Mobi Garden Guan Tu V (On The Road V) hot tent / gazebo

see also:

• larger tents without integrated floors to act as fly tents or hot tents
• gazebos for camping
• hot tents (tents with wood stoves inside)
• wood stoves for camping
• https://mobigarden.shop/products/on-the-road-v model NX22661003
  • https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005054901697.html $AU696 + $AU129 shipping = $A829 + GST
  • https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004815156297.html $AU462 + $AU274 shipping = $A736 + GST
  • Ebay $AU660 but sold out

• this is a large floor-less single wall freestanding tent designed to be used with a wooden stove with tall chimney and a small 1-3P tent inside - or in winter, just a stretcher bed
• large enough to drive a car into and can double as a mosquito-proof well ventilated shelter or as a hot tent with a wood stove and chimney.
• large end doors open to awnings to give added shelter if needed
• extremely versatile and can be set up with one person
• lighter and more compact than most gazebos which have far less functionality
• far more internal space and standing head room than a 4 or 5m diameter tipi tent but it does take much longer to set up and may not be as wind resistant
• takes about 30min to set up with one person and about 20min to take down

• “Morning Mist white” 210T polyester 3000mmWH fabric
• mesh is a very fine white mesh (looks like it would be No-See-Um) which provides excellent privacy but does impair the view out somewhat
• Seiko zippers on both layers of the doors can be opened from top or bottom and are double sided
• no floor;
• able to be fully enclosed on all sides plus 3 large side mesh French windows on one side;
• stove jack is a 3 layered design - waterproof layer, fireproof layer with central slits for a chimney and an internal mesh layer
• dual 1.9m high and 3.1m wide doors with awning and mesh - can easily fit a car through!
• 4 x 13mm aluminium pole design plus 2x 4 piece awning poles supplied (you need to add two more to open both awnings up)
  • the two poles with black end segments are the ones which cross over the tent (but do not cross over each other) and meet at the same spigot point on each side
  • the other two poles with bent segments are the wall side poles and attach to the end spigots at the doorways
  • all poles pass through tunnel sleeves and are stabilised by spigots at the bottom
• tension straps connect the two sides of the walls at floor level and add to its stability
• 10 guy outs to further make it wind resistant
• fly: sun blockout layered, waterproof 1.8×2.8m customized fly to cover central ceiling area only but needs to wrap around chimney
• 4×3.8×2.15m high; 15 square metres floor area; theoretically could be used for 5-8 people but really designed for 1-2 people;
• 13kg including poles and pegs
• tent fabric alone weighs 6.7kg
• poles (including 2 awning poles) and pegs weigh 6.3kg
• packs to 62x30cm - each of the two storage bags weighs under 7kg
• ~$AU760

• this is a free standing tent once all 4 poles are inserted into their sleeves and into the spigots at their ends
• if only the two main cross poles are inserted, these will lie on top of each other on the ground - they will only raise the ceiling when at least one of the side poles are put in place
• the tent can be easily moved by 2 people, each holding the bottom of the cross poles to ensure the spigots don't come out

• in strong winds there is a risk that uplift could theoretically result in the spigots coming out of the poles and this could result in collapse of the tent
  • for this reason as well as general tent protection, the top 4 guy ropes as a minimum should be well guyed out to reduce the risk of uplift
• I am yet to test it in strong winds but I expect it should do well in winds at least to 60kph if appropriately sited and guyed out and doors and windows zipped up
  • perhaps don't have the fire going in such conditions though !

• water sealing of the chimney / stove jack
  • having a chimney in place means the fly cannot be fully applied to protect that part of the ceiling
  • there will be gaps around the chimney which will allow rain to drip through
  • this can be at least partly mitigated by tying the fireproof stove jack as tightly as possible around the chimney
• tent wall touching a hot chimney
  • a triple shielded chimney section placed at the stove jack is advisable as this generally reduces temperatures to around 40degC
  • however, the inner mesh of the stove jack could potentially come loose (the ties are not that strong) and could touch the chimney below the triple shielding
    • recommend using clamps on the mesh to reduce this risk
  • the tent wall itself is unlikely to contact the hot parts of the chimney with the triple shield section in place as they are strongly clamped to the main external poles
    • there is a risk in strong winds that the tent could collapse and then it would touch the chimney and stove resulting in the tent melting or catching fire
    • in strong winds, ENSURE tent stability by using all the guy ropes securely anchored and if there are concerns, do not have the fire going in these conditions

• water sealing seems excellent
  • in my testing in 20-30mm downpour of rain overnight, the only water ingress was at the chimney / stove jack and this was minimal, plus some expected water ingress coming under the tent sides
  • during my test I did have the windows closed up as it is likely some rain will enter through the mesh and there is no awning over the windows to protect the mesh from rain

• tent has the ability to fully close all windows and doors for practically total privacy
  • as with any light coloured tent without a light Blockout layer, a very strong light such as a car head light could still create a silhouette when viewed from the opposite side
• the white ultrafine mesh does seem to be more difficult to see through than dark mesh used in most other tents and this becomes important when the doors are used as awnings as all you have is the mesh layer
  • it is possible to see some detail through the mesh during day time or if there is a light on inside the tent but it does offer some discretion
• you only have the mesh doors for privacy when using the outer door as an awning

• takes about 20-30min for 1 person
• choose a large enough tent site:
  • preferably with ground a little higher in the centre so any water will drain outwards from the tent rather than pool in the middle
  • preferably with any slope that will be under your sleeping area going from head to toe
  • if using a stove, choose the site so stove will sit as flat as possible so the chimney is vertical (otherwise you may need to level the legs manually)
  • remove any sharp objects on ground before laying out tent
• lay out the tent on the ground
  • orientate the tent so that:
    • the 3 windows will look out over any view (or be away from the winds)
    • allow sufficient room at the doorways to allow them to be used as awnings
    • you can back up your car into a doorway in case it rains and you wish to use the boot as a kitchen
• stake the windy side well to avoid it blowing away
• gently PUSH the 2 black poles through the cross-over sleeves and insert into the spigots, one pole at a time (otherwise the other pole will fall out without tension or someone holding it)
• gently PUSH the 2 bent side poles one at a time carefully to avoid having the ends caught in the sleeve and then insert ends into their spigots
• when you are happy with the position, peg the remainder of pegs in and peg the guy lines to ensure stability
• optionally peg out the snow skirt
• consider having a ground sheet or other flooring to place over the tension straps so they do not become a trip hazard (but avoid the stove area or cover with fireproof mat)
• install your stove if you have one (you may need scissors to widen the slits to allow the chimney to pass through (highly recommend you use a triple shielded chimney segment to reduce risks to the tent)
• optionally attach the fly sheet if rain is expected
  • tie the top hook onto the side pole sleeve
  • use the backpack buckle in the middle of the fly and fix it in place “where the tent is dug into the arc”
• set up which ever sleeping gear you decide to use - stretcher or a 2p tent along the rear wall without the windows

• takes about 20min from one person
• essentially just reverse the setting up procedure but easier
• you will need to PUSH the poles through the sleeves otherwise they will come apart within the sleeves and make it harder
• stash tent into bag rather than repetitively folding at the same place each time as this weakens tents
• ensure it is fully dry before storage

• large area of 15 square metres is larger than most 10 person tents which tend to be 6m x 2m (12 square metres) and these are usually much heavier and require 2 people to set up
• no floor
  • makes it lighter
  • no need to worry about having to dry a wet floor out for storage
  • can use on rocky ground without having to worry about damage to a floor (still need to be able to peg it though)
  • can use a wood stove inside the tent as the floor won't melt or catch fire
  • can have a shower inside it and let the water run out
• nice design for a 2P tent to be used inside it (see below for options) for added mosquito/sandfly/spider/snake protection
• mesh on doorways has bottom third as fabric to reduce dust and sand from being blown in
• snow skirts allow extra wind protection options
• looks good and the French windows adds to this
• partial fly has a Blockout layer to help on sunny days
• advantages over a tipi tent:
  • extremely versatile and spacious - no centre pole!
    • will fit the 3.1m long Pomoly Leo 2 2P hot tent and allow a stove inside whereas a tipi's centre pole would prevent this and you would need to use a smaller 2P tent
  • freestanding
    • can be easily moved once set up although this requires two people - one on each side at the double spigots and it can lifted and carried to another site
  • lots of standing head room
  • reasonably mosquito proof even when doors and windows open (if you ensure the snow skirts are kept down well although there are gaps at ground level)
  • lots of ventilation and views if needed (most tipis don't have windows)
  • doorways have awnings and mesh
  • lots of amenity for coping with long rain periods
  • can be used as a gazebo
  • less hot in the upper part when using a wood stove as greater volume of air space at head level
• advantages over most gazebos
  • much more compact and lighter than most of these
  • comes with all walls to allow full enclosure for wind and rain protection as well as keeping the warmth in
  • option of opening doors and windows and still have full mesh for ventilation, mosquito and fly protection
  • can be used as a hot tent with a wood stove
  • doors can be opened as awnings for extended shelter area
  • can be set up with one person easily
• advantages over a dome tent like the similarly sized Dokicamp Unlimited Works dome tent VAST-SK100
  • much more usable space - being rectangular, not only are you getting 15sqm floor space compared to 12sqm but it is more usable
    • the dome tent will fit a normal 2P hike tent but perhaps not the Pomoly Leo 2 2P hot tent which just squeezes in nicely in the Guantu V
  • awnings at each end create even more sheltered space and much better for entertaining other people or sitting out prolonged rain periods or under the sun
  • mesh is denser giving more privacy at expensive of view
  • stronger poles and being in sleeves will probably give it better wind performance although the circular shape of the dome is potentially more aerodynamic
    • NB. there are also available geodesic domes which will be much more wind resistant than either of these

• relatively expensive
• zippers can be annoying with their long strings which tend to get mixed up and also get caught in the zip as does the rain flap fro the zipper
• white fabric:
  • will get woken at sunrise
  • partly translucent so privacy issues with light on at night
  • may be hard to sleep in during sunny days although the fly does have a blockout layer but this only covers the ceiling not the walls
  • not very discrete (unless you camp in the snow)
• no ground level ventilation or visibility to outside ground level without opening door and losing insect protection
• white ultrafine mesh restricts views outwards (but does add privacy which is important if doors are used as awnings
  • viewing the stars would require fully opening a door and losing insect protection
• ultrafine mesh reduce ventilation significantly and this could be too much on hot humid nights so may have to choose between being too hot or having mosquitoes on hot humid nights without much wind (just when the mozzies are out) or when using the stove
• possible wind/storm issues as not aerodynamic but seems it should be strong enough for most situations
• rain can drip down the stovejack when the chimney is in place
  • the supplied fly only partly reduced water ingress at chimney - you need to do some additional water sealing to reduce it further such as tying the fireproof fabric tightly around your shielded chimney
• no floor potentially allows more wildlife in such as rodents, snakes, spiders and ants but none of these are really problematic if you have an inner mesh tent and you don't leave food around
• 3 fixed transverse webbing stabiliser straps on the ground can be trip hazards
• disadvantages compared with a tipi tent:
  • heavier, larger packed size
  • much larger area of fabric takes much longer to dry out and more difficult to hang
  • takes much longer to set up and pack up (4 poles to feed through sleeves instead of just one centre pole to push up so 20-30min instead of 5-10min)
  • set up is more difficult for one person compared with a 4m or 5m diameter tipi nylon tent
• disadvantages compared with a dome tent like the similarly sized Dokicamp Unlimited Works dome tent VAST-SK100
  • not symmetrical so siting may not be ideal if the wind changes - need to think about siting more when setting up
  • needs a larger site as it is more spacious
  • much less ventilation and view options
  • windows do not give a great view as mesh blocks more view than the dome tent mesh, and in the dome tent you can remove the mesh
  • cannot create full privacy without taking the awnings down which is a bit annoying
  • more fiddly to set up as you have to pass the poles through sleeves and the clips are harder to put on the poles
  • fly is more fiddly to attach as you need to buckle the two ends in and these are hard to reach for short people
  • no ceiling windows apart from the stove jack
  • skirt is external so collects water taking longer to dry out
  • not as easy for one person to move once it is set up (although it is possible for small distances)
  • has web straps at ground level which can be trip hazards
  • no clear TPU zip on door option
  • almost twice the internal volume so potentially harder to warm up with a small stove but less risk of oxygen depletion

• Mobi Garden single person stretcher cot tent
  • https://mobigarden.shop/products/cot-tent
• 2P Mozzie tents or mesh hiking tents for warmer nights
  • see comparison of mainly mesh tents for warm nights
• 2P full fabric tents for cooler nights
  • see comparison of full fabric 2P and 3P tents for colder nights
  • eg Vidalido Land Yu 2Persons TC Cotton S-T139 Tent