Oztent

We bought an RV4 in 2011.
Considered the RV5, but thought it looked a bit big for us. The weird thing is, there is only 20cm difference. The RV5 is 20cm wider and 20cm deeper than the RV4. So there is really not much in it.

The RV4 has 40cm at the back that extends past the frame. (the small pull out bit at the back) This has no effect on the stability of the tent, just gives you a little more room.
I think the RV5 has 60cm at the back that extends past the frame, but not sure if that is exact.

Our RV4 is just big enough for 2 adults and 2 kids, all on self-inflating mattresses. We are happy with our choice. It is just the right size for us.

I think you just need to have a look at both of them set up, if you can, and pick the size that you like.

Oztent is a great design, with great build quality. It is the best tent I have ever had. They are truly storm-proof. We have slept in it through 8 hours of solid rain, in the blue mountains, in October. Totally warm and comfortable.
I know there are a lot of good tents out there, and I'm not trying to say mine is better than someone else's. Just that you won't be disappointed in your choice.
They are absolutely worth the purchase price.

I always peg and rope mine. Some people don't bother, and in fair weather you don't need to. But for the extra five minutes, I like the peace of mind that I won't have to get up if the weather changes.

I hope you enjoy your new tent. Good luck with your 20cm dilemma!

Adam

Hi Plexy

Further to Adams comments, we have owned the RV4 for over 8 years and it is by far the best ever tent that we have ever owned.

Prior to the RV4, we have owned many well know quality tents, all canvas and as much as we cured them for rain, they all seemed to have small annoying leaks in heavy rain. I tried waxing the seams and the only way to keep it dry was to use a polly tarp as a fly as that solved the problems.

One time up in Queensland, it rained very heavy and water seeped in through the floor and everything was as wet as in the morning, so its not much fun having to strip everything out of the tent to dry your sleeping gear.

Now back to the RV4.....

We had heard many good reports and wanted a good quality tent that would be 100% waterproof. After many went nights, we never had any issues, but one night over on Kangaroo Island, was the mother of all test. We rocked into the caravan park it it pouring with rain, asn we got totally drenched in just a few minutes of getting gear out of the car and setting up the tent.

The rain did not stop, in fact it just got harder as the night went on. Next morning, tents, caravans and campers were all cleaning up from 110mm of rain overnight. Inside the RV4 was as dry as when we set it up, with not one drop of water in the tent.

In fact there was that much water in the caravan park, many sites were under water during the night and our site was no exception. With a tell tale water/grass ring around the outside of the tent over 50mm above the ground level showed just how waterproof our tent was.

The only other advise that I would give is to always peg town the tent and use the supplied guy ropes. We never used them until another time up in Queensland when we were at Quilpie. A mini tornado hit the town when we were again setting up the tent.We had no warning and had to hold on for our life to the main front frame with such force, that we ended up making a nice big bow in it.

When I rand up when we were home to get a new from cross member, the first thing the very helpful man said was I bet you never had it pegged on our roped down. Since leaning from our own mistakes, we had never been caught out again and even in strong high winds, the tent is astable as anything.


Enjoy your new Oztent, it will be the best tent that you have ever owned.



Cheers



Stephen

Mum & Dad have/had an RV5 and given I've spent a lot of time traveling with them putting the OzTent up and down I can offer some advice...

Pros:

1. Plenty of room and height,
2. canvas is solid & waterproof,
3. good build*,
4."self erecting*"

* with limitation - see below

Cons:

1. we had a problem with the plastic corner joins cracking - however it has been well used - replaced them with metal corner brackets / nyloc bolts, and a bit of grinding/filing to smooth the corner so it didn't rub the canvas and it was as good as gold (and more solid than it was before) - corner bits do have a bit of flex

2. to put stretchers in end ways you really need to peg the back dorsal flap otherwise feet / stretcher will rub

3. for the larger RV's - don't believe the spiel that it's a one man job to erect - you need two - one to hold/pull the front while another slides the self locking arms on the side - also applies on the way down as well

4. while as some said above you can do with four corner pegs, however if you want to erect with the back lifted and include fly cover and front awning, then you're looking at at least 14 pegs... sort of defeats the self erecting do it in 5 mins spiel at the camper shows

also - they may have fixed this in later releases - the RV5 they got I suspect had an RV4 bag - that thing was one son of a b*cth to get back into the tent bag - Ma & Pa wound up getting a local upholsterer to extent and gusset the bag..

RV5 - loooong when folded and can be heavy - won't go inside vehicle and unless you're reasonably mobile - could be a hassle getting onto roofs... my father built a custom off-road trailer just to carry the Oztent and he has shoulder problems

Please don't take the cons as a negative, Mum & Dad loved theirs, and it was a great tent when up, however it's probably not ideal for quick one night stops...

I guess this is too late but also consider the Oztent Maverick as being lighter and more packable.

See the review at http://www.outbacktravelaustralia.com.au/camping-tents-and-swags/jettent-maverick-december-2015