For me, the biggest reason I'd like to have an RTT option as well is for trips where I know I'll be in areas that aren't as "ground tent friendly". Places with really rocky terrain for example where you're either going to be spending a lot of time and effort clearing out a space, or risk poking through the footprint. Plus making being barefoot in the tent a rather unpleasant experience.
Ground Tent camping on overland trips
- Thread starter Rubi-life2018
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adv.fam.4
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It’s very hard for me to compare RTT’s and ground tents because of the price differences. You’ll always get more features and benefits with an RTT because of the cost. You have to be in the right mind set either way.
No doubt. That's the main reason I'm nowhere near an RTT yet (besides the cost of the tent, I've got another grand I'll have to dump into a good rack). In a perfect, won a small lottery world, I'd love to have an RTT suspended from a hoist in the garage that I could drop down on to the rig when I'm heading out for a trip that needs it, or just toss the Gazelle up on the rack if it doesn't.
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I sometimes bring my "camp garage" with me. It looks like a small tent but they were sold as shelters, I think for soccer parents who couldn't handle standing out in the rain. The idea is that 2 people would sit inside on folding chairs and watch the game ... dumb. It's an air suspension tent and doesn't have any poles. It's light and packs up pretty small.
I take it with me for times when I plan to leave my camp site for any length of time and want to maintain some kind of presence back at my site. Rather than leaving things I don't want to take with me scattered about I put them in my "garage" and don't worry about them. That could be anything from fire wood to my bike.
People probably go by and think ... "poor guy sleeping in that" and meanwhile I'm dozing off in the back of my Jeep.
I take it with me for times when I plan to leave my camp site for any length of time and want to maintain some kind of presence back at my site. Rather than leaving things I don't want to take with me scattered about I put them in my "garage" and don't worry about them. That could be anything from fire wood to my bike.
People probably go by and think ... "poor guy sleeping in that" and meanwhile I'm dozing off in the back of my Jeep.
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A ground tent is a good (budget friendly) platform to get started... the Gazzelle T4 would be a excellent choice. When ground tent exploring you just need to be more selective when looking/finding a camp spot, I make sure I carry some tools to prepare the area to setup the tent, an extra tarp as a base layer to set the tent on, and as you can see from previous post on this thread, you can easily customize your camp setup from there... the Gazzelle tent is easy and quick setup, with plenty of interior space, you can even standup to get dressed. Have fun and happy trails...
I have a Gazelle tent, the T4 Plus Overland Edition, I'll use it if I'm staying more than a couple of days someplace, otherwise, I set my cot up in the back of my vehicle.
A word of warning, while the Gazelle is a clever piece of kit, very fast and easy to set up, it has what I believe to be a serious design flaw that can reduce its durability. In windy conditions, it can collapse in on itself (see photo, sorry for the poor quality, it's a screengrab from a video). The wind on that day was about 15mph with gusts to 20mph. This constant collapsing caused friction where the end of the roof pole inserts into the thick canvas-like material used to support the pole, the way those inserts are designed results in one side that only has a single layer of material, in that wind event, that friction wore a hole in the material causing the pole to poke through, thus causing the roof to collapse. I don't have a photo of the problem area, but I am going to be submitting a warranty claim to Gazelle in the hope I can get the issue fixed or the tent replaced, so I will take some photos to support my claim and share the outcome at some point.
A word of warning, while the Gazelle is a clever piece of kit, very fast and easy to set up, it has what I believe to be a serious design flaw that can reduce its durability. In windy conditions, it can collapse in on itself (see photo, sorry for the poor quality, it's a screengrab from a video). The wind on that day was about 15mph with gusts to 20mph. This constant collapsing caused friction where the end of the roof pole inserts into the thick canvas-like material used to support the pole, the way those inserts are designed results in one side that only has a single layer of material, in that wind event, that friction wore a hole in the material causing the pole to poke through, thus causing the roof to collapse. I don't have a photo of the problem area, but I am going to be submitting a warranty claim to Gazelle in the hope I can get the issue fixed or the tent replaced, so I will take some photos to support my claim and share the outcome at some point.
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Advocate III
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You didn’t use the provided guy lines to tie the walls out? I have had my T4 Plus out in 60mph winds with gusts close to 100mph and never had the tent walls collapse…. But then I guy everything out super tight.
Well that's another story, it came with guy lines, but there is nowhere to attach them to, the only anchor points are at the base of the fly. Those are two elastic loops, which when the wind blows like this are dangerous, because they store kinetic energy when stretched, this causes the stakes to pull out of the ground. I have a number of holes in the fly and tent from the stakes being ripped out of the ground and flung at the tent.
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For what it's worth, insulation from the ground is key if it's cold out. So if you're going to use a ground tent, invest in a good pad with decent R value.
I have couple cAnvas wall tents, as most of the time we are there for a while. On shorter stays I have fast set up tent that came from Walmart. According to the diagram it sleeps like two battalions, but it is great for my wife or son and I . If fits a queen air bed with loads of room to spare and has more than 6‘ headroom. It was under a hundred bucks when I bought it 8 years or so ago. So much easier that an RTT, cheaper to replace if damaged, easy to throw of a shelf in the storage room.
Advocate III
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Mine has 5 guy loops on the tent fabric itself and 5 more on the pullouts. I’ll take pictures next time I set it up. (Should be this time next week if all goes as planned).
As per attached instructions
Setup:
Section 8 and figure 8: Move outside of your tent and begin securing your tent to the ground by using the provided stakes and tie down ropes. The stakes can be fastened through each of the tent grommets and the tie down ropes can be tied around hub eye-bolts and tightened to a stake in the ground. Use adjustment slides on the rope to achieve proper tension. [ SEE FIGURE 8 ]
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You have to guy out the hubs on each side, they have an eye attached for this purpose.
I've only had to stake down the hubs on the Gazelle tent (either T4 or T4+) a couple times, but when I have I've had no problems. Even in a 40mph wind situation with a T4+, I had pointed the front to the wind and didn't stake out the hubs on the sides, but had no trouble (it was sheer luck as the wind came in late at night from the right direction). The only annoying part about it with the T4+ is the wall flaps are kind of a pain if you need to stake the hubs. Either you run the guy line through the wall flap meaning it has to stay down, or you can't close it all the way when you need to at night or the like.
The one problem I have had that I only just remembered while typing this was we had a few abnormal gusts roll through that got up under the fly (which at the time I hadn't staked the sides down) and snapped half the metal tip off the pole that anchors the fly into the tent. I was able to use the remaining bit and it still fit in the slot, but I'll likely need to replace that at some point.
The one problem I have had that I only just remembered while typing this was we had a few abnormal gusts roll through that got up under the fly (which at the time I hadn't staked the sides down) and snapped half the metal tip off the pole that anchors the fly into the tent. I was able to use the remaining bit and it still fit in the slot, but I'll likely need to replace that at some point.
