Tent Thoughts

[SoundGuy]

I'm posting this here in the General RVing forum rather than the tenting forum because I'd like some input from other RVrs on using a tent for additional sleeping space. For several years we owned a triple bunk bed travel trailer but once our boys reached adulthood they were both too busy, not interested much in camping with us any longer so a couple of years ago we moved on to a shorter, lighter couple's trailer which suits the needs of my wife and I along with our 80 lb dog just fine ... we're quite happy with it. :B Recently though our 19 yr old has expressed a renewed interest in camping with his parental units so on the couple of times we've done this he's used the sofa for sleeping and although he seemed to be comfortable enough privacy was non existent and his personal belongings really cluttered up the camper! Since he's in university about the only time we see this happening is during the warm summer months so we're now thinking perhaps a tent may be the solution, though because use would be infrequent I'd want to limit the cost to perhaps $150. Obviously there are an endless variety of lightweight one and two person tents that would do the trick but they all require some sort of annoying setup ... recently though I became aware of the Coleman Instant Tent 4 which is currently on sale locally at Canadian Tire for ~ $142 + tax. The main attraction is that set up and tear down each take about a minute as the poles are all pre-installed ... the downside is it doesn't come standard with a fly and although one can be purchased after the fact any reports I've read said it's not fully effective anyway. I think I could solve that easily with a tarp and although this tent is certainly much heavier & larger than a back pack tent I can easily store it out of sight, out of mind in the trailer yet have it available anytime we may have an occasional need for additional sleeping space. As one who hasn't tent camped in decades my question therefore is - does this tent seems like the solution I'm looking for or should I be sticking to a more traditional style of tent from brands such as Eureka!, Marmot, Mountain Hardware, etc, that are sold by camping specialty stores? :h

[SoundGuy]

SoundGuy wrote:
Thinking I maybe should have gone with the larger 3-person version I asked my 19 yr old son who will be using it if he thought this would be too tight for two people ... his answer was "Not for me and a girl!". Geesh, I walked right into that one! :S

NYCgrrl wrote:
Why, yes you did!:D. Glad you found the one that will work in your lives but but I'd be remiss in not saying you want to do your acid test WITH his (and possibly her) gear in place.

No gear in the tent as we have plenty of room for it in the trailer ... just a mattress pad, sleeping bag, and pillow which will come out during the day so I can pick the tent up ensemble and simply move it out from under the awning and use that area as we normally do during the day for chillin'. I usually put all our chairs away for the night anyway so I can just plop the tent back under the awning ... but maybe I'll do a Camp Driveway test just to make sure I haven't overlooked anything here. 😉

[4x4van]

As my kids got older ("quasi-adults") and started bringing friends and/or significant others, we outgrew the ability to sleep all in the RV. So we picked up a fairly large tent from Kmart for $150. It sleeps 8, and while it isn't an instant pop up design, it only takes about 20 minutes to set up and take down. It is a cheap lightweight tent, not something I would purchase for dedicated "tent camping", but for use as an additional bedroom and changing room (it is tall enough to stand in), it's ideal. And even though it is not heavy duty, is has survived a couple of rainy nights without issues.

[wa8yxm]

A tent for sleeping need not be "Tall" I used to sleep in one shorter than I am back when I first... Well it's where I spent my Honeymoon.. Height was not an issue :). Rain resistance was.. When we first set it up we quickly found a few pin holes.. Found that SEAL ALL (tm) works on wet canvas real good. Though we still had Niagara Falls. (The name of the KOA we were camping in) they were OUTSIDE the Tent. (Hey, I'm a traditionalist).

Only concern: SOME RV parks get kind of .. anal.. where tents are concerned,, Others no problem.

[NYCgrrl]

SoundGuy wrote:
Thinking I maybe should have gone with the larger 3-person version I asked my 19 yr old son who will be using it if he thought this would be too tight for two people ... his answer was "Not for me and a girl!". Geesh, I walked right into that one! :S

Why, yes you did!:D. Glad you found the one that will work in your lives but but I'd be remiss in not saying you want to do your acid test WITH his (and possibly her) gear in place. Might get cozier in there than expected in a 2 man which is really a 1 person tent not matter what the manufacturers say. I camp with a 12 person tent and the most I've ever slept in it was 5 people and 2 of them were in bunk bed cots. I enjoy walking space ;).

[NYCgrrl]

2lazy4U wrote:
I love my Paha Que Green Mountain tent and their customer service is great. It'll run you about $250 on Amazon. Worth every penny. Easy to set up and can stand in it, tons of room. I set it up even when trailering for a reading room when the weather's bad. Have also camped in it a lot when I don't feel like pulling a trailer.

Another vote for Paha Que; amazing products and customer service. I own one of their screen rooms and use it as additional sleeping space for weekend guests/ camp kitchen and yes as a screen room, LOL.

The PQ features aluminum poles that withstood 20 mph winds during Hurricane Arthur,thoughtful guyline placement and stake points for the floor.
Best mesh I've ever seen on a tent; so fine that even no see-ums can't get in. I've owned my PQ for about 8 years and it's worth every dime I spent on it.

For a more moderate budget I'd take a look at the Eureka Copper Canyon, and for a bit more, Jade lines. The CC uses fiberglass poles which are easy to replace if need be,and the Jade, more durable aluminum and steel poles. Both have smart placement of interior mesh pockets and roof garages (which I somehow have never used in my CC); guyline pockets so those pesky lines don't get tangled, and pretty decent fabric deniers and type. my only major complaint with the CC line is the floor fabric is a bit thin but have gotten around that flaw by using a foldeable plastic rug. I've heard that the floor of the Jade line is more durable and the specs seem to back that up. The Jade also has a low tech system that increases lighting at night called Elumination. Haven't seen it in action but looks worthy of a further checkout.

I've also heard well of the Marmot Limestone, Big Agnes and REI house brand tents on various tenting forums. I'm currently not happy with the durability of Cabela's house brand in a variety of camping products (lanterns, bedding as well as my beloved camp kitchen...sniffle)so will not suggest ANY of their products including tents.

I have to say the instant tents which started with Coleman are easy to put up and don't even need an instruction manual. Earlier this month, one was given to us after a windy deluge destroyed several of my next door neighbor's tents (and others throughout the campground with instant tents, EZ shades and un-guylined traditional tents being most of the victims) and she decided to hit a local camp store and buy 2 new tents that used the regular put it together yourself pole frame. She thought the instant tent would make a fine play tent for the kiddos and she was right; stored our bikes within it during the 21 day stay and took it home with the same use in mind for the future. Hey, free is well free:D. I will say after a few years of seeing them in action I wouldn't buy any instant tent due to problems during higher than normal winds; the inability to repair the frames and the need to buy a separate rain fly for most manufacturers' offerings. The last reason seems like a bit of a marketing cheat to make the tent seem less expensive from my POV. Still you have to look to your own life to decide if the shorter lifespan of the instant tents outweighs the ease of set up.

HTH!

[SoundGuy]

An UPDATE for anyone who may be considering a similar solution for creating occasional extra sleeping space ...

2112 wrote:
The point of my post was we bought two $20 tents >15 years ago and they are still like new after being well used for several years. A $150 tent may not be necessary.

Perhaps not "necessary", except to say that a $20 tent 15 yrs ago costs a LOT more than just $20 these days, my $150 is Cdn which at the current (lousy) exchange rate is considerably less in US$, and anything I looked at in big box stores selling for much less I could easily determine even with my amateur eye were nothing but junk. I also took a look at the used market and found nothing suitable currently available anywhere in my area. We have a 5 day trip coming up soon that will tell the tale ... if this tent / mattress pad combination proves hassle free and serves the purpose we intend then this will have been a good choice for us. :B

[2112]

An UPDATE for anyone who may be considering a similar solution for creating occasional extra sleeping space ...

WOW
The point of my post was we bought two $20 tents >15 years ago and they are still like new after being well used for several years. A $150 tent may not be necessary.

[SoundGuy]

An UPDATE for anyone who may be considering a similar solution for creating occasional extra sleeping space ...

We decided to go with a small 2-person backpacking style of tent as this will be used for sleeping only and tent height or a spacious interior aren't a concern. I really liked the better quality tents by Big Agens, MSR, etc, but considering the limited use this tent will see couldn't justify the cost so I instead went with a moderately priced $140 Yanes Sentinel tent with all screening on the two long sides with fabric end walls, an entry/exit "door" on each sidewall, and a full coverage fly. It took perhaps 15 minutes to initially put it up on the deck yesterday but now that we know how it goes together I'm sure it can be done in about 5 minutes as there's really not much to it - tent, fly, two long poles, and one short pole for the fly. Anytime we choose to park it somewhere on our campsite I have a perfectly sized heavy duty 6' x 8' tarp on which it can sit, if we park it under the trailer awning it'll just sit on the under awning ground mat. It's 50" wide so it would if necessary accommodate two 25" self inflating mattress pads which pretty well occupy the entire tent. Thinking I maybe should have gone with the larger 3-person version I asked my 19 yr old son who will be using it if he thought this would be too tight for two people ... his answer was "Not for me and a girl!". Geesh, I walked right into that one! :S

Since we're not using this for backpacking size and weight aren't an issue so we chose a larger self inflating mattress pad measuring 76" x 25" x 3" - one for now but we can always add a second later if needed. The tent, mattress pad, and tarp roll up into quite small packages which as it turns out store easily in an ottoman we have sitting at the foot end of the bed in the trailer - out of sight, out of mind, but instantly available anytime we may want to create extra sleeping space without cluttering up the interior of our rather compact couple's trailer. Our next trip out will be the acid test but I expect this solution will work exactly as planned. :B

Thanks to all who contributed to this discussion! 🙂

[samhain7]

One more suggestion for sleeping mattresses SoundGuy. But again, a little more expensive one.
Look into a ThermaRest. They pack small, lightweight and self inflating.

[manualman]

To your points, effective car camping tents have one critical characteristic:

A good rain fly. Tents without one WILL leave you wet, either via leaking or by trapping condensation. The fly enables the main tent to have lots of venting screen. And a tiny "beanie" on top of the tent doesn't count. A good fly runs most of the way down the side wall or at least protrudes enough to keep rain off that side wall. I've never had a bad Kelty or Eureka, for what it's worth.

If the sleep pad will ONLY be used car camping, get a nice thick one. The 1" backpacker models are about weight limitation, not comfort. Buy him the 2" luxury one.

[SoundGuy]

Wow! While I appreciate the good intentions of all who have taken the time to respond to my query this thread sure has wandered way off course! As I had attempted to clarify in my original post this has nothing to do with accommodating a gaggle of my son's friends, or getting him "back into camping", or teaching responsibility, or tent camping in severe weather, or comparing tent camping to RVing, or even the joys of tent camping itself, but simply an alternative place for him to sleep other than on the sofa in our couple's trailer on those very few times a year he might decide to tag along on one of our camping trips. I'd just like to have a simple, quick to set up tent and some sort of sleeping pad that can be stored out of sight, out of mind in the camper but which can be readily available for the simple convenience of not cluttering up the camper each evening. We've now decided that Coleman Instant 4 tent I mentioned in my original post is more than we need and in discussing the various alternative options including those offered here in this thread we've decided to go with a decent quality 2-man backpack tent such as that Yates model I mentioned earlier and a decent quality self inflating sleeping pad, both of which will take up little room to store in the camper. We already have a set of spare sleeping bags tucked away so all our son would need to remember to bring along is his pillow and he'd be good to go. I'm tempted by the suggestion offered of a proper screen room designed to work with the trailer's existing awning but it's a costly option and I know I'd be too lazy to put it up each time we camp, not to mention whether it's a good idea to leave it (and therefore the power awning) deployed when the weather does turn really nasty. Left up to me I'd erect the tent under the awning where it would be protected from inclement weather and he'd have instant access to the camper bathroom but if he wants to stick it elsewhere on the campsite I'll also tuck away a small ground tarp on which the tent can sit. If the weather gets so nasty I have to retract the awning and the tent starts blowing around he can simply come inside the camper for the night, no harm no foul.

Thanks to all who replied! 🙂

[mlts22]

I am in the same category. Part of what I used to do at a renaissance faire before I bought my TT was to drop a tent into place, which was there for a quarter of the year.

The most exotic I've gotten with tent deploying was to put down a cheap plastic painter's tarp, a real tarp over that, place the tent and rainfly, then anchor a tarp over that. One set of stakes were 18 inches long (made for pet tie-downs.) The reason for this is because the wind can get up to 50-70 miles/hour, and unless a tent is well fastened securely, it would be destroyed. Followed by wind would be rain or ice storms.

I'm quite happy that I just drag my trailer into its spot, level and stabilize it, and call it done. Nothing wrong with tenting it (and it isn't that difficult to get one set up and struck down, provided one is fairly sober), but RV-ing is is nicer.

[Jebby14]

I don't understand peoples trouble with putting up a tent? assembly the polls put them in place clip to them pull the fly over peg it down. done

[davosfam]

tatest wrote:
I think a 19 year old needs the challange of a tent that takes 15-30 minutes to assemble, rather than an instant up. Opinion based on nothing more thanseveral years training men and women in this age group toward self sufficiency and personal responsibility. But if you're going to be setting it up for him, go for the instant up.

Personally, still camping in a 7x7 external frame umbrella tent I bought for $49 in 1972, which would probably be about $500 today if you could still find someone making canvas tents. About 12 minutes to put it up, 15 minutes when my wife helped.

This made me giggle. If you have ever seen two teenage boys putting up a regular tent, you would understand. It's a character builder. :W