We’re big fans of rooftop tents for car camping. They give you a proper space to sleep in at night, so you don’t have to compete with your gear for sleeping room inside the car. Problem is, they take up all room in your roof rack, requiring you to remove the tent when you need to use the rack to transport any type of cargo. The Thule Tepui Hybox Wedge makes the rooftop tent even more useful, as it doubles as a functional cargo box that you can use to haul all sorts of gear.
If you might remember, Tepui released a product like this two years ago. Problem is, they designed it as a box-shaped tent – one you’ll have to open from multiple sides to deploy. It’s quite tedious. Well, the outfit has since been bought by Thule and, for this iteration, they traded the box shape in favor of a traditional wedge-shaped rooftop tent, allowing you to pop the whole thing open by simply fiddling on one side. It’s very convenient.
The Thule Tepui Hybox Wedge now has a permanent hinge on one side, making it a lot easier for a single camper to both open and close, not to mention saving you from having to reach (and maybe crawl) across multiple sides of a really tall SUV (not fun). This means, the tent can be unlatched and popped up just from the rear side of the vehicle (just step up up on the rear bumper if you’re not tall enough), allowing you to set it up as simply as any wedge-type rooftop tent. And despite the change in form factor, it can still sleep up to two people, so you can still spend the night curling up with a partner (or a pet).
The tent uses 260g coated fabric that’s made from a waterproof blend of cotton, polyester, and mesh, with an insulated interior to help temperature management while you chill inside its confines, making it viable for three-season use. The lower section of the rooftop tent, by the way, is made from a combination of ABS plastic and aluminum that’s reinforced using honeycomb panels for added strength. Basically, it can handle your weight without damaging the roof.
The Thule Tepui Hybox Wedge can, of course, be converted into a cargo box. To do that, you simply remove all the tent fabric inside by unzipping it from its position and taking it all out. Seriously, it’s that simple – the whole thing then becomes an empty compartment you can fill up with bags, boxes, and whatever other gear you need to transport that no longer fits in the boot. It comes with a telescoping ladder for easily climbing up and down the roof, as well as a foam mattress with removable cotton cover, so you don’t need to purchase a separate sleeping pad. Dimensions are 84 x 55 x 12.8 inches when packed, all while rising to a peak height of 43 inches.
The Thule Tepui Hybox Wedge is available now, priced at $2,995.95.