tents for touring

Doug,

Even with a troopie you mogt find it difficult to fit the Oz tent in the Vehicle. They also take some time to pack up and can weight quite a bit.
I use a Freedom center pole tent that takes less then 1 minute to put up and about 2 to fold down and pack up. Obviously this is with some practice but it has never taken more then 5 minutes on my own. Some of my friends have Troopies and use similiar type tents as they have made brackes and a storage system which stores the tent up aginst the roof at the back and allows easy access to it when required. This allows it to be first out and last in without getting in the way during the lunch stops.
Most people in the club I am in that bo a lot of trips use the center pole tents due to the ewasy of use and versitlity.

Hope this helps you.

Cashy

Doug

The Oz tents i looked at are made of very flimsy matrial and the demos i saw on close inspection were starting to wear and tear at the stitching joins. I purchased a Tanami Tourer last year from Camping Direct. Had a couple small dramas and the vendors were more than willing to assist etc. I subject it to a serious tropical downpour for a few days at Christmas and it leaked from the corners. I went back to the people who i bought it from and they were excellent wanting to know exactly how and where and why and offered me a full refund. I didn't want a refund i just wanted the tent and wanted it waterpfoof. On that the guy has designed a permanent small roof fly to extend over the corners and I believe he is now in the process of manufacture and i expect mine shortly.

The reason I settled on the Tanami Tourer was 1. weight (light compared to other canvas centre pole tourers. 2. the wall go up relatively straight which means more standing room than other centre pole tourers. 3. i can put an inflateable double mattress comfortably between one wall and the centre pole without the person on the outside sitting up to a face full of tent (like in other centre pole tents). 4. ease of putting up, dead easy and dead quick. 5. I have a prado and the pole assembly fits in behind the front seat and ex tends down to the back - so now worries at all in a Troopie. 6. quality - heavy Y2K zips, serious quality canvas and soooo much inside room.

i believe they have a website now at campingdirect.com.au

good luck

Doug, I can concur with the others. I looked at the Oztent, and talked to our local outdoors shop. They had problems with the frame. I bought a Southern Cross touring tent. Basically the same as the other two mentioned, and is so easy to put up. I liked it because it was heavy canvas, and as should last.

Doug, I, like some of the others bought a Southern Cross Ultimate Trekker, and am over the moon with it. It lives in a canvas bag on the roof and easily sleeps two adults and a 12 yo, 8 yo and 6.yo. It is 3 metres by 4 metres and takes a little extra time over the other centre pole tents but is worth the effort. If there is two of you the basic trekker is excellent. I am not connected with Southern Cross, but have seen the factory. They are all Aussie owned and made, Freedom are made in N.Z., with Aussie materials. Good luck in your choice.

I also have a Southern Cross tourer (13 x 10 ft). It is an excellent tent but as with all canvas tourers it weighs a bit. It does not however leak in any conditions and fits in either my rooftop bag or back of my 100 series. Like all campers I vary my gear depending on the trip though (touring tent or TrakShak camper). By far the fastest tents to set up are the Oztent (canvas) and the quality is not at all circumspect. For a family though, they can be a bit small. They do have a seperate fly screen and other accessories available now as well though. They also produce another lightweight tent (Nylon Microfast) which is a very impressive piece of gear and weighs about 6kg for a 4 man version. You can see this on net at oztent.com.au. I dont think it is widely available but it is a far better idea than the traditional dome and as long as Nylon is OK with you it is a far better, less complex unit to set up (10seconds) and pack away. I reckon in an ideal world you would have a Southern Cross family camping unit or an OzTent Canvas or Nylon MicroFast. Difference is heavy or light - thats it. Look after a Nylon tent (maybe not the best in desert) and it should last years. Look after a canvas tent and its probably yours for life....as long as your back doesnt pack it in.

Hey Doug, and just to add my two cents...the canvas touring tents are bees-knees, if you can take the weight...bear in mind when erecting you also need to push up about 1/3 weight of the tent (and more when wet) to get the pole up. I wouldn't recommend a large one for anyone frail, bad back or otherwise impaired. (My girlfriend has some trouble..)
cheers Rich

doug my wife and i have been travelling around aust for the last 3 years in a centre pole tent and they certainly are the quickest and the easiest to set up ours is 10ft/10ft the only problem is when having to pack them up wet because all the inside gets wet.we have been snowed on while in ours after 4 days of rain and that was the only time ours has leaked due to the canvas beening so saturated
you should also soak your tent until it can take no more then let it dry out so the canvas is water proofed before use

REGARDS LUKE

we have used an oz tent for the last 3 years, 2 adults 2 kids. extensive camping in the oz red centre as well a vic high country, sa coast etc. fraying and frames bending !, well i've had no experience of it. this tent is set up and pulled down nearly every day when camping, do it myself in "30 sec" carried on the roof rack (80 series cruiser) could be a problem getting it up there if you are not tall. does require a certain amount of strength to toss it up. must admit tried the rest now have the best (in my opinion !)

I agree with the people who recommend a canvas centrepole tent. I checked out the Oztent before buying and was amazed at the flimsy material used. The short set up time quoted for the oztent also doesn't allow for proper securing of it with pegs and guy ropes. I think it's the sort of tent which would be good as long as it wasn't windy and didn't rain!!
I use a centre pole made from 10ounce canvas and find it very strong and stable in very windy and very wet conditions. It takes less than 2 minutes to set up and pack up. oh and if a tent needs a fly as one person said, it's not worth having - why spend a lot of money on a tent which needs a $10 poly tarp to make it useable?