Napier’s SportZ SUV 8200 tent takes “car camping” to a new level

Special sleeve allows tent to hook up to SUV’s rear carbo area for increased camping space

If you can sleep two people in the back of a good-sized SUV, and four people in a tent, then if you could put the tent and the SUV together, you could sleep six.

But how do you put the tent and SUV together?

If you’re Napier Outdoors, you design a series of tents that use a sleeve to hook on to the rear of an SUV and you’ve got a great home away from home, with twice the space in which to camp and keep your gear.

The SportZ SUV Tent 82000 is the headliner of Napier’s line of SUV tents. At 9-by-9 feet and 7-foot-3 tall, it easily sleeps four to five campers and their gear — even plenty of fishing tackle or hunting equipment — and the hookup with the SUV gives you more space in the SUV’s rear cargo hold for another sleeping bag or two or more gear. Plus, there’s a gear loft, two gear pockets and a built-in lantern holder.

The 82000 has two doors and three mesh windows and comes with a 6-by-6 foot awning to provide shade for those summer trips to the beach to fish or just play in the water. The sleeve that hooks onto the SUV’s luggage rack and rear wheel well provides a complete transition between vehicle and tent, but it can be removed and the 82000 used as a standard four-walled tent.

Waterproofing is via 1200mm PU coating; the walls and roofs are polyester taffeta, and the floor is polyethylene. A rainfly helps keep things inside even more dry.

The vehicle sleeve will fit any SUV, from a small two-seater to a long land yacht, and set-up is simple — I watched three Eagle Scouts set one up in about 15 minutes and lock it on to the back of a GMC Yukon XL. Four identical, shock-corded poles are tent’s main framework.

The tent weighs 36 pounds, comes with a one-year warranty and retails for $399.

 For more information, visit www.napieroutdoors.com.