HIGH AND DRY

THE TARKINE IS A TRADITIONAL FOLDOUT ROOFTOP TENT FROM OZTRAIL THAT IS PACKED WITH CLEVER FEATURES AND IS OH-SO COMFORTABLE

- DEAN MELLOR

WITH all the rain we’ve had on the east coast of Australia over the past couple of years, the thought of setting up the family tent or rolling out the swags in yet another muddy-brown puddle has put me off camping a bit, but with this new OZtrail Tarkine 1400 fitted to my Ranger, we can stay high and dry when the weather turns foul.

The Tarkine is the smallest and lightest rooftop tent in the OZtrail range, measuring 2.4m x 1.43m x 1.3m when open and weighing in at 59kg. I could have fitted it to the Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform above the Ranger’s cabin, but this would have limited me to on-road driving only (see ‘Weighty Issue’ breakout), so I instead mounted it on a pair of Yakima LockNLoad crossbars on the canopy.

OZtrail recommends the Tarkine be fitted by a professional 4WD aftermarket store or a roof-rack expert, but I opted to fit it myself, and this proved pretty straightforward. Once unpacked, I removed the mattress so I could bolt the supplied rails to the underside of the tent’s base; I then lifted the tent on to the crossbars and attached it using the supplied brackets, nuts and bolts; once secure, I opened the tent up, attached the ladder and put the mattress back in. I then closed it and fitted the PVC transit cover. The whole process only took an hour or so and I managed to do it on my Pat Malone; although, it would be much quicker (and easier) with two or three people in on the act.