Gazelle Tent

[MuckSavage]

Just read the whole thread as I'm considering a T4. Thank you all for the insight. Earlier in the thread, there was mention of the floor being damaged from a cot's feet. While the moving blanket is a great idea, if you want a smaller/lighter solution, cut a tennis ball in 1/2 & place under the cot's feet.
The 1/2 tennis ball also helps your Helinox-type chair's feet from sinking in soft soil!

 

[M Rose]

Just read the whole thread as I'm considering a T4. Thank you all for the insight. Earlier in the thread, there was mention of the floor being damaged from a cot's feet. While the moving blanket is a great idea, if you want a smaller/lighter solution, cut a tennis ball in 1/2 & place under the cot's feet.
The 1/2 tennis ball also helps your Helinox-type chair's feet from sinking in soft soil!

I love that hack... also, the T4 Overland model has a heavy duty footprint... and it’s offered for the T4 Plus and the T8 as an accessory. I highly recommend the new footprint

 

[Pretzel]

Just read the whole thread as I'm considering a T4. Thank you all for the insight. Earlier in the thread, there was mention of the floor being damaged from a cot's feet. While the moving blanket is a great idea, if you want a smaller/lighter solution, cut a tennis ball in 1/2 & place under the cot's feet.
The 1/2 tennis ball also helps your Helinox-type chair's feet from sinking in soft soil!

We like a comfy floor in the tent anyway, just a first-day blunder on my part that damaged the floor.

 

[Edward Ruth]

I’ve been looking for a solution for carrying a T4 on top my Gobi rack that’s more elegant than just throwing it us there. An Australian company makes a cradle that’s what I want but the won’t ship to USA. Anybody know of similar USA made product?

 

[Desert Runner]

I’ve been looking for a solution for carrying a T4 on top my Gobi rack that’s more elegant than just throwing it us there. An Australian company makes a cradle that’s what I want but the won’t ship to USA. Anybody know of similar USA made product?

You can buy aluminum sheet stock and have a custom/industrial shop put the necessary bends in it. They also could have strap/hook cut-outs put in it also for tie-down points. Either paint the base sheet or purchase one already coated in black paint. The cradle does seem like a innovative idea, that over time would most likely mitigate wear or holes forming in the tent bag, Something more likely to happen on bumpy corrugated back roads over time due to the rack cross members. Good Luck on your search.

PS:
Those 2 photos are a good template for the shop to use, if you decide to go that way!

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Yup & yup,, a broken rib clued me in to how heavy our tent really is ( 70+ lbs) . I always figured getting it up on the roof rack was the same as getting a bale of hay up there and a small price to pay for the comforts of a large “stand up in” tent. I’m seven years older now and it has run it’s course and may be up for sale soon.

I hear ya. My Gazelle t3 I think is 37# but it feels like 75# to me now. I can pick it up but I cant get very far with it with a cane in one hand and a tent in the other. That's why I recently bought myself a 6x10 cargo trailer. Now I'll just roll up to a camp site, let down my ramp and enjoy all that I can for as long as I can. Everything I will need will be in that trailer. :-)

 

[Viking1204]

Just read the whole thread as I'm considering a T4. Thank you all for the insight. Earlier in the thread, there was mention of the floor being damaged from a cot's feet. While the moving blanket is a great idea, if you want a smaller/lighter solution, cut a tennis ball in 1/2 & place under the cot's feet.
The 1/2 tennis ball also helps your Helinox-type chair's feet from sinking in soft soil!

Thanks for that suggestion for the Helinox type chairs! Here in Florida we have a lot of sand soil and that is the one thing about the Helinox chairs I don't like, they sink easily into soft soil/sand. I'll definitely be picking up some tennis balls and modifying them and putting them in with my camping gear!

 

[MuckSavage]

Thanks for that suggestion for the Helinox type chairs! Here in Florida we have a lot of sand soil and that is the one thing about the Helinox chairs I don't like, they sink easily into soft soil/sand. I'll definitely be picking up some tennis balls and modifying them and putting them in with my camping gear!

you betcha! we have the same sandy-soil here in the South Jersey Pine Barrens

 

[pnwcruiser]

Got our T8, set it up in the back yard for a trial run. It got below freezing and there was frost on the tent. In the morning, the tent had water inside, on the floor, on the cots, on the sleeping bags, etc. Anyone else experience this? I'm not sure what to say. Makes my worried to use it when we really need it.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Got our T8, set it up in the back yard for a trial run. It got below freezing and there was frost on the tent. In the morning, the tent had water inside, on the floor, on the cots, on the sleeping bags, etc. Anyone else experience this? I'm not sure what to say. Makes my worried to use it when we really need it.

Ohhhhh, that not good. I would sure get some input from Gazelle.

 

[Deleted member 59857]

That's a bummer
If the relative humidity was high, is it simply condensation buildup inside?
If it's leaking from the fly, maybe try some waterproofing spray on the fly and see how it goes?

 

[M Rose]

Got our T8, set it up in the back yard for a trial run. It got below freezing and there was frost on the tent. In the morning, the tent had water inside, on the floor, on the cots, on the sleeping bags, etc. Anyone else experience this? I'm not sure what to say. Makes my worried to use it when we really need it.

This is condensation. Leave the windows open just a little bit to let the tent breath.

 

[pnwcruiser]

Got our T8, set it up in the back yard for a trial run. It got below freezing and there was frost on the tent. In the morning, the tent had water inside, on the floor, on the cots, on the sleeping bags, etc. Anyone else experience this? I'm not sure what to say. Makes my worried to use it when we really need it.

This is condensation. Leave the windows open just a little bit to let the tent breath.

Nobody was in the tent. It could have been the freezing fog we had. The amount of water inside was pretty excessive. 40+ years of camping here, never seen this happen. It's really rare we get freezing fog here.

 

[M Rose]

Nobody was in the tent. It could have been the freezing fog we had. The amount of water inside was pretty excessive. 40+ years of camping here, never seen this happen. It's really rare we get freezing fog here.

The tent will still condensate without people in it... take a ziplock bag outside and set it on the ground sealed up, there will be frost inside the bag.

 

[Ronin1057]

Does this tent hold up well in rain?

 

[M Rose]

Does this tent hold up well in rain?

Yes it does...very well.

 

[Apresski]

I have had a T4 & T3 for two years. Great product

 

[MOAK]

I like the tent but it's folded up size is really not practical for anyone without a full sized vehicle . Like an OZ tent.

Very true, our old oztent, the Jettent 25x (14x14x50 packed) is up in the barn and now we have a tepiu mounted on our trailer. The quick set up tents take up a horrendous amount of space. so much so that the addition space used up by an RTT is a great trade off. Is our Jettent for sale ? aaah, anything is for the right price.

 

[Grapenut]

I hesitated to write this review but decided I should share my experience with the T4 tent. I got my tent from the OB store. I was looking for a larger, easy to erect tent. Based on reviews and the sale price I decided to take a risk and ordered one.

My first impression was the tent was of a very clever design but made of very cheap material (More on that latter). It is very easy to put up and take down. The interior is very roomy. You would have no problem putting cots in there. The doors and windows were more than adequate and the zippers very functional. One con is the door and mosquito netting have to be opened separately instead of a single unit. I had no problem getting the tent into and out of its carrying case.

We drive an FJ Crusier. The tent will go in the cargo compartment with rear seats down. You either have to lay it diagonal in the compartment or have it protrude into the front. No matter what it takes up lots of volume. I wound up carrying it on the roof rack. It is heavy but not that hard for two people to put on the roof. We have a Gobi roof rack and the tent rode well there.

We took the tent on a 4 day trip to Death Valley. Camped at 5000 ft. Temperatures were below freezing at night. It did not rain and wind was light. The tent worked fine but almost immediately I noticed small holes starting to appear in the floor, main canopy, and carrying case.

On our return, I contacted Gazelle about the issue since the tent was still under warranty. The only things they wanted were for me to send them pictures of the holes and the serial number of the tent. They told me I could keep the old tent and they sent me a brand new one that arrived in less than a week.

That was outstanding customer service and I am more than satisfied with how they handled the problem. Maybe I just got a lemon, but I suspect this is a known problem to them and they have seen this issue before. I have no clue if this is limited to a single production lot or a more universal problem. As I said the material appears very cheap when compared to my backpacking tents. Since l don’t totally trust it, I’m debating keeping the new tent or moving to something else.

I had issues with the holes in the flooring. The first time I notice it was unpacking it at the camp site the first time I used it. There were several holes and 1 through the tent bag. These were not caused from being on the ground. I reported this to Gazelle after the trip and they sent out a new tent. I just returned from a trip with the new tent and notice holes in the flooring again. I purposefully examined it before I packed it for the return trip and it was fine. It appears the hubs must rub against the flooring causing the holes.