roof top tent or oz tent with a fox wing awing

Fox wing awnings are awesome until you have to pack them up. I had a mate who purchased one and got rid of it straight after a week long trip.

Most set up the RTT folding out back over the rear and have a side awning.

We have both Rooftop and Oz tent , we use the RTT the most but there is pro's and con's for both .

If you want to camp in the same place for more than one night its a pain to have to pack up the RTT everyday to use the vehicle that's where the Oz tent is handy

It really is a difficult question you will probably get as many saying RTT as others saying Oztent

Regards Jacko

We have both also, and exactly like the last person said,,,,,,,,,,,, what sort of trip are you doing?.... If you are fishing and camping right next to croc infested waters then the rooftop if the best............. If you are simply following the route you mentioned the an oztent is best.....Nothing worse than doing a daytrip and having to pack up only to find someone in your campspot when you return later on and burning your firewood. hahahaha.... In my opinion ...

We have a rtt and spent many weeks travelling with it. Also we have a side awing with walls should we decide to stay longer. The only problem you will find is that once you have set up camp, it's very difficult to go anywhere without packing up again. Once the cook and I decide to stop for the night , that's is it. Beer o clock with nibble, drag out the camera gear and set up for night shoots Garry/Judy

Another RTT here. Ours is the full Hannibal tourer with fully enclosed (with waterproof attached floor) annex that extends out over the rear 100 series tailgate. This gives a good enclosed area for cooking etc using the tailgate as the kitchen bench. We also have a couple of tents which we take for grand kids or let the kids sleep in the annex.

We can, without rushing pack, up and drive away in 20 minutes. If we want to comeback there we set up the cheaper tent and "come back" to it. Remember the more you set up (extra comforts etc) the more you have to pack up. Also we tend to be on the move each day and rarely return to the same spot.

I don't like the idea of the foxwing in any breeze and it wouldn't suit our RTT with the RTT opening over the rear of the cruiser.

Hi,

I recently went through a similar decision process, my advice to you would be to spend time at a RTT dealer (we went to ARB and a James Baroud agent) and to climb in and out of it several times.

I was ok with it, but it's not very "lady" friendly when getting out of it and you really need to be careful.

I also found that the type of ladder makes a difference to getting in and out with bare feet. Some of them were quite uncomfortable on your feet.

What I also found was that if one of you need to frequent the toilet more often in the night, they should be sleeping on the side that has the ladder to save climbing over the other person (assuming you have a side mounted ladder).

I ended up with a touring tent and side mounted ARB awning.

Regards
Phil P

Hi,

Well we dont have either, just a simple tent affair that goes off the back of our old Troopy that takes about 3-5 minutes to pack up, and a small side awning. Plus we sleep in the back of the vehicle. Have used that set-up for a total of about 18 months over a number of trips over the past 15 years.

So I cant answer your question, but I can ask some questions that may help you come to a decision. Such as:
How long do you plan to be on this trip, and what time of year? Do you plan future trips. If so maybe you can build up your gear as you build experience. Maybe just use either tent or RTT this trip and add awnings etc later. If you are travelling during the winter months you probably wont encounter much rain, but you might get some windy days, so think about how each option performs under those conditions.

Do you plan to travel every day or stay in one place for a few days - if the second case a free standing tent might be more suitable, and as others have said will mark your campsite so others dont pinch your spot.

What age are you - if you are in the more mature age bracket think carefully about access to and from a RTT, especially in the middle of a dark night.

What is the advantage of a foxwing over a simple side awning if you also have a tent? - more shade but how much shade do you really need? What is the difference in packup time and ease for either type of awning?

Hope that helps a bit,

Cheers,

Val

On the occasions when we use our Oztent, we find we don't need any other awning.

With the Oztent awning erected, including the side panels (ours are the peak ones), we simply back the vehicle up to the awning opening and we have an adequate under cover area to do the cooking, etc.
This was the main reason we chose the Oztent over others. The front awning is a good size to cook, or sit under and with the addition of side panels, turns the open awning into an enclosed space. We have never bothered with an additional front panel to fully enclose the awning as the vehicle creates reasonable "privacy" and we have full access to the vehicle rear, including using the tailgate as an additional tabletop.

Couldn't imagine the restriction of a roof topper, which would turn the vehicle into a "fixed object".
With the Oztent, we can set up camp, then leave to drive wherever we choose, without having to decamp first.

Love our Oztent and there are a myriad of accessories to add to camping functionality.

Southern Cross or Freedom extended touring tent,with large attachable awning. You could hand these tents down to your Grand kids.

This is probably not going to help your decision, but we have gone from a camper trailer, to a tourer+ tent, to a good tarp like awing and a swag. can be set up in minutes, covers the whole vehicle including ground matting, (not like the picnic and fox wing awnings where water comes in between the roof and awning). I only have to put in 1 additional pole and can drive the vehicle in and out as I please. We also have some Velcro walls to give us options with wind and rain. We don't have the unfounded fear of being attacked by apparent wild creatures whilst sleeping in the swag, the tent still comes for drives, but is not used very much at all.
Keep it simple and save yourself a bucket load of $$$.
We spend up to twelve weeks a year travelling this great continent of ours, and have found this to be the best set up for our needs.
Drive Safe.
Tony F8.

Another for the Oz Tent / Foxwing option. Did almost exactly that same trip using that combination back in June. We have had the Foxwing for about three years now and used it many times including in some pretty horrendous weather. As long as you tie it down when it needs to be it will do you fine. The hardest thing with the Oz-Tent is getting it back in its bag, once you've done it a few times it gets easier.

If you want a bit of extra room have a look at the Oz Tent Screen House Hex. Takes about a minute to put up and will give you a nice area for a kitchen with shade and insect protection.

Hex Screen House.

Ostrich Wing awing... dear as but far superior to foxwings

We have had 12 months travelling Aus with Oz tent and Foxwing.
Very versatile setup. We also had 2 awning for Fowwing as well as the side and front awnings for the Oz Tent. So we use a different setup dependant on the length of stay and size of site. Plus weather conditions (heat or rain) and how often the vehicle was to be moved. One problem I saw with rooftop tents was on the Nullarbor when a lightning storm came through. A fellow camper in a roof top tent packed up at 2am in the morning due to the fear of lightning- a aluminium ladder to the ground would be a great lightning attactor!

Sounds like you might borrow the oztent. But if you want another option, take a look into the Kodiak Canvas Flex Bow canvas tents. Much more versatile and cheaper. They are made with some sort of 100% cotton canvas and are supposed to be much more comfortable in hot weather than either a RTT or the oztent. Quick to put up, I think some of the Outback adventure touring companies use them for this reason
Cheers

Putting the Oztent back in the bag is a knack. I use three Velcro ties to wrap around the tent 1/3 along each. It keeps the tent compact. Get it half way in and stand it up and pull the bag up like a sack and the remainder slips in. Pull down zip and job done.

It is best done with two people and a little patience. About five minutes max, then while it is standing lean it onto shoulder and swing it level on the shoulder, then just walk to vehicle and roll it off onto roof. Or if you are height challenged walk to rear of vehicle and poke the end onto the rack and walk it in, and push the remainder on.