How to Install Your Roofnest

Please read all of this information carefully before attempting to unbox and install your new tent.

What To Do When Your Tent Arrives

• Carefully “unbox” the tent by disassembling the cardboard box it arrives in.

Scissors or box cutter to remove pallet straps; do not use on cardboard box as you may inadvertently scratch the tent.

• Remove protective plastic film on top, bottom, and all sides.
• Your tent is now ready for installation or storage. Please watch this helpful video before installing your tent.

Some helpful tips for an easy install from one of our customers:

Installing Your Tent

• You will need two people that together can lift up to 200 lbs. Do not try to install your tent by yourself.
• If you’ll be installing your tent onto a vehicle with low profile/thin OEM crossbars (ex. Subaru Outbacks), please consider adding a “wrap” or layer of dense foam or rubber to the crossbars to increase clearance between the vehicle’s roof and the tent’s bottom.
• We suggest buying this product >
• The first step will be to recover the mounting hardware:
  • For Sparrows, open one side of the tent and remove the nylon bag containing the mounting hardware and ladder. Remove the small bag of mounting hardware from the nylon bag.
  • For Falcons and Falcon XLs, the mounting hardware is located within the separate box containing the telescoping ladder.
  • For Condors and Condor XLs, open the tent and remove the bag containing the mounting hardware.
• Remove all the mounting hardware and assemble four (4) mounting sets (for the Condor, the bolts do not need assembly). Hardware varies by tent model, but in general, it will look something like this:

• Lift your tent and place it in the general location you want it on your roof rack’s crossbars. It does not need to be perfectly centered at this point.

13 mm ratcheting wrench (Falcon, Falcon XL, Sparrows) or 17mm (Condor, Condor XL)

• At each corner, place one of the four (4) mounting sets you assembled into the mounting track on the base of the tent.
  • Next, slide one of the loose mounting plates into the track after the mounting bracket.
  • Next, lift one end of the tent high enough that you can slide the mounting set past your crossbar so that it’s on the inside of or between the two crossbars. Repeat this step with each of the four (4) mounting sets.
  • Complete the assembly by pushing the free bolt through the other hole in the mounting bracket and threading a nut onto it. Do not overtighten either of the nuts; keep them loose enough so that you can adjust the placement of the tent to a centered location on your crossbars.
    • If you have a hatchback, make sure you place the tent in a location that will allow your
      hatchback to fully open (or open as wide as you need it to).
• The final step is to tighten all of the hardware so that your tent will not move or vibrate while driving.

After driving ~20 miles, check all of your hardware to ensure it’s still tight and hasn’t loosened.