Roam Adventure the Vagabond XL Rooftop Tent

The Roam Adventure the Vagabond XL Rooftop Tent is built from advanced and high quality materials, and it comes with an incredible combination of truly excellent features.

Key features & benefits

What is in the name

The Roam Adventure brand has three roof top tents in their Vagabond series that includes Vagabond Lite, Vagabond, and this Vagabond XL that is the largest of them. But note that the smaller Vagabond has basically the same features, this is just about the size.

This is a large soft shell roof top tent with capacity to accommodate 3 people very comfortably. It folds out when in use, and doubles its size. But for transportation, this is a compact box on the roof as shown in the picture below.

The tent cover: So this is the cover shown in the picture above, it protects the tent when folded and transported. It is with a zipper and with straps that keep it compressed.

The cool feature here is that when you uncover the tent, this cover can be rolled up and fixed at the floor of the tent, see the picture below. With this, it is quicky ready to use when it is time to pack the tent and to go. But you can also remove it completely of course if it is on the way to open the car’s door for example.

Note that the cover is equipped with very efficient buckles that keep it tight and stable on the roof during the trip. The cover fabric is a very strong and thick black heavy-duty laminated 720 gsm PVC material.

The door and windows 

This Vagabond XL Tent has openings on all four sides and they are all protected from the rain. So the three separate windows are double layer, with a zippered mesh and panel.

But you also have awnings everywhere. The picture below shows one of them supported with its two rods. You can also keep them rolled if this suits you better. The door is also with the same double-layer structure.

But this is not all, you also have two skylight windows, both with mesh and panels. They are paired with the solid translucent windows integrated into the fly. So you can enjoy watching the stars all the time. The picture below shows how it looks from inside, one of the skylight windows is visible.

Ventilation

With those huge mesh openings on all the sides and also with two of them on the roof, you can have as much ventilation as you need. Note that the roof windows are protected with the fly, so you can keep them with mesh to let vapor escape easily.

But they have added two extra vents on the side walls. The picture above shows one of them, it is on the left above the window. So even if you have to close everything (if you feel cold for example), you can still have the space ventilated.

One more detail must be added here. With so many options, you can actually direct your ventilation. This means if you open the opposite windows, you might have more ventilation in the case of an appropriate wind direction.

In other words, it can be even better with only two windows open. Try it and you will probably experience this.

All in all, ventilation in this tent can never be an issue, this is all properly done.

Vagabond XL Tent materials

The bottom: Here you have two layers of aluminum with an insulation sandwiched in between. This whole structure is strong and stable, without any noise and creaking when you move in the bed. This makes it quite different from the tents that have a bottom frame with slates.

On the other hand, when you see the tent folded for transportation, you realize that the meaning of ‘soft shell’ is under doubt here.

The picture below show what I mean, you see the tent ready to get the cover, when its floor is folded in half. So one half of the bottom plate becomes the roof of the box, and there is nothing really “soft” here.

From the picture above you also see how the ladder is transported, and there is the gear net that is attached. So when you unfold the tent, this gear net is underneath the floor and it is used to keep you stuff off the ground.

Mattress: The Vagabond XL tent comes with an in-built 3 inches (7.6 cm) thick memory foam mattress shown below. The mattress is with a zippered sleeve cover with its bottom material that is the same ripstop material as the tent fly.

There is also an anti-condensation mat included with Roam Vagabond XL to prevent moisture build-up underneath the mattress. It adds to the overall comfort as well, see how it looks:

The frame: This includes 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick aluminum tubes, and they are all wrapped in the same ripstop material in the same color as the tent, so you do not touch the cold metal anywhere. You can see them in the picture above.

Weather resistance & protection

The tent comes with a fly shown in the picture below. It is attached to the structure with strong straps and buckles. The picture shows how they look:

This is a very strong 600D PU-coated diamond ripstop nylon. I did not find its waterproof rating, but there is no doubt it must be very high. The mentioned roof windows are a clear vinyl.

The tent body is a durable 280 gsm ripstop polycotton with UV protection, and water and mold resistant. So this is the best quality material for such a purpose. There is no information about its waterproof rating. Note that they build this tent in three different color combinations.

You have straps to stake the whole structure to the ground, this is a really great addition, see the picture.

Porch design

This is yet another great detail here and you can see it in the pictures around. The tent extends deep over the entry area and the ladder is covered. So you have an area underneath half of the tent plus this porch extension that is all protected from the rain.

They have even added a zippered window with a mesh and a panel on the tent’s body. This can be open and this will add even more views from inside of the tent. See this all in the green version of this tent:

With all these features in place, I am confident in saying that this is a roof top tent suitable for year round use, and for practically every weather conditions.

I would not really use it in extremely windy places, but this holds for all roof top tent. All in all, this is a very reliable shelter that can take a lot, and it will protect you wherever you use it.

Capacity

You will see all the numbers in the specifications below. Here to stress that you have 72 inches (183 cm) wide floor area, so this is perfect for up to three people side by side.

But there is more to this, see below in the text about the annex.

Other details

• There are several storage pouches inside, one in every corner.
• Inside you have attachment rings for four bungees. Now, this is yet another cool detail. You attach bungees inside so that when you close the tent, they pull the walls inside and this makes packing the tent far easier.
• All zipper pulls are rubberized and quiet, see one pair below.
• Boot bags are also included, see one below. There is mesh on the bottom of the bags, so that water from wet boots can run out, and this holds for dust from boots as well. These bags are movable and also removable so you can wash them in the machine. Each if them has an extra mesh pocket for storage of small items.

In this video you can see some details about setting the tent up, please have a look:

Specifications

• Weight: 160 lb (72.6 kg).
• Size when closed: 72 x 48 x 12 in (183 x 122 x 30 cm).
• Size when open: 96 x 72 x 52 in (244 x 183 x 132 cm).
• Mattress: 3 in (7.6 cm).
• Warranty: The tent comes with a 5 year manufacturers/craftsmanship warranty. I have never seen any brand in this particular industry that would offer more.

Accessories

You have seen how functional this Roam Adventure the Vagabond XL roof top tent is. But they offer a few extras that would make it even more comfortable.

1. Annex

I guess the picture below tells it all. This is a very useful addition with its own windows and a door, all double layer.

But what you do not see is the fact that this annex is floored. So it comes with a removable floor, but it is equipped with a zipper and you can close the space completely from the ground.

The annex zips to the tent’s porch area on its three sides as in the picture. On the side to the car, it has a sliding sewn-in cord edge that you put in place of the previously mentioned cover. So you slide this into the channel on the side of the roof top tent’s floor, and this closes the annex space completely.

When this is all in place, you can use this space as it suits you. There are stakes included so that you secure it firmly to the ground.

Inside, you are fully protected from the elements, and also from the insects. So this is suitable to use as a ground area for sleeping, it can work well for a family with up to 4 kids.

So with a really small extra amount, you can have lots of additional protected space and functionality. You can check the price in the links below. Because it this, I have included the tent in my list of best roof top tents with an annex.

2. Vagabond Tent Insulation

They offer inner insulating layer for all of their roof top tents in this Vagabond series. This is a cocoon that you attach from inside as an extra layer of protection from the cold. The picture shows how it looks when in place. You can see more on the Roam Adventure site.

3. Vagabond Roof Top Tent Sheet

This is yet another accessory that they offer for every Vagabond tent, and they also have it in three different versions. So you can have a soft 400 thread count cotton cover, a waterproof terry cloth cover for extra protection, and as a Lite cotton option.

Places to buy

Roam Adventure

Overland Junction

Backcountry

Final thoughts

Let me know what you think, there is a comment box below. For more stuff of this type please check under the category Roof Top Tents. You can read in my separate text how this tent compares with the Crua AER Maxx. Note that the general shape of this Vagabond XL is very similar to some other tents presented in the site here.

Bookmark this site and keep as a reference, you will always have new texts added here and this will keep you informed. Thank you for reading and have a nice day.