The Camper's Mansion: Napier Sportz Midsize SUV Tent Review

The Camper's Mansion

Napier Sportz Midsize SUV Tent Review

Guest blogger, Rhea Perry

When we started this blog a few months ago I begged my friend Rhea Perry to write something for me about "that cool car camping thing." She very kindly and professionally penned this detailed review about a new way to have your camping adventures. Enjoy, and thank you to Rhea!

The Sportz™ Midsize SUV Tent is a perfect shelter for family camping adventures. The innovative design uses an adjustable durable tarp-like sleeve to transform your CUV, SUV or minivan into ample camping space.  This sleeve is also detachable to transform your shelter into a standard ground tent.

Last spring we were surfing the web for new family camping ideas and my husband stumbled on this SUV tent. I immediately fell in love with the idea of using the back of our Chrysler Town & Country as additional camping space. I was picturing a twin-sized air mattress in the back and space to change diapers while standing up. It was full of potential and convenience. As luck would have it, I found one barely used on a regional swap and sell site.
A few days before our camping trip, I backed my van into the yard and unfolded the tent to gain some experience setting up. I highly recommend this for any new tent purchase. There is little worse than showing up to your campsite in the dark and arguing over what goes where. I know I'm not the only one.

The assembly is a breeze and can be done by one person if needed. The tent assembles into a plentiful height of 6' in the corners and a spacious 7' in the center. The connecting SUV sleeve goes up over the open hatch and under the bumper encasing the backend of your vehicle to extend your living space into a mini mansion. The tent is equipped with a 6' x 6' awning and a 6' x 7' bottomless screen room if you've purchased that model.

I highly recommend this mini mansion shelter to any SUV owner looking for a little extra space and functionality in their car camping excursions.

Specs:

·         Adjustable SUV sleeve custom fits your CUV, SUV or minivan hatch creating additional     camping space.

·         Detachable SUV sleeve transforms tent into a standard ground tent.

·         9' x 9' footprint comfortably sleeps 4 - 5 persons.

·         7' of overhead room at the center and 6' in the corners.

·         Steel and fiberglass pole structure for strength and durability.

·         Waterproof polyester taffeta tent featuring full length taped and seamed rain fly and storm flaps in the windows.

·         Durable waterproof shower liner style floor prevents rain runoff from flooding in.

·         Cyclone Ventilation system provides adequate airflow without compromising storm coverage.

·         Two inside gear pockets and a gear loft.

·         Approximate weight: 30 lbs.

Recommendations:
Go for the screen room. We definitely wish we had that extra space.
Shop around. Most sporting goods stores offer the screen room model new from $260 - $370.
If you purchase the screen room model, spend the extra $30 on the Sportz Footprint to line the bottom of the screen room.
A standard twin sized air mattress is a bit too wide to fit the bed of an SUV or minivan. Coleman makes, at a reasonable price, a Portable SUV Quickbed that measures 41" x 63."
Likes:
I have to say the spacious overhead layout is my favorite feature of this tent.
The shower liner style floor is new to me in the world of camping equipment features and I was quite impressed with the ease of sweeping it out at the end of our trip as well as the ability to keep light rain from leaking in at the bottom seams.
Dislikes:
The adjustable SUV sleeve doesn't quite fit around the bottom of my 2013 Chrysler Town & Country. The bumper is a little wider than my previous 2010 Dodge Caravan model and consequently the sleeve comes up about an inch or two short in material to encase the bumper. To solve that issue, I tuck the bumper portion of the sleeve under the back row of my stow-n-go seating and the folded down seats seem to hold it in place just fine.
I saved a ton of money buying slightly used. The problem is that not everyone sweeps their tent out at the end of a camping stay and over time that dirt grinds at the tent like sandpaper when the tent is stored away. Our tent is in excellent condition with a few little holes in the mesh of the ceiling vent and top of the fly.
While the tent is perfect for car camping, it's much too bulky to kick the car sleeve and pack into camp to use as a ground tent even if the load was split between two persons.
Campground camping often requires lot scouting and reservation to secure the perfect space to fit the vehicle and tent side-by-side. 

­ Guest Blogger Spotlight:
Rhea Perry is a SAHM of 4 and blogger at Rhë Rambles rherambles.wordpress.com . She is a Washington state native, raised Montanan, currently living in the picturesque Utah valley. She's gained a lifelong love of backcountry adventures and enjoys sharing this love with family and friends.