Ozark Trail Base Camp 14-Person Cabin Tent Review – 20 x 20 Feet

This Ozark Trail Base Camp 14-Person Cabin Tent Review is about one of the largest cabin-type family camping tents on the market, with 4 separate rooms and 12 windows.

Key features & benefits 

Where to buy

• This tent is available on Amazon.
• You will find it also at Walmart.

What type of tent is this – what is in the name

Here you have a very complex structure with so many separate rooms and entrances, but essentially this is is a non-freestanding and cabin type tent. So this is already something unique, cabin type tents are usually freestanding. But this is such a huge construction that you have to stake its corners first (and you have them 8, don’t forget).

As a cabin type tent, the walls are very high and almost vertical, and the peak height in the central dome area is 78 inches (198 cm). So this is a very cavernous, pleasant, and livable structure with incredible proportions, see the picture below.

The words “base camp” can mean anything, but make no mistake, this is a summer camping tent, so you have huge windows on all sides. Every room has them 2 plus one on the door. The design also included mesh everywhere on the ceiling, so if the sky is clear you have wonderful views at night.

The area issue – how much you have really

The numbers 20 x 20 indicate feet, so this is the actual ground area needed for this tent. This means 400 ft² (37 m²). But this is not the floored tent area.

My estimate of the total protected area here is around 222 ft² (20 m²), or perhaps a bit more. Note, this is roughly 5/9 of the total area. It is easy to come to this value; you have a square and divide it in 3 x 3 equal units and then subtract 4 units. The remaining units will create the “cross” tent structure as you have it here, see the picture below.

This is big enough to accommodate 5 queen size beds. But if you do so, you will not be able to close the dividers. Note, I have included this tent in my list of extra large family camping tents.

Who is it for

♦ Sizewise, you have enough space for the declared 14-people. The area is huge, and you have in total 20 ft along one branch of the “cross”, so you can put 9 sleeping pads (25 inches each) side by side. The remaining 5 pads can also be easily accommodated in the two sections of the other branch of the “cross”.

But I do not think this is an option that would work in practice, except perhaps at some summer music festival or any similar gathering where people use the tent only to spend the night on the floor, and don’t have much stuff around.

If this is for camping, downgrade this dramatically. For example, a family with up to 6 kids can comfortably camp in such a tent. You would have the entrance room for boots and other stuff and the central dome section for sitting in the evening and for fun. The remaining three rooms would then be one for parents and the other two for kids. Sounds great, doesn’t it? I only regret we did not have such tents when my kids were small.

Yet another option is to use bunk-cots. In such a case, you save lost of floor space, such beds fit nicely against the walls of a cabin tent, and you can have a huge family camping comfortably.

♦ The packed size is surprisingly good for such a big tent. You have a bundle which is 28.5 x 13.75 inches (72 x 35 cm), small enough to be transported even on a motorbike. So if you are on a tour with your motorbikers friends, you might consider this tent.

How many rooms?

Note that unlike other tents, here you have built-in dividers that fully close the walls. So they are sewn-in to the walls and have central zippers for complete privacy.

You have a structure of a cross, with a central dome area that is connected (without the divider) with the main entrance. This is the biggest area, and the remaining three sections are with dividers, and you can create 4 separate rooms, 3 of them are the same size and the 4th is almost double size.

But fixing the dividers to the walls you can create various options with 1, 2, 3, and 4 rooms as it suits you best.

I already mentioned the number of queen size beds, so the tent can be used by several couples, but remember that you will not be able to close the dividers if you use such beds, they have miscalculated the proportions of this tent. So you would have to use some different sort of beds. In any case, each of the rooms has its own exit door, in total 4 external doors are here.

How many seasons

The tent is built for very mild conditions and for relatively warm weather without wind and only for moderate rain. So this is a summer camping tent and no more than this, and don’t be fooled by 3-season statements. This is because of the following reasons:

• So much mesh on the ceiling and on 12 windows cannot preserve warmth, so it is best to avoid a cold environment with this tent.
• Looked from a side, the tent is an obstacle of the size 5 x 2 meters. So this is a non-aerodynamic object of 10 square meters, and a side wind would put lots of pressure on it, so it would not last long.
• I have seen people asking if the tent can withstand snow. Definitely not, it is not designed for vertical pressure, at least not with those fiberglass roof poles.

Because of all these features, you will see this tent mentioned in my separate text about best family tents for hot weather camping.

All in all, if you need a tent for 3 seasons or 3 seasons plus, you will need something very different and much more expensive. See this Big Agnes Flying Diamond 6 tent as a nice example, or this Nemo Wagontop 6 tent.

Materials & construction

There are many poles here, but this is expected from such a structure. The main 12 poles are steel and the 10 roof poles are fiberglass.

There is no indication about waterproofness rating, but seams are taped and the tent is built to be waterproof. All the windows and the doors are double-layer, with mesh and with panels for protection.

The main door is with an inverted T-shape zipper and other doors are D-shaped. The roof is protected by a fly which is minimal in size, so you have unobstructed views through all those windows.

There is a hook for a lantern in the main area, and a few small pockets on the walls, they look grotesque to me on such huge walls. They have missed adding them more, this would make lots of difference. You have an electric cable port and this is pretty much all.

Setup 

They say 20 minutes is enough for two people, but this sounds too optimistic, make it double. You spread it and start from the central room with its 4 vertical poles and 6 roof poles. Then you raise the side rooms. But it is best that you see this video:

Can you do it alone? Yes, certainly. Here is a time-lapse video of a guy doing this solo, have a look:

They obviously thought that the huge floor area was enough, but they missed to make the tent more user-friendly. There are only 5 small pockets here, so you have one per room and two in the main room. They are very small and practically useless.

There are no vents above the floor. They may look unnecessary with so many windows and the ceiling with mesh, but if you have long intervals with rain, all the panels must be closed and the tent may become a less pleasant place.

Specifications

• Weight: 47.96 lb (21.8 kg).
• Ground area: 20 x 20 ft (6 x 6 m).
• Floor area: around 222 ft² (20 m²).
• Area per person: 15.9 ft² (1.43 m²).
• Peak height: 78 in (198 cm).
• Packed size (L x D): 28.5 x 13.75 in (72 x 35 cm).
• Carry bag included.
• Stakes included.

Ozark Trail Base Camp 14 vs Competitors

See these three giants side by side. The Ozark Trail tent is without a match in a few important features, but not in all. Please follow the links to read more.

Final thoughts, my rating, pros & cons

Ozark Trail Base Camp 14-Person Cabin Tent

8.3

Area per person

8.0/10

Weight

8.0/10

Packed size

8.5/10

Protection

8.0/10

Ease of use

8.2/10

Features

9.3/10

Pros

• Very livable tent.
• 4 Rooms & 12 windows.
• Great packed size.
• Great price.
• Plenty of options for rooms organization.
• Surprisingly easy setup for such a size.

Cons

• Not for heavy rains or strong winds.
• Only a few pockets in such a huge space.
• No floor vents.
• Not big enough for the declared capacity.

Check on Amazon

Check at Walmart

Thank you for reading. If you need something different, just look around, this site is all about family camping tents, so you will find someth8ng for you. Check this Ozark Trail Instant Cabin 15 tent from the same brand and also this Ozark Trail 16-person tent with 20 square meters of the floor area. You might want also to compare it with this new Wenzel Mammoth 16-Person Family Dome Camping Tent which is an unusual extended dome structure. Not big enough? Then see this Ozark Trail 20 person tent as well.

If you have any question or comment, please use the comment box below. Have a nice day.