Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Outdoors
  3. News

This rooftop tent kit will turn your van into a pop-top camper for about $12K

Transform your two-person rig into a legit, four-person, family-friendly chariot

Camper van outfitted with Super Pacific's CloudCap pop-up roof tent parked among a stand of trees.
Super Pacific

Van life usually means sacrificing comfort and living space for maximum portability. There’s no denying that it’s tight packing most of the amenities of home into the back of a hollowed-out work van. So, anything you can do to make the space feel a little roomier feels like a luxury. Super Pacific’s clever CloudCap does just that by converting the unused space on your camper van’s roof into a legit two-person “bedroom” with a view.

The details on Super Pacific’s CloudCap pop-up rooftop tent for camper vans

Side view of Super Pacific's CloudCap rooftop camper van tent.
Super Pacific

Super Pacific bills the CloudCap  as “a private bunk house for the kids, a guest room for friends, or a panoramic Crow’s Nest for you.” Bottom line: It expands the living space of many two-person camper vans into four-person road-trip wagons. The simple kit includes the rooftop tent itself, plus all the instructions and mounting hardware you need to install it on the most popular Mercedes-Benz and Ford Transit vans on the road.

Recommended Videos

The tent features a streamlined, low-profile design that adds minimal height to your van rig. When you’re ready to make camp for the night, it pops up in seconds into a wedge-shaped sleep space. It’s all accessed via an internal pass-through hole from your van’s cabin, so you don’t even need to step foot outside to climb “upstairs.” The design features three storm doors, built-in insect screens, and passive venting for an airy, breezy feel. Inside is an Exped Megamat Duo LW+ — one of the best camping mattresses we’ve ever personally tested. It’s compact, lightweight, self-inflating, and way more comfy than almost any other camp sleep surface you’ve slept on.

What further sets the design apart is that it’s not just a pop-up rooftop tent. Super Pacific thought to add universal T-slots and mounting points all around, so you can customize your CloudCap however you like. Add solar panels, an awning, a vent fan, a lightbar, and even cross-bars for stashing all your favorite outdoor adventure gear. Buyers can also option the interior with a “hammock-style” gear loft and a Therma Puff liner designed for cold-weather camping. The latter makes the CloudCap a true all-weather solution for year-round van camping.

Buy your own CloudCap pop-up rooftop tent

Young man with a child inside the Super Pacific CloudCap pop-up rooftop camper van tent.
Super Pacific

The CloudCap is available now for Mercedes Sprinter (178″ and 144″) and Ford Transit (148″) vans, which covers a large portion of the modern van life market. Super Pacific promises a dead-simple install that anyone with a few basic tools and a little DIY know-how can complete for their own van. The base price is just $12,200, and adding optional accessories like the Therma Puff liner, Gear Loft, and awning brackets will push the total price a little higher. But can you really put a price tag on an all-in-one kit that transforms your two-person camper van into a legit, four-person, family-friendly chariot?

Buy Now

Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He’s kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South… Read Full Bio
Topics
I tried the Yozma IN 10 Pro electric dirt bike, and it was nothing like riding an e-bike
i tried the yozma in10 pro electric dirt bike and it was nothing like riding an e img 0424

I’ve spent plenty of time riding e-bikes, but I’d never ridden an electric dirt bike before. When I had the opportunity to try the Yozma IN 10 Pro, I was curious to see how the two would compare. As it turns out, they’re completely different experiences. The IN 10 Pro is fast, surprisingly loud, and considerably more powerful than anything I’d ridden before.

I didn’t push the bike anywhere near its advertised top speed of 50 mph, and I didn’t need to. Even at lower speeds, riding the IN 10 Pro was a lot of fun. Between the powerful acceleration, responsive steering, and the way it handled gravel and dirt, there was plenty to enjoy. And despite all that power, the ride was surprisingly comfortable, even over uneven ground. It didn’t take long for me to understand why people love riding dirt bikes.

Read more
Arc’teryx x BEAMS: The blend of Alpine tech and Tokyo style
Arc'teryx x Beams

The new Arc’teryx x BEAMS collection celebrates the brands’ 25-year collaboration and the blending of technical function with street-savvy style. The line highlights a re-creation of the 1998 Arc’teryx Theta hardshell, a Gamma softshell jacket, and Jogen bouldering pants. All come in the signature Kōyō color palette, modeled after Japan’s autumn leaves. 

I wore the Gamma Jacket and Jogen pants during the fall changeover in Virginia’s picturesque Shenandoah Valley, testing for warmth, wind resistance, and style. Here’s my take.

Read more
More than a name: Meet Eddie Bauer, the true-life explorer behind your outdoor brand
Clothing, Hat, Face

From the time I was a little man, I excitedly tugged at the shirt tails of my father and grandfather every time they left the house to do anything relatively outdoorsy. They would leave the house hauling gun cases, fishing poles, camping gear, hiking packs. The men of my life loved everything adventurous, and they would do it every chance they could. When I was big enough, I would be allowed to come with them. I got my own boots. I procured my own active wear that could resist the weather. I opened my own parka for Christmas. Not only was I now in the same boat with them, in the same tent with them, and in the same deer stand with them. I also wore the same brand as them. Eddie Bauer was their go-to, and it had become my go-to.

But what was it about that brand? What was it about the man behind the brand that became the man’s best friend in the wilderness? Well, here is what you need to know about the guy who ditched the work world to open an outdoor brand simply so he could go outdoors all the time. And made it possible for my grandfather, my father, and then me.

Read more