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vgeorge Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:32 pm

Hi Has anyone tried the new tents from BusDepot? They look huge! Also, the Oztent from Australia? I am looking for a side tent and have found one in Canada called the Sportz by Napier but it looks like just a rear connection. Thanks! Happy Halloween!!

[email protected] Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:49 pm

the rear connection tents kinda suck with the vanagons large hatch. They can only be open about halfway or so and entry/exit between is not very easy. I had the "lodge" rear tent for awhile

The newest traditional side tent that bus depot has is pretty impressive, It truly is the best I have seen yet in design, size, quality, etc.. My buddy I camp with has one, Another one of our friends has the older version and its nice but not as good in wet conditions and does not have as large sock connection to the camper.

vgeorge Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:23 pm

Thanks very much. It is hard to know when you can't see the thing in person. I read earlier that the bus depot tent is heavy and takes up a lot of room to transport. It might not be an issue if it is such a great tent. Space can be made!

[email protected] Wed Oct 31, 2007 3:50 pm

vgeorge wrote: Thanks very much. It is hard to know when you can't see the thing in person. I read earlier that the bus depot tent is heavy and takes up a lot of room to transport. It might not be an issue if it is such a great tent. Space can be made!

Thats true of all the better side tents unfortunatly :(

vgeorge Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:39 pm

Thanks Markus. They guy at Sportz says peple are putting their tents up through the sides on Euros, but I wonder...

speedygeorge Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:42 am

vgeorge wrote: Thanks Markus. They guy at Sportz says peple are putting their tents up through the sides on Euros, but I wonder...

I see a nearly new one for sale locally for $100, has anyone tried this with a vanagon, it appears to have 2 entrances as well as awing and over 7 feet tall.

http://www.sportzbynapier.com/product.html?product_num=61

speedygeorge Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:27 pm



Scored this tent with pass through for $60, it has 2 doors and windows on all sides, it is 7 feet tall with small awning. The pass through can be unziped and the tent can be used on its own. The opening lines up almost perfectly with sliding door, I have attached the top of the tent with 3 small clips, the bottom has a 1 foot high lip that lines up nicely with the floor and the sides are held by closing on the passenger door and tucked into the sliding door on the other side, no more moving bags around every day.

Flash Kaleo Mon Apr 22, 2013 4:50 pm

Thought I would share some thoughts on a recent purchase soon to be returned tent.

I purchased the Sportz SUV 6 Tent from REI.
http://www.rei.com/product/851617/sportz-suv-6-tent-with-screen-room

Depending on what you are looking for this could be a good option for you. For me I am going to stay more compact.

This is a big tent with lots of room. I ordered the tent with the screen room option. You have the option of adding the screen room or unzipping it and leaving it off. The rain fly also gives you the option of setting up a side awning. All in all this tent has great features and space.

Here are a few pictures of my set up.

Great additional space!


I did not have the top poles going through the top sleeves, which is causing a bit of sag up top.


The sleeve that attaches the tent to the van does not allow the back gate to open all the way.

I thought this would be a great solution. It’s tall… I’m tall, it’s spacious… I like space, and it attaches to most SUV/ Minivans... I have a Vanagon. So why do I plan to return it…

I come from a backpacking background and try to use gear that can also be used while traveling on foot. The first concern I had with this tent was when the REI staff offered me a set of hand trucks to take it from the store to my car. My second concern was when I realized I needed them. Overall packed weight is 52 pounds.

In the storage bag it is 32x14x14inches.


For me space in the van is an issue. I travel with my wife and 2 year old… i.e. a car seat and other things that go along with a toddler. We need a space to leave all of the random stuff when we do our day trips out from the campsite. For what the tent cost it did not match the van the way I wanted.


The sleeve just seemed glitchy and I could see space between the van and the tent. Raccoons would surely be coming in for an evening visit. I did not use it in the rain but feel confident it would leak in this area because of how it sits on the van hatch.

Unpacking the tent and setting it up was not an issue. Compared to many tents this has an easy assembly. I did have my wife help me the first time, but with practice I think it could be a one man job.

The quality seemed ok, however there were two poles that did not have the same internal bungee/chain connecting system as the others. I think they were left off in the factory…?

Overall probably not a bad tent, just not for me. My solution will be to set up my backpacking tent next to the van. After weighing all of my options it really is not so important to have the additional space attached to the side or back of the van.

This is just more our style…


Take it for what it is worth!

Flash

Busdepot Fri Apr 26, 2013 6:15 am

[email protected] wrote: The newest traditional side tent that bus depot has is pretty impressive, It truly is the best I have seen yet in design, size, quality, etc.. My buddy I camp with has one,
Thanks for the positive feedback! Yes, the Add-A-Room is bulky, but the high build quality and flexibility (every side extends to an awning, etc.) necessitate that. It's truly a buy-it-once-and-have-it-forever product.

For those who want a lighter duty option, you can use our Ezy-Awning with the optional walls, and/or our Rear Hatch Tent (which is designed specifically for a VW van so it's a good fit), both of which are very inexpensive and pack tiny because they're nylon.

Links:
Add-A-Room: http://www.busdepot.com/details/addaroom/
Ezy-Awning: http://www.busdepot.com/details/awning/
Rear Hatch Tent shown at the bottom of both pages

BillWYellowstone Fri Apr 26, 2013 6:27 am

I just bought the rear tent for our Westy, have used it once so far, pretty easy to set up, only issue is we were on pretty hard pack and could not use the stakes. I'll make up some weights to use in this situation for future.

Camping here is out for now, still snow around, and if we did go, the rear tent wouldn't be used in the temps. (18 this morning).

BTW, it got real windy overnight and while flapping was loud, everything held nicely.

4x4BNB Fri Apr 26, 2013 7:09 am

We got the Archaus from Gowesty. It was a little expensive but vey light and easy to set up. It does not have a floor :(. We used it for additional storage at Syncrofest but, it attaches to the side or rear. Our eventual plan is to use at a bathroom/shower

debbiej Fri Apr 26, 2013 10:20 am

We have decided that the type of trip determines the need. For camping in one spot trip, tent is worth taking. And for those kinds of trips, I don't want the tent attached, it is good to leave it in place if you want to take the vehicle to explore or for supplies. I do want it to be easy though. So love our coleman instant tent. It can double as screen house, rain shelter. Also have a little pop up for shower or potty. Haven't really used it though.

For overnight, stops on road trip, no tent. BD's rear hatch shelter is good for that. Quick, easy little extra room, if needed and takes up no space at all.

Just my opinion, of course.

tam_shops Fri Apr 26, 2013 10:25 am

I have the old version of the Add-a-Room tent:
http://www.busdepot.com/addg

I wrote more about it here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=322371&highlight=fritz

And, there are some great pictures of it packed here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545175&highlight=add+room+tent

Mine's the same as that, though, from what I understand the newer ones have much smaller/lighter poles. I emailed them to see if I could just swap out my poles for the new lighter/smaller ones and was told that I could not...Because I have kids, I think this is going to be a life saver for long trips and if it becomes rainy trip, I'll kick myself for not brining it! LOL

tam

tam

CoastieLFS Thu May 23, 2013 1:55 pm

4x4BNB, the ArcHaus has a floor, but it comes with the bug screen kit (as a friend of mine is modeling...)


CoastieLFS Thu May 23, 2013 2:41 pm

Various pictures of the new side room/awning from Bus Depot. First time set up at home.



This next picture shows the awning only, but where I shorten the legs to create similar effect as my Kelty Deluxe Car Port.



Below is the rear hatch room. The milk carton filled with water was an experiment on weighing down the ends on pavement.



Here's the set up on location at a camp site at Long Beach, WA







Added 8/05/13 - below you can see the Bus Depot Awning used as a wind block or sun shade when the sun is low on the horizon.


imagesinthewind Thu May 23, 2013 4:33 pm

The FedEx man brought me mine today, beige, and we'll be setting it up tomorrow at home and then using it this weekend camping.

I'll get photos also. We got the EZ Awning Plus with front and two sides and the jack mounts. Yours looks awesome, like a great party could be had in there.

Ginny in Denver

Howesight Thu May 23, 2013 4:58 pm

I have to say that I just don't understand the side-tent thing. I used to back pack a lot and am no stranger to tents, but once I got my current Westy, the thing I liked more than almost anything was the ability to set up and to bug out QUICKLY! I still like that when I see people setting up tents or wrestling with their jacks under their monster RV's, doing the slide-outs, etc, etc. We always bring a tent in case we need to "reserve" a camp spot, but it's just plain painful wasting the time to set up when we are carrying on our adventure the next morning.

Also, when we got our Westy, my wife swore she would never sleep in a tent again - - too many near-misses with bears here in BC. When they make a bear-proof Kevlar tent, maybe she'll reconsider.

Anyway, despite the fact I won't use one, the various side-tent configurations in this thread show how creative and practical our Westy community is. Kudos!

vanagonjr Thu May 23, 2013 5:27 pm

Howesight wrote: We always bring a tent in case we need to "reserve" a camp spot, but it's just plain painful wasting the time to set up when we are carrying on our adventure the next morning.!
I think most, certainly I, do not set up our side tents when we are staying 1 or 2 nights. When set up for a week in one spot, the tent is great. I' have only set mine up 2 or 3 times in 5 years. We just usually are not in one spot for a week; I should probably sell it.

I do like using my Kelty car port with adjustable poles. I set it up like an awning, of lay it down like it was designed to do and it forms a bit of a mini-tent.

CoastieLFS Thu May 23, 2013 6:07 pm

Howesight wrote: I have to say that I just don't understand the side-tent thing. I used to back pack a lot and am no stranger to tents, but once I got my current Westy, the thing I liked more than almost anything was the ability to set up and to bug out QUICKLY! I still like that when I see people setting up tents or wrestling with their jacks under their monster RV's, doing the slide-outs, etc, etc. We always bring a tent in case we need to "reserve" a camp spot, but it's just plain painful wasting the time to set up when we are carrying on our adventure the next morning.

Also, when we got our Westy, my wife swore she would never sleep in a tent again - - too many near-misses with bears here in BC. When they make a bear-proof Kevlar tent, maybe she'll reconsider.

Anyway, despite the fact I won't use one, the various side-tent configurations in this thread show how creative and practical our Westy community is. Kudos!

I understand your feelings. I didn't really start out looking for a side room. I was just looking for a portable awning that I could use with my van and other toys to block the sun and rain. The fact that this particular awning also had optional side walls that I could attach as needed or could be configured as a standalone shelter was more icing on the cake. I like having options and this product gives me the ability to expand if needed/wanted.

Setup takes a little time, but with practice I hope to reduce the time in half. I'm also trying an idea where I don't fully break it down, but instead only break down the setup just enough so that I can roll it up long wise and then quickly roll it back out and quickly insert the remaining pieces.

CoastieLFS Thu May 23, 2013 6:20 pm

imagesinthewind wrote: The FedEx man brought me mine today, beige, and we'll be setting it up tomorrow at home and then using it this weekend camping.

I'll get photos also. We got the EZ Awning Plus with front and two sides and the jack mounts. Yours looks awesome, like a great party could be had in there.

Ginny in Denver

Thanks. On this trip there was non-stop misty rain. Even though I was only here for two days, it was well worth spending the short time to set up as it allowed me to set up a small table with a BBQ, a lounge camp chair to relax, etc. in a dry environment outside the van.



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