What is it like to roof tent for the first time? Over the next few days, you will be able to follow Joseph Eriksson and Emma Gullström along with their daughter Billie, 2.5 years old, as they embark on their life's first roof tent adventure.
To follow their journey in real time – check out our Instagram account @Taktaltarna where our family will take over and share their journey, mainly through our Insta Stories. They will also document the adventure and combine their impressions and reflections into a film that will be released later this year.
Before their trip, we called to learn a bit more about them and their expectations of roof tenting for the first time.
• Who are you?
– We are a family who loves to get out into nature and appreciate the little things in life. We live in Stockholm and both work in creative professions, Joseph as a cinematographer and Emma as a content/branding specialist – so even on vacations we end up doing fun productions with photo and film.
• How did you come up with the idea to roof tent?
– I [Joseph] watched some American photographers on YouTube who roof tented while on a photo trip through the USA and immediately became interested in roof tents and wondered what the possibilities would be like in Sweden. When I got in touch with Taktältarna and saw that they had rentals, it felt like an obvious choice to roof tent with the family since we had just gotten our own car.
Having a base with all the functionality, which can easily be placed wherever you feel like at the moment, but without having to exert too much effort, feels optimal for us who have small children.
• What are your expectations/hopes for your first roof tenting experience?
– We really have no direct experience with this, so we are fully aware that anything can happen, which also adds to the excitement and makes it anticipatory! Our big hope is to find places to park that are both beautiful and functional. We have looked at Google Maps to locate several potential spots and talked to friends in the areas we are going to for tips. And one night we will also park the car on relatives'/friends' land to be sure we have a nice place for the night :)
We hope that Billie will be able to sleep safely by herself in the roof tent so that we can have a glass of wine and watch several sunsets during the trip.
• Have you prepared in any way?
– We have written a packing list well in advance with inspiration from Taktältarna's list and bought some accessories that we think we will need to bring. We also have a relatively finished route so that we have a plan to start from, although it may happen that we are a bit spontaneous along the way.
With the help of Taktältarna's guides, it feels like we have a clear picture of what applies when roof tenting and how to do it without affecting the environment or surroundings too much.
• Where do you plan to go?
– We will pick up the roof tent in Stockholm and then drive directly down to Motala where my parents have a family farm. We will spend the first night there to get a little comfortable. After that, we will travel around the area near Vättern and try to find nice places to park.
