Oasis 6 roof-top-tent

[Psychlone]

***** EDIT: UPDATE - review added below, in post #5.

Just got myself the Oasis 6 roof-top-tent. I'll post more about it after our summer trip. It'll go on top of my FJ Cruiser.

I got this RTT because of it's very low weight and low profile when folded down. The traditional RTT's look cool but IMHO are just too much weight to put up on top of the car, and their bulky profile might ruin mpg even more than the Oasis.

The producer (Trekking.fr) is now making the sixth generation Oasis. The US importer only has the second generation for some weird reason (Oasis II). I didn't dare check back at the US site (oasis-tents.com) since Google says "this site may harm your computer" (??).

As far as I can see, the key difference between the old and new is that the Oasis 6.2 (6th generation, 2-person tent) is a double-layer tent (inner breathing layer and outer waterproof layer. Rather than blue it's olive drab in color. The whole tent weighs 37 lbs. I won't even use the ladder that comes with it, as I'll use the GOBI ladder that came with my roof rack (for that reason I'll also have the entry pointing towards the rear of the car).

The website is in french (trekking.fr) but there are some pictures for those that don't read french. By the way, the beige version shown with round flaps going over the "windows" is version 5.2. They dropped the flaps in version 6.2, as they were doing just that, flapping around in the wind

 

[Miescha]

Drum roll . . . . . . and the price?

 

[Psychlone]

Hi, it says the price on their website: 680 euro.

That is the price including French VAT. Without French VAT it's 568 euro, which is about $900.

Haven't used it on a trip yet, but first impressions is that it seems pretty sturdy.

The way the tent is designed it is very comfortable to lie inside it, and it's big enough for me (I'm 187cm) and my wife.

I like the olive drab colors of the tent itself. The truck tarp that is used to package the tent when it is closed down and on the roof rack is blue, however, so I've asked them whether they could possibly send me their beige one instead. I guess not all would care about that though.

The openings (windows and doors) have all the layers you need; waterproof outer, breathable inner, and finally a mosquito-net inner (for when you really want air to come through but don't want the insects inside). All layers are zipped, and you can also roll them up and keep them there.

Minor quality control issues:
- There were two glued on plastic caps (out of four) where the glue was all sticky (like a two-component glue where they forgot to mix in the binder?), so I got that sticky stuff on my fingers. I think I'll remove the caps and put on some glue that'll dry.

- There was a small zipper-bag with the parts you use for mounting the tent. On the zipper is a little cord you pull on, and on the cord is a little plastic piece - that fell off. No big thing and could easily be fixed. The bag is not used for anything anyway, once you've mounted the tent.

As mentioned, I'll write up some more once it's been on the road, but hope this helps for now

 

[Bomar]

Post some pictures and how long it took to get it shipped.

 

[Psychlone]

Finally getting around to writing up a review since I wanted to give the manufacturer reasonable time to respond to some issues.

My conclusion is that the Oasis tent is disappointing, especially a pity since the idea behind the product is actually good. It's just that the company that manufactures it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of product quality and customer service. I truly wish somebody else would take over their company and get the quality under control - or that somebody copies their design and makes a quality product out of it. It's like a good idea is going to waste because of bad management.

Problems with product quality (for the brand new product) were:
1) Bad sewing in several places. In one place the sewing goes over the edge of the fabrics so the fabrics are not sewn together. In another, the threads were all bundled up which was less than pretty. In a third place a whole piece of loose (left-over) fabric is sewn into the tent by mistake, and just sticking out.
2) The bottom of the frame has plastic feet on, however the tiny plastic pin inside them was broken on two of the feet making them move around.
3) There was a tear in the fabric on one corner of the tent (where the fabric stretches over the frame). There was no fabric repair kit included to fix it.
4) There were many scratches on the paint. The paint that they have used clearly does not bind very well with the metal. Also there are many places where a simple plastic washer would have helped avoid having metal grind against metal and rub the paint off.
5) There is rust in many places on the tent, which I did not take as a good sign as the tent will be outside a lot - and on top of a white roof.
6) Some very annoying sticky glue: Four of six plastic end-cups were put on the chassis rods with a glue that does not dry. The sticky stuff had smeared off on several other places. In the end I got it off with alcohol and a lot of work, and then glued all the cups back on using a two-component glue.
7) The little bag with cords and stuff had a broken cord tip which I fixed by heating the nylon cord and gluing the plastic tip on again.
8) After using the tent on one trip there were four screws that had fallen out. Those are the screws that hold the chassis together. Just from driving they had fallen out.

Problems with customer service:
I dealt with a french reseller and the manufacturer (Trekking.fr) - so this is not about the US reseller at all. When I first asked Trekking.fr about the product back in April, the guy was quite friendly and responded in English. Questions at the time were mostly clarifications about the tent because the information on the company's website was a total mess of contradictions and out-of-date pictures. I ordered the tent end of April, knowing I would have to wait a bit for version 6.2 to come out.
a) I was told the product would arrive in the beginning of June. It did not arrive before the beginning of July.
b) The cover turned out to be blue rather than beige as in the pictures (again a result of the site not being up to date). Mid July I asked both the reseller and Trekking.fr whether I could get a beige cover. Now in mid September I still have not received an answer to this question.
c) In mid July I wrote to both the reseller and Trekking.fr about the quality problems, describing them in detail and asking for their response. End of July they asked whether I could send photos of the problems. I sent 18 photos the next day. Mid August and end of August I asked again for a response. End of August they ask me to resend the pictures which I do. The weeks go by. Beginning of September I receive an email that they are annoyed since they haven't seen this problem before, so if I want, I can get the fabric replaced but not the chassis. There is no saying they are sorry or any effort to regain my confidence in their company. And suddenly they are not able to write in English any more but only in French.
d) End of July I asked whether they had a description of how the mounting brackets go on (since there is no manual included with the product). No response.
e) Recently I wrote about the screws that had fallen out. No response yet.

Actual use of the tent:
The tent is ok to use (if you can accept the points above and some work to repair the tent yourself). We did get some back ache problems due to the fact that the tent is curved (like lying in a hammock) rather than flat-floored.

Bottom-line
Although I hate to say it I have been looking a bit at other roof-top tents. This time I will make sure it's a quality product. The only thing that is a pity is that alternative designs are so heavy and bulky, but perhaps I'll find a solution in the future. For now I can only say, beware of this manufacturer. The reseller might be more customer oriented but also has to rely on the manufacturer, so be sure to get clear warranty information before you buy.

 

[mrlocksmith]

Sorry to hear about your problems with the tent. I bought an OasisII in March and have used it serval times since then, including a very cold and insanly windy night in the badlands of NV. Knock on wood I have none of the problems you spoke of, but it makes me want to go back in inspect every seam as I have just been opening the tent and using it. Comfort wise, I guess I like sleeping in a hammock as I alway been comforable, but it is not like my bed at home but then what tent ever is.

The only problem I have had is the ladder hooks are CR@PPY so I bolted on some truck hooks instead, not a big deal

Not to Hijack the thread, but camping in a RTT means you have to watch the heat loss though the floor of the tent, I was walking though HomeSchleppo I saw this stuff and it works well. I put it on the floor of the tent, and then put my sleeping mat and then the flannel sleeping cover over it. It is a thing layer of bubble wrap with mylar on both sides. It all stays in the tent when it folds up.

Mark


Astrofoil

http://www.astrofoil.net/