2 Easy Hacks To Get Your Dog In/Out of Roof Top Tents

Carrying even small dogs up a ladder to your rooftop tent is freakishly hard and almost seems impossible. Especially when they decide 5 am is a good time to get up and start giving a kissy face to go potty.

Plus, You have to worry about the chances of your dog getting hurt trying to get him into the RTT.

And Big dogs?? Out of the question!!

It sucks! We know camping with dogs is fun and awesome. Nobody wants to leave them home.

So today, we will show a couple of effortless and easy hacks you can use to get your furry friend inside your RTT.


1) Use Yoga Mats or Stick-on Traction Pads

German Shepard getting out of a roof top tentGSD getting out the roof top tent with ease. Source @ChasingOurTrunks

This is a unique hack. Put yoga mats or stick-on tracking pads on the hood and windshield of your vehicle to create a “runway” -- This should give your dog enough grip and traction to climb in and out of the front window of the rooftop tent without your help.

You can find good quality stick-on traction pads and yoga mats on amazon for under $50. Here are the ones we recommend:

Dog getting inside a roof top tentDog getting inside the RTT. Source @j2dxplr.79174

A couple of things to note:

  • If your hood's height is too tall, you might have to hoist your pup onto the hood yourself.
  • While this hack also works for big dogs, we think sleeping big dogs inside a rooftop tent is impossible. It will get congested for them.

2) Use Annex (Perfect for Big Dogs)

Roam vagabond roof top tent with annexRoam Vagabond roof top tent with add-on-room.

This is not a perfect hack, but it works for all sizes of dogs. Most rooftop tents today have the option to add an annex. Annexes are add-on rooms typically made using waterproof fabric and a PVC floor.

You can put your dog's crate in the annex and get him to sleep there. It will be way more comfortable for them than sleeping inside the tent as they will have much more space.

To buy an annex, please check the website from which you purchased your rooftop tent. Typically, they range anywhere from $250-$450 (varies depending on their size).

We hope these hacks work for you. The second one is not ideal, but hey, you get to take your dog on all your overlanding adventures without leaving him home, and it's better than making him sleep on your car's seat.


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