Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Hi Guys,

How many of you overland guys use ground tents? I prefer a RTT

Wonder if these guys will 'upgrade' on their next trip...

The male didn't pee on the tent so it's still good, no need for a RTT

N patroon in my geweer is goedkoper as n rtt.

We have always used a ground tent and have never felt uncomfortable around animals on any of our trips plus I like that there is no hassle of having to pack it up every time you want to do a game drive.
I was given a RTT a little while ago and since we have never had one and never slept in one I thought I'd try it out. I went through alot of effort modifying my roof rack to make it fit!

https://patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=8402

Anyway long story short I did 2 trips to polokwane and the 4.8 did 3.6km to the liter down from an average of 4.7 and it felt like I was driving a boat. Every time I swerved for a pothole it was not lekker and driving on rutted farm roads made the car sway alot.

I should say that the rtt I have is nearly 20 years old according to Eezi Awn and it weighs at least 55kg plus the mild steel roof rack made the troll super top heavy. I could probably sort it out by getting a new roofrack and better shocks and springs but it will cost way more than a new outdoor warehouse ground tent and a new lighter Eezi awn rtt is about R15000 new (correct me if I'm wrong). So after 2 weeks it was back off. Swambo and I do agree that we need to get a trailer at some point and the RTT would be much more practical mounted on that so I am going to hang onto it for now unless I can sell It and put the money towards a new roof rack instead.

Anyway I'm still very happy sleeping in ground tents because I think they are a bit less hassle to deal with. No need to put it up and down everytime you want to move your car which took 20 minutes with our RTT each time, anbout the same as our current ground tent, and most ground tents weigh less than half of it. Also I need the whole roof rack available to carry enough fuel for the 4.8 on long trips I was also thinking about what I would do if while on a solo trip I rolled the car onto its side or got stuck on a kak angle with no way out and now you cant sleep in the RTT so i would need to carry a ground tent anyway as a backup

Just my opinion and alot of guys prefer RTTs for various reasons. Different people will have different things that work for them

My opinion is that there is no perfect solution for every situation.

I have, and use, RTT, ground tents and trailer, depending on the type of trip.

If I go on a trip where I will be spending multiple days in one camp, and the whole family comes along, I take the trailer. It is so much better as a base of operations, making food storage and dish washing and all those things easier.

However, if it's just me, I grab a ground tent (and very often don't even use it, just sleeping on a groundsheet and roll-up mattress next to the car).

If it's me and the wife, I will use either of the above depending on how tough the driving is likely to be, and just how long we will be spending at any one camp.

On an extended trip where one is moving every day or nearly so, the RTT wins hands-down. And it's not the time it takes to actually erect or pack away the tent, it's about the time you spend faffing with bedding. With the RTT, you just leave it where it is, with ground tents you have to fold it up and pack it away every time.

As for the video that started this, I just wonder what the back-story is, but I also believe that if that guy had just stopped moving around so much, the lions would probably have lost interest much sooner.

JohnBoyZA wrote: ↑27 Jul 2019 08:40 Hi Guys,

How many of you overland guys use ground tents? I prefer a RTT

Wonder if these guys will 'upgrade' on their next trip...

Is this real, or a set-up with trained lions?

Ground tent for me, the missus and kids ( well two dome tents). I hate having to climb a ladder to get to bed. And also don’t trust the weight carrying capacity of any roof that I get on

He he an interesting choice. My wife and I always had a ground tent but every night, she would worry about being stomped on by elephants or some other large beast. So eventually I put a wooden platform on our old Range Rover and set the tent up there. However, she still worried that we were now level with their trunks and this was still bad. Years later when I could afford to buy a proper roof top tent, R3000 in 1998, I really enjoyed its lofty position and the comfort of a mattress but always carried a spare ground tent in case of something happening to the truck or the tent as was pointed out by Craig. Fortunately that never happened and when I sold my RTT last year I still have the ground tent, unopened. For me, the major draw back of the RTT was perching awkwardly on the roof rack folding it back up and especially when it was raining

1. For many years we slept out in the open on outreaches to Botswana. Head against the wheel, feet towards the fire, stretcher, sleeping bag, beanie and that was that. Even in Savuti, Linyanti, Chobe, Kwai ... [never in Moremi ]
2. Otherwise we would ground tent .. We were 4 vehicles and up to 20 men on these outreaches. The occasional "rich" guy with an RTT, would join the outreach.
3. Since 2006 I started Outreach 2 Africa and funds prohibited me the luxury of an RTT but tent worked fine.
4. Last year The Lord blessed us to obtain a Buntutec "Bundutop" tent. I NEVER want to camp any other way for as long I can still get up that ladder [ ]
5. YES I did have a RTT [Tentco] It was sold when I sold Boezman and honest I NEVER want that schlepp again, then I rather ground tent. BUT the Bundutop just simply is the 5 star choice. Press a button, up in under a minute. Press a button, closed in under a minute
In the middle of the Kalahari [Botswana] Lion and Leopard country just parked and slept.. YES RTT for me, provided its a BUNDUTOP

Well after the river trip, I might be changing my mind. The amount of sand I dragged here in my ground test. And the pitching time. The dome for my kids and awning and stretchers for the missus and me. That meant bedding took op most of the space. And the amount of Sand I dragged from the weekend via my tent. So by getting a family rtt from tentco, all the bedding that is required extra can packed up in die rtt. Then really only chairs take space