Pyrenees Road Trip 2017, Part 4. Autohome Maggiolina Grand Tour Tent Review.

Here is a closer look at the hard shell roof top tent we have been using for a few months.

[@adamwhatton4918]

Great video, I appreciate you taking the time to show off the tent! We used to have a 110 with 2 Hannibal roof tents and packing them away used to bring out the worst in me! Haha. That hard shell looks like a dream compared.

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

Adam Whatton Thanks! The novelty of a canvas roof top tent definitely disappears when it comes to packing them away that's for sure.

[@Vanguard-Six]

Looks good!

[@mickonthemove1272]

I saw a guy closing one of these up a while back. He had bungie wrapped around the centre of the canvas (I.e. parallel to the floor). This seemed to pull all the material in as he lowered the hard top rather than having to tuck it in as you were doing. Can't say for sure if it was the same model though. Anyhow thanks for another great vid.

[@flapbean]

We’ve just done a winter camp in Scotland, the Orkneys & Isle of Skye with our Hilux and TuffTrek tent - I think it was TT02 like your previous setup. I couldn’t agree more with you. It’s a great tent, but putting it away soaking wet through, trying to sling the heavy duty cover over it in moderate wind and rain with those straps ... grr! Needs tweaking ! And the condensation is a real issue after a few days without warm weather to dry it out. Great review of the hard top..... how’s the width of the matters compare to the TT02 and how’s the condensation issue ?

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

Flap Bean Hi mate, sounds like you got some proper Scottish weather! The Maggiolina is 145 x 210 so it's slightly smaller than the TT02 I think, but I don't notice it as you can stash your gear in the cargo net instead of at the bottom of the tent so there's plenty of room. The condensation issues are still there, the only solution is to make sure you have ventilation but that's a problem in the cold. I came back from the Lakes in September and had the tent fully closed for a couple of nights; ended up with loads of condensation underneath the mattress and it had soaked in. I dried it out and bought a waterproof mattress protector from eBay for about £4, and fitted it to the bottom of the mattress to prevent any water ingress. Did you manage to find some good wild camping spots up there? I'll be heading up that way over Christmas hopefully.

[@frankbrown9618]

Good review.I am also interested in this tent and would like to know if the additional weight on the roof affects the stability of the pick up in case of diagonal slope descending. Moreover did you notice a great increase in fuel consumption due to the augmented aerodinamic resistance (I see that the upper shell is designed to reduce this effect) I see you fixed the tent both to the canopy and to the cabin roof: doesn't it reduce the torsional ability of the chassis?

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

Hi Frank, I'm guessing that the additional weight on the roof will have some impact on diagonal slope descending depending on how severe the angle is, but I'm not sure how much as I rarely venture beyond 'moderate' off road conditions in which I have noticed no ill effects of the weight above. In terms of fuel consumption the increase is barely noticeable, my Hilux seems to return around 28-30 mpg regardless of what's on top of it or what's in the back! The tent isn't fixed to my front rack, it sits about 15mm above it. Hope that helps!

[@jessed5470]

Great video, what kind of camper/shell do you have on your truck, is it an RSI smart cap?

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

Jesse Dennett III Cheers! Yes it’s an RSI smart canopy 👍

[@atlas1505]

@@Adventure-Outdoors Do you have any issues with water in the Rsi? I was looking at truckman? What is your opinion.

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

@@atlas1505 I've had no issues with water getting inside, I've heard others have but it seems to be because they didn't fit it properly. Regarding Truckman it depends what you want to do with it, the RSI has a load capacity of 350kg whereas Truckman canopies are fibreglass and I think the load limit is around 70-80kg. I think if you're looking at carrying roof top tents and other heavy gear than I'd recommend the RSI or something similar 👍.

[@frankbloch3003]

Great review. Did you mount the tent on 2 crossbars or additionally also with your Rack.

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

Cheers! It was mounted on two cross bars which worked fine. I’ve since moved the tent onto the front above the cab on four cross bars and the rack is on the back 👍

[@frankbloch3003]

@@Adventure-Outdoors Thanks for your answer. Any reason for changing. We are planning to get one. Moving from canvas to the Autohome grand tour or the extreme. Were still in the decision process…every input helps. We also have a pickup with a rhino rack in the front and a bushtech hardtop in the back with 3 crossbars from frontrunner.

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

@@frankbloch3003 I moved it over the front just for practical reasons; if I wanted to access the canopy doors I had to keep moving the ladder if the tent was up, plus having stuff like water carriers at the back was also easier. The truck did feel a bit more balanced with the tent moved forward when off road but both front springs eventually cracked eventually. Not sure if the extra weight of the tent had anything to do with them cracking but it’s possible; they were the original stock parts. Hope that helps, the Maggiolina is way better than any canvas tent in my opinion, I’m sure you’ll like it.

[@frankbloch3003]

@@Adventure-Outdoors Thanks a lot. Now that I call a fast answer :-). Well it is a lot of weight upfront. More than you probably would normally carry with regular gear. Could very well be. Now I just have to sell my canvas tent and look for the Grand Tour. At the end of the season they should get cheaper over here in Germany. Thanks a lot for helping me decide. Keep on the good work.

[@Anand-yu1sg]

Probably the Rolls Royce in the market , if not the best and well worth twice the price of a cheap canvas version. Frankly there are only two hard top tents worth investing (sorry guys if you have anything else ) but you truely get what you pay for. This and the James Baroud. Unfortunately I have been trying to buy a James Boroud online (in the UK) and it's almost impossible . For what is (i think) a Portuguese product being available to the strong economy in the UK , the access to the online Marketing and sales is pathetic , if not non-existant trying to buy one, i have no idea how they are still in buisness. Therfore going try an buy the Maggiolina (Grand Tour - Large online.

[@hayabusapilot2369]

We learned the hard way, bought a cheaper hard shell and it leaked on our first trip, we then when for a maggiolina gradtour 360 from a UK supplier and the quality difference is instantly visible.

[@newlifeeveryday1821]

You mentioned that you didnt like canvas tents. Did you try the tents by 23zero ? If so did you dislike those tents ? Was it the Walkabout model ?

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

Hi, the canvas tent I had was similar to the 23zero walkabout. The main issue I had with the canvas tent was the noise it made in the wind, it was horrendous. I wouldn't let it put you off though, the canvas tents do have loads of plus points - lighter, cheaper, easy to mount and remove etc. 👍

[@newlifeeveryday1821]

@@Adventure-Outdoors I think the canvas tents wick away condensation pretty well. Do you have any problems with condensation in your tent ? What are your tent walls made of ? Are the walls one layer or two layers ?

[@newlifeeveryday1821]

@@Adventure-Outdoors I like your camper shell. If I had a truck I would buy a secure topper like yours. I have a Jeep and am always concerned about break-ins and security. The upside of having a Jeep is that I can sleep in the back of it and have access to the drivers seat to avoid being cornered into the shell like this guy who had no idea who was knocking on his shell in the middle of the night while parked in the middle of nowhere: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHaqiJyqhJyhl8U

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

@@newlifeeveryday1821 I have had problems with condensation in both tents, but only in very cold conditions. The Autohome tent has Draylon walls - just single layer. What I found in cold conditions is that the bedding got damp in both tents, but the canvas tent retained moisture on the tent fabric whereas the Autohome didn't. Hope that helps!

[@newlifeeveryday1821]

@@Adventure-Outdoors Did you buy the winter liner for either tent ? Did that help with the condensation ? ( Where do you live and camp ? I camp in Montana and Wyoming where it is freezing cold during the winter and can drop to very cold temps unexpectedly in the spring or fall )

[@deangrande7207]

Do you think you can rig that hand crank to a cordless drill

[@Adventure-Outdoors]

I doubt it, it's quite heavy. I'm sure my Black and Decker 18v wouldn't shift it an inch 😂👍