Love the tents but they are huge. When we used my 4Runner as the primary camping rig, I'd run it length wise down the gobi roofrack (side) or width wise on top of a hitch basket (depending on how I packed). I was a little dismayed to realize it only fits diagonally in the bed (short) of my Tacoma. I am going to pickup a Alu-cab shell here in a couple weeks and will have to see how all my gear packs down in that next season.
How are you hauling your Gazelle T4 tent?
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Pathfinder III
I carry mine inside my 4Runner. It fits easily from the back of the front seat to the back hatch. I made my 4Runner a 2 seater - I removed all but the front seats. I have a coleman cot that sits against the front seats and the tent still fits from that cot to the back hatch. Then I got a rtt and I save the gazelle for when I have company, or I want to have a base camp.
Builder I
I specifically bought the T3 because, based on the measurements, I thought the T4 wouldn’t fit in my Taco’s 5 ft. bed with a cap. I never considered loading it diagonally (Duh!) until my brother went on a trip with me and brought his T4. Sure enough, it fit just fine diagonally. Now I think I’ll be moving up to the T4 for the extra floor space and ceiling height.
Explorer I
Diagonally as well; Gladiator with Alu-Cab canopy. I only take it if my wife/kids are along for the ride, otherwise I'm on a cot under the stars (or awning).
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Truck or rooftop racks are the only options I can think of. They are not compact. Mine goes in the 6.5' bed of the truck
Trail Blazer III
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Purchased a used Thule rocket box to carry our T4 on the roof rack of our WJ, has been up there for several years and holding up fairly well, enough room to pack a few other items up there with it also. As long as the tent is in there it is pretty quiet, off road with it empty makes it too loud to drive with the sunroof open..
Explorer I
They will fit in a JKU with a rear seat folded down and laying on the center console. Not optimal.
I can fit the T4 or the plus in the back of my Grand Cherokee, but only if I'm not carrying my larger cooler (and eventually fridge). Otherwise, I have to strap it on top. When they came out with the overland edition of the T4+, I went ahead and bought the bag (already had the footprint anyway), so I won't have to worry about hauling it on top in the rain. When I went to expo east last year and was driving in the rain (before having the weather proof bag), I wrapped the thing in a cheap tarp. Interestingly, said cheap tarp couldn't handle nearly 11 hours at highway speed and was half shredded on the end that was facing the front.
Enthusiast II
This is a T3 and rides on top of the spare tire, on the rear of my TJ.
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Digging up an old thread, but I'm wanting to do this in my YJ as well. Any issues with "rocking" on top of the tire? It also fits really well across my front bumper but blocks the blinkers and half the grille opening.
Enthusiast II
No issues. It's kind of sandwiched between the bracket that holds my 3rd brake light on the top front of my spare tire and the 4 gallon rotopax on the rear of my spare tire. And I use Rokstraps to really cinch it down. It's very stable.
Member III
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Well this will be my experimental trip with doing that then, No 3rd brakelight on mine andmy tires are much smaller so my results may vary. Worst case I can wedge it in the back of the YJ corner to corner with the passenger seat ran forward, good thing my passenger is short. I also use ROKSTRAPS I have left over from my motorcycle days. One of the better investments I've made over the years ha.
Enthusiast II
I think you'll be okay. I use a large screwdriver through the loop of each rokstrap to yank the crap out of it.
Big struggle here too. We have the 7 person Gazelle and it is longer than our short bed silverado so it has to go in diagonally. We just got a Bronco 4 door, but no roof rack yet. Do you have any ideas for loading this behemoth inside? Thx
Traveler III
Yakima Skybox 12, its narrow (24" wide) but long. Fits T4 plus a bunch of other stuff. In fact, my avatar shows it atop my Ranger canopy. I recently got the smaller Gazelle Gazebo, which is a slightly less long package compared to the T4. Both will fit up in the Skybox 12. This has been a pretty great solution. The trick is enduring packing, unpacking, packing over multiple days. If it doesn't totally drive you crazy, then its working alright, and this is. Leaves the truck bed for cube, rectangle and duffel-shaped things.
