Tough Touring - 1/58 Tarnard Drive Braeside, Victoria 3195.
Phone: 0408 390 078
Roof top tents, 4wd Awning Bracket & Rack Manufacturers
Getting Roof top tents onto Toyota Land Cruiser 200 and 300 series
Packing a 200 or 300 for longer term touring is hard. So we reccommend 'Load bearing' roof tents - in Lieu of Trailers - Tents that can double as a roof rack and carry wood, chainsaw, toilet bucket, Chairs etc ontop when in the rough stuff.
The Big challenges :
* Small cargo space - difficult to remove rear seats.
* Rear wind fairling fouls on most Swing out 270 awnings and stops rear ladder entry to Roof tent.
* Nowhere to carry Firewood, mount shovel, Chainsaw and porta potti , no good rear ladder options to even get up onto a rack due to the wind fairing.
The Solutions:
* Towing an offroad trailer can add heaps of space for all the gear - but thats not for everyone.
* If your not going to tow - Fita roof tents that can also be used as a roof rack
* Fit a strong Low profile roof rack that sits forward to prevent Awning foul on the wind fairing
The Tuff Trek Mk3
A load bearing roof rack that you sleep in
has just come into the Australian Market and Offers possibly the best finished quality offering we've seen for the Money thus far. Its particularly well suited to the 200 series (and Most other 4wd Touring wagons) due to its ability to carry loads on top and provide the extra storage space - but unlike others before - without the height ore weight of its competitors like the Bush company range - .. This is a LOW profile aluminium / canvas tent - 190mm thick at the front, 260mm at the rear - It has chequerplate aluminium top, with strong supporting Beams running east west in the roof and the floot.
Its able to be mounted to the majority of vehicles without a roof rack basket - Directly to our purpose built roof rails... adding just 280mm overall to the height of the 200 series but still carrying all bedding inside easily.
More on this here - "Tuff Trek Installation"
BEFORE YOU BUY Any roof rack that you intend to fit an Awning or roof top tent ontop of - The 200 and 300 SERIES have issue with the Rear wind Fairing (200 & 300) and the aerial (300) foul on almost all awnings preventing opening the rear door...
We have Addressed this issue by building a 'Tough Touring Roof top tent rack' specifically for the 200/300 that sits lower and forward far enough to get the awnings arms infront of the wind fairing.
Notes:
1. Awning Chosen also must be an UP mount Bracket system - Usually best to Mount the awning to the tent sidewall...
2. The awning chosen is almost always going to need the Last swing arms 'joint' into the hinge to be a single arm / nested on the TOP of the hinge to give it swing over clearance with the rear door opens.
you want your awning to sit as low as possible, Tough Touring Bracket systems can be installed with exact forward positioning of our Platform and roof tent racks combined with an OSTRICH WING AWNING for the lowest and best results possible on these trucks. -
Boss Aluminium RT1:
Customers seeking ultimate comfort in wind, rain, heat and wanting a Manual Lift clamshell can't go past the Boss RT1. We have fitted Boss Aluminium tents to 200's with great success. This tent is huge - it has a high lift clamshell design and meticulous Australian manufacturing puts this beast of a tent ahead of the competition for finish overall and clever design.
The Boss can carry swags whilst also running solar - as well as carrying an inner-spring mattress and 'home like' electrical comforts. The high spec versions of this tent offer home like comforts - ipad mounts, dimmable lights - you name it.
The Boss RT1 Sits on 40mm High Fitting rails, and at 320mm thick - its overall height starts to creep up with this tent installed. We'd Reccommend running this tent on our rack - which is designed to get this tent as low as possible on the LC 200 while giving the strength required to carry its 110kgs.
Authors Opinion on Quality RTT for these vehicles long term:
"It comes down to 3 or 4 tents in the End - The Load bearing Firewood carrying Tuff Trek Mk3" or if your incorporating towning a small trailer for 'Dirty gear' - The Straight lifting Bundutec Bundutop with its 'Skirt' and 4 way ventialation is the comfort option you cant beat. .." When you buy a 200 - Your paying for one to be in the "comfortable offroad category".
The New 'Bullett" roof tent has the best on and off road manners being lightest and lowest on the roof its the best looking option that you may still fit in a garage at a great price too, well worth a look in the Price concious end of the competition.
I have eliminated all of the 85 odd Tents of Chinese Manufactured Origin in this list because of the Non Porous fabric used on them. China does not manufacture any organic Cotton canvas, and as a result the chinese manufactured tents are totally waterproof... This creates 'pockets' of stale water inside the folds of the plastic 'canvas' that can't dry out. They tend to stink quickly and moisture from your breath will show as droplets on the walls unless well ventiated.
Authors word on roof tents for the 200 series
The Roof top tent that is closest to the solution and WORTH A good hard Lood as at 2025 - is by a long way The Tuff Trek mk3... Its the closest match as it Deals with the lack of 'dirty space' the best with its load bearing roof and low profile / Its super comfortable / it looks the goods and its lighter than its closest similar option - The bush company AX27...(also a great tent) - All of the Tents mentioned here on this page all have their pro's and cons - and individual requirements will vary - we've just shortened the list to the main winners according to our list of 'Important attributes' listed here - so I'd advise you don't take my word for it, climb in and set up a few... You'll know right away there are major differences in all of them.
An by the way - Avoid almost all tents of chinese manufacturing origin. You can count on the accommodation being akin to sleeping on cardboard in a raincoat. Fine for a pissed weekend - but long term touring they will hurt the wallet with a lack of enthusasm for continued roof camping.
Bullett Roof top tent Aluminium & Composite construction
- Integrates with Tough touring Roof top tent racks and requires no crossbars for a very quiet and very Low installation at just 22 cm off the roof... Its a 20cm x 210cm x 135cm tent..
- 69 Kgs Mattress Included Rear Pop out 'Bullnose' design- Huge Internal space No spring steel poles
- Easier set up and no flapping in wind Leave Bedding inside
- Closes in testing here with 70mm Foam Mattress and 2 x Thick Minus 4 Rated Sleeping bags inside. Pillows were Stored in Car. Scizzor lift Front
- Provides space for big feet & taller persons. Super Solid Base, Extrusion and Roof panels The Tent can be packaged with Tough Touring Roof footrails inclusion
- vehicle specific The Tent can be packaged with Tough Touring Awning to Tent brackets Natural and Internal USB powered LED lighting (battery not included)
Premium quality 280gsm Ripstop Polycotton Canvas Nitrogen gas struts Exceptional ventilation with 2 door & 4 windows
- Cross Flow Ventilation 7cm high density foam / removable mattress with removable cover Rubber Seam sealing for 100% waterproofing
Bundutec Bundutop:
You can't beat the Bundutop for ease of Use, comfort in Wind, Rain, Heat or Cold, It offers privacy, space and luxurious offroad accommodation with a small footprint and light weight. its RV winch motor sets up the camp with a press of a button.
The Bundutop is a 4-sided lift with pop-out rain skirt - making it our number one rated tent for airflow and comfort especially in hot and humid areas.
When Fitting this tent to the LC 200 - Awnings need to be fitted directly to the tent - See here - (Rather than the rack) as the rear of the vehicle Tapers inward and is quite narrow - allowing an unaccptable amount of flex through the racks. Tents Over 1400mm Wide start to look very Big on this vehicle.
These tents can be made removable via 4 latches after holidays using the Tough Touring Cradle Mount. - Included in our 'Bundutop Platform rack'
The Bundutop KING in Particular suits the LC 200 well - It overhangs the roof line by approx 100mm - and gives 200 owners a bit more space inside the tent out of the weather for storage of lightweight gear like hiking chairs, flatpacked luggage, towel bags, sleeping bags etc that you just run out of dry storage room for in the tiny rear cargo area.
The Bundutop also offers the biggest flat roof area for solar power... Both the standard and King size tents will take 400w of solar panel using our Solar panel mounting kits... Its a massive point of difference with no other tent we know of being able to supply that much power as well as internal closed tent storage space out of the weather.
