Go Anywhere Sleep Anywhere 4x4 Everywhere

With a roar trip coming up on the Central Plateau, we were looking forward to some camping before winter set in. However, our tiny home was not going to make it over some of the offroad country we would need to contend with.

Faced with the prospect of getting the old tent out of the cupboard, we came upon a product that we had never seen or heard of before: rooftop tents. For those who travel to the remote parts of New Zealand, an outdoors person couldn’t wish for a better product to come along. Mudstuck are keen to show all outdoor enthusiasts how their roof top tent is the ultimate way to 4WD adventure camp around the country, making camping easy for the whole family.

Our roof top tent ‘’The Explorer’’ arrived packaged up in a box with all its contents. It does not require any assembly, except for mounting rails for a roof rack connection and fixing the ladder to access the tent. All holes are predrilled and the nuts, bolts and spanner are supplied, saving you time having to rumage through the garage for tools.

Instructions are provided on the website and are straightforward. In no time at all, a mate and I were lifting the tent onto the roof and getting it positioned to fix it down. Once all the bolts are tightened up (the most time is spent tightening all the nuts) and a safety check has been done to make sure it is all secure, it is time to pop the tent open and give it a try.

I was surpised to find out just how much can be packed down into a small package, that fits on your vehicle’s roof. Not only is there a comfortable mattress inside that packs down with it, but the walls also have pocket storage. There are ample windows that open to help with keeping condensation at a minimum and the top cover acts as a fly, deflecting any rain well away. This means that windows can stay open for ventilation, even when it is bucketing down outside.

When you are ready to hit the road, the waterproof heavy duty cover helps to keep the contents packaged and safe on your travels.

It was time to pack up the ute and head to the Central Plateau for the weekend.

Traveling along the road does not generate much noise, only if there’s a good headwind, and didn’t affect the gas mileage. By the time we arrived at our destination, I was keen to open “The Explorer” out and test how easy it would be to set up camp.

I am pleased to confirm that it was an easy setup. Remove the cover, unfold the top, climb in and pop the window and door covers out and you are ready to go.

Once the bed was made we were ready to experience the Mudstuck Explorer roof tent, and it was really put to the test as the coming days threw everything at us weatherwise.

Settling in after a day’s hunting and hitting that mattress is something else. Airbeds are notorious for sucking away your heat, and foam rolls suck, but to have something this comfortable that packs away with the tent is amazing and a real bonus.

The Mudstuck Explorer has many benefits including:

• Comfortable bedding is already provided;
• You can leave all your bedding and pillows made up;
• Plenty of windows/mesh/venting;
• Storage pockets;
• Good material thickness to withstand wear and tear;
• Packs up and down quicker than most tents;
• Option of having windows/door open while it rains;
• If you can drive there you can sleep there.

Thanks to Cheval Graham for this great write up about our Mudstuck Roof Top Tent.