James Baroud is a top-tier rooftop tent (RTT) company, and if feels like it’s not serving families and groups of three-plus well. That changes now with the Family Room.
About 8 months ago, at SEMA, one of James Baroud’s dealers, Next Jump Outfitters in Tacoma, Wash., talked about how much of its customer base comes from the local military base. Many of those military customers have deep outdoor adventure passions, have big families, and want to take their friends and families out camping. While a James Baroud RTT on a vehicle is great for this application, it doesn’t comfortably sleep enough people for many of these customers.
There are two solutions on the market already. First is the huge four-person RTT, but that isn’t ideal for families and friends who aren’t comfortable sharing the same bed. The other current option is a ground or hub tent, but they take up a ton of cargo room in the vehicle when stowed and don’t allow a sheltered line of sight between the RTT and ground tent.
With these target customers and pain points in mind, James Baroud quickly developed a solution.
James Baroud Family Room Specs
- Open Size: 118″ W x 87″ L x 67″ x 79″ H
- Stowed Size: 98″ W x 7″ L x 8″ H
- Weight: 99 lbs. + 6.6 lbs. for the floor in its bag
- Construction: Evolution Fabric, transparent plastified fabric windows, mosquito netting, aluminum
- Warranty: 3 years
- MSRP: $1,500 + $450 to add the RTT Tunnel
Introducing the Family Room
This product was first shown at Overland Expo West, and won a Best in Show Top Product award from us. The James Baroud Family Room is essentially a ground tent shelter that stows on the outside of the vehicle, like an awning does. It fits in the space that about a 7-foot awning would. Deployment and stowing take about 4 minutes each, according to the company.
Only the zip-off floor of the tent must be stowed separately — not in the carry case with the rest of the Family Room — in its included carry bag. The zip-off floor is primarily removable, so it can easily be hosed off and cleaned, something that’s an issue with other hub-style tents out there…