Think You Know Rooftop Tent Camping? Think Again
We’re always on the lookout for people and gear that make camping even more magical — so when we got the chance (alongside our fellow adventurer Bobby Huang) to chat with the brilliant minds behind James Baroud, we jumped on it. These are the folks raising the bar for rooftop tents, and trust us — their story is just as cool as their designs.
Inspired by simple yet functional tents, they now have a huge selection of customisable, easy to use roof top tents to suit both aspiring and seasoned campers alike. Their commitment to providing the ultimate comfortable camping experience is seen in every detail of their design, and their story will inspire you to hit the road and sleep under the stars as soon as possible!
Let’s start at the beginning — how did James Baroud get started? What was the original inspiration behind the brand?
The origins of the company date back to the 1960s. Our founder's father, Jose Alcino, was in charge of building civilian shelters for the Portuguese military. These were large wall tents that housed refugees and soldiers. He gained expertise in industrial textiles and tent shelter construction. When he left the military, he opened a caravan awning business, which his son Mario later took over in the 1990s and began making rooftop tents. Mario had a passion for caravanning across north Africa and he realized that by going with a rooftop tent on a car, he could travel a lot faster and go more often. Thus began the business idea for James Baroud.
Your tents are used all over the world by serious overlanders and weekend campers alike. What do you think made James Baroud stand out in such a competitive industry?
Our quality and our founder's commitment to a good night's rest. Over the years, our engineering team has traveled with our tents in many different types of extreme weather, and every time there's an opportunity to make the tents better, they do it. This has resulted in sourcing the highest quality materials which allow us to construct a tent that has tight canvases that won't make noise in the wind, is rain resistant, and we never overlook any detail such as covering the zipper pulls with rubber to reduce sound. The changes keep coming, every year there are small (usually unnoticeable) enhancements to the same make and model tents.
What role does innovation play in your product development?
It plays a huge role, but our innovation is driven by gathering market feedback and pairing it with internal engineering capabilities. As an example, 5 years ago, the majority of people buying rooftop tents were middle aged single men driving 4X4s. Today, more and more families are using them for recreational camping. We need to adapt to the user changes and still deliver on our core values of comfort and durability. So, in our newer tents, we've made them easier to open and close, more spacious to fit kids, and more accessories to accommodate family needs such as a storage box and easy to use stools. We don't invent things for our own creativity; we lean on market research and customer feedback.
Can you walk us through one of your most significant design breakthroughs?
This may not seem like much, but our frontier series tent wall canvas is probably our most innovative and proud accomplishment. In the world of rooftop tents there are three things that are vital to comfort. External water resistance, insulation, and internal condensation mitigation. We collaborated with one of the best technical textile companies in the world to create a three-layer fabric where the outside repels water, the middle layer is a foam rubber insulator and in the internal layer wicks away moisture. In our opinion, it is the highest quality wall canvas in the world.
Your tents are known for their durability and ease of use. What’s the testing and development process like for a new model?
Development begins with a set of customer needs, such as size, shape, weight, vehicle fit, etc. Then from the customer feedback and research, we adhere to a set of design principles. For example, one person must be able to open and close in less than 3 minutes, must not make noise in 50 km/hr winds, must not impact fuel economy under 120km/hr, etc. Then our engineers and design teams go to work, trying to build a product that meets all of the requirements. Next, we have in-house testing machines, such as rain simulation, road vibration, large oven to heat up the tents, and portable freezers, where we test to ensure durability. Last, the tents are used by our testing team which includes everyone from our founder, distributors and ambassadors. Once the products pass all of these checks, they launch in a test market, and we gauge customer feedback for additional enhancements. This entire process takes about a year.
What's one key design feature that sets your tents apart?
We don't evaluate any particular design features because it's usually a collection of features aimed at solving one customer problem. For example, condensation is a big problem for a lot of rooftop tents, so we use special wall canvas, solar fan, cutting hidden airflow vents, covering all metallic parts inside with insulated fabric, insulating the bottom shell, all to mitigate condensation. But to summarize everything we do, it would be that we offer a 5-year full replacement warranty. This is super rare in the rooftop tent industry and sets our tents apart.
You manufacture in Europe — how important is that for the quality, sustainability, and control of your production?
Being in Europe results in a few benefits for the customer. First, European manufacturers and suppliers are bound by REACH guidelines regulating the use of hazardous chemicals on consumer products such as PFAS and fire retardants. This type of rigorous regulation doesn't exist in Asia, South Africa or even most states in the US. Second, we buy our ABS from an Italian supplier and it's fully recyclable, in fact, in our manufacturing process, we recycle a majority of all excess materials. Last, having vertically integrated manufacturing allows us to fully control the production process and deliver enhancements quickly, allowing customer to get a great experience from the brand.
What are some common misconceptions people have about rooftop tents or overlanding gear in general?
The most consistent feedback we've heard from rooftop tent customers all over the world is, “once to sleep in a rooftop tent, you'll never go back to sleeping on the ground.” And I think this just shows the industry has a lot more room to expose camping in a rooftop tent to a wider audience.
Can you share a story or feedback from a James Baroud user that really stuck with you?
We have a customer from Montana, USA who made a video on how getting a rooftop tent changed the way he shares time with his kids. He basically says that before a kid turns 10, the parents are their world and how time is spent during that period can shape who they are for the rest of their lives. So, having a rooftop tent makes it easier and more comfortable to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature. Helping to get the kids off screens and into the fresh air and dirt. When I hear stories like this, I feel like we are doing the world some good.
How does customer feedback influence your product development?
Henry Ford is famous for saying, “If I listened to customers, I would have made a faster horse.” We believe this is only half true. Good innovation blends customer feedback with design capabilities that customers may or may not know about. We always begin with market research, data, trends, new regulations, auto industry changes, demographic shifts, etc. Then we mirror this with customer feedback, either through validation or more primary research to dig deeper. The result is a set of customer needs and design principles that our engineering team solves for. This last part is how we make magic happen, we have access to the highest quality materials, in-house custom tools, and the best engineers in the world. This is how we lead in innovation.
How has the overlanding and camping culture changed over the years — and how has James Baroud evolved alongside it?
The biggest change in the overland industry in the last 5 years is a flood of cheaper lower quality products. We don't view it as a bad thing because so many more people now have access to the activity. But it has pushed us to think beyond building a product for the traditional overlander, who tends to lean more male, 4×4 vehicle and spends more consecutive days off grid. Instead offering solutions for families, which need products that are even easier to use, holds more people and at price points that are more affordable.
What’s coming next? Are there any new technologies, materials, or products in development that you’re excited about?
Can't share in this interview but the hint is we're launching products that serve both the serious off grid overlander AND recreational camping family.
Lastly, for someone just starting their camping or overlanding journey, why should they consider a rooftop tent — and why James Baroud? Any exciting new products or innovations on the horizon?
A rooftop tent allows you to get camping faster and easier. It's also more comfortable than sleeping on the ground or inside your car. With the right rooftop tent, you can leave essential items in the tent, and it won't impact fuel economy. James Baroud has been making tents for over 25 years, that experience has helped us craft a more thoughtful and comfortable product because we've already learned the mistakes that a lot of new entrant tent makers are learning now. Because we're based in the EU, we have access to higher quality products which allow us to make a rooftop tent worthy of a 5-year full replacement warranty. So far this year, we've launched, the Nova – affordable 220cm long wedge tent with built in crossbars, Odyssey L – our flagship tent made to be 20cm longer and the Family Room – a 300cm x 220cm fully enclosed room (with floor) that can be rolled up into an awning box and mounted on the side of a vehicle. We have at least three other products to launch before the end of the year. More to come..
What's your top advice for new roof top tent owners?
There are numerous studies that confirm the amount of time we spend on screens and being focused on “productivity” is not good for our health. So, the most important advice we can give is to encourage everyone to get outside and enjoy the healing properties of being in nature.
Huge thanks to the amazing team at James Baroud for sharing their story — and for their nonstop dedication to making camping more comfortable, accessible, and just downright magical. It’s clear they love life on the road as much as we do. And a special shoutout to Bobby our buddy at JB — thanks for joining us on this adventure and bringing your energy, curiosity, and camper spirit to the conversation. We’re lucky to explore this world with folks like you.
