I've just bought an RV4 OZTENT to do some camping away form the van & also do some trips into remote northern NSW national parks. I have set up racks on my BT50 to take my kayak & OZTENT. Does anybody use an OZTENT? Any hints or tips would be appreciated.
Hi Milo, I purchased the RV4 tent & peaked side panels, which will let me back my rig under the awning & access it if the weather is bad. When folded up it is 2.4 meters long, so you need roof racks to carry it. The speed of puting it up is one of the reasons I purchased it. It's a bit wet in South East Queensland at the moment. I'll put it up in the back yard next week & post some photos. this is a link to the OZTENT site which gives a lot of information.http://au.oztent.com/default.asp
Your web-site/blog is excellent Ron! Have you ever been in a storm in the Oztent, and how did it take the wind? Is it dark inside? We have been looking at those to replace our Coleman dome shaped one, love the idea of being able to back right up to it. But having been in very strong winds in the Coleman we decided we prefer the aerodynamic shape rather than the square walled oztent.
My Oztent has been through all sorts of weather as has not let me down. Usually I dont fully peg the main section down but if there is any sort of wind I have the rear of the tent (sloping wall/roof) facing the wind and peg it down really well. As for being Dark, well I only go inside the tent at night though I know what you mean. I have seen others with the newer Oztents (Brown/Khaki coloured) and they certainly seem dark inside compared to mine.
I back my vehicle up to the awning so I can hang the 12v Versa light from the centre edge of the awning and have access to the Engel. Also if I open the barn doors of the Patrol I can then use the 12v Turbo shower in privacy.
One thing others have complained about with the Oztent has been condensation inside the tent overnight. I have always had a number of the windows/vents opened, or partially opened, and never had this problem
As it is mainly used on 4WD trips, stops are usually overnight or two nights though I have had a few trips where I have been parked for a week and been quite comfortable. I am by myself on the 4WD trips so can use a good stretcher which fits across my sized unit. Two stretches would not fit in my unit.
My worst experience with the Oztent was waking up one morning to -5C temps. I, compared to others, was quite comfortable however packing up the iced up tent was different. Continual crackling as the tent was folded and very cold fingers that really were painful. Lifting up onto the roof of the vehicle, then later that day unpacking a totally saturated tent was a challenge, as it was really heavy. Fortunately it dried out quite quickly so it was useable that night.
We've seen something like it today by BCF it was from nylon and was attached to a 3 by 3 meter Oz trail Gazebo tent was $139 and Gazebo $199
John
How funny is that. We saw this being used by an exhibitor at the caravan show. It was exactly what I had been looking for as an alternative to a full anexe. Asked wher I could get one and she said BCF. We dove to Bennets Green and bought one. Hubby will rig up some way to attach it to the cross bar of the awning. alternatvely we will sew in a rope and put it through the sail track that usually holds the shade wall off the edge of the awning. Hopefully it wil work as anticipated. It would take too much room in a cp but we mostly free camp.