Tents wot you got?

Ah, must beg to differ when it comes to camp beds. Depends where you are in the world of course, but in the Malaysian jungle where finding the space to erect individual tents is impossible, it's a case of parking up at a minute clearing with two or three vehicles forming a square, lashing long straps across the roofs of each, sling over a tarpaulin then build your aluminium campbeds so that a dozen or more can sleep in the dry.

A campbed is essential in this situation as you wouldn't want to sleep on the deck with just a bed-roll. Too many creepy crawlies, plus of course you can get a good soaking in a rainforest!

Also, those ex-army canvas and four wire legged campbeds are useless, as on uneven ground your bum can cause the canvas to sag just enough for the canvas to come into contact with the earth, resulting in a very wet rear end!

That said, I agree about campbeds and airbeds in tents, as an inflatable mat, a good quality sleeping bag and a pillow (very important piece of kit) is quite sufficient.

yeah I would not want to be sleeping on a wet floor!

I think my one of my best camping purchse is my Thermarest mat - it really is superb. You can sleep on any rocky, bumpy nasty surface and you do just not feel it! You do pay quite a lot of ££ for a thermarest, but its deffo worthit, way better than the other inflatable mats I have tried. They are very durable as well.

Ouch, you're not kidding when you say you have to pay pay "quite a lot of ££ for a thermarest" - up to £175 compared to something like a Vango self-inflating mattress for £40, but I see what you mean quality-wise. It looks to be the 'nuts', so as a one-off purchase then it is worth it.

http://www.completeoutdoors.co.uk/Thermarest-&-Roll-Mats/Therm_dash_a_dash_Rest/

Guess I'll stick with my Aldi £12.99 version for now ... although it really is very good for the price.

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_19225.htm

I know its quite a lot of money, and I usually avoid expenses such as that...but I tried one and had to have it. Bet yours does prety much the same job!

Well, it's only money.

This is the latest set up for now as sold the trailer and building a new one


-12 that night very warm in the tent yes got a Fox wing from Brendon and the side panels all easy to put up

RLD, that looks sweet. Got any pics of the Interior?

TJ

Just some older ones
this stove i made but have a new Helsport S/Steel one now as i sell them you have haven't you

Hi RLD, good to have you back mate!

That looks cosy, definitely an 'all-weather tent' ... if you can call it a 'tent' of course?

Hi Tom got lots of tents but i do like this tent especially this time of year when you can have the stove in it to keep you warm should be away this week end but looks like work got in the way i do think this time of year when its below zero the best time to go but that's just me

Mmmm, not so sure about that. I don't do cold weather, definitely warm-bloodied me. On the way back from Russia I spent a night freezing by a Finnish lake. Ice on the inside of the ex-army tepee - not good. Yes I should have had more cold-weather gear with me, but I didn't and it's put me off cold stuff ever since. Nah, give me sweaty jungle or scorching desert any day!

well just sold my roof tent yesterday for 350 quid,,,,, i have had it 4-5 years and used it in all kinds of weather,it was a prime tent got it off fle bay and it was in same as condition i bought it ,,,,,only the cover was ripped and the plastic had gone hard,but it did sit on top of the roof for a whole year when we moved down here an we had a very hot summer,
so i now have the delica back so shall be putting a bed in the back and sleeping inside,,,,getting to old to climb on roofs now,,,,this will be a stop gap till i make the overland body for the 101,,,,,happy camping.....

we have used a ground tent for a morrocon trip and landyrally trip through europe, it is a khyam explorer, same make as the G4 tents,

advantage was easy put up and down, if it rains then i could back up to the tent and still cook etc

Oz Tent,
They work well just a bit big, but on top of 110 there is still lots of space left for other stuff like Kayaks etc.

Just placed an order for a Terrain vehicle ground tent, very similar to the RV2 OZ tent but does not have the front awning but as I have one on the frontera anyway not a problem.

It's a good bit cheaper than the OZ but seems to be the same material and a very similar method of pitching, also Iv'e done a deal to send the "Terrain" guys pictures of it in use and they held the show price from back in March, so a bit of a bargain.

First outing will be a trip in June to La Sarthe for the Le Mans 24 hour race as a shake down then I will try it again in July for the Le Mans classic, but the first real test will be the Frontera owners club trip to Wales for some off roading in August then a family camping weekend in September and the 4x4 show in October.

Don't know what to do with myself in November and December yet but it may be a bit chilly for camping then anyway

Declared interest, we sell Oztents


Is that the RT04 tent?

IF it is the RT04 then the fabric is NOT the same as Oztent!


The RT04 is £549 + VAT = £658.80

Floor area is 2 x 2m by 2 metres high.

My reading of the description is that the Awning A1 is zipped onto the tent and comes with 2 side panels
It is made from

Quote :

Premium quality high denier PVC backed ripstop cotton body shell.

also

Quote :

this model will save you nearly £1000 from its nearest comparable rival!

The Oztent RV2 is 2m x 2m x 1.9m high has an attached porch and is £575 inc VAT and side panels are an extra £210 inc VAT

The tent is made from Waterproof Rip- Stop Poly-Cotton Canvas . Being a poly cotton canvas the tent material is breathable.

OK that is a simple comparison between the tents, the RT04 has slightly more headroom and a longer awning.


Now what is

Quote :

PVC backed ripstop cotton body shell?

May I suggest people actually google PVC cotton fabric?

Now what is that fabric used for?

Think waterproof apron, table cloths etc

Now where else is PVC used? Try plastic pipes/gutters etc. Yes a pvc fabric will be waterproof but by same token is hardly likely to be breathable!

Where else are PVC coated fabrics used? Typical fabric fibres are polyester and nylons and are typically used as lorry curtains.

I used to make rope bags out of pvc/polyester for the caving market, bags for wind surfers etc

Personally I would be relunctant to use a pvc coated fabric for a tent shell!




As for

Quote :

this model will save you nearly £1000 from its nearest comparable rival!

For £1,658.80 I would very happily sell you a

RV2 and side panels for £785 plus a Foxwing (10 m2 of awning) at £580 plus awning connector at £35, plus a flysheet at £90
and be laughing all the way to the bank



Brendan

Not sure what the RT04 tent is.

The tent I have just ordered has a proofed Canvas top although the sewn and welded ground sheet is a pvc coated material.
The dimensions are 2x2mtr and the height is 2mtr front lowering to 1600mm at the rear.

As stated earlier it has no awning protruding from the front which does not worry me unduly as I have a 1.5mm x 3000mm awning attached to my roof rack, well when I say attached it is fixed to the rear wall of my house at the moment providing a sun shelter for the patio

I'm in no way trying to belittle the quality or construction of the OZ tent and I believe it to be probably better overall than what I have just ordered, but and this is the big but I will be using it occasionally and not in unduly extreme conditions of for extended periods of time so the cost saving and maybe a slightly lack of quality is not an issue to me, if I was planning to use it for extended trips across deserts or the Mongolian tundra then that would be another issue.

I am planning an extended trip in the future with the wife and intend to be away for a long period of time but if and when that comes off I will more than likely be doing it in a camper van and not a 4x4, the wife's not a great one for being bounced around across rough terrain (I have to do that on my own or with a mate).
As for spending £1600 on a tent combo I would want someone to come along and pitch it for that

I have been more than happy for the last few years with my Khyam tent but as I'm older and wider now the ability to stand up when putting on trousers etc is an added bonus

Just off to Le Mans for the classic tomorrow and using the Terrain tent again, I did have a few pitching issues on my first outing but that was realy down to my pitching tecnique now iv'e shortend the lower straps and fitted the upright clips in a higher position on the eerr uprights the rain runs off instead of through the zips which means my feet should keep dry when getting out of bed and not stepping into a puddle in the middle of the night.

Maggiolina here, we love it. Such a nice cosy place to spend the night. The big drawback is its lack of awning/covered space but I have a plan for that

I had an Oztent too but just a little large for transporting in my Defender 90

Buy a 110! There I've said it, somebody had to.

Trouble is the 90 is exactly the right length as an off-roader, whereas the 110 is ideal for long distance trips. Shame that Land Rover never made a 100 inch vehicle, it would be the perfect compromise.

Hey hold on, they did - the Range Rover Classic. Always said the Rangie was perfect, now I've proved myself right. What a clever bugger I am ... and so modest with it.

110's are great, we had one for 3 weeks on holiday this year.

I do like the challenge of the 90 and getting it all to work ie living out of it, to be honest if I have space I generally fill it!!

This weeks challenge is getting a 2.4m Hannibal awning to fit usually only seen on larger 4x4, jury is still out if this will work. On my second design of mounting hardware, just changed from aluminium as I think it was wrong, bought the material too....

Hopefully it will be on for the show, if it works out it will be great

There are awnings changing rooms available for Maggiolina roof tents.


Brendan

Hi Brendan,

Yes, I did look at them. Has anyone ever bought one? I could find no reviews at all. The one I like is where you can enter the tent under cover and with privacy.

My plan is to install the Hannibal awning and then get the fabric modified/ remade to allow a connection to the Maggiolina. That's my idea anyway..

Hoping to have the awning mounted for the show, went with aluminium in the end.

Steve

hello
here is my rooftent.
It's a bit heavy toget on to roof(wife's only got one good arm)but it's realy well made


PS. by the way i went for that job in the village,there short one Idiot.

Howling Moon for us.

Got a 2nd hand one off ebay. Canvas was in very good condition (despite a previous trip or 2 through Africa) but mosquito nets were no challenge to flying creatures (big or small), and flysheet was torn (due previous owner reversing under a tree with tent up). Mattress looked like it had seen better days ...

I replaced the mosquito nets: replacements purchased and I painstakingly removed the old and stitched in the new.

Rips and tears in flysheet repaired by stitching coated polyester fabric on back and applying Tenacious Tape on the front (PS Tenacious Tape makes Duct tape look like sticky tape ... )

We bought a foam mattress from a foam company who also kindly made the mattress cover for us ...

... and presto! Total cost about half of a new one, so very happy!



We also have a warm weather 2 man ground tent. Warm weather? Yes, coz the inner tent is net, with a loose flysheet. Definitely not suitable for camping in Norway in October

kind regards,
African GirlChild