Long term review of my GAZELLE T4
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 เม.ย. 2023
- I can’t believe I’ve had my Gazelle T4 HUB Tent for 6 Years! What do i REALLY think about it? In this video I’ll be sitting down to discuss what I like, what I don’t like and what I think could be better about the Gazelle T4 hub tent.
I am no way financially associated with Gazelle, These are just my thoughts on the tent after a lengthy time of use.
Check out Redbear Outdoors, Your source for all thing Gazelle in Canada. Redbear Outdoors offers a flat shipping fee of $50 on all Gazelle tents across Canada, $40 if your in Ontario.
redbearoutdoors.ca
DISClAIMER - using any heating element in a tent can be extremely dangerous or deadly, always take precautions, use a carbon monoxide detector and have a fire extinguisher on hand.
Worth while links -
Gazelle T4 Hub - Modified for a WOOD STOVE!!
• Gazelle T4 Hub - Modif...
Gazelle HOT tent update and EXPLORING the woods behind our camp
• Gazelle HOT tent updat...
Check out Redbear Outdoors, Your source for all thing Gazelle in Canada.
redbearoutdoors.ca
Redbear Outdoors offers a flat shipping fee of $50 on all Gazelle tents across Canada, $40 if your in Ontario.
This is what I wanted to see; someone with extended use with this tent.
I was watching another TH-cam channel on getting started in overlanding and keeping it simple. I have tents that work great but nice to see simple quick tent. Thanks
Thanks for taking the time to post this. Your long years of experience with the tent means a ton, making this the best review I've come across.
Glad you covered so much. Thanks ! I want one ! If the Overland is still available, I want it !
Hey man I live on the beach in Texas and I just pulled the trigger on the gazelle T4 hub thank you but seem quite a few people talk about the Hub yet you hit home thanks man I do a lot of fishing on the beach I need something to hang out for the night in fortunately we have free camping on the beach here
You created instant credibility in my mind. Good review. You have tipped me towards getting one.
I too use the T4 from Gazelle. I'm currently in my 3rd season of the tent and I genuinely love it because of the set up and breakdown function. It is nice heading into camp and not having to deal with all the poles and such of a traditional ground tent. It has been in some really strong rain and even thunderstorms, I am thinking May 24 weekend in 2022 when those tornadoes passed through Ontario, and have not had any issues. I agree with you regarding the stakes provided. I replaced those after my first camping trip with a set from Woods. The tent itself, although stated to be a 4 person tent, is really cozy for 2 persons and would have loved to have more space inside to truly accommodate 4 individuals. Condensation can be an issue, even in the summer months, but I found that creating cross circulation by closing the windows ¾ way up really helps. On cold nights, towards the end of September early October, I use a small electric space heater to help with the condensation. The doors took some getting use to. I am looking to upgrade to T-Hex 6 Sided Hub Tent, but might even look at the T8.
Upgraded from a Coleman Carlsbad dark room tent w/ screen room to this tent...looking forward to first use. Will definitely be remembering to peg the center hub.
I love mine, I’ve been through extremely heavy downpours and is kept me completely dry. I like the rainfly the way it is because is much easier to put up than if it was longer, I’m a 66 year old woman starting to have some mobility issues and since I mostly camp by myself I don’t want anything that’s going to make it harder specially since so far is kept me dry. The door on the other hand is what I don’t particularly like but I understand the reason why is that way and I’ve gotten used to it although my dogs still trip from time to time lol. Having all the door zippers looking exactly the same was frustrating at first finding out I grabbed the wrong one but I fixed that by putting bright paracord on all the mesh ones and now I know exactly which is which, helpful specially in the morning before I’ve had coffee lol. I love the quality of Gazelle, I started with the older model of the T3, got the gazebo and recently bought the T4 for more space even though I’m by myself my 2 dogs are not small and we’re more comfortable. I love the tip for substituting the stakes, I did immediately got heavy ones but your method is definitely better. Thanks for the great detailed review, very well done.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! I added different coloured paracord to mark to different door zippers…even though I still find myself grabbing the wrong ones 😂
Mike, I too have the T-4 tent. And it’s also going on five years old. I use it for my model airplane events so most times I have to have a generator which is no big deal for me. In cold weather I use an oil heater and if it’s really cold, I back it up with a 1500 W heater blowing through the oil heater.
I agree with all you’ve said about the pros and cons of this tent. After you’ve tripped once or twice you get the hang of going in and out of the door a lot of times I’ll grab onto the upper part of the door as I’m going in and out. Problem solved. I too wish. Three sides of the fly were quite a bit longer. I’ve had to replace the top fly in a windstorm where the top of my ceiling at the hub failed. This was very high wind, 55 mile an hour and Gusts! The top hub failed because the two nuts that hold the hub together, backed out and allowed the gimbals inside the hub to lose their position. The wind ripped the 4S hooks where the fly attaches to the sides. I decided just to buy a new fly. I have an idea for the old fly, and that is to trim it down. Add some grommets, so it goes on before the fly so it traps heat at the ceiling level for cold weather camping.I also wish there were places inside the tent to hang lights, and as far as the ceiling mesh removable storage, I don’t use it instead, I use the clips to hang small lights. I have a large blowup bed, a small table and a fold up lawn chair inside that I use.
It’s perfect for me. I couldn’t imagine four people except in an emergency or they would have to be children.
Thanks for your review, and I totally agree with it.
NWR
This is exactly the review I needed for my next tent purchase. I’m looking at the T8👍🏻
Glad it was helpful! The T8 is a great choice, kinda wish I got one to start with.
Great review Mike, I have the T3 I’m going on three years I have approximately 200 nights in it and with the regular wear and tear it has held up excellent. I was in a torrential wind and rain storm last year and had to add a pole to the middle to keep it from collapsing but it was 50 mile an hour wind gusts. It did great and kept me bone dry inside. And with the T3 being smaller it fits perfectly in the back of my FJ. And because I’m short it fits me perfectly😊. I would totally buy another one.
Jacqueline, you’re the backyard camping queen! And you’ve got tue perfect spot for it, glad you’re enjoying the t3. I’ve done the pole trick before too. Only I went roof to ground, due to the threat of a potential heavy snow load.
@@thebackroadadventurer lol I’m only the backyard camping queen because I’m poor lol and I do have a great backyard if I do say so myself. Last year I had eight different friends come up just to camp in my yard because it’s such a great spot. I’m blessed to have this land. I do get to the upper peninsula several times a year though as well. Last fall I was up at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula for an over landing event for five days and it rained almost every day. One night we had severe wind off of Lake Superior it was a little bit scary but I had zero issues with the T3. It’s so cozy inside with my cot and a chair and table. The buddy heater makes it toasty warm there in like five minutes. I practically lived in there for five days. I just love it. When Covid first hit I was laid off work I camped in the backyard for 3 1/2 weeks straight because we couldn’t go anywhere. My neighbors were taking bets to see how long I would stay out there. Only time I went in the house was to shower and poop. It was an awesome time.
Great review. Thanks buddy.
No problem, thanks for watching 👍
I have the T4 Plus with the hub.....have not yet been able to try it out yet though. Good video
I enjoyed your well done review. I own the T4 Overland edition and it is the best tent I have ever owned. It has seen hail storms, 80 km winds and torrential downpours with no problems. I agree that you MUST use good pegs because the weather can change in a second and fixing a tent in the middle of the night is not fun. It needs a better rain fly like you said, but I would like to see another add on layer to block the sun as well. I purchased from Redbear and they were great to deal with.
Agreed. Some kind of light blocking material under the fly would be awesome. Once the sun starts coming up, these tents due to the colour light up real quick!
Had my T4 a year and it's great but I wish I would have known the T-Hex was coming out. I'm thinking of upgrading. BTW FJs rule!
T4 plus great tent
Mine is 5 years and hundred of nights. I own both T4 and T4+ for family camping trips. The doors on T4 is my only issue also but I've now learned how to get in and out without issue. Fits in m 5.5 SB F150 just fine at one end.
I just ordered it and I'm waiting for it to get delivered. I have a SB 5'7" F-150 too so I'm heartened to know it fit lengthwise in your truck.
Indeed the length is an issue, I don't have a T4, but even a Gazelle G5 is 62.5 inches in the bag. At this length I need to put one of my back seat down in order to put the tent in my RAV4.
Our 4T overland edition arrives tomorrow. We are so excited. No more coleman dome tent lol
Nice upgrade, enjoy your tent 🍻
Great review. I'm thinking of buying the t4 and although I camp in Ocala Florida it does get down to the 20s. I do have a buddy heater but would rather not use it all night like I would need to. Do u think if I throw a tarp over the top at night, that It will keep the inside from getting cold? The top of the tent being mesh kinda sucks and I get cold easily.
Dam you must be running lol, it takes me about 2 minutes to pop up the t3x overland one, i got the black and blue one,its bad ass never had any issues with mine either,cool video man. I agree with the doors though,its funny sometimes at night when you hear the call of nature 😂i already fell on out a few times lol . I actually transport mine inside the middle of my 73 mustang Mach 1 down the center between the seats definitely wouldn't be tying anything to my roof lol . Its definitely worth it's weight in gold
No doubt I’ve got a lot of experience setting it up and taking it down again,
love the setup simplicity of these tents. You tents gotta barely fit in the mustang, lol. Picturing all your gear loaded up in there reminds me of the time I bought 2 large treadmills at an auction and had to get them home in my Toyota Matrix 😂
What I don’t get is why most tent sites have gravel? Why? I understand that they are trying to keep rain from puddling but how do you pound stakes into gravel? Isn’t there a better solution?
Loved this review thank you and also love that you gave Red Bear Outdoors a shout out - I don’t have a channel so I’ll give my shout out here, amazing service and fast shipping! Just bought the T4 Plus from Red Bear. As a 53 year old solo female camper - I can set this up on my own no problem. It is heavy but….great incentive to keep lifting weights ! :-) thanks for the review - appreciate it and look forward to more!
Glad to hear Mike and the team treated you right! Glad your liking the tent. Just use the tent for some weight training, it I’ll get lighter every time!
Is there a way to pack the tent in a way that the fly loosely in place so if you set it up while raining it’s then the inside won’t get wet?
I love mine but I broke one of the poles for the rain fly. They're sewn in so I can't really fix it and they want about $90 for a new rain fly. Idk if I want to spend that much on a new rainfly. I wish the rainfly poles weren't sewn in so they could be changed out.
Thanks for the video. Other TH-camrs say that if you take out the floor, it's pretty much impossible to put it back in again without gaps. I guess you can just undue one side and sweep the dirt out though. Also, I've seen people complain that bugs can get in through holes built into the design (I think near the hubs). Thoughts on either of those?
I could see the floor being a bit of a pain to get lined up again, but it’s just Velcro so some adjustments and cursing and you should be good. I normally just keep a small dust pan and sweep up debris as I need to, or I undo one side of the floor and sweep it out. As for bugs getting in near the hubs, I haven’t noticed any gaps there and haven’t had a problem with any bugs getting in once every thing is sealed up.
I saw someone's comment or review say that they just hit the corners with bug spray.
Hey, nice review on tent. I am considering to buy one for me also, I have one question, is the tent good for holding all mosquito's and other flies outside?
I’ve never had a problem with bugs getting in….as long as a remember to close the doors. I’ve made that mistake before 😂
@@thebackroadadventurer Thanks, your video was really helpful for me :)
Eh! A fellow Canadian! How cold have you camped in your gazelle t4? I guess with your wood stove you can camp in the coldest of cold. I'd prefer wood stove so maybe someday but for now I'll be using one of those little mr heater propane heaters. Also, I want the T4 Plus - so do you think I'll have to keep the heater running all night? I have a very warm bed setup so I probably don't need the tent to be warmer than -5c inside. Also, I'm worried about the report of consenation building up on the inside - theory is this is cuz the rain fly doesn't go all the way to the ground - need full rain fly to catch all the condensate apparently. I don't know of another quality hub tent that has a full rain fly and has the full size door entrance like the T4 Plus has (I really don't want to live with those little D shaped doors - I'll struggle carrying my gear in and out). Thanks!
The wood stove is a game changer for sure! There’s no temp low enough to scare me off now 😂. Even with out the wood stove I’ve camped at -22 in this tent in heated, I was warm enough with a -30 bag, liner and a wool blanket. I have used a buddy heater before. Normally I would just run it for an hour before going to bed and in the morning. I just never felt comfortable leaving it running all night, even with all the safety features. I think your right about the condensation and the fly being a leading cause, that’s pretty much what I’ve been thinking as well.
Makes sense! Totally agree to not run a buddy heater all night long. Before bed and in the morning, otherwise the bedding setup just has to be warm enough. I actually just ordered the green Overland one... Way too expensive lol but I fell in love... Really looking forward to more camping exploration trips where I'll go to spots I've never been before and only for a night or two. Way prefer a quick and easy setup/takedown and a covered sunroom perfect for cooking and relaxing when it's raining or big season. I've never had condensation problems with other tents so I'm hopeful it's a combination of my climate/location and some other factors I don't fully understand that has meant I haven't noticed it being a problem. Good airflow designs on the tents... The fact that moist air can leave through the very top of the tent, collect on rain fly and will drip to the parts that do go past the tent rather than dripping in the tent.
winter camp? do you use a heater? the T4 Ceiling is mesh isn't it?
I actually modified my T4 so I could run a wood stove. I talked a bit about it in this video, there’s a full diy video on this channel with more information. The wood stove puts out more than enough heat to mitigate the screen top (obviously I keep the fly on too). When I first started out with this tent I was using a buddy heater during the winter. I always put a put a heat reflecting blanket under the fly to help keep some heat in. it worked ok, I just found that propane heaters generated way too much condensation for my liking.
Is there a big difference between the overland edition and the regular T4?
Essentially the tents are the same. With the overland edition you just get a few extras like, a polyester footprint with a separate storage bag and tack down stakes. Upgraded All-Terrain tent stakes and
an oversized water-resistant duffle bag for the tent.
Could you post the brand of the roof rack/box if you find it?
I believe the box is a older discontinued box from SPORTRACK. It looks like it has been replaced by the SR7016 Horizon L Cargo Box, at least the dimensions are similar.
Hello. Very useful review. Can someone tell me what about condensate in the inner layer of the tent? Because theses tents not 2 layers tent and for me its critical. I'm camping in Carpathians mountains, and people here using 2 layers tent to avoid moisture on the inner side of the tent. This is because of the differential temperatures at night. Who can tell me this aspects about this tent? Will be highly appreciated for real feedbacks. I'm camping in spring, autumn, and summer.
I’ve found the tent breaths pretty well with significant drops in temperature at night. With temperatures around the freezing mark it is definitely possible to still get condensation inside the tent, but I found this tent better than most.
@@thebackroadadventurer thank you so much for reply.
Wow, so many on here have had such good luck with their tents.
I have a love/hate relationship with Gazelle tents. I've had one T3, and two T4 Overland Editions. The T3 door zippers failed (2020) - all 4 of them. I needed a replacement ASAP, as I was "transitioning" to life as a nomad. It was under warranty, and would be replaced as such. Trouble was, the T3 was on backorder, so I decided to upgrade to the T4 OE for what seemed like a very reasonable price. Back on the road - the T4's zippers fail. Back to the city to wait for another replacement under warranty. I'm using that one now, and the (doors) zippers have ALL failed. I've gotten pretty good (so far) at "fixing them", which entails squeezing the back-end of the pull where it's supposed to interlock the teeth together. Also, a carpenter's pencil is handy to rake along the teeth to help smooth the action a bit.
I think there's a design flaw in pairing the hub style walls with a zipper that is struggling to deal with the tension created.
Also, quality control was asleep at the wheel on my current tent. - most notably during the seam taping process, and the sewing of the panels.
Of course, not everyone uses (or depends on) their tent as much as I do. Camping tents are not designed for heavy use, or they'd cost way more.
I think I need a van. 😆
Full time in mine one year. Bad shape for wind and especially snow. Wouldn’t recommend this tent unless for occasional camping in good weather.
Can you convert this tent into a hot tent?
I did. I sacrificed one of the windows and made a stove jack.
This is how it’s currently setup.
th-cam.com/video/YNhc4pHmuTE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ELFYut4lBL2v1aeb
Thank you!!!