OzTent RV-4 Review

The OzTent was an object of gear-lust for me – from the first time I saw them in Overland Journal or posted up on the online forums, I couldn’t get them out of my mind, despite having a perfectly good, high quality Turbo Tent that was serving me well.  I resisted for a while, but gave into the tempatation and got my OzTent RV4 about 1.5 years ago.  So, does it live up to the hype?  Is it worth the $999 base price tag?

Let’s start with a little background on the OzTent RV line of tents, how they’re designed, what they do well, and what they don’t do so well.

The OzTent RV Design

The first thing you’ll notice about the OzTent RV model tents is their unique profile, which resembles a lean-to more than a traditional dome profile.  The shape is all function, which prioritizes fast deployment and maximum interior space (my RV-4 Fits 2 cots while still leaving a spacious center-aisle area in the tent).  The OzTent utilizes and permanently affixed internal aluminum frame that “pops up” after the tent is unrolled.  The RV Series tents all have roll-out awnings that deploy from the front of the tent with optional side walls that enclose the area completely.

OzTent Setup – As Easy as it Sounds!

OzTent RV Pros

• Deployment is fast, with the basic tent (including staking) taking just about ~3-4 minutes and packing up taking maybe ~7-10 minutes (always harder to get a tent back in the bag than out of the bag!).
• Spacious interior with good headroom (over 6ft at the entranceway)
• Rugged construction.  The exterior is all canvas, except for the floor tub, which is a super-thick PVC material.  The internal frame is aluminum.
• Practically invincible in any weather when deployed and staked.
• Doesn’t cheap out on the details.  The storage bag is a high-quality water-resistant canvas and the supplied tent stakes are robust, and the zippers are strong.

OzTent RV Cons

• Packs up large.  All the the RV tents have a packed length of over 6 feet, so unless you’ve got a roof rack, truck bed, or exceptionally large vehicle, the OzTent is not convenient to carry.
• Heavy.  My RV-4 tips the scales at 48 pounds – the cost of that rugged construction!
• Expensive.  The base tent runs $999.  Add in the optional front/side panels, fly, and floor saver and you’re in for over $1,700!  Definitely “Gucci Gear” status.

My Experience

If you’re comfortable with the cost and prefer ground tents to roof top tents (as I do), you’ll be quite happy with the OzTent.  I have dozens of nights in the tent in all kind of conditions, from the desert heat in Moab to freezing/snowy conditions back East in the Appalachians, with a few gullywasher storms in between for good measure.

Most of the time we just deploy the basic tent, forgoing the side walls, floor saver, fly, etc. for the quickest setup.  We only go all-out if we’ll be in the same spot multiple days, or if the weather is really terrible!  If you’re not looking to go all out, you can skip the extras, as you don’t need them.

To me the one of my favorite things about the tent is the canvas material.  It is quiet in windy conditions (so you can sleep!) and has been very resistant to mildew despite me packing it wet (and keeping it packed) several times.  The storage bag has held up reasonably well to ~15,000 miles on the 4Runner’s roof rack, but is now showing some bleaching from the sun and a few small pin-holes in the canvas.  If there is anything to call out, it would be that while the tent is very robust when deployed, the metal frame is somewhat vulnerable in the act of deploying or packing and you need to use both hands on the top of the frame to avoid twisting.

After living with the OzTent I’d buy one again in a heartbeat.  If you prefer ground tents, have the space to store it, and are OK paying upwards of a grand for quality, then you should strongly consider an RV series tent.

Disclosure: While OzTent USA is a partner with DirtRoadTrip, I’ve tried to provide my objective opinion on the RV-4 based on my experience, which much predates OzTent USA’s affiliation with DirtRoadTrip.