Welcome to my James Baroud Roof Top Tent page on SDRover!
You can read about my first impressions of the James Baroud tent here.
I’ve had the James Baroud out for multiple trips and wanted to give you some more impressions about the tent. Overall my experience has been very favorable with only a few mild annoyances.
The model of the James Baroud is the Evasion. The outside dimensions are a length of 78.5″ by a width of 55.5″. Height closed is 13.5″ and open is 41.5″ The tent weighs 145 lbs.
I’ve found the tent to be plenty roomy for two people. I am 6″2″ and I’m able to stretch out the length of the tent without being crowded. We’ve actually had 2 dogs up with us on several occasions, but it’s a better experience without them.
Here are some of the features that sold me on the James Baroud Roof Top Tent.
- 5-year warranty
- Fiberglass outer shell – much better than canvas or aluminum in my mind
- Built-in solar powered fan for ventilation
- Wind tested – desert camping is famous for winds
The tent fabric is a proprietary aluminized polyester with an acrylic coating that is 100% waterproof, breathable, and UV resistant according to James Baroud. It is also solar-reflective. Windows are covered with a quality insect-proof netting. I really love how this tent opens up on warm days
The mattress is a 3″ moisture-resistant high-density foam mattress. I also purchased the optional Comfort Mat. The pad provides a cushion between the mattress and the bottom of the tent and also provides important ventilation. I highly recommend this addition for both purposes.
One of the few complaints that I have regarding the tent is the mattress. While not a deal breaker I wish it could have been a bit thicker. The pad does help a great deal, however. I am thinking of trying my sea to summit pads at some point. I also keep a flat sheet installed to protect the mattress liner, which is washable.
The interior offers storage with a large ceiling storage net and a removable storage pocket. I found them both useful. In fact, I use the ceiling storage net to hold up an iPad for watching movies at night.
I really like the patented gas strut-assisted opening mechanism. Set up is really easy and I feel the struts give the tent some strength in windy situations. I encountered very windy conditions in Joshua Tree NP the last trip and felt pretty good about how the tent performed. See more in video 3.
The Ladder is okay but not great. It is a telescoping aluminum ladder but it does not lock. This is necessary since different installs on vehicles would require a different length. I store the ladder in the James Baroud tent while driving. I’ve found you have to be careful as many times during the night the ladder will shift against the Rover and needs to be adjusted for a safe exit. I may consider changing to the Front Runner ladder and roof rack mount at a later date – but not an urgent thing.
The outer shell is aerodynamic and has not affected my mileage that much. Of course, the Land Rover LR4 is a very heavy vehicle with a large V8 so not much affects the lousy mileage! Heavy winds are noticeable but have driven at high speeds with no issues.
Two other nice features are the LED Lighting included with the James Baroud Tent. It is rechargeable via USB to 12 volt. It has an integrated belt clip on the roof. Ventilation, when the tent is tightly zipped up, is provided by a unique electronic ventilation fan that is powered by solar. I’ve found it’s easy to forget to turn the fan off before closing up the tent. It’s also a bit odd that you have to stick your finger into the fan to reach the on/off switch. I’ve had no issues with the fan running the full night, the manufacturer states 24 hours on a single charge.
Below are three videos going over the operation of the tent. The first video shows how easy it is to open the tent up and was filmed in Yosemite Valley. Each time I deploy the tent it gets to be easier with little tricks that help.
Video 3 coming soon! Please subscribe to SDRover’s YouTube Channel to be alerted.