OZTENT

Submitted: Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 08:09

ThreadID: 34238 Views:4940 Replies:13 FollowUps:2

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macca172

I am thinking about purchasing a 2m x 2m Ozent. The Oztents website has the purchase price listed at $799.00, which I think is a bit over the top! Anyway, my question being, can any reader who have bought one previously, give me a users evaluation and are they worth the money?

Regards,

Macca

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Reply By: Member - Ian M (NSW) - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 08:51

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 08:51

Macca,

Bought an RV 4 for a 4 week trip with the family to Ayres Rock and back across the Simpson via the McDonnell Ranges.

After a hard days drive - and with 2 kids - there would have been nothing worse than fighting to erect tents. With the Oz tent we had our camp set up and enjoying the first cold one while the rest of our party were struggling with tarps and the rest of their gear.

It's not cheap until you consider the time it saves you each time you put it up and pull it down - when you average the time saved and how long you will have the tent it is money well spent.

and no I have no affiliation with Oztent.

Regards

Ian

AnswerID: 174622

Reply By: signman - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 09:05

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 09:05

I think if you shop around, you'll find other 9x9 Touring type tents are about the same price - or even more expensive. I was looking at a Southern Cross and it was about a grand with awning!!
BTW- The OzTent mob were giving $100 of the RV3 & 4 at the Rosehill show, so it might be a hint for you. There factory/showroom is at Wetherill Park (if you're near Sydney)

AnswerID: 174626

Reply By: Willem - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 09:19

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 09:19

I bought the equivalent of the RV3 (old style and secondhand).

While it is an excellent tent for erecting and packing away, I have found that the aluminium scissor-like slides are not all that strong. The tent blew over one day when breaking camp and the slide broke. I repaired it myself with light steel and now it operates a lot better.

I have also found that it is the only tent which will go back into its carry bag every time without fail!

AnswerID: 174631

Follow Up By: Member - Cocka - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 12:58

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 12:58

"Yep, yep" to all of these posts. I've had my old one for many years & it's served us well.
Willem probably now knows the solution to his indiscretion from the school of hard knocks. When either erecting or collapsing the tent with a bit of wind about, do not leave it unattended whilst it's not secured to something - particularly the windward side. I imagine this would apply to any tent. Once all the support guys have been released, collapse the tent straight away.

Once up in the NSW alps a storm hit us like a road train at 100kph. I had secured the upper tent guy ropes to some Snow gums and I could not believe there wouldn't be some damage, but we were unscathed whilst other camps around us were flodded and in kaos...... I tried not to be too smug and lent a hand. A nearby caravan had is awning ripped off, he had no idea where it went.

We have sometimes not even tied the OT down on a quite desert night, it's a value judgement and could be risky. If we use the awning I tend to just use the back guy ropes to balance the pull against the front awning poles.... but again, only when we are not far away in case of a weather change.

I'de suggest 2 additional extras - The fly, and a big sheet of sarlon (shade cloth) to spread under the tent and out as far as the awning (at least).....really helps to protect the bottom of the OT and keep it clean inside.

Look after it and you'll probably only drop a couple of hundred when you want to sell it - cheap accomodation.

FollowupID: 430714

Reply By: slave - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 09:47

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 09:47

Well worth the money. We borrowed one for the kids (11 and 15) to use across the Simpson thinking that it would be much easier for them to set up and pull down for the overnight stops. They loved it, didn't even peg it down on the still nights!

We were able to pick up a secondhand one in great condition for $400 including one sidewall locally a couple of months later. Since then I have seen one seller on ebay who has a larger size for around half price. They are new and he has good feedback.

Okay they are not cheap but are comparable to other canvas tents.

Most importantly like Willam said they always fit back into the bag.

Just my opinion, others will differ

Mrs S

AnswerID: 174641

Reply By: GaryInOz (Vic) - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 10:55

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 10:55

Agree with all of the above.

Have had mine in an absolute gale, flattening several tents around me, but mine stayed up.

Only issues I've had are to do with te design of the accessory tent poles, they are a "twist to unlock-extend-twist to lock" type that are prone to letting themselves down with a bit of wind loading.

Another minor issue is the adittional side and front panels can be a bit of a pain to set up on your own, working out which goes where. Would be nice if they made a one piece side/front panel that would reduce the "Zip count" to three from the seven it is now.

Having said all that, buy one.

One of the benefits of this tent (shared with most dome tents) is they are a lot easier to keep upright when camping on sand, as ther are in the first place a freestanding structure.

Single pole tents rely on the tension in the walls to the ground pegs to provide the "bracing" to keep themselves up, and if you can't gett into any decent hard sand you can expect to be in a continuous cycle of nailing your tent down. This also means you have to nail your tent down in the rain in order to put it up. Oztent just throw it out of its bag, put it up, wait inside for the rain to stop, and then finish off putting it up when it stops raining.

AnswerID: 174659

Reply By: Johnnotoo - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 11:09

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 11:09

We also have on and agree with all of the above. Only other consideration is that they are too long (2 metres) to carry inside most vehicles and therefore must be carried on roof (in which case factor in rack cost) , or carried on trailer. Plus they do require some effort to load on rack singlehanded.

AnswerID: 174662

Reply By: Darren C - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 12:07

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 12:07

We bought the RV4 plus the deluxe side and front panels and got $200 off from ARB at one of the Perth 4x4/ Camping Shows - also got a free groundsheet which matches the footprint of the tent exactly. There are definitely discounts to be had.

Definitely worth the money and hopefully will last a significant number of years

Cheers

AnswerID: 174668

Reply By: Redback - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 13:58

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 13:58

I would buy this from Oztrail, much better value than them all price wise, and they are strong and long lasting , $380 last time i priced them, according to a mate they are on special at the moment for around $300 or so.

Baz.

AnswerID: 174686

Follow Up By: Peter - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 21:45

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 21:45

Picked mine up from BCF in Brisbane for $259
Peter

FollowupID: 430826

Reply By: Member - Don M (NSW) - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 14:47

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 14:47

Macca,

I have had an Oz Tent for a couple of years now but have to admit to not using it as much as I should.

Having camped a lot when the kids were young with all the attendant set-up probs, usually in the wind and rain in the dark, the Oz Tent is an absolute bonus and makes up for any cost blow out.

Camped with friends last year and joined together to make a seriously big 'lounge' room in between the two tents. That was before they had a proper joining piece which now makes it even better...and waterproof.

They are extremely good quality tents but agree with one other poster, the aluminium frame is a bit suspect in strong winds and..... don't get your hands caught whilst lowering...they pinch bad..!!!

Cheers,

Don

AnswerID: 174696

Reply By: G ajm - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 18:18

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 18:18

There is an Oztent RV3 for sale in the trader section under camping gear.

AnswerID: 174730

Reply By: Member - Banjo (WA) - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 20:30

Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 20:30

After travelling in an Oztent for 12 months I can recommend them without question. Putting up and taking down every couple of days would have been a real pain were it not for the ease of the Oztent.

Stood up to very strong winds and slept dry with 2-3 inches of water around the tent while others blew away or were soaked.

As others above have said, they are worth the money.

Banjo (WA)

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AnswerID: 174750

Reply By: Member - Bradley- Friday, May 26, 2006 at 02:06

Friday, May 26, 2006 at 02:06

well, they are long, and heavy (not as heavy as a lot of tents though), a pain to throw up on the roof (apparently the ozpod eases a lot of the pain), and the extra panels can be a bit fiddly ( but fit like a dream).

BUT i wouldnt change mine at all :-))

RV3 with 2 sides and front panel, got it at melb 4x4 show hundreds off, ALL fits into the standard bag :-)).

if overnighting in good weather, i just throw it up, no awning out or anything, if not windy , dont even peg it - swag and bags inside plus my fat rear hold it down real well LOL. last time i used it we set up in the rain and it rained for 2 days straight, well the whole thing was bone dry inside, and the extra room on the front remained real dry as well.

OZTENT - AWESOME, nice people too.

AnswerID: 174811