When looking into tents, ground tents can often go overlooked compared to the popular rooftop tents in the game right now. While most might aspire to have a rooftop tent (RTT), ground tents can be just as easy to set up, more spacious, and more affordable to get started camping and exploring outdoors.
Whether we might not want to admit it, having a full-size ground tent and an air mattress might make you look soft and bougie, but it’s pretty darn nice and probably some of the best sleep you’ll get camping.
Today, we’re going to cover this ground tent and see if it could be your base camp for your next trip.
Find it online:
- Oztent RV-3: Check Price
Fast Facts:
- 8oz Ripstop PolyCotton Canvas
- PVC, heat-sealed tub floor
- Extruded Aluminum Frame
- 30-second setup
- 2-year warranty
- Supports optional attachments (rooms, rain fly, connectors, walls)
Table Of Contents
Overview
The RV-3 is Oztent’s midsize ground tent that touts a quick 30-second setup time and is packed with features such as an integrated awning.
While I did find out that the tent body does, in fact, set up in 30 seconds, when you factor in taking the tent out of the bag, setting up the tent body, awning, and guy ropes to the stakes, it took me about 5 minutes, which is still very impressive for a full-size tent.
The Oztent RV-3 is constructed from waterproof ripstop polycotton canvas with a heavy-duty heat-sealed PVC tub floor. The frame is made from extruded aluminum and No-see-um mesh screens.
No-see-um is a durable and lightweight micro-mesh that provides the best protection from insects due to its tight weave and irregular pattern. The tent also uses high-quality YKK zippers.
The RV-3 sleeps 3-4 people and easily fits a queen-size inflatable mattress with room to spare. At its tallest point, the tent is 75 inches tall, which is perfect for an average person to fully stand up without having to crouch.
Transportation
The tent weighs 47lbs which is light enough for one person to do, the hardest part about moving the tent from ground to the roof, and vise versa is the length. Lift evenly from the center and roll the tent onto the rack.
The packed tent measures about 80 inches long and about 10 inches round. Regarding transportation, this is one long tent. Strapped to the roof of my 4Runner, it reaches almost the end-to-end length of the full-length roof rack. A tent this long would be able to lie in a long bed of a full-size truck, or a Tacoma with the tailgate down. I would not recommend transporting this tent inside the vehicle. While it can fit, it would be more of a nuisance and cumbersome inside than strapped to the top.
Setting Up the Oz Tent
Slide the tent out of the bag and place it on the ground. The tent has two arms, “A” and “B”. Facing the tent, first slide out the arm labeled “A” to the left, then “B” to the right.
Next, grab the webbing handle labeled “Oztent” in the middle and pull towards yourself and upwards.
As the extruded aluminum pivot joints inside the tent slide towards the middle of the bracing, push them into the fully locked out position and secure them with the velcro.
The tent feels pretty stable on its own, but for added security in windy or inclement weather conditions, the tent has four pre-attached guy lines on the main tent and three more on the awning. The base of the tent has 5 locations to stake the tent into the ground.
Exterior Features
Like all the screens and windows, the awning can be either deployed or rolled up and secured out of the way when not in use.
The guy lines are pre-attached and have an integrated storage pocket on the tent, keeping them contained on the main unit, to be deployed or packed up with ease.
The RV-3 has a small power port zipper opening on the “A” side of the tent in the bottom left corner.
Because of the materials, it would be a great tent in wet weather or snowy conditions, with the incorporated awning as an added dry shelter area.
Interior Features
The inside was quite roomy with 4 large windows. While the tent material doesn’t totally black out the sun, it does quite well in providing a substantial amount of shade for those who like to sleep in longer than having to wake up at the crack of dawn.
The inside would be large enough to even use as a refuge from bugs and other insects, with plenty of room to set up 2-3 chairs, or a small table to prep food and make meals without pests bothering you.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I was very impressed with the Oztent RV-3. I typically despise setting up traditional ground tents, struggling with the poles, and how flimsy some feel.
I used to completely skip setting up any rain flys, guy lines, with other ground tents because of how much time and how complicated those steps feel. I really like how on the RV-3 all the guy lines are contained in their own storage pocket and pre-attached to the unit.
The only real drawback to this tent that I found was the size when closed. It somewhat limits the user since you would either need a long bed truck or a roof rack to affix the unit to when traveling.
Despite its size, I really like the possibilities with this tent. Its roomy nature makes it a good base camp setup or an overnight sleep tent. Another benefit of ground tents like these is that you can leave them set up at camp if you need to make a run into town for supplies or explore the surrounding area.
The ease and use of the RV-3 helped give me confidence in ground tents again. The RV-3 offers endless combinations and possibilities for how this tent and awning can be used.
To add to anyone looking at something like this, a cheap folding kayak mount on your roof rack is a good solution for transport. You don’t need an aftermarket rack to easily transport.