Pod All-Roada roof top camper 2021 review

Most roof-top tents are very simple to set up, but because the Stockman’s tent isn’t at normal roof-height (on top of a 4WD), things are even easier. Once the cover is unzipped, the tent folds to the side, and the adjustable ladder supports the overhanging tent base. An extended vestibule shelters the entrance when you hop in and out. Onto this, you can fit the extra room walls, and then a full-length awning, significantly increasing the covered area around the camper. It’s quite an extensive tent system that seems well made. 

The ladder has large feet on the bottom to give it a bit more purchase in soft sand campsites, but I did find they skittered across harder gravel, so you might need to peg them down on some surfaces. 

Packing up was just as easy – again, because the trailer isn’t very tall, so you don’t have to work at the limits of your reach. Blessedly, the cover goes on easy and isn’t so snug it’s impossible to zip up. I’d also love to see straps to allow one to roll the cover up when the tent’s set up. I’ve only ever seen that feature on the Feldon Shelter roof-top tents, and it makes so much sense. 

Like most roof-top campers, the bed is a thin, high-density foam mattress with a join in the middle where it folds. It’s a firm bed with plenty of space and lots of opportunities to open windows and let a breeze through. Weather awnings over each window offer a decent level of protection from the rain when the weather’s steamy, and the tropical (dual-layer) roof will keep it cooler than many other, similar tents. 

Full disclosure – there was no kitchen fitted to the model I tested for this review – we can blame COVID-19 supply issues for that. The manufacturer’s Victorian factory has been understandably out of action, and so it didn’t show up in time. Fortunately, I have experienced the Pod All-Roada’s kitchen in the past, and although it’s basic, it does the job. In fact, because the kitchen isn’t overly complicated, there’s heaps of useful storage throughout it – too many camper kitchens prioritise ‘function’ over somewhere to actually store food. 

The Pod’s kitchen slides out from the back, ‘eating up’ about half the trailer body’s storage space. There’s an in-built gas stove, but the sink is just a collapsible basin. The stainless-steel work surface covers three large, open drawers which are ideal as big, hearty pantries, can fit cereal boxes and have plenty of room for cooking gear. 

The Pod Trailers are, in general, very modular, and can be upgraded or downgraded as needs be. As I look through the options, it appears that it costs about the same to buy a base trailer and add everything you get in this package, as it costs just to buy the package, so you could start small and work up without any financial penalty, or you could mix-and-match just what you need. 

Options include a higher lid (pictured), bike racks, stone guards, independent suspension, additional storage, a storage shelf over the kitchen, the kitchen itself.

Pretty much everything on board can be removed and replaced with something else.