Case Study: Skycamp - The Perfect Rooftop Tent for Travellers on the Road

Aero Hard-Shell RTT | Expandable Living | 60-Second Setup | Family-Sized Shelter | Rugged Four-Season Design

THE BACKGROUND

There’s something magical about pulling off the road, unfolding a tent on your car’s roof, and waking up above it all. For adventurers on the go, traditional camping often demands time, sweat, and setup rituals. The Skycamp concept came from a wish to remove those burdens - to make travel and camping seamless, elevated, and more about the experience than the logistics.

Developed by iKamper, Skycamp merges hard-shell protection with the expandability of soft tents. Released via Kickstarter in December 2017, Skycamp promised an innovative rooftop tent that rides aero, resists four seasons, and sleeps groups comfortably. Instead of making users adapt to the tent, Skycamp is designed to adapt to both highway and mountain ridges.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roominroom/skycamp-the-perfect-roof-top-tent-for-travelers-on/description

OUR APPROACH

From the start, Skycamp’s design leaned heavily into solving three big trade-offs: durability vs weight, protection vs livable space, and speed vs comfort. Rather than force users to choose, the designers iterated toward a solution that balances all three.

They created a hard-shell rooftop tent with an aerodynamic, shell-folding system that expands outward (floor and canvas) to provide extra room. The Skycamp’s unique fold-out expansion bypasses the usual constraint of rooftop tents’ floor space being limited by the vehicle’s roof dimensions. Within seconds of parking, the Skycamp rooftop tent opens using a ladder and a fold-out extension - giving space typically reserved for bulky soft tents, but with sheltering strength.

Here are its key features:

• Hard-shell, expandable design: Aero shell folds open to suddenly enlarge the sleeping area, preserving compact form during travel but offering roomy comfort at camp

• Rapid setup: Open the clamshell, drop the extension, deploy the ladder - all in under a minute

• All-weather materials: Waterproof 5000mm PU-coated polyester fabric (for shell rainfly, etc.), strong shell structure, wind resistance, etc.

• Family-friendly footprint: Sleeps up to four adults and 2 children, with enough width and floor area thanks to expansion

• Accessory compatibility: Options for annexe rooms, awnings, and wind deflectors, allowing personalisation depending on climate, travel style, and space

GIF of how to easily set up the Skycamp within 30 seconds, from the Kickstarter campaign

GIF of the Skycamp and of using it when on the drive, from the Kickstarter campaign

GIF of the Skycamp and of using it when on the drive, from the Kickstarter campaign

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roominroom/skycamp-the-perfect-roof-top-tent-for-travelers-on/description

TOTAL BACKERS:

956

AMOUNT RAISED:

US$2,370,611 / US$100,000

PERCENT OF GOAL: 

2371%

THE RESULTS

What set the Skycamp rooftop tent apart was more than its specs. It was the promise that setup could be easy, space could be generous, and the adventure could begin the moment you stop driving. Images, videos of real deployment, and comparisons with both soft tents and non-expandable rooftop tents gave backers confidence. The accessory add-ons (awning, annexe, etc.) allowed users to tailor the package to their needs, enhancing perceived value. Media coverage (GearJunkie, New Atlas, etc.) amplified reach as well. 

For creators, the lesson is clear: when you address the trade-offs that frustrate your audience (setup time, space, durability), and when your campaign gives them a big promise and shows you’ve trialled and tested it, you can turn that into snowball momentum.

Skycamp isn’t just a roof-top tent; rather, it’s engineering rooted in empathy for travellers: people who want to wake up with views, not deal with tent poles, complicated setups, or cramped space. iKamper’s campaign shows that innovation, clarity, and demonstrating real work (prototypes, materials, durability) can lead to overwhelming trust received from backers. And trust builds not just backers, but believers - people who will stand by a brand the next time you launch or as you continue developing away from the Kickstarter platform.

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