You’ve geared up your rig with every possible thing needed for a big adventure, only to show up on-site and find that your soft-sided rooftop tent isn’t allowed due to the local wildlife possibly taking a keen interest in what’s inside the canvas wrapper on your truck. Yes, it happens. Solution? Outside of a typical trailer or sleeping in the cab, there’s the hard-sided folding rooftop tent from the appropriately named Hardsider.
The innovative Hardsider system uses origami-style folding walls to collapse the top tent into a low-profile travel topper that connects to a rack system installed on a truck. When not needed, the tent portion quickly detaches to free up the rack to carry other gear.
The interior design can be as simple or as organized as the buyer wishes, with four trims to choose from ranging from no-frills to a bench and shelves with a desk. Windows and storage portals in the setup open from both inside and outside the rig. Additionally, there is a slide-thru storage rack with MOLLE points for quickly attaching gear. Hardsider claims the design was originally designed for the US Department of Defense.
The sleeping portion of the RTT extends over the truck’s cab, possibly negating adding a roof rack to the cab, but the tradeoff is the design creates a large stand-up area at the back of the pickup bed without having to move panels or supports – or move the person still asleep under the sheets.
The tent system can be outfitted with LED markers and strip lights for nighttime illumination. Hardsider says, “Our hybrid walls use a composite honeycomb core wrapped in ballistic nylon to create a folding shell that’s compact when folded but strong when open.” Setup and takedown appear to be easy and quick. The systems will arrive ready for Starlink satellite internet service installations.
At present, Hardsider is taking pre-orders for the as-yet-unnamed system. Interest parties can place a $500 deposit to hold a spot in the production line. No pricing has been announced so far, and Hardsider says on their site that they hope to start shipping the finished racks and tent setups directly to customers this year. Once delivered, Hardsider says two people can install the system relatively quickly, and the setup will be available for a wide variety of trucks.
