Oz Isuzu Forums
General Boards => Off Topic => Topic started by: knoath on Jul 15, 2016, 06:56:07 AM
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Considering getting an OzTent RV5 for quick set ups and pack downs so we can be more mobile on long trips...
If you have an OzTent I'd love to see how you set up camp... can it be attatched to a sail track (vehicle side awning)?
Post your pics!
Cheers.
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Why not just get swags? We have a blackwolf turbo 300 plus. Looked at the oztent but didnt like the lack of head room. Good for how quick they are to set up but if thats all you want then swag it. Also the blackwolf will fit in the tub whereas the oztent only on the roof. Check out tentworld.com with whatever you go with.
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Redmax, we have swags, the missus wants a room for changing etc. and yeah, the cons are the size and storage, but the BlackWolf weighs twice as much... I have a roof rack so I can store the OzTent.
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Why not just get swags? We have a blackwolf turbo 300 plus. Looked at the oztent but didnt like the lack of head room...
Same here, headroom, went with the Blackwolf Turbo 240.
This was my setup in the Flinders for a week last May (the view was pretty good too).
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We had an RV5 and it was brilliant....sold it (for more than I paid :laughing7:) as it was not being used as the kids grew up and lost interest in camping.
If we where to revisit a touring tent again it would be an Oztent based on our experience....perhaps just an RV3 for the 2 of us though :icon_salut:
You can use the RV connector to attach to your awning or side of caravan via the sail track.....
Most essential accessory for the OzTent is the OzTent fly for your sized tent....condensation can be a real issue to the Oztent. The fly fixes this and protects the tent from bird droppings etc and provides some insulation to the sun and keeps the inside of the tent much cooler in summer.
Cost and stored length are soon forgotten when its set up.....30 seconds is correct to stand the tent but to add the fly, a few pegs and the awning will take 5 mins at most ;)
:occasion14:
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All good points. We have an ensuite toilet/shower tent... :icon_thumleft:
Monbeg, the point of this thread was that we won't be staying put for a week. I'd keep the Camper Trailer for that, so we want quick set up/pack down ideas.
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We've got a camper trailer and also a good touring tent (Oztrail Tourer Twin). We looked at the Oztents and I really wanted to get one, but like any tent, the actual put up/pull down time is only a small fraction of the time it takes to make camp. We've just done 3 weeks of touring with lots of one night stays using our tent and I don't believe an Oztent would have saved us any significant time. Every night, I'd have the tent setup in a couple of minutes, but then it was the 4 x sleeping mats, 4 x sleeping bags, 4 x pillows and clothing bags and tent lighting etc etc..
If you really want a quick setup/packup then you can't beat a swag. Take it off the roof an unroll it and you're done. The mattress, sleeping bag and pillow are already in it. To glamp it up, you could use a groundsheet and an awning.
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This old chestnut hey :laughing7: I just discussed this on another forum totally unrelated to car camping oddly enough.
Over the years we have gone from cheap tent camping, to swags, back to tents, to camper trailer, to 30 second tent and then to a combination of swag, 30 second tent and camper trailer.
So now this is how it works for me.
Just me on an overnighter or trip like the simpson.....swag.
Me and the wife on an overnighter or trip where we will set up camp every night but its a short trip......30 second tent.
Me and the wife and child/ren......overnight we may use the 30 second tent any longer then its the camper.
I like to keep it simple but in my case the females like a few luxuries, and that may be anything from a toilet......a room to change....a better mattress and even a diesel heater or whatever else it takes to keep them happy ;)
But just to comment on the 30 second style tents. (ours is a cheap Chinese copy that gets used very regularly by either us or our adult kids).
I love it. It is very quick to set up obviously, hence the name. Yes it requires a mattress but you can use a foam mattress if your not willing to unpack and pack away a '4wd' style self inflator (i admit ours is a bit of a pain to pack away).
Yes it can be inserted into your awning if your awning has a sail track outer edge or you can use the awning that comes with most of them. They are a bit long so they need to go on the roof rack if you need your back seats and yes they require a mattress of some sort. Ours fits our double mattress plus a single for when the youngest comes along so it is sleeping only and a small amount of room to keep clothes and get changed.
I guess it comes down to what your wife will be happy/comfortable using. Swags are great but they do fall short in some areas for ladies over a few days imho. Depending on the lady of course! :tongue1:
All the comforts...suits everyone in all conditions
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eeA7x_YFwmY/V2DHChfKU8I/AAAAAAAANsM/PLjkcaK565cHLTLmjhIgQKW24Oj183V6wCLcB/s1600/P6120028.jpg)
Our all rounder but clearly doesn't come with the comforts as easy as the camper does
(https://www.ozisuzu.com.au/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-uHPxZGUxfpo%2FUx5arvLWYiI%2FAAAAAAAAKVo%2FBZErKxpJcus%2Fs1600%2FDSC07597.jpg&hash=5b6ed06ac2a752b15069433b43952c04834efeb9)
And of course a blokes favourite....quick and easy to set up and pack up but your still required to set up all the other gear if needed.
(https://www.ozisuzu.com.au/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-_FMXAsFPc8k%2FVf9idtI_nUI%2FAAAAAAAAKRQ%2FruSJ-Feunuo%2Fs1600%2F2014%25253A10%25252C%252BSimpson%252BDesert%252BTrip%252B-%252B0404.jpg&hash=31a8eaba7999f651cae8940b87ed3879891aa424)
PS, Id happily go back to any of these occasions rather than sitting here typing this out .......In fact I may go away one night this weekend... :icon_thumleft:
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My quick setup is in the vehicle.
With the middle seats folded forward a 70 litre esky sits behind the drivers side and is flush with the top of the drawers. A single 4" mattress along the top of both and the pillow behind the drivers seat and we have a perfect rest for 1.
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So as I suspected, we are all different (and so are our wives!) and so we have different ways of approaching this... found this on the web and I think we'll copy it!
(https://www.ozisuzu.com.au/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Findustrysales.li.csnstatic.com%2Fcaravancamping%2Fgeneral%2Fcontent%2Fgc4893579203194450737.jpg%3Fheight%3D700%26amp%3Bwidth%3D1050%26amp%3Baspect%3DFitWithinNoPad&hash=d46e1da49e6767f72e6917a104135db0c12d23c2)
So I'm thinking we remove the camper's tent and add a decent roof rack. That will give us a great platform to add jerry cans and bikes, the boy's swags etc. and we get to retain all the good bits of the camper trailer without the time consuming set up and pack down!
The missus hates the set up and pack down of the camper's tent and as a result, begrudges getting out and using it. This set up seems to tick all the boxes I think...
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Thats an awesome idea. Keep us posted how it goes, you might start a trend
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Hey Danny how the hell do you do an overnight ear in the Simpson from Tassie..
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Hey Danny how the hell do you do an overnight ear in the Simpson from Tassie..
LOL You dont!
But luckily down here we have plenty of nice locations for an overnighter, just a bit chilly this time of year, although today is one of those perfect winter days.
Dick we had a tent on our camper that while it was great for when all the kids were with us, it did start to bother my wife after a while setting it up and packing it up. Personally i didn't think it took to much trouble but I could see her pain so we downsized to a gas strutted tent and haven't looked back.
Its not a very big tent but one person can easily set it up. If you want to use the awning it is only 3 poles. So we get to retain all the comforts of the camper and have a super fast set up and pack up.
It takes longer to through the chairs and junk back into the trailer than it does to set the tent up.
What we sold our larger tent for all but covered the cost of the new tent.
(https://www.ozisuzu.com.au/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumb.ibb.co%2FbDMK1F%2FIMG_9314.jpg&hash=63d3291304b0cf9a894631585b6d283a33941e2a) (http://ibb.co/bDMK1F)
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Hi Knoath,
Sorry to chime in late.
We have an RV5 and love it. Like you we also have the swags and camper trailer.
It sounds like our other halves have similar requirements and expectations. The only issue with the Oztent is you still need to set up a bed from scratch each night and this is the time consuming bit not the tent erection. However this is easily fixed with a simple flat old style swag (like in the photo below). Have the bed ready to go (including pillows, etc) and just unroll it in the RV5 and your done. It offers the best of both worlds in my opinion, speed and ease of the swag & change area for the wife. Plus a better nights sleep on a mattress as opposed to a lilo or similar.
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For overnight we use a similar set up to Parko with a RV5.
We place the kids on a camp stretchers in sleeping bags either side, swag for misses and I in the middle. The great thing about the camp stretchers for the kids is we store our luggage bags underneath them - doubles up on the space.
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DannyG, got any info on that strut assisted tent?
Parko, we have a double stretcher which takes no time to set up and is compact when packed down.
The camper trailer has heaps of storage, with cupboards all round:
(https://www.ozisuzu.com.au/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fres3.graysonline.com%2Fhandlers%2Fimagehandler.ashx%3Ft%3Dsh%26amp%3Bid%3D3127103%26amp%3Bs%3Dn%26amp%3Bindex%3D0%26amp%3Bts%3D635049612886570000&hash=54b20c70e814235a769d361d4d2ad57098fdbd3b)
(https://www.expatads.com/adpics1/2013/10/OFF-ROAD-V3-CAMPER-TRAILER-FOR-SALE524d721cdba6505d0b43.JPG)
So I want to keep the trailer, just lose the tent. :icon_thumleft:
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Its this one here mate, we love it.
http://trailercampers.com/products/6001-small-grey-tent/
No poles inside to fit up. Simply allow it to fold itself over and then drop the door pole down out of the way. Only 3 poles to pop the awning up with a guy line each end pulling the outside poles out.
I haven't timed myself putting it up but I wouldn't mind betting I can put the whole thing up quicker than another man could put 2 swags with hoops together.
If you watch the youtube demo Steve actually makes it look hard because he set the tent up from scratch, straight out of the factory and the tent has now way of allowing air out. As you would know, we leave a door slightly unzipped to allow air to escape.
He also sells them through Ebay and at times runs specials so you can get them a bit cheaper than the websites pricing. He is Tasmanian based but keeps all the tents in a warehouse in Sydney.
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MuxGuy wrote:
Most essential accessory for the OzTent is the OzTent fly for your sized tent....condensation can be a real issue to the Oztent. The fly fixes this and protects the tent from bird droppings etc and provides some insulation to the sun and keeps the inside of the tent much cooler in summer.
I'm wondering if the fly can be left zipped to the tent, or does it have to be removed every pack up?
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I've had almost every camp setup possible thus far.
Had the roof top tent for the cape...but was annoyed at having to get up on the roof to unzip etc...couldnt reach standing.
Swapped this for a companion exo rapid pitch tent....awesome tent (cheaper than blackwolf but as good quality). Loved this tent but was a bit heavy for me and quite long.
Similarly the oztents are awesome for their quick setup - had a friend with one we used quite a bit, but same issue with weight and size when packed up.
Now i usually go the swag under the awning - but if i need change room, its an oztrail swift pitch.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OzTrail-Sportiva-4-Swift-Pitch-Tent-/231551612411 (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OzTrail-Sportiva-4-Swift-Pitch-Tent-/231551612411)
Lightweight, packs down to 10kg and not too long (fits on the roof of a suzuki jimny), and setup is as easy as folding out the legs and pulling a drawstring to tension them up (like a motor pull cord).
Good head room at 190cm and pretty cheap.
And as parko mentioned, roll the premade swag up in the tent and your done. :icon_thumleft:
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MuxGuy wrote:
Most essential accessory for the OzTent is the OzTent fly for your sized tent....condensation can be a real issue to the Oztent. The fly fixes this and protects the tent from bird droppings etc and provides some insulation to the sun and keeps the inside of the tent much cooler in summer.
I'm wondering if the fly can be left zipped to the tent, or does it have to be removed every pack up?
I left ours on and could still fold the tent with reasonable ease, but more often than not removed and rolled the tent up and in the fly to protect the tent and keep the tent dry in the OzTent supplied bag that's not waterproof.
Drifta in Gloucester NSW are making an aftermarket weather proof canvas bag for OzTents if that helps anyone :icon_thumleft:
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:icon_thumleft: :notworthy:
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Got the camper top frame welded up on the weekend, very happy with it! Cut the aluminium checker plate to size.
I will finish it off through the week I hope, as the weekend will be taken up at the 4x4 show.
I need to find suitable hinges, I am getting two gas struts at the show, add some foam rubber seal around the underside of the frame and screw the checker plate down.
I will post some pics later.
I will fit a full length roof rack next week I hope.