Otter XT Pro XOver Cottage Owners – need a favour

Can anyone out there who owns this shack please do me a favor? Can you please measure and verify the collapsed height of your tent without the seat, minus the hyfax runners if you have them? The highest point will end up being the elbow of the frame member that touches the ice, just above the the metal pivot bracket.

I bought this tent brand new last week, based on the collapsed dimensions of 54″L x 32″W x 18″H. During assembly, even with out the tent fabric on, I noticed my height at this frame member elbow was much higher than 18″. But I continued on with assembly any way, thinking that maybe there was some way it would some how collapse down to 18″ (not sure what i was thinking to be honest). After finishing the complete assembly, I realized this thing is really 19.75″ and will not get any shorter.

My conversations with Otter are not going too well. The started off by saying they measured a unit and they are close to 18″ in height. I asked for photos of their measurements and unit so I could possibly see what was going on in case i did something wrong. They did not reply with this information so I followed up. They replied back with, “The measurements you are getting seem to be slightly higher than what we have. Not sure how that is working out but something does not seem right. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done. I would recommend returning the shelter to the store.”

I can’t possibly see how my tent is 1.75″ taller than their tent. They don’t seem to want to provide any photo proof of their 18″ unit so I’m reaching out to any owners here to see if I can get a measurement. Again, I need this to be the highest point at that frame elbow above the pivot bracket.

As you may have guessed, this is a problem related to my truck. I can’t close the tonneau for transport or to secure my gear. I’d happily return this but there’s a matter of freight and packing costs that need to be sorted out with Otter. They have not offered any compensation. Tent was purchased on line and shipped to me. No one locally carried the cottage.

Thanks in advance.

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According to the specs on their site,the XT Pro is 18″ collapsed height,and the XT non-pro is 21 1/2″ collapsed.Could be a typo?XT cottage shows a wild sled(rebadged sport?),and the XT pro shows the pro sled which I believe is taller than the wild/sport sled?I bought that small wide pro sled because it is deeper than the sport sled was.

I just bought and put together the Otter XT X-Over Cottage not the Pro version so all I can verify is that the dimensions on mine are at the 21 1/2″ per the information on their web site. I was looking for the Pro as well for the seat but as you found as well I could not find anyone that carried the Pro and to order was not cheap.

Good luck in working with Otter. I have heard they are typically very good to work with.

I’ve heard they are too but so far they are not. Seems like they expect me to return this on my dime even though it’s their error.

And what bugs me the most is they have not explicitly admitted they’ve made a mistake. They keep dancing around my question as to whether their website specs are off.

Very disappointing. I’ve asked the person I’ve been emailing to escalate this to someone who can address this as I find their solution unfair.

I’m sorry, I don’t have that particular model of Otter, but I get the frustration that the listed specs don’t match.

They might not pay real close attention to the exact specs but of course a small difference can make it impossible to fit into some truck or vehicle configurations.

If you don’t get anywhere through email, I’d try to give them a call if you can find time to do it. You may get further talking to somebody in person.

Love my Otter shacks, but that’s a bummer if you can’t close up your tonneau cover to keep everything secure and clean.

curleytail wrote:

I’m sorry, I don’t have that particular model of Otter, but I get the frustration that the listed specs don’t match.

They might not pay real close attention to the exact specs but of course a small difference can make it impossible to fit into some truck or vehicle configurations.

If you don’t get anywhere through email, I’d try to give them a call if you can find time to do it. You may get further talking to somebody in person.

Love my Otter shacks, but that’s a bummer if you can’t close up your tonneau cover to keep everything secure and clean.

My first attempt at contact was phone but didn’t get through to anyone. I have a feeling they are ignoring me now so a phone call will be my next step. I may even see if the online store I got it from has more pull with Otter. I haven’t involved them yet because it’s really not their mistake to fix.

And I agree with you 100%. Tent quality is top notch. Best flip I’ve seen in person – that, I won’t take away from them. However, customer service so far is terrible. Their email replies are border line offensive (and I’ve been nothing but polite). Last response as follow: “I am truly sorry that our shelter does not meet your expectations for your use. As stated before, I would recommend returning to the store as it does not meet your expectations.”

My expectations?!? I’m asking them why they aren’t meeting their own specifications, not my expectations. We’re not talking 1/4 or 1/2″ off here…this is 1.75″ on 18″…And again, they told me to send it back with out any offer of compensation for freight and packing. Just unfair in my opinion.

Anyway, I’ll stop venting. Sorry just getting a little frustrated now.

I have an older Cottage that’s the 900 insulated one and I just measured it and it’s 19 1/4” with a hifax kit which is 1/2”. I just got a newer GMC Sierra with a new tonneau cover that folds instead of the vinyl one like I had on my Silverado which just rolled up and with the new one it has to be in the bed just right to get the cover closed flush.

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glenn-d wrote:

I have an older Cottage that’s the 900 insulated one and I just measured it and it’s 19 1/4” with a hifax kit which is 1/2”. I just got a newer GMC Sierra with a new tonneau cover that folds instead of the vinyl one like I had on my Silverado which just rolled up and with the new one it has to be in the bed just right to get the cover closed flush.

Thank you for taking the time to take that measurement. If I had to venture a guess, they updated the cottage sled and didn’t get around to updating the height specs.

Unfortunately for me, I drive a 1/4-ton truck and have a hard tonneau as well. The absolute most I can accommodate is 18.75″ which is why I thought I was safe when I bought this one specified at 18″.

Who did you buy it from?

I have an older model one. Ill go out and measure in a bit. As far as what to do with it you may want to consider just selling it private party to get your money back. I’m sure you wouldn’t have much trouble selling it and you can advertise that its already assembled which is a bonus for the person buying it.

I have worked with otter customer service and they were fantastic! My seat didn’t fit well on the crossbar. The first year of ownership i just dealt with it. After owning and using the shack for over a year I called and they explained that sometimes the molds will be off slightly. I dont live all that far from them so I made the drive out and they replaced it with a much better fitting seat for free and even gave me a tour of the facility and some swag for free. Couldn’t have been a better experience. Sorry you are having issues with them

dandorn wrote:

Who did you buy it from?

I’m up in Manitoba, Canada (lucky enough to fish Lake Winnipeg with just an hours drive). I bought it from an online retailer just one province over. They don’t know of the issue yet. There was a big orange piece of paper in the box that said to contact Otter and not the retailer if any issues arrive. I agree with this in this case as this isn’t the retailers error.

crappie55369 wrote:

I have an older model one. Ill go out and measure in a bit. As far as what to do with it you may want to consider just selling it private party to get your money back. I’m sure you wouldn’t have much trouble selling it and you can advertise that its already assembled which is a bonus for the person buying it.

I have worked with otter customer service and they were fantastic! My seat didn’t fit well on the crossbar. The first year of ownership i just dealt with it. After owning and using the shack for over a year I called and they explained that sometimes the molds will be off slightly. I don’t live all that far from them so I made the drive out and they replaced it with a much better fitting seat for free and even gave me a tour of the facility and some swag for free. Couldn’t have been a better experience. Sorry you are having issues with them

Thank you so much. As for selling it, people will want an “open box” deal. I’m sure I’d take hit. I paid retail plus a freight charge.

Probably helped a lot that you were able to deal with someone face to face. People tend to be a bit more reasonable when you’re right in front of them. I still have some hope that Otter will come to the plate on this issue. I’m not going to write off the whole organization based on one bad customer service rep with poor people skills. Will see what happens with the next exchange of emails or phone call.

Otter customer service

I actually wrote up a review on this some years back. Here it is. Sometimes the links don’t always work so just search for otter customer service. The ladies name i spoke to was Linda. She was exceptional to deal with. Maybe ask for Linda?

wpgdave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>dandorn wrote:</div>
Who did you buy it from?

I’m up in Manitoba, Canada (lucky enough to fish Lake Winnipeg with just an hours drive). I bought it from an online retailer just one province over. They don’t know of the issue yet. There was a big orange piece of paper in the box that said to contact Otter and not the retailer if any issues arrive. I agree with this in this case as this isn’t the retailers error.

See if you have any purchase protection on your credit card if you used one. Or PayPal.
You did your homework, “I bought this tent brand new last week, based on the collapsed dimensions of 54″L x 32″W x 18″H”, and didn’t get what was advertised.
You shouldn’t have to take a hit because of Otter’s print mistake.
Can’t believe they aren’t being more helpful.
Although not really their fault I would think that the retailer might want to help you out on this.

dandorn wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>wpgdave wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>dandorn wrote:</div>
Who did you buy it from?

I’m up in Manitoba, Canada (lucky enough to fish Lake Winnipeg with just an hours drive). I bought it from an online retailer just one province over. They don’t know of the issue yet. There was a big orange piece of paper in the box that said to contact Otter and not the retailer if any issues arrive. I agree with this in this case as this isn’t the retailers error.

See if you have any purchase protection on your credit card if you used one. Or PayPal.
You did your homework, “I bought this tent brand new last week, based on the collapsed dimensions of 54″L x 32″W x 18″H”, and didn’t get what was advertised.
You shouldn’t have to take a hit because of Otter’s print mistake.
Can’t believe they aren’t being more helpful.
Although not really their fault I would think that the retailer might want to help you out on this.

Yes, good advice. I thought about talking to my credit card company and may do it as a last resort. But this will likely impact the retailer more so than Otter which I don’t want to do.

I’ll give Otter a few more days before I escalate this on my end. Trust me, I’m in disbelief too…I heard such great things about this company and their service.

My XT Cottage with the bench seat is about 21.5″ and my Pro Cottage with bucket seat is approximately 20″. If tarp is tucked underneath the tubing, it will make it taller.

Geerdes wrote:

My XT Cottage with the bench seat is about 21.5″ and my Pro Cottage with bucket seat is approximately 20″. If tarp is tucked underneath the tubing, it will make it taller.

Thank you very much. You’ve confirmed that the Pro is about 20″ in height collapsed for me.

In my measurement above, the tent material isn’t affecting the height. You can see the inside elbow of the last frame member is making contact with the white foot of the next frame member (which is the XOver member). There’s no more rotation or downward motion to reduce the height. That is the minimum collapsed height as far as I’m concerned and what Otter should correct its published specs to.

What I need to find out now is if Otter has a shallower sled I can transfer my tent to. At this point, I’d be willing to buy it (even though I shouldn’t have to).

Happy Holidays everyone. Thank you for helping the new member out.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way…

I don’t agree with this solution and I still think Otter is in the wrong but of all the options I have, I’ll take it.

Managed to fit this thing in my truck with tonneau closed by unbolting the last frame assembly for transport. The highest point is now the metal pivot bracket and the stacked frame members plus tent fabric at the long edge of the sled. Both these point land at a hair over 18″. So when I get to the ice, I just pop the frame member back on the threaded stud and when I’m ready to load it in the truck, I pop it off. I will probably see how it does with out a nut on it at all. If it comes off, I will try to find a pozi lock wing nut.

Posting this in case anyone else runs into this unfortunate problem. Thank you all for your feedback and help.

Final thoughts – Otter customer service was unfair, unreasonable, and unwilling to help (in this instance anyway). Worst of all, unwilling to admit to an error in their published specifications. Even though their products are great, this will be the last one I buy due to this experience. Can’t stand people or organizations who don’t admit to and own up to their mistakes.

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Bummer man.. I’d also take a pic or screenshot of the website with the wrong dimensions with a date and time. Could be useful to your credit card company (if you go that route) and they end up changing their website specs.

Jake wrote:

Bummer man.. I’d also take a pic or screenshot of the website with the wrong dimensions with a date and time. Could be useful to your credit card company (if you go that route) and they end up changing their website specs.

My first email to Otter to tell them of the issue has this very screen shot! I hope someone from Otter who actually cares about their customers and their reputation reads this discussion at some point.

Hopefully, they track down the customer service rep I dealt with and send them to some better training (on how to deal with customers and how to use a tape measure).