I am looking into buying an Overland Vehicle Systems brand RTT, specifically the Bushveld II. There doesn't seem to be much information about the company or people's first-hand experiences with their products. But everything I can find makes this RTT look like a high quality product for a fraction of the price of more popular brands. I'd be appreciative of any info/experiences. Thanks!
Experiences with Overland Vehicle Systems RTT?
- Thread starter jcherry17
- Start date
Yeah agreed. There's like 2 YouTube reviews of the tent and one of them is definitely not positive. I was on the fence about getting one for a few months. Between the Bushveld and the iKamper. Would be curious what you got and what you think.
I ended up going with an iKamper because there in the same area as me, so no shipping and they really are serious about fast open fast close.
I ended up going with an iKamper because there in the same area as me, so no shipping and they really are serious about fast open fast close.
SDDiver5
Expedition Leader
No experience with them exactly. I have the MIA Overlander Rooftop tent and the MIA and the OVS soft shell and hard shell tent look 99% identical, main difference is color, shoe bag difference and latches. The design, hardware, layout, star gazing window, even the metal poles for the windows are the same. So, with that being said, I think my opinion is somewhat warranted for this thread.
In all, not a bad RTT. I have the soft shell and a friend of mine had the hard shell that he sold for a topper. I have had mine for 2 years and don't really have any complaints. I do a lot of desert driving, washboard roads and desert washes so every year or so I re tighten all of the nuts/bolts I can find. Usually have to give them a turn to really snug them down. I camped 2 weekends ago and it was windy and raining and it leaked through a tear which was from me. At first it took me about 10 mins to open up and 15 to close, now it's 5 mins to open and 8-10 to close so it takes some time to get the routine of it. The ladder works great, all zippers work well and it's fairly well built. I assume it's a china manufactured tent that is re branded and sold. The price point is just about the same. I have camped in it probably 20 nights since I've had it and sleep like a baby. I guess the mattress could be a little better so I used an old mattress topper from the old guest bed and put it in there. Mine weighs 120 lbs so being a big dude I can man handle it and put it on my rack by myself with a few umpfs.
In my opinion, I don't see a reason to spend $$$$ more on a brand name when something this price point works perfectly. Especially because they're all pretty much the same and in reality how often does it actually get used? My longest trip was a 4 night hunt in AZ.
If you look at pics on google of both of them you'll see how similar they are and why I felt like commenting. If you pay attention to the little things you'll see what I mean.
Anyways, hope this helps!
In all, not a bad RTT. I have the soft shell and a friend of mine had the hard shell that he sold for a topper. I have had mine for 2 years and don't really have any complaints. I do a lot of desert driving, washboard roads and desert washes so every year or so I re tighten all of the nuts/bolts I can find. Usually have to give them a turn to really snug them down. I camped 2 weekends ago and it was windy and raining and it leaked through a tear which was from me. At first it took me about 10 mins to open up and 15 to close, now it's 5 mins to open and 8-10 to close so it takes some time to get the routine of it. The ladder works great, all zippers work well and it's fairly well built. I assume it's a china manufactured tent that is re branded and sold. The price point is just about the same. I have camped in it probably 20 nights since I've had it and sleep like a baby. I guess the mattress could be a little better so I used an old mattress topper from the old guest bed and put it in there. Mine weighs 120 lbs so being a big dude I can man handle it and put it on my rack by myself with a few umpfs.
In my opinion, I don't see a reason to spend $$$$ more on a brand name when something this price point works perfectly. Especially because they're all pretty much the same and in reality how often does it actually get used? My longest trip was a 4 night hunt in AZ.
If you look at pics on google of both of them you'll see how similar they are and why I felt like commenting. If you pay attention to the little things you'll see what I mean.
Anyways, hope this helps!
I recently picked up the 4person Bushveld. Haven’t camped yet, but had it open a handful of times for the kids to explore it. This is my first RTT. I was looking at the ikamper equivalent and it was going to be 7500+ for tent, rack (rhino rack for JKU) and instal (all bought from the installer).
I ended up finding the rack and backbone system on a 30% sale from northridge 4x4. Then found the Bushveld on Cabelas. They had a 10% off sale and I had about $400 in points, so went with it. Did the install myself. This is all to get my family more comfortable and outdoors and I think it fits the bill. Remember, cabelas has frequent sales like this, so it could be worth it for extra savings.
Overall the quality is nice, nothing is broke, ripped, scuffed when I received. My experience with open/closing is similar to the poster above and getting quicker each time. I really like not rolling up a tent on the ground and dealing with poles. I think it will insulate better thank my cabelas ground tent. Overall I’m happy with the direction I took.
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I ended up finding the rack and backbone system on a 30% sale from northridge 4x4. Then found the Bushveld on Cabelas. They had a 10% off sale and I had about $400 in points, so went with it. Did the install myself. This is all to get my family more comfortable and outdoors and I think it fits the bill. Remember, cabelas has frequent sales like this, so it could be worth it for extra savings.
Overall the quality is nice, nothing is broke, ripped, scuffed when I received. My experience with open/closing is similar to the poster above and getting quicker each time. I really like not rolling up a tent on the ground and dealing with poles. I think it will insulate better thank my cabelas ground tent. Overall I’m happy with the direction I took.
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I’ve had the nomadic 3 for almost 4 years and have spent over 150 nights in all kind of weather from 35-40 mph winds to heavy rains and I have never had any leaks or problems with the tent besides the inherent ones with a soft shell style, for example wind noise from rain fly flapping or a tear on the tent cover. When I first got it I bent the entrance hoop and they replaced it no charge and when the cover seam started to give way I just called them and 2 days later I had the new cover at no charge. I can’t say enough about the people and the customer service, the best.
This RTT looks identical to the iKamper from Korea that many Chinese companies have been copying. I chuckle as I write this - the Chinese are copying Korean products!!!
I think OVS awning products have been used by quite a few folks on Expo, but not sure about their RTTs.
Look up iKamper and do a back to back comparo.