Well...we've reached that point

[kodiakcanuck]

I have 2 sons, one is 13, 6'1, 205 lbs, the other is 11 and not far behind, 5'8, 160 lbs (yes they both play football :B ). Getting them into the front coffins..err I mean bunks is getting increasingly difficult. My 13 year old now sleeps on the fold out couch, not that it's much bigger, but at least a little wider. I think I can get another year of convincing my 11 year old in the front bottom bunk. At least the top bunk is used as a handy storage area for laundry etc :C

So just wondering what others have done at this point in their trailer lives. Obviously if money was no option I'd just go trade it for a double-wide bunk model, but I already took a loss when I got rid of our hybrid. Plus we really like our current model, its very open, has all the options we want and I've kept it in perfect shape, we've hardly had any issues with this model.

So do others just stick it out with the fold-out couch and table, or do you get them out in a tent with some friends (I'd just prefer they then don't all try to pile into the trailer when they get flooded out from a storm in the middle of the night). My 13 year old is still interested in family time, so I suspect we will camping together through their teen years, we are a close family. This space issue in the bunks as the kids get older is one you kind of forget about when you are buying...

[Oasisbob]

My boys are tall and we just suck it up. No big deal. Also turns out my boys prefer to take their tent . Only down side is they stay up all night playing X box and arise at the crack of noon.

[coolmom42]

Campfire Time wrote:
Get a nice cabin tent for the kids. Our daughter tented in her teens and early 20s when she camped with us. And several friends that we camped with when our kids were small did this as their kids got older. The kids get some time "on their own" without being far away, and mom and dad get some evening quiet time.

Tenting is also great experience for them, if they still enjoy doing it as teens, more than likely as adults they will start off with tents anyway.

It's a win/win for everyone in the family.

Another plus, the bunks then become extra storage for you!

I agree, and encourage them to bring along some friends.

Get a GOOD tent with full rain fly & bathtub bottom, that won't leak, teach them how to select a location and put it up.

The Cabela's Alaskan Guide & West Wind tents are excellent, and they will NOT leak when correctly set up. Get the 6 person size so they are comfortable. They are pricey, but will be on sale in the fall. That would let you get set up for next year. Definitely cheaper than another RV!

[Jebby14]

a good tent with a FULL rain fly and they will be fine. ive tent camped all my life and have often been dry with those in trailers were having issues. if the forecast is really bad tarp it as well. (ive always had good luck laying down a ground sheet under the tent as well)

[Nvr2loud]

Start bring out the beer for the nightly camp fires... they'll sleep like babies anywhere you choose to shoe-horn them into LOL.

For all the sensitive folks... I am completely kidding!

If you were to purchase a decent tent then storms wouldn't be an issue. Anything under $500.00 cdn is typically NOT a decent tent. The exception to that rule is also MEC tents, do you have a store near you?

[the_bear_II]

My brother and I slept in the back of the pickup with a campershell (cap) on it from the time we were 9 until we stopped travelling with the parents.

My dad had built a bunk for each of us along the sides of the pickup bed. He stored extra stuff and tools in milk crates under the beds. We felt like we had our own bedroom.

[Halmfamily]

Our teens are too big for bunks also. Our new fiver has the rear living room with a sleep sofa and two recliners. They either both sleep in the recliner or one will sleep on the couch. For clothing they each get two drawers in our bedroom dresser and they have the storage in the cabinets above the recliners. We only have another year or two with them (15 & 17) so this trailer will also serve us well as empty nesters.

[fla-gypsy]

Get them nice tents and let them take them with them when they decide family camping is no longer cool. That way they may keep interest and turn camping into a lifelong passion of their own.

[korbe]

Our kids couldn't wait to be old enough to stay in tents. We never looked back.

[donn0128]

By the time they were 13 or so my girls had pup tents they slept in. They did not want to hear mom and dad snoring any longer. So trailer became what we wanted, not what we needed.

[Campfire_Time]

Get a nice cabin tent for the kids. Our daughter tented in her teens and early 20s when she camped with us. And several friends that we camped with when our kids were small did this as their kids got older. The kids get some time "on their own" without being far away, and mom and dad get some evening quiet time.

Tenting is also great experience for them, if they still enjoy doing it as teens, more than likely as adults they will start off with tents anyway.

It's a win/win for everyone in the family.

Another plus, the bunks then become extra storage for you!

[Fastfwd75]

Maybe put a cap on the truck and use this instead of a tent?