Anyone using Oztent?

[TC.Barky]

Hey guys,

Been doing some thinking about switching from the RTT down the track. Anyone on here using one of the oztent RV series tents? They look pretty good but just not convinced about having to take them on and off the roof all the time - or more specifically having to frig around with straps. Do any of the roof rack manufacturers have a quick release system or something?

If I'm going back to the ground I want something that is quick to put up and take down and uses minimal pegs.

[G Potter]

We have a RV5 is a great tent but is big and cumbersome. We got a box made up from aluminium that goes on the roof rack opens from the end. This work's OK, keeps it dry easy to get in and out etc keeps dust and mud off it while travelling.
Good luck in your search
Greg

[Terryo]

In laws use one and are quite happy with it. They are in their early 70's and quite active. Have had it about 5 years now. RV 4 I think.
They have a Jackeroo with the rear seats taken out and a full platform in the back so can sleep in the car if they don't want to put up the tent. Oz tent fits diagonally in the back so can't comment on roof rack options.

[MSF]

Besides the cumbersome bag length, I found that the lack of head height (other than right at the opening, so that's where you have to stand if you are getting dressed) to be a PITA - now have a black wolf...

[Paj People 2009]

Hi,

We use an RV4 - love it - wouldn't have any other tent!

Literally 30 seconds to erect, about 15 mins if you put all the guy ropes and the front out.

We've also got the sides for the front, so it makes another room for sitting/eating in and the actual tent is used to sleep in. We use the Oztent camp stretchers and the Oztent sleeping bags. They make great stuff!

Length is not a problem for us - it goes on the Pioneer Platform or in the offroad trailer. I love the way everything is already in it, ropes, poles are in the tent, etc.

Cheers,
Sally

[TC.Barky]

Besides the cumbersome bag length, I found that the lack of head height (other than right at the opening, so that's where you have to stand if you are getting dressed) to be a PITA - now have a black wolf...

Any comments on the black wolf? Also on the shortlist but don't know much about them. How big are they packed up?

[TC.Barky]

Hi,

We use an RV4 - love it - wouldn't have any other tent!

Literally 30 seconds to erect, about 15 mins if you put all the guy ropes and the front out.

We've also got the sides for the front, so it makes another room for sitting/eating in and the actual tent is used to sleep in. We use the Oztent camp stretchers and the Oztent sleeping bags. They make great stuff!

Length is not a problem for us - it goes on the Pioneer Platform or in the offroad trailer. I love the way everything is already in it, ropes, poles are in the tent, etc.

Cheers,
Sally

How does it go in wind without the guy ropes? I really like the modular setup of it, just dunno about the storage. If we went touring with it I feel like frigging around with straps on the roof would get annoying

[MSF]

Love our Blackwolf - we have the Turbo Plus 300 (3m x 3m + 1.8mx3m) so takes about 2 mins longer to put up due to the extra poles for the rear section. (Turbo 300 doesn't have this)



In all honesty, takes about 5 or 6 minutes to put up, (one person), including pegged down and ready to sleep in it. The fly takes about 3-4 mins extra - but is not essential to be able to actually use it in real world scenarios.

This is without fly


Packed up - it's about 145cm long and 35x35cm wide/high - and whilst it just fits inside our Shorty with the rear seats out - we always put it up on the roof and hold it down with 2 cam buckle straps.. - 1-2 min job to tie it down properly.

Like all of the "super quick" tents - they can be 'erected' in under a minute - but to honestly have them set up to sleep in properly (without fear of it being blown away over night) - once you roll it out properly, peg it down securely and attach the ropes / fly / awning poles etc - you are honestly looking at 5 mins work.

But "5 Minute tent" as an advertising slogan doesn't sound as good as 30 sec / 15 sec etc :P

We had an RV2 for about 18 mths - and yeah, it might have felt like it was a minute or two less to set up - the practicality was never there - even when we borrowed an RV5 from a friend. we still were not happy once we had to actually USE it... (ie, head height, lack of room to store gear as well as have sleeping bags and mats ready to go and worst of all - fining 2M of space to fit it in / on a SWB Pajero.
I really like the divider too - we have been camping in the pouring rain, had two people sleeping whilst we had 4 other people playing cards in the front section sitting on camp chairs and fold up table....

[old Jack]

Any comments on the black wolf? Also on the shortlist but don't know much about them. How big are they packed up?

We have Black Wolf 240 canvas, for just the 2 of us. Brought it in 2012 and have multiple Flinders trips and 45 nights in the Kimberley, no issues even in very wet weather. Good for quick overnight stays or longer stays. Packs up smaller than OZ tent so it can fit in the cargo area or across the back seat. With any tent I would recommend using a C Gear double weave mesh ground sheet under tent area and verandah. We a 40 year tenting veterans and a very fussy of what gear we buy and use. Would I buy a Black Wolf again? Yes no doubts.

cheers, OJ.

[TC.Barky]

Thanks guys, appreciate it. Will look into the black wolf a bit more. RTT is so great in so many ways, gonna be hard to change as we will always be comparing to it.

[RUGGA]

Hi TC,

Are you able to shed some light as to Why you are wanting to move away from your RTT ( for those of us that may have considered one )

TIA

[TC.Barky]

Hi TC,

Are you able to shed some light as to Why you are wanting to move away from your RTT ( for those of us that may have considered one )

TIA

It's a very tough decision. I love the RTT when I'm camping and especially when touring. It's becoming a bit of a pain day-to-day though and I don't have an easy option to remove/refit (not to mention the fact that it takes aaages to do up all the brackets). The main reasons are as follows


- Hoping to reign in my fuel economy a bit, the thing is basically a wind sail. Not such a huge problem on highway use - still get 10-11L/100 most of the time which is very acceptable (occasionally 12-13 or up to 14-15 in a strong headwind) but around town I'm seeing up to 13 pretty consistently which granted is mostly due to weight but taking off the tent will help bring it down a L or two (I hope).
- It's so frigging hard to keep the car clean. It's seemingly impossible to get the cover clean, so as soon as I clean the car pretty much the next day there's dust streak marks coming down from the tent all over the windows and the sides of the roof. Particularly bad after rain.
- We are starting to change the style of our trips slightly. Previously we would essentially never have a base camp. It was always pack up and move each night. Which is where the RTT is best. Because I work or am on call pretty much every weekend now when we go on trips (unless touring) it's often for longer periods and more vegging out at a campsite and doing small daytrips from there.
- Carrying firewood on trips is basically not possible. As is having an extra couple people travelling in our car. This is because the roof has no storage space as it's taken up by the tent. I could get around this by fitting a long flat rack I suppose but it'd be nice to have the roof clear for storage of bulky light stuff but especially wood. I'd also not like to add to the weight up there on principle as it's already ~80kg (tent + bars) so a rack + firewood would be well over 100kgs.
- The big one, kids are not far away for us. The RTT is not going to be suitable for wifey when pregnant nor for babbies/young kids. I'd like to have the solution sorted before we start trying, that way she will not be stressed out by the idea of camping.

I haven't decided for sure if I'll be changing it at this stage, weighing up the options at the moment. Not sure if I'll sell it if I do either as if I do a boys touring trip or something I'd possibly go back to the RTT for that.




If you are considering a RTT, they are freaking fantastic BUT only if it suits your needs practically. You basically knock out roof storage and they can be annoying to live with when not out and about. Do I regret getting one? Not at all, just our needs and focus are shifting.

Yes it does impact fuel economy but so do all modifications. The height issue has pretty much never bothered me, you just have to plan ahead and take the other car if height is going to be an issue.

One final point, do I find the effects on handling/driveability on/off road hard to live with - a resounding no. This is contentious and I don't want to start an arguement but - lots of people will tell you its too much weight to have on the roof and it will make you very top heavy blah blah. On a car with a wide enough wheel track, they are quite fine and effect body roll and centre of gravity (from a seat of the pants point of view) in a very minor fashion. When I had it on my gen2 NL it made a huge difference and I was very conscious of the change in center of gravity offroad but the gen4 (gen3 too I would imagine, same dimensions) it feels basically the same on or off (including with stock springs).

Hope this helps. I do not believe there is any best solution for living arrangements when camping, every choice is a compromise in some way. You just need to work out which fits your needs and lifestyle best.

[RUGGA]

Awesome, thank you for your time and thorough details. Agreed, everything is a compromise when camping decisions are made ESPECIALLY when children enter your world. (Wouldn't have it any other way though)

[Paj People 2009]

How does it go in wind without the guy ropes? I really like the modular setup of it, just dunno about the storage. If we went touring with it I feel like frigging around with straps on the roof would get annoying

HI,

Light winds no problem, although we actually haven't tried it with no guy ropes out! They only take a few minutes and are already tucked in pockets of the tent.

If you wanted just the tent overnight and it wasn't windy, literally 30 seconds. You just pull the tent up, secure the internal side poles and it's done!

Cheers,
Sally

[Kernel]

We have the RV5 with the all the extra front panels, and the fly, we can fully enclose the front into a second room, we use it for our kitchen when the whole family is traveling. There is no floor though.
When I am on my own I just use the tent and when not needed i don't even roll out the front awning. In this config it's very quick to setup and if there is no wind only need 4 pegs total.
It has proven to be very effective in windy conditions, even when the wind has hit square on the front!
I have had it since 2009 and it's been in floods and very windy conditions (as prev mentioned). The tent IS WATERPROOF!!! even when the the bottom of the tent was sitting in flooded water half way up the floor on the outside. It also has never leaked even after 2 days of continuous torrential rain in Noosa (Jan 2013)! It is roomy snd I can stand comfortably in the front section to get dressed (I'm 1m 78cm tall). The Oztent stretchers fit in there comfortably. You do need to get the Fly as well though to stop condensation on the inside of the tent in humid environments. As previously mentioned the ropes are all in their pockets and are well anchored and generally the quality of all fittings, zippers and fly mesh is top shelf!
The size is a consideration, an RV3 or 4 might be more suitable to you as it will be lighter and still fit the two of you now and when you have kids later you can add the tag along tent in front of the awning for the little ones. I would have gone with the RV3 option if the tag along was available when I bought mine.
I put mine on the flat roof rack in a custom cylindrical soft vinyl canvas bag I had made up to keep the worst of the wet weather off it as the original canvas bag will let water in from the zipper.
I use two lockable KanuLock straps to hold it down, quick and easy and it's safe. I like the roof option because I don't have to sorry about storing an often wet or dirty tent in my Paj.
I have recommended the tent to at least two other happy campers that have used them all over Australia and they couldn't thank me enough.

If you have any other specific questions about the tent please let me know, happy to pass on my experiences with it.