Gazelle Tents

[slomatt]

Has anybody else had condensation issues with their Gazelle? This weekend my wife, daughter, and I camped in our Gazelle and on the first night we apparently didn't open enough windows and wound up with significant condensation on the walls. On the second night we opened all the windows a few inches which solved the condensation issue, but we felt it retained much more heat than expected. Next time we'll try also opening the bottom of the doors to try to let cool air in the bottom and hot air out the top.

Other than the above, and the fact that I constantly trip on the doors, we really love the tent. It is well built and amazingly fast to set up and take down.

 

[Scoutrover13]

That was one of my main concerns was condensation due to the fact it’s a single wall tent. I actually talked with a guy at gazelle for a significant time and was one if the questions I asked. Condensation mitigation is always a battle in tent camping in the south east.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Has anybody else had condensation issues with their Gazelle? This weekend my wife, daughter, and I camped in our Gazelle and on the first night we apparently didn't open enough windows and wound up with significant condensation on the walls. On the second night we opened all the windows a few inches which solved the condensation issue, but we felt it retained much more heat than expected. Next time we'll try also opening the bottom of the doors to try to let cool air in the bottom and hot air out the top.

Other than the above, and the fact that I constantly trip on the doors, we really love the tent. It is well built and amazingly fast to set up and take down.

AMAZON sells a small hanging ceiling fan w/ lite, would that help to keep the condensation down when you have the rain cap installed ? Tents need to breath, so I would open anything that opens and do my camping in less humid regions of the country or sleep in the open until dryer weather is present.

 

[slomatt]

AMAZON sells a small hanging ceiling fan w/ lite, would that help to keep the condensation down when you have the rain cap installed ? Tents need to breath, so I would open anything that opens and do my camping in less humid regions of the country or sleep in the open until dryer weather is present.

I think part of the issue is that the rain fly blocks most of the mesh area at the top of the tent, and even with the windows cracked there's not a lot of airflow. Some tents have vents at the bottom for just this reason, and I'm betting that opening the bottom of one or both doors will really help. A fan could help pull air through the tent, but I'm not sure I want to deal with more batteries. :)

 

[Mike Dubya]

I am looking at getting a quick set up ground tent and saw the Gazelle tents, I was wondering if anyone had experience with one?


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

After purchasing and using a Gazelle T4 tent this summer I really like it. There are some things that may be of help to other gazelle owners:

The pole ends that hold the rain fly are prone to splitting longitudinally when you "pop up" the roof with the fly on- but don't fret too much, there is a repair! Take a 45 caliber brass and cut off the end with the primer. slide this over the tin female end (tent side) and glue it in place with some gorilla glue. Works like a charm! I keep a few prepped in the peg pocket just in case.

The tent appears square on paper- it isn't! the sides near the corners bow in and your actual living space is a bit smaller, and more round. We found this out while using Disc-O-Bed stackable cots. The cots cannot go squarely in the corner without having adverse pressure from the tent wall. This would likely wear through or puncture in windy conditions.

Do yourself a favor, throw away the provided tent stakes. Buy decent ones.

If the tent gets wet, give ample time to wash it and dry it out. It will make "watermarks" even if this is attended to quickly and properly.

The ventilation is good in hot weather, and it can retain a fair amount of heat in cold weather if you cover the roof with a blanket or tarp before installing the rain fly. (Tie the tarp down!)

Always stake out the center of the hub walls in the direction of the prevailing wind- this will avoid any accidental collapse issues.

Serious props to Gazelle for making a truly durable, cleanable floor section which can be removed and installed easily! It climbs up the interior wall several inches keeping you dry even if you have a wet surface to camp on!

Thanks!

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I think part of the issue is that the rain fly blocks most of the mesh area at the top of the tent, and even with the windows cracked there's not a lot of airflow. Some tents have vents at the bottom for just this reason, and I'm betting that opening the bottom of one or both doors will really help. A fan could help pull air through the tent, but I'm not sure I want to deal with more batteries. :)

Okay, I didn't realize you had the rain cap on over the ventilated roof.

 

[chris_nc]

I picked up a T3 a few weeks ago and used it for 4 days at the American Adventurist Appalachian Rendezvous last week. It worked out great with just me sleeping in there on this trip. Plenty of room even though once set up it does look a bit smaller than I expected. I agree with the notes above: the floor is not exactly square in the corners, so using cots might be a challenge. However, with my sleeping pad, no issues. Set up and take down is super quick and easy and even though it was close to 100*, I could get good air flow and cool the tent with the windows open. Definitely need to go with better stakes. I used the ones that came with the tent and when trying to remove them from the ground, the tops basically unfolded and became unusable. I already have better ones, so no worries.

Here is a crappy iPhone pic of my spot under a full moon.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I picked up a T3 a few weeks ago and used it for 4 days at the American Adventurist Appalachian Rendezvous last week. It worked out great with just me sleeping in there on this trip. Plenty of room even though once set up it does look a bit smaller than I expected. I agree with the notes above: the floor is not exactly square in the corners, so using cots might be a challenge. However, with my sleeping pad, no issues. Set up and take down is super quick and easy and even though it was close to 100*, I could get good air flow and cool the tent with the windows open. Definitely need to go with better stakes. I used the ones that came with the tent and when trying to remove them from the ground, the tops basically unfolded and became unusable. I already have better ones, so no worries.

Here is a crappy iPhone pic of my spot under a full moon.

View attachment 118424

I agree the T3 is one man tent if you use a cot, which I do. I will buy the t4 when I buy, I like plenty of room even though I camp alone.

 

[Captstout]

I agree the T3 is one man tent if you use a cot, which I do. I will buy the t4 when I buy, I like plenty of room even though I camp alone.

Wife and I will be getting the T4. Just her and I, but we do a nice air mattress with real bedding. Lol. Only part of glamping I do.

 

[Shamu]

The Gazelle tents (T3’s in the pic) are great if the ground doesn’t permit stakes. Block the prevailing breeze with the vehicles and use recovery gear bags/water jugs to anchor certain walls. This is me and my brother at The Wall (CANY Maze District) set up for the night a couple of days ago:

 

[wahoowad]

I bought a T4 recently. Mine arrived with a hole in the center of the floor where it looked to me like perhaps one of the hubs rubbed against it during shipment/storage. Since all 4 wall hubs have that exposed metal (with a small nut) I'm thinking of covering it with something to prevent it from happening again. By default I was going to use duct tape and cut it fit but open to other suggestions or perhaps alternate theories on what may have caused that hole.

 

[Nomadik Nova]

I bought a T4 recently. Mine arrived with a hole in the center of the floor where it looked to me like perhaps one of the hubs rubbed against it during shipment/storage. Since all 4 wall hubs have that exposed metal (with a small nut) I'm thinking of covering it with something to prevent it from happening again. By default I was going to use duct tape and cut it fit but open to other suggestions or perhaps alternate theories on what may have caused that hole.

I had a similar issue that I noticed after a two week trip out to Glacier and Yellowstone. I reached out to Ardisam and they immediately shipped me a new floor and bag (holes went through both), but they did not mention anything specific to do to prevent it from happening again.

Anyone else had any issues?

What did you do to protect it from happening again?

 

[jasonbhaller]

Has anybody else had condensation issues with their Gazelle? This weekend my wife, daughter, and I camped in our Gazelle and on the first night we apparently didn't open enough windows and wound up with significant condensation on the walls. On the second night we opened all the windows a few inches which solved the condensation issue, but we felt it retained much more heat than expected. Next time we'll try also opening the bottom of the doors to try to let cool air in the bottom and hot air out the top.

Other than the above, and the fact that I constantly trip on the doors, we really love the tent. It is well built and amazingly fast to set up and take down.

I noticed that when it is cold outside we get pretty good condensation buildup. I would have thought that the top would be enough to vent it. I didn't think to open a window, and i like to keep it as warm as possible. When I get up in the morning i open a couple windows and by the time we have breakfast and get ready to pack camp it is all dried up.

I really love it too, I think it is a great value, perfect for vehicle based camping, much lighter and cheaper than an RTT. Especially for me who only gets out a few times a year. hard to justify that cost.

 

[wahoowad]

I haven't run into the condensation issue myself but only have camped with it 2 nights. Like @jasonbhaller I am amazed the wide open top isn't sufficient.

 

[Pretzel]

We bought the T4 Plus recently and used it on a 3-day trip at Kerr Lake. Days were in the high 80's, but clear skies and a breeze now and then, beautiful weekend. We never put up the rain fly but even still this tent suffers from a lack of airflow, even with all the windows open the mesh is very fine. Great for bugs, not so much for a breeze. We'll be going out again soon with a forecast of 40 degree lows at night, I do expect condensation issues since we'll have rain fly up this time due to a chance of rain. So far that's my only significant beef with the T4 Plus, we really like it.

 

[Shamu]

We bought the T4 Plus recently and used it on a 3-day trip at Kerr Lake. Days were in the high 80's, but clear skies and a breeze now and then, beautiful weekend. We never put up the rain fly but even still this tent suffers from a lack of airflow, even with all the windows open the mesh is very fine. Great for bugs, not so much for a breeze. We'll be going out again soon with a forecast of 40 degree lows at night, I do expect condensation issues since we'll have rain fly up this time due to a chance of rain. So far that's my only significant beef with the T4 Plus, we really like it.

Just returned from a 6-night overland in the CANY Maze District (70s day down to 20s first 3 nights, upper 30s last 3 nights). Left the windows cracked overnight, open till sunset. Used the rainfly every night. No issues with condensation (30-40+% humidity) or ventilation (good thing after our meat-mix w/rice & beans!).

 

[Pretzel]

Just returned from a 6-night overland in the CANY Maze District (70s day down to 20s first 3 nights, upper 30s last 3 nights). Left the windows cracked overnight, open till sunset. Used the rainfly every night. No issues with condensation (30-40+% humidity) or ventilation (good thing after our meat-mix w/rice & beans!).

That's encouraging, we'll be in 70% humidity but not quite as cold. If I remember to, I'll post an update.

 

[Shamu]

I consider (and use) the T3 a one-man tent for 6’+ folks.

 

[mmp]

I had a similar issue that I noticed after a two week trip out to Glacier and Yellowstone. I reached out to Ardisam and they immediately shipped me a new floor and bag (holes went through both), but they did not mention anything specific to do to prevent it from happening again.

Anyone else had any issues?

What did you do to protect it from happening again?

I haven't done it yet on our T4 plus but I have a Coleman instant tent that had a similar issue. I put clear Gorilla tape on the floor where it was getting rubbed by the poles as a preventative(floor was getting thin but didn't have a hole all the way through yet). If needed then I could replace the tape. 2yrs late and it still is holding up.

 

[Shamu]

Put my T3 on a Wallyworld tarp/ground cloth and a piece of foam between the pivot point and top of the storage bag (mostly to pad/protect the tent and Jeep TJ - sits perfectly across on top of the rear wheel tubs - on rough trails).