Rooftop Tents for Sale in South Africa: Prices and Our Picks

Cover photo: Dometic Front Runner.

A new rooftop tent in South Africa costs from R14,700 for a canvas fold-out to R77,396 for a four-sleeper hardshell. The typical tent on sale today costs about R42,500.

Our pick: the Front Runner Feather-Lite II at R16,500 if you camp a few times a year, and an Alu-Cab hardshell if you move camp every night.

How you camp decides the rest. If you move camp every night through Botswana, a hardshell earns its price. If you sit in Kruger for a week and drive out twice a day, look at a ground tent or a camper trailer first. A rooftop tent has to close every time the car moves.

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The live table shows a couple of tents from each store. The big hardshells, like the Alu-Cab Gen 3-R and the iKamper Skycamp, are in our full list further down.

What a rooftop tent costs in South Africa

Call it a roof tent, a rooftop tent or an RTT. It is the same thing. Here is what the money buys, from tents in stock on 23 October 2026.

Price band	What you get	Examples
Under R20,000	Canvas fold-out (softshell)	Tentco 1.2m R14,700; Front Runner Feather-Lite II R16,500; Tentco 1.4m R16,660
R23,000 to R35,000	Imported tents from newer brands, and the first hardshells	Runva and ADA Overland tents; San Hima Kalbarri Lite hardshell R31,995; Quick Pitch Aero R33,695
R35,000 to R50,000	Mid-price hardshells, plus Dometic’s inflatable tent	Howling Moon Comet Ultra R35,283; Ironman Orion 1200 R39,500; Alu-Cab LT-50 R40,995; Ironman Orion 1400 R42,500; Dometic TRT 140 AIR R45,299
R50,000 and up	Premium and family hardshells	Alu-Cab RT-2S R51,296; iKamper Skycamp 3.0 Mini R53,000; Alu-Cab Gen 3-R R53,996; iKamper Skycamp 3.0 R62,200; Alu-Cab RT-4S R77,396

Look at the gap. Nothing is in stock between R16,660 and R22,995. So “entry level” means a canvas tent for R15,000 to R17,000. The next step up starts at about R23,000.

The sticker is also not the fitted price. The tent needs a rack and mounts, and most people add an awning. Here is a Feather-Lite II on a Land Cruiser 300, with Dometic’s prices on the day.

Item, Land Cruiser 300	Price
Slimline II roof rack kit	R15,000
Feather-Lite II tent	R16,500
Tent Mount Kit, 4 piece	R535
Rack and tent, before fitting	R32,035
Easy-Out awning, 2 m	R5,026
Awning brackets	R659
Everything, before fitting	R37,720

Owners on the forums put it plainly: the extras add up. Plan for them from the start.

Hardshell or softshell?

A softshell is a canvas tent. It folds out over its ladder and packs away under a zip-on cover. A hardshell has a hard lid that latches shut. Locals call the wedge kind a clamshell.

People who move camp often end up on a hardshell. The switch usually comes after one bad morning. A Howling Moon owner at Camdebo woke to canvas frozen stiff and wet. He packed it away with his bedding inside and sold it for a hardshell. He says he has not looked back.

But a good canvas tent kept dry will last. Some owners have used the same one for 15 years and see no reason to spend clamshell money.

Dust. A good canvas tent can stay dust-tight. One owner did Kubu twice with no dust inside. A cheap one lets dust in at the fold, before the cover goes on. On the road from Nossob to Twee Rivieren, that fold matters. A closed hardshell takes the question away.

Baboons and monkeys. In South African camps they open zips and tear canvas. Owners report it on pop-tops at Letaba and Balule and on caravans at Mabalingwe. So pack the tent away when you leave camp and keep food in the vehicle. A latched hardshell is the simple answer.

Tall vehicles. Strapping a canvas cover down on a high roof is a fight. On a bakkie load bed it is easy. That matters more on a 300 or a 200 than on a 79 with a canopy.

	Softshell (canvas)	Hardshell
Cheapest in stock	R14,700	R31,995
Setting up	Take the cover off, unfold over the ladder	Undo the latches and the lid lifts
Dust	Good ones seal; cheap ones leak at the fold	Sealed when closed
Baboons and monkeys	Zips and canvas are a target	Latched shut
Closed length	Short (Feather-Lite II: 1.22 m)	Often long (Gen 3-R: 2.3 m)
Mattress	Feather-Lite II: 6 cm	Gen 3-R: 7 cm

Every rooftop tent worth looking at

These are the tents South Africans actually buy. Prices were checked on 23 October 2026.

Tent	Type	Weight	Price	Our take
Tentco 1.2m / 1.4m	Canvas, made in SA	Not published	R14,700 / R16,660	Cheapest way off the ground
Front Runner Feather-Lite II	Canvas fold-over	49 kg with ladder and cover	R16,500	Our first-tent pick
Quick Pitch Aero	Hardshell clamshell, made in SA	60 kg	R33,695	Cheapest SA-made hardshell we found in stock
Howling Moon Comet Ultra	Aluminium hardshell	Not published	R35,283	Plain, proven, local
Ironman Orion 1200 / 1400	Aluminium hardshell	Not published	R39,500 / R42,500	A fair mid-price rival
Alu-Cab LT-50	Light hardshell, Cape Town	46 kg before the mattress	R40,995	Our light hardshell pick
Dometic TRT 140 AIR	Canvas on air beams	47.89 kg	R45,299	Quick to pitch, thin mattress
Eezi-Awn Blade 40th Edition	Hardshell, Joburg	82 kg	R48,810	Heavy but well built
BunduTop (Standard)	Electric hardshell	73 kg plus a 7 kg ladder	From R50,700	Opens at the push of a button
Alu-Cab Gen 3-R	Hardshell, Cape Town	About 76 kg without mattress and ladder	R53,996	The benchmark
iKamper Skycamp 3.0	Fold-out hardshell	74 kg	R62,200	Widest bed, sleeps 2 adults and 2 kids

On dometic.com, Front Runner sells one rooftop tent today: the Feather-Lite II. There is no Front Runner hardshell. So for a light or mid-price hardshell, the honest pick is another brand.

Dometic also sells iKamper tents. On the day we checked, iKamper’s own South African store had the Skycamp 3.0 for R61,000. That is R1,200 less than Dometic. Dometic’s Skycamp pages also say “In-Store Collection Only”. Check delivery before you order from far away.

You will find tents made here next to imports. Alu-Cab, Eezi-Awn, Tentco, Howling Moon, Bundutec and Quick Pitch build in South Africa. Runva, San Hima, Ironman’s Orion and iKamper are imported. Made here means spares and repairs are close by.

Eezi-Awn and Alu-Cab are the two big local names, and both are good. Alu-Cab’s Gen 3-R adds USB and USB-C points, a heater vent and solar compatibility.

Second-hand is normal too. People often sell a Feather-Lite within a year to buy an Alu-Cab, and the forum classifieds are busy.

Our picks

First tent, under R20,000: Front Runner Feather-Lite II, R16,500. It costs R160 less than a Tentco 1.4m. It weighs 49 kg, and that includes the ladder and the cover. The fly hangs over the door, so you climb in dry. The floor is insulated and the mattress is 6 cm thick. Mounts start at R535 and go in the same cart. Dometic gives a 2-year warranty and 30-day returns, and dispatches in 1 to 2 working days. The limits: it is canvas, it sleeps two, and the cover has to come off every time. If every rand counts, the Tentco 1.2m costs R14,700.

Light hardshell: Alu-Cab LT-50, R40,995. It weighs 46 kg before the mattress. The catch is size. Owners say it is low and short inside, and the mattress is 6 cm. That is fine for two average people. It is less fine for a tall sleeper on a long trip.

The last tent you buy: Alu-Cab Gen 3-R, R53,996. It is built in Cape Town and has a 7 cm mattress. Alu-Cab gives 2 years on the structure. Moving parts like hinges and struts get 1 year. Claims go through the dealer you bought from. To put either Alu-Cab on a Front Runner rack, Front Runner sells an Alu-Cab Roof Top Tent Mount Kit (R2,200). Ask the shop which brackets your Alu-Cab model needs before you order.

Family: iKamper Skycamp 3.0, R62,200 at Dometic. It sleeps two adults and two kids, and weighs 74 kg. Dometic’s page advises the Quick Release Tent Mount Kit (R1,200). Two things to know. The page gives a 110 km/h limit, and the N1 is 120 km/h. And remember iKamper’s own store had it cheaper on the day.

The Dometic TRT 140 AIR is not a pick. It pumps up with the 12 V pump in the box and has a 3-year warranty. But R45,299 buys a real hardshell, and its mattress is only 3.2 cm. It also has no South African track record yet.

Weight and roof racks

The limit that matters is your vehicle’s roof limit while driving. You will find it in the owner’s manual. Parked, the roof carries far more, which is why two people can sleep up there. That is the difference between “dynamic” load (moving) and “static” load (standing still).

Front Runner’s own fitting guides say its racks often carry more than the vehicle’s roof is rated for. They tell you to use Toyota’s figure. So the weak point is the roof, not the rack.

Do the sum before you buy. A Slimline II rack on a 300 weighs 42.57 kg. Add a Feather-Lite II and you are at about 92 kg. That is before firewood, jerry cans or a gas bottle. A Skycamp on the same rack puts you at about 117 kg.

That rack is also your cargo bay. A full-length clamshell eats all of it. A short tent leaves room. And measure your garage, or the security estate’s gate, before the tent goes on.

Front Runner’s Slimline II is the rack most Cruiser owners fit. These kits were all in stock on dometic.com on 23 October 2026.

Vehicle	Front Runner Slimline II kit	Price	Rack weight
Land Cruiser 300	300 Slimline II Roof Rack Kit	R15,000	42.57 kg
Land Cruiser 200	200 Slimline II Kit, Low Profile	R14,500	38.6 kg
Prado 250	Prado 250 3/4 Slimline II Kit	R10,800	31.82 kg
Prado 150	Prado 150 Slimline II Kit	R14,100	39.61 kg
76 wagon	76 Slimline II Kit, Low Profile	R16,600	42.1 kg
78 Troopy	78 Slimline II Rack, full length	R19,200	About 43 kg
79 double cab	79 double cab Slimline II Rack, full length	R11,500	About 26 kg

The racks carry a 5-year warranty when fitted to Front Runner’s own mounts. On a 79 double cab, most owners put the tent on a canopy or a load-bed rack, not on the cab. To compare rack prices from other South African stores, see our roof racks page.

Add an awning

Most people buy a tent and an awning together. Front Runner’s Easy-Out is a plain pull-out awning that shades one side of the car.

Front Runner Easy-Out	Price	Weight
Awning, 1.4 m	R4,938	9.5 kg
Awning, 2 m	R5,026	12.5 kg
Awning, 2.5 m	R5,290	13.5 kg
Awning brackets (you need these)	R659
Awning room, 2 m	R4,206

The fabric is UV rated 50+, and the warranty is 2 years. The Easy-Out and Ironman’s Deltawing 90° are the cheapest big-brand pull-out awnings we found, both about R4,900.

If you want shade round the back of the car too, you need a 270 degree awning. It swings out along the side and around the back. Eezi-Awn and Alu-Cab’s Shadow range are the local names. They cost about R13,000 to R19,000. That is a different product at about three times the price. Compare them on our rooftop tents and awnings page.

Where to buy a rooftop tent

Start with our rooftop tent price comparison. It compares every tent from South African stores, hardshell and softshell, with prices checked every day. Front Runner and iKamper tents sell through dometic.com. Alu-Cab, Eezi-Awn, Tentco, Howling Moon and Bundutec list their stockists on their own websites.

Once it is fitted, write down your tent’s serial number and your mount kit’s part number. If the car is stolen, the tent goes with it, and new mounts can be hard to find. Sleeping on the roof does not guard the car either. At Tietiesbaai on the West Coast in May, thieves emptied a bakkie while its owners slept in the tent on top.

The verdict

Here is where we stop hedging.

Your first tent: the Front Runner Feather-Lite II at R16,500. It is light, it keeps you dry at the door, and it will tell you what you really want next.

A light hardshell: the Alu-Cab LT-50 at R40,995, if you fit the bed.

The last tent you will buy: the Alu-Cab Gen 3-R at R53,996. Latch it shut, drive off, and the dust stays outside.

Sorted for sleeping? The next big buy is usually a fridge. Our camping fridge guide covers what size you need, how long a battery runs it, and today’s prices.

Still need a Cruiser that can carry it? See every Land Cruiser for sale.

Thanks to Alu-Cab and Dometic Front Runner for the photos.

Prices checked on dometic.com and at South African stores on 23 October 2026. The live table prices update daily.