Customer Reviews

Sportz SUV Tent with Screen Room

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered my 83000 tent as part of Napier's initial production run. I was really excited to get the new design because of the screened porch. I had no idea what to expect since I had never purchased a Napier Sportz product before. This is far and away the best tent I have ever owned. All of my past tent purchases were for the purpose of lightweight backpacking. They were great for their intended purpose, but wore out relatively quickly for the same reason...lightweight materials and construction. This Napier tent is one heavy bastard, but that's okay since it is intended for SUV camping. I've been thoroughly impressed by the quality design and construction. The materials are strong and durable. And, considering how big this tent really is, it is a snap to set up. We're talking two main poles for the main tent. That's it! Another two poles for the screened porch and you're done. Hooking up to the SUV is as easy as putting your socks on. In fact, I don't even bother with all of the available straps because the expandable band that is sewn into the SUV sleeve is strong enough to grab your truck by itself. Totally simple, and totally kick butt. To give you an idea of the strength of the tent, I have a 2 gallon igloo beverage container that I strap on to the center of the tent ceiling and the tent doesn't budge...handles it like a champ. That's 16 pounds of water hanging from the tent poles, folks. I can't speak to how the tent will hold up over time, but I'm giving it 5 stars based on my initial impressions. I think for any price under $400, this tent is a great value.

I'm very satisfied with this tent. I used it first time in the desert and attached it to my Dodge Grand Caravan. It's definitely a good idea to get your car in position first, then set up the tent accordingly. It is not that easy to navigate your car backwards to the sleeve afterwards. It was very windy and cold, despite of that there were really no issues or malfunctions. Here are some things you might not know:

The tent comes with a long rain fly that covers two sides of the tent completely whereas the two other sides are covered partially, due to the sleeve attaching to the SUV and the screenyard. For this reason Sportz does offer additional rainflys for the 81000 but not for this model (83000): there's no need.

The seams of the rainfly are factory sealed, but the rest of the tent isn't. The vendor recommends to seal all seams, but I guess it's sufficient to seal the seams that are not covered by the rainfly. Be careful about the selection of the seam sealer (see http://www.sportzbynapier.com/ FAQs).

I recommend to use a footprint to protect against humidity and damage, especially if you set up your tent on cactus remainders like me :-)

When you put up the tent, you've got to use the rainfly for stabilizing the tent. The rainfly has additional strings to protect against the wind. Although, don't forget to attach the rainfly to the sticks using the Velcro strips.

Four people fit well into the tent. Five people should fit as well. I think 6 people is very challenging.

This tent is fun.

We used our Sportz 83000 SUV tent for the first time over the holiday weekend, and Friday night was a real washout with thunderstorms and driving rain overnight. The rain fly worked perfect, and the optional footprint floor really helped keep the screenroom dry. I would recommend upgrading to the long steel with orange plastic aftermarket spikes, as the wet ground did let the provided standard stakes loosen. We slept in the truck, and although I am too tall to really fit well it was OK. The 'sock' was fairly snug, a little tape in spots would seal it completely to keep skeeters out, but we used one of those electronic butane mat heaters for a couple hours before bed and stayed unmunched all night. We stayed dry and that was #1 priority. I was going to give it 4 stars because one of the main fiberglass poles split when going up (still held the tent all weekend), but Napier was so nice and responsive on the phone that it is a non-issue. We can't wait to head out for more (not so) 'roughing it'.

I bought my Ford Edge last year, saw the pix with a tent hooked on the back of it and wondered if I could:

1.) set it up by myself
2.) take it down by myself
3.) drive away and back up to it again easily, or at least a do-able option if I wanted to.
4.) be comfortable sleeping in the 'bunk'(or otherwise known as: the back of the Edge)

This year, I was still pondering if I should just try it... I wondered if this middle-aged woman should/would even attempt to go tent camping, since she had not for many years...and never alone...would I enjoy it? WELL, I took a chance and the answer to all four questions is YES!! I placed my order thru Amazon.com, and it was delivered within one week.

I love camping alone and I LOVE my Sports SUV Tent. I spent a few weeks camping in two states, thru lots of nice weather but also fairly intense North Dakota summer storms---of which may have contributed to a cracked pole. I contacted the Sportz company by e-mail, and no questions asked except where to send the replacement. Once again, great customer service---within one week, Sportz sent me not one, but two new poles.

This is one of the best purchases I've made in a long time...I LOVE the adventures it has given me! I appreciate the added security of sleeping in my 'bunk', and having this large tent and screen Room for my living area. I recommend it to everyone who may be interested in getting back to nature.

I love my Sportz SUV Tent! My eleven year old daughter and I put this tent up in no time, very easy to assemble. Plenty of room inside, quality material, and it even fit back into the storage bag!

I usually do not review products, unless they are worth reviewing. This is a great product, easy to assemble and sturdy. I have a large SUV and was able to connect it to my car with little effort.
The problem is, if you need to use the car, attaching it again takes some guidance, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Lots of windows and pockets to keep handy stuff, E.g. flash lights.
The top has loops for a net, but we used them to hold a battery fan, we slept in comfort, specially with a queen inflatable mattress, which fits very nicely with room to walk around.
I got a tarp at Homedepot to place on the ground. This helps protect the bottom as well as provides a floor for the side room. If you are neat at folding, you will be able to fit the tarp together with the tent in it's bag.
Hope this helps.

I attach this tent to a 2005 Honda Pilot and the connection between tent and turnk seals very well (don't expect an air-tight seal, however the seal is definitely good enough to keep critters out of the tent). I'm not the most "outdoorsy" person by any means so the 83000 provides 2 of us with AMPLE room to roam around the tent and screen room (I purchased the footprint from Sportz as well for the screen room and a 10x10 blue tarp with metal grommets as a footprint for the tent itself). It definitely is a heavy sucker and took about 45 minutes to setup the first time in the dark with only the headlights of my truck and a headlamp (we got to the campsite late!). However, the 2nd time we used it, it took only 10-15 minutes with 2 people (incl. laying down/securing both footprints). It's SUPER comfortable, allows for access to the trunk of the truck, and if you need to leave the campsite to go explore the park, I can definitely close the trunk of the car and ARM the alarm while gone - all while keeping the tent connected to the truck. Overall it is an awesome purchase at a great price (especially on amazon with the free shipping and no tax!) for folks that need a little extra room for stuff like myself (a nice way of saying "high maintenance"), for families needing a little more space, or for folks who want all the "homies" to stay in the same tent/living space.

This is a really well made tent for car/van/truck camping. The overall quality of the tent is very good, and the connection to the back of our minivan is a great feature! We were able to leave all of our clothes and stuff in the back of our van instead of having it all over the floor of the tent, which gave us more space to walk around. The attached screen room is nice as well. Our kids slept out there and felt like they had their own "room."
One comment about connecting your vehicle to the tent -- you have to be centered on the tent or the sock will not fit snugly all around. This is not a complaint -- I'm really impressed by how well the sock fits our van. Just something to keep in mind when backing up to the tent.

I was a little skeptical about this tent fitting my rig. I have a 2010 Silverado 1500 ext cab with a high rise A.R.E camper shell. It took a while figuring out what went where, but after I got it installed, I was impressed. Everything fit like it was supposed to. The quality seems very good. I water-proofed it with water repellant spray purchased from Wal-Mart. (as instructed)The 'Boot' fits around the bed end of the camper/truck bed as advertised. I bought this as a replacement sleeping arrangement when we tow our boat versus our camper. So far, I have been impressed with it. We purchased the attaching screen room also (floorless). Nice addition which adds more interior bug free space. Sportz SUV Tent with Screen Room

I have to say that I was a bit skeptical about starting to camp again, specially since I haven't been camping for a long long time. I bought the tent with the intention to try starting camping with my family (wife and 2 kids). I have a Kia Sedona minivan and the vehicle sleeve fits just perfect over the car. The tent is quite big and comfortable since it has a very good inside height. The concept of the tent is just amazing, uniting the vehicles back with it makes it as if you had 3 rooms. One for the kids (the vehicle), one for me and my wife, and the screen room was used as a dining room with the camp table. I have to say that I can recommend this tent for any family with 4 people max, since it would just become uncomfortable with more than that. The build quality of the tent is very good, I think that there is little to complaint about it. Just that I am missing two cables to tense the poles that hold the front roof.