Your name: Laura Skaggs
Location: Provo, UT
Nickname: “The Bronco”
Make & Model: Automatic 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands Edition
HEST products: HEST Camp Pillows
Roof Top Tent Make & Model: iKAMPER X-Cover 2.0 (150 lbs)
Critical dimensions for your bed platform:
When the rooftop tent is open the dimensions are as follows
Length: 96“ (48” when rooftop tent is closed)
Width (at narrowest point): 77“
Height: 48” (13” when rooftop tent is closed)
*When the iKamper X-Cover rtt is open, its about the size of a California king sized bed and sleeps 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 kids
Is this your daily driver or getaway car?
This is my daily ride and that’s part of why it’s been so fun. I feel like I’m always ready to just take off and go play any time.
What do you like most about your rig?
Someone once described this set up as a “swiss army knife of camping” and I loved that and thought it was on point. Fold out rooftop tent with bedding inside, check. Trunk slide out kitchen with adjacent fridge, check. Swing away cargo system, check. Clique chairs that fold down to a water bottle size, check…
It’s efficient and all while keeping the seating in the vehicle free for everyday driving. The portability of the set up has made it really easy just to go tailgate somewhere beautiful even on a weeknight. Also, the Badlands edition of the Bronco Sport has a 2.0L engine, 1.5” lift and ruggedized flooring; making it a nice little SUV for the rougher terrain that comes with camping. And the iKamper X-Cover 2.0 is awesome for its panoramic views and double skylights.
On your average weekend adventure, what is the gear set up you bring with you? How did you navigate gear storage needs into your rig set up?
I have my Bronco Sport Badlands outfitted with a slide out Nomad Kitchen and an Iceco Fridge strapped into the back. I also bring along an Outland Propane Fire Pit and 20 gallon tank for it, as well as a 5 gallon tank for the camping stove that’s inside the kitchen. I’ve got an Ecoflow River Power Station with 110 watt solar panel to keep the fridge powered along with anything else we might need to charge up. I load in 4 Cliq Camping Chairs and two small folding tables and they take up hardly any room. Add a couple of bins for food, a water tank and each person’s duffle bags/personal items and that’s the basic setup. It works great for weekend trips.
Storage is greatly helped by being able to keep sleeping gear inside of the rooftop tent when it’s closed. Also, I added the Yakima Exo Cargo System to the hitch and that gives us lots of options to bring things along.
Coolest place you’ve taken your rig to?
We just got this set up put together this summer and so far we’ve had a chance to camp in Zion’s National Park, Smith & Morehouse Reservoir, Albion Basin, Flaming Gorge and Carlsbad State Beach Campgrounds. All of them have been truly amazing in their own right and we can’t wait to do more!
Biggest challenge in your build out?
This is definitely a compact build so I’m always gravitating to products that make things small, sturdy, lighter weight and efficient to make it all work. Throughout the process, I’ve needed to be really mindful of weight capacities on everything from the roof (160 lbs dynamic, 600 lbs static), to loading cargo on the hitch (220 lbs), because this is not a larger SUV.
Tips for others looking to do the same to their vehicle?
Having a wind deflector on the rooftop tent makes it feel a lot more safe to drive with that big ol’ tent up there. Before I added a wind deflector, it was catching a lot of air to the point that the rack came loose in high winds. Zero issues and lots more peace of mind since adding the wind deflector.
