I have the T3 Tandem for a couple years and love it! I haven’t been in a lot of wind, but certainly rained on and it was great! I will always pay higher price to make sure I stay dry inside the tent! Plus it’s nice because you sleep in one area and have a screen tent already built in to hang out if the weather is bad.
Nope. I read a lot prior to purchasing about waterproofing/resistance rating and this tent appeared to be very well rated. One trip it started raining around 2am and continued steadily with downpour sessions for the next 12 hours and the inside was dry. Only wetness that came in was in the screen tent section I left the side panels up and rain was hitting the ground so hard it splashed up into the mesh sometimes, but wouldn’t have happened if I closed it all properly. I like how the rain fly comes down the sides as wings so you can have air panels open in some areas even in the rain. I don’t want to bother putting up extra tarps for rain purposes. This tent has met my expectations for sure.
The Gazelle T3 has been my favorite as a solo camper. They larger ones. Setup is quick and so is tear down. The floor or tray is removable for easy cleaning. Been through some pretty nasty storms in it. It always stayed dry. Definitely not a backpacking/hiking tent.
Is there any particular reason for having the tent be in the truck bed at all? I ask because there’s not many advantages to that kind of setup. Most of the utility of truck bed camping comes from having a topper or popup camper mounted on the bed, which requires no setup/takedown. There is the alternate advantage of not having to find a spot for the ground tent, but you still have to level the truck, and the camping locations you described don’t seem restrictive enough to make ground tents unusable.
If you’re already going to be setting up a tent, just get a good ground tent and maybe some cots. This way you don’t have to empty the gear out of your truck bed every time you want to sleep, and you’ll be able to have much more room. I’d personally recommend something like a Gazelle T3 or T4 tent, as the quick popup setup and box design make it a really nice experience.
Also, all this comes from someone who sleeps in their truck bed overlanding, but under a fiberglass topper with a built out bed platform inside. If I didn’t have the topper, I’d stick to my ground tent. Hell, even with the topper, sometimes I prefer to just fill the bed with gear and still use a ground tent.
My absolute favorite tent is an old Kelty dome tent I've had for over 20 years. I also have a kelty 6 wireless that has lots of room, including standing room. It's just a pain to set up by myself. The other tent I use is a gazelle T3. It's smaller than the Kelty 6, has standing room, and it's a breeze to set up. However, it is bulky and takes up a lot of room in my vehicle. All have been great in snow and rain. No leaks at all.
https://preview.redd.it/zzg1zfqnmzyg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=daff3511e86f2f5df06803d888b00e6869a13d19
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