Ravenmad
Observer
In July my jeep was finished and I wanted to go on a trip before I headed to Europe. (writing this 30 days after the fact). I did a lot of research on RTT's and honestly, I was set on a Tepui or a CVT. I am one of those guys that doesn't like to order stuff online and when I pay for something I want to walk out with it. With that in mind, it makes it really hard to buy something. But hey, Im old fashioned, I like to put my hands on a product, look it over and ask questions before I buy it, especially when it comes to an item that costs as much as a RTT.
I have never owned a RTT before, Ive always used ground tents, a 4 season bag with a shell or a 3 season hammock. Im not new to Overlanding by any means but I deff. fall on the exstream side of it as far as destinations and routs are concerned. I have been in the Off-road community for about 20 years, so I am well versed in what constitutes good gear and what is just a trend. Personally I don't like trends, unless of course its functional and proven. I like quality, I like a product to be well thought out and not just a reaction to the market, I like Customer Service, and I don't mind paying for it. I also don't think the most expensive part / gear constitutes the greatest quality or the highest return on investment. Its always good to keep a few things in mind when your purchasing something. 1. What am I going to use this for? 2. How long do I need it to last? 3. How critical is it to the success / enjoyment of the trip or desired use? Case in point, Im going camping with friends overnight and never again.... Do I bring some spoons from home or do I stop at REI and buy Titanium spoons? Vendors would have you buy the Titanium of course...
Anyways... After contacting several vendors I decided to stop in Salt Lake City, Utah at 23 Zero, and then Bend Oregon to visit CVT. I have several friends with Tepui tents, they love them and have no complaints outside of the normal Chinese made RTT complaints. However, I could not find a single vendor in route to Oregon that had what I wanted in stock. Ultimately I will only be running a RTT on the top of my Jeep for the next year and then Ill be pulling a Off-Road trailer with a tent. Anyways, I stopped in Utah and visited with the 23 Zero guys (whole other story). In the end, I picked up a Bundaberg RTT from them that day. I do have to say a few things though, the guys there met me on a day they were closed, answered all my questions, let me look at a tent as it was set up and ultimately let me unbox and mount the tent right there. Super helpful, super friendly and very knowledgable. I know, its their business to sell their product. Everyone is biased against competitive products and has a definite biased towards their own product. Got it... They were as helpful as anyone could be, didn't pressure me, just answered some questions and went out of their way to provide good customer service.
What I got; A Bundaberg with and annex room and a black cover (to match my jeep). The tent came with what I know to be all the standard equipment, stakes, cover, and carrying bag for the annex room floor. The tent also came with the 2 "Sky view windows". The outer window is made of the same material as the Tent and the inner is an insect mesh. I have a habit of using a footprint under tents so I also picked up a footprint for the annex room to help the rubberized annex room floor last a little longer. The mattress is a queen size 3" Hi- Density foam. I added a queen sized "thin" sleeping pad to the top of the mattress for a little more comfort. The tent is constructed of heat sealed 260gsm poly cotton rip stop canvas. TheRain fly is 210 Denier with a 210 Denier oxford polyester ripstop material for the annex and a 550 gsm PVC style floor. The internal frame is 1" diameter as well as the awning hoop. The Internal frame lugs are cast alloy with a stainless steel hinge, alloy base and pivoting yokes. The travel cover is a 600gsm PVC cover with D rings. The tent also comes with a 12 month warranty.
Over the next 14 days we had no issues. We actually slept in the tent every night as we traveled from camp to camp. I will say, you have to be careful when unzipping and zipping so you don't get material caught in the zipper. I got in the habit of guiding the material with a lead finger and then I didn't have an issue. By myself it takes me about eight minutes to set the whole thing up (without staking it). I would be faster except my jeep is so tall I have to climb up and back down to take the cover off and unstrap the thing to deploy. For my daughter and the dog I brought along two cots that I set up in the annex room on each side of the aluminum ladder. The annex room was a bit of a stretch for the height of my jeep but it still worked well (its made to fit a mounting surface height of 68 -82 inches I believe. My jeep has a 4 inch lift and 40" MTR's. I have a Roof Rack from Nemesis Ind. and the mounting surface for the RTT is approx. 3 1/4 above the Hard Top.
I realize I could have spent twice as much money on a high end RTT. I get that nothing is perfect and people have personal favorites and vested interest in different brands. However, in a day when it looks like everyone wants to get into the market I found 23 Zero to deliver a solid product with great customer service at a great price comparatively to its competition.
I have never owned a RTT before, Ive always used ground tents, a 4 season bag with a shell or a 3 season hammock. Im not new to Overlanding by any means but I deff. fall on the exstream side of it as far as destinations and routs are concerned. I have been in the Off-road community for about 20 years, so I am well versed in what constitutes good gear and what is just a trend. Personally I don't like trends, unless of course its functional and proven. I like quality, I like a product to be well thought out and not just a reaction to the market, I like Customer Service, and I don't mind paying for it. I also don't think the most expensive part / gear constitutes the greatest quality or the highest return on investment. Its always good to keep a few things in mind when your purchasing something. 1. What am I going to use this for? 2. How long do I need it to last? 3. How critical is it to the success / enjoyment of the trip or desired use? Case in point, Im going camping with friends overnight and never again.... Do I bring some spoons from home or do I stop at REI and buy Titanium spoons? Vendors would have you buy the Titanium of course...
Anyways... After contacting several vendors I decided to stop in Salt Lake City, Utah at 23 Zero, and then Bend Oregon to visit CVT. I have several friends with Tepui tents, they love them and have no complaints outside of the normal Chinese made RTT complaints. However, I could not find a single vendor in route to Oregon that had what I wanted in stock. Ultimately I will only be running a RTT on the top of my Jeep for the next year and then Ill be pulling a Off-Road trailer with a tent. Anyways, I stopped in Utah and visited with the 23 Zero guys (whole other story). In the end, I picked up a Bundaberg RTT from them that day. I do have to say a few things though, the guys there met me on a day they were closed, answered all my questions, let me look at a tent as it was set up and ultimately let me unbox and mount the tent right there. Super helpful, super friendly and very knowledgable. I know, its their business to sell their product. Everyone is biased against competitive products and has a definite biased towards their own product. Got it... They were as helpful as anyone could be, didn't pressure me, just answered some questions and went out of their way to provide good customer service.
What I got; A Bundaberg with and annex room and a black cover (to match my jeep). The tent came with what I know to be all the standard equipment, stakes, cover, and carrying bag for the annex room floor. The tent also came with the 2 "Sky view windows". The outer window is made of the same material as the Tent and the inner is an insect mesh. I have a habit of using a footprint under tents so I also picked up a footprint for the annex room to help the rubberized annex room floor last a little longer. The mattress is a queen size 3" Hi- Density foam. I added a queen sized "thin" sleeping pad to the top of the mattress for a little more comfort. The tent is constructed of heat sealed 260gsm poly cotton rip stop canvas. TheRain fly is 210 Denier with a 210 Denier oxford polyester ripstop material for the annex and a 550 gsm PVC style floor. The internal frame is 1" diameter as well as the awning hoop. The Internal frame lugs are cast alloy with a stainless steel hinge, alloy base and pivoting yokes. The travel cover is a 600gsm PVC cover with D rings. The tent also comes with a 12 month warranty.
Over the next 14 days we had no issues. We actually slept in the tent every night as we traveled from camp to camp. I will say, you have to be careful when unzipping and zipping so you don't get material caught in the zipper. I got in the habit of guiding the material with a lead finger and then I didn't have an issue. By myself it takes me about eight minutes to set the whole thing up (without staking it). I would be faster except my jeep is so tall I have to climb up and back down to take the cover off and unstrap the thing to deploy. For my daughter and the dog I brought along two cots that I set up in the annex room on each side of the aluminum ladder. The annex room was a bit of a stretch for the height of my jeep but it still worked well (its made to fit a mounting surface height of 68 -82 inches I believe. My jeep has a 4 inch lift and 40" MTR's. I have a Roof Rack from Nemesis Ind. and the mounting surface for the RTT is approx. 3 1/4 above the Hard Top.
I realize I could have spent twice as much money on a high end RTT. I get that nothing is perfect and people have personal favorites and vested interest in different brands. However, in a day when it looks like everyone wants to get into the market I found 23 Zero to deliver a solid product with great customer service at a great price comparatively to its competition.
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