “static” weight ratings of that rack system.

There are reasonable limits to the size of tent that will fit on a vehicle based on the size of your roof line and the roof rack you have or is available for your vehicle. We recommend not to exceed the size of the roof line with the size of the tent. You want to be sure to be able to open your rear hatch and you do not want the tent overhanging your windshield.

Your cross bar spacing is also going to be a consideration as you do not want to exceed 14” of overhang past your cross bars on either end not because the tent is not strong enough, but because it can put undue stress on your cross bars. Also the “dynamic” moving weight rating for your roof racks will put a limit on the weight of the tent you can mount on that system and conversely that translates in to a certain model and size of tent.

You will need a preferably flat set of roof racks (cross bars, platform rack or truck bed rack) with a “dynamic” weight rating greater than the weight of the tent you plan on mounting to that rack and a “static” weight rating greater than the total weight you plan on putting on those racks which includes the tents occupants. Your cross bars must also be able to spread the width of the tent so we do not have too much overhang on each end of your cross bars.

“Dynamic” weight ratings means the maximum load rating when the vehicle is traveling down the road and doing evasive maneuvers and hard braking. “Static” weight ratings are what the total weight is that can be loaded on top of your roof rack system when the vehicle is stationary or parked.

Dynamic weight ratings are available from most of the aftermarket roof rack companies such as Yakima, Thule and Rhino Rack and sometimes for factory roof racks that may already be on your vehicle. We always recommend a good set of after market cross bars as generally they are stronger than most factory cross bars and the have better design and dynamic and static weight ratings.

Most after market cross bars are flat (without curvature) and they sit on top of the roof rails that are on your vehicle making them stronger than most factory cross bars that bolt to the sides of roof rails.

Every vehicle manufacture is different when it comes to cross bars. Some will sell cross bars for their vehicles that are designed in collaboration with Thule, Yakima or Rhino Rack. Volvo for example has partnered with Thule racks to fit their vehicles.

Most factory installed cross bars that are not designed from Yakima, Thule and Rhino-Rack are designed for roof boxes and often are not made strong enough for a roof top tent application. If your cross bars do not sit over top of your roof rails then we recommend to go with an aftermarket set of cross bars from Thule, Yakima or Rhino Rack.

There are two types of racks for Jeeps. The first type is a rack system that mounts to the Jeeps hard top such as Rhino Racks Back bone system.

The second type of rack is a cage style rack that bolts to the front window mounts and the rear frame.

• Frontrunner
• Smitty Bilt SRC rack
• Rugged Ridge Sherpa rack

And there are many more.

The ideal mounting height for an awning/awning room or tent annex room is 6’2” and up to 7’.

The key here is that the awning or annex is mounted high enough for you to be able to walk around under it so that it is functional. Our annexes have some adjustment built into them so that these heights can be met.

Annex rooms are quite simple to set up and they should only add another 5 minutes to your set up time.

For a video on what is involved see here.

Our rooftop tents include all of the mounting hardware to mount to most vehicle’s cross bars or the cross bars on truck bed racks. Every Treeline tent has mounting rails attached to the underside of every tent. The mounting rails run across the width of the base and are spaced evenly between 29 ½ “ and 30” outside edge to outside edge.

Provided M8 bolts are pushed through aluminium sliders which then slide into the mounting rails on the tent. If longer or shorter bolts are needed for your mounting application, then you can source different length Metric M8 bolts and if that is not available in your area then 5/16 standard bolts and nuts will do the trick.

The stainless steel bottom brackets go under your cross bars, the bolts drop through the holes on the bottom brackets and either hand knobs or lock nuts are used to secure the tent to your cross bars.

There are two locations to mount our tents on Pick-up trucks. One is over the cab of the truck. This will require a set of cross bars or a platform rack to mount to. Again the size of the tent and the size of the cab’s roof line and what is available for cross bars or platform racks will be the deciding factor on tent size and model based on the weight of the tent and the weight ratings on those racks.

The second place to mount our tents is over the box of the truck. A quick google search on truck bed racks for your pick-up will yield a lot of answers.

Yakima has a great new set of overland racks available in 3 different mounting heights.

What Truck Bed Rack is Best for Me?

Thule has an Xsporter 500 telescopic bed rack that is height adjustable

And their new Mid height rack

You can also find racks from Frontrunner, CBI, Voodoo, RCI, Wilco Off-road and many others.

Unlike other manufacturers that make you remove the tent fly to watch the stars, all Treeline tents come with built in Skylights which are PVC windows sewn into the fly that is permanently attached to your Treeline tent.

There is a zippered mosquito mesh for bug protection and an interior window that can be opened from the inside to enjoy the star gazing and the watching of treetops swaying in the breeze. This popular feature gives you the peace of mind to go to sleep with a stary night sky without worrying about what the weather will do.

Rooftop tents are fairly easy for anyone to set up as long as you can reach up to undo some straps and a travel cover. The average set up time of a first timer is around the 8 minute mark and consummate professional roof top tent campers can do it in 3 minutes. If you are vertically challenged and your tent is mounted up high, then a 2 step ladder can be a great companion. For a set up video of what is involved see here.

Rooftop tent theft is a common question but not a common occurrence. Rooftop tents are relatively heavy and bulky and thus are difficult to steal. It would take a dedicated group of people and a pick up truck to make off with one. Our advice is if you are worried about theft to replace the hand knobs (if you have them on) and switch them out for M8 Ny-lock nuts.

You can even double them up and counter tighten them. This way the odds that someone has two 13mm wrenches on then is pretty slim. In reality there is only so much you can do to prevent an opportunity theft. Anything beyond that would not deter a determined thief with the right tools. With thousands of tents sold over the years we have never heard of the theft of a single Treeline tent.

Yes. Your Treeline rooftop tent can stay on your roof all year. Clear the snow off of it when you can to prevent ice build up. Check to make sure your travel cover integrity remains intact and that you have not poked any holes in your travel cover after wheeling in the bush as you will want to patch the cover if you get a hole or slice in it. Patches are in every tent and Gorilla Permanent tape makes a handy patch as well. We have replacement covers available.

There a few ways to store your tent over the winter months if you do not plan on using it.

The easiest way is to lift the tent off your vehicle and with a protective layer of packing foam from our shipping box under your tent you can lean the tent against the wall of your garage. Do not slide the tent across a rough concrete floor as travel cover damage can occur. Alternatively if you can drive into your garage with the tent on your vehicle then there are plenty of ways to lift the tent off your vehicle mechanically with a ceiling mounted hoist system. Here is one from Thule.

Your rooftop tent should be treated like any other outdoor product that you love and care for. It is important to dry your tent out after getting it wet. If it rains and your tent gets soaked then open it up and let it dry out on the next sunny day. Do not pack away a wet tent for extended periods of time in a warm environment. If you get dirt on your tent you can clean it with a mild soap and soft brush and allow it to dry.

The best way to heat your tent is with a diesel or propane tent heater with a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is essential as you never want to have a direct burning flame in your tent causing carbon monoxide build up, which can lead to death. A good functioning diesel heater can make your rooftop tent as comfortable as sleeping in your home with a thermostat to control your tent heater output. This really is a game changer and makes your tent a year round comfort camping solution.

Planar Marine makes a great fully supported portable tent heater here in Canada.

Propex makes great propane heaters.

Amazon also sells various portable diesel heaters.

Dogs love camping and if yours is a smaller foot warmer then lifting him or her into the tent will be easy. If you have bigger dogs that like to wander at night then consider adding an annex for them to sleep in.

As human beings we exhale somewhere between 500-800ml of water vapour per day. All condensation occurs as the temperatures drop closer to freezing and below freezing this moisture will form into ice crystals. The best way to avoid condensation is to ventilate the moisture through your skylights and vents or you add a heat source to change the internal temperature.

Yes we offer e-transfers in Canada. You can send your e-transfer to finance@treelineoutdoors.com and then send us the password to sales@treelineoutdoors.com

Yes we offer financing at check out from Affirm in Canada, and are working on a solution for our USA customers.

All Treeline tents come with a 2 year manufacturers defect warranty which warranties the product free from manufacturing defect for the period of 2 years from purchase.

Please register your purchase here: link coming soon!

At Treeline we believe in offering you a great buying and product use experience. For this reason we have assembled most of the items on your tent from factory. There are a few small steps to put the final pieces together and we have created an “Unboxing” video that walks you through the final steps to prepare your tent for use. You can see it here.

We can usually save you some money on shipping fees by shipping to your nearest depot for customer pick up. Please reach out to Sales@treelineoutdoors.com and we would be happy to try to save you some money on shipping.

It can take anywhere from 4-7 business days to ship our tents to your door. If you are a rural customer it may take a few days longer.

We stock all tent parts for all of our tents and awnings.