WATCH THIS before you SPEND $1000s on a ROOF TOP TENT!

Over the past 3 months we have had the OCAM Aluminium Hardshell Roof Top Tent on our 4x4 , We have spent over 30 night camping and 4WD with it, but are we going to keep it? Today is our review on the Roof Top Tent.

0:00:00 - Intro
0:00:53 - Weight & Size
0:02:26 - Wind Noise
0:02:45 - Weather Seals
0:03:17 - The Shell
0:04:48 - Mounting
0:05:38 - Gas Struts
0:06:09 - Butterfly Latches
0:06:44 - Setup & Packup
0:07:18 - Inside The Tent
0:09:43 - Canvas
0:10:35 - Water Resistance
0:12:17 - Condensation
0:15:27 - Flooring
0:16:35 - How Much Bedding Can I Fit
0:17:53 - Quality Of Sleep
0:19:40 - Durability
0:20:30 - Price
0:20:59 - Conclusion

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Thanks so much to everyone for watching and supporting the videos!

Track Name.

#4WD #camping #RTT

[sethparkinson]

Oh very nice, a no BS, no clickbait video. It's very refreshing to see

[Paul-fikf]

Finally a 4wd channel that has a honest review it is these reviews that help produce a better product

Love the work keep up the honest reviews

[poddmo]

One of the best benefits I found to having luggage on the roof, besides the space saving inside the car, was the shade provided to the roof. The air con works better and the car doesn't heat up anywhere near as much when parked.

[Wolfwdadventures.]

One of the best reviews on a rooftop tent on You Tube. Very well researched and clearly explained. Not a big fan of rooftops... But this looks like a great design. Well done 👍

[Mayhem_x]

Could try putting heat shrink on the zips

[harryrobertson]

Hey mate, if the tent has issues opening due to the suction, try leaving the window near the ladder slightly undone. Keep the flyscreen done up, but the canvas 1/4 of the way open.
Worked wonders on my motop. Havent had any issue with water either when doing this.
Heatshrink on the zips or anything that rattles or squeaks fixes any noises in the night too. 👍
Keep the vids coming mate!

[Gus_Diaz_]

FINALLY! A rooftop tent video that answered literally EVERY practical usage question I ever had about them!

Other videos show you how to open them, shut them and the price, but they don't talk about rain, they don't talk about the mattress and supporting slats, and don't even mention the solar panel on the outside! Just general specifics of why they are/aren't good for long-term usage.

I'm new to 4WDing, I've only owned manual sedans within cities all my driving life. Now that I finally have my first ever 4WD - a 2010 Toyota Hilux SR TD with a massive tray/canopy - I was thinking of taking my girlfriend for a drive around Australia. The unused roof-racks above the canopy on this Hilux makes me want to stick a tent up there, but the only videos I ever saw about them only showed the general usage without mentioning any of the finer details - Honest Pros and Cons.

I'm not very experienced in 4WDing and have a somewhat limited experience with camping, now that I'm 40 I'm looking to change that. There's so much of this country I want to see! Just get out there and experience it!

THANK YOU!!! I have liked this video and have subscribed to your channel!

[ianweal]

Hi, from your initial installation video of this RTT I commented how you young couple would love it, and no surprise to me, you do.
Being up off the ground is an awesome place to sleep, so cosy for some inexplicable reason.
We are both in our 60's ourselves, hence was always concerned about the ladder access that put us off RTT for years, foolish old farts were we, now we have one and wished we'd had it years prior.
We went for the Bundutop which is top end of the market $$ wise but so worth it in our view, so roomy but cosy also.
Addressing common concerns of RTT's
1. Ladder Access.
For ourselves, (past our prime) this was our number 1 reason not to go RTT years prior, fools we were.
I addressed/resolved this by simply creating a extension hand railing the height if our tent, this allows us to climb the ladder and then pivot onto the mattress whilst retaining a firm grip, it's a reinsurance thing.
The extention rail mounts onto a bracket on the roof rack and simply slides off and stores on-top of mattress when closed up.
This extension bar also aids me in pushing any exposed canvas away from ground hieght prior to latching top down, so it's a dual purpose devise, winner.
2. Shoe storage.
We have our shovel and axe mounted on the access side of the RTT. Once up on bed base, simply slide UGG boots, sandals, thongs joggers whatever off and wedge between shovel or axe handle and roof rack (whilst gripping afore mentioned handrail), they go no where and easily accessed for night time bathroom breaks.
3. Condensation.
Bundutop provide a carpet base and 100mm mattress so condensation hasn't been an issue.
Carpet layer the answer as we have utilised alternative mattresses without issue of condensation from any of them.
4. Zipper jingle.
Has been answered already, heatshrink.
5. Warmth.
We have addressed this 2 ways.
A). 12v electric blanket. Only utilised to take chill off bed initially on very cool nights, no long battery drain.
B). Diesel Heater. Neither of us is tall and the Bundutop shell is quite long, so we utilised 150mm of the space available, boxed it off and permanently installed a diesel unit, (hence afore mentioned mattress variations/combinations). We are never cold now, the night wind on K'gari was extremely chilly but we were cosy, that word just keeps coming up whenever we discuss our RTT, cosy.

Summing up, Bundutop is one of the deepest in market, so height was a real concern but a winner as all bedding including pillows store within shell.
Like you Pat, I don't notice the height weight etc. it's just part of the Patrol now. As I compose this we have just exited K'gari where we utilised our RTT for 5 night's, very cosy place with exceptional views to sunrise over ocean each morn, just love it, hence always knew you young couple would love yours.
As Pat Callinan says, keep the shiny side up, in our case, keep the RTT up.
Love your work mate, keep it up ❤️

[scruiser]

Pat, a very honest and thorough review. If I were in the market for a RTT that would be exactly the video I'd be looking for, a perfect review. Top effort mate!

[thedevilstears]

9:30 for the sippers, why not chuck some heatshrink over them? I think that would solve the issue and you can change the colour if you want them to be more visiable

[qqclean]

Best tip I can give you for cold camping / condensation. Cat litter. Get a freezer bag/zip lock bag and if you put 1-2 handfuls of crystal cat litter in, it will absorb the condensation. Crystal litter also doesn't smell and you can get scented ones if that is a worry; the lavander one from Woolies isn't too bad. This also works for stopping condensation build up on your windscreen overnight, making those pack ups in the morning nice a quick (recommend 3 bags across the dash)

Great review, you've sold me on upgrading from the old kings swag to a rtt.

[barbarahotham]

If you look at zipping 2 sleeping bags together (tropical ones for up north and mountain ones for Vic highlands) and use cotton sheet bags to fit inside the sleeping bags that saves a lot of bulk and easier to manage inside the rooftopper. I agree being inside a rooftopper in the far north croc country is much more reassuringly at night especially when you have spotted them in a river during the day ☺ On the move or camping for a couple of days at a time rooftoppers are an excellent solution, go for it. GH - an oldie from ACT

[JusRR]

Great review Pat, you’ve made buying an RTT a lot easier. To make your mattress more comfortable, spend $60 at KMart on a bamboo mattress topper. We’ve got one in our swag and it’s the best thing we’ve invested in without making it too thick to roll up so it should work fine in your RTT.

[rjsplace]

Great review and feedback accepted by Ocam too. Maybe another suggestion is to replace your pillows, assuming only two, with four thinner ones that can fit in there when closed. Double them up when in use. Keep up your great reviews. Cheers.

[bluntobject]

OCAM gear seems to be the budget end of the market but actually thought out and tested! Brilliant that they took your feedback and updated it

[iitzValente]

Dude honestly such a thorough review, well done! Very informative and helps me heaps making a decision on a RTT. You guys are awesome.

[patrickstaples]

Great review. My only thing is getting into the tent whilst it is raining, would be good if the sides had a roof over the opening like on the rear of the tent.

[MrDVader]

Bloody hell, this is the best, most thorough and to the point review of anything I've seen. Well done mate, top effort 👌

[stephend]

Thanks for the review. Over two clam shell tents I have spent an estimated 500 nights camping out prospecting mainly in remote WA but also in Victoria and FNQ.
RTTs are fantastic for travelling and the clam-shell shape is essential. I'm 65 years old, usually just me in the tent. So the old night-time pee no drama. Just use a laundry detergent bottle. the RTT is tall enough to knell to do the business! Ladies going to have to climb down though. I had a couple of questions about this tent, can you access it via the back hatch? might solve the weather entry some people have mentioned. That is a fair point people make. Possibly could rig something off the side wall mounting system to provide some shelter for getting in and out. My current RTT is the Moremi Extra lite which has a spec weight of 42 Kg. It is not as nice as this Oscam and I had to repair some leaks from a cracking shell where the top roof rack mounts fitted. I've put in about 400 nights in that one.
I've getting a small off road van soon but I will still keep the RTT on my ute to use when I cannot get the van into places. Good on your channel. You do a good job.

[VideoShowMeHow]

Really great explanation of the condensation issues mate 👍👍 Nice work with the mat hack too! I use a little Ryobi 18v fan just on low on one of the windows that's just cracked, seems to help sucking all the moisture out