Ygerna Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Every year I try and convince DH for us to get a tent/trailer tent. Every year he says he'll think about it, and we get blown away by the options. Do you have a tent, or trailer tent? Do you like it? What could be better? What should we look for? We are a family of 5, our three children are 7, 4 and 2.5 in age. Come on, share your opinions. PLEASE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarrisonFamily Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 I love camping, past 2 years I have spent 3 weeks in Cornwall with 2 children under 5 and its great, all i would recommend is a smallish site with good toilet facilities....Not sure where you live but I am also just about to give away my old 10 man tent..I live in Rochester, Kent. As to what tent you want one you can stand up in at least 6 berth......now is agood time to buy as they are selling off old models, go to a big tent shop to have a look a them up..... Hope that helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Oooh you will wish you had never asked! I have a trailer tent - hard to put up but once up very spacious and well equipped for a longer holiday; a canvas pyramid - quicker to put up but smaller so need to cook/eat outside under a tarp or by a bonfire, perfect for shorter stays and a small canvas frame tent - easy to put up as it is tiny and just about fits 4 of us to sleep in it. Also has a tiny kitchen area so ideal for very short stays or cold weather camping. I was converted to canvas after getting the trailer tent - not rustly or flappy, cooler in the heat and warmer in winter; less condensation than a poly tent; more robust when dogs and kids about; smells wonderful! The downsides are heavier and more bulky to transport and harder to dry if you have to pack up wet. The canvas tents are also a bit more quirky, especially if you go for the bell tents (hows about a woodburning stove in your tent!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossco Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 me my wife and daughter love camping our tents a 7 man tent and i agree with the last message make sure you have all facillities we also have tv and all that stuff makes wet days more bearable also get good beds we also have heaters good luck ps ours has a living room/dinning room and carpet and thats no lie . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 You need to look at what his concerns are - is it boredom, or comfort? Comfort need not be a problem - as said above, comfortable beds, heating (if you get electric hookup) make if very snug! My tents are filled with blankets and rugs. The trailer tent even has running water and it's own loo Camping has also enabled us to have far more holidays than we would normally - last year we had 10 holidays, varying in length from 2 nights to 7 nights. The children love it - we have had forest and beach holidays, even camped near to theme parks to take advantage of tickets we were given. Our favourite site is ten miles from home, we go with friends and sit round a camp fire gassing and watching the stars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&T Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I love camping! My couple of thoughts. Go to a tent shop, and see the tents up before you buy. Buying off the internet is great - but you won't get a feel for what it would actually be like to stay in. If there are 5 of you, do not buy a 5 man tent - you will want a minimum of 8 berth. This will give you room for storage of clothes and other camping parafanelia. Having said that, maybe think whether your eldest would enjoy a small pup tent, to give some independance? That would give you more room in the main tent too. Do you want a tent you can all sit in of an evening and play card/board games etc? In which case, make sure there is enough room in the tent for that - many don't have that much living space. Camping parafenelia - there are loads of optional extra's you can buy. It's daft how much! At least at the start, stick to the basics of what you have to have and can't go without - a small gas cooker, table, chairs, utensils, cool box, sleeping bags, airbeds/camp beds, light. You don't NEED much more - although there are some GREAT gadgets Cheap tents can be great - but you do get what you pay for in many cases. I would go for the most expensive one you can afford, as will last a lot longer, likely to be more weather resistant, and be warmer. But go and see them, and you will get a feel for that yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Ygerna, one thing I've learned is that Omleteers are keen campers! There are a few threads on this topic - look here and here, and also here - and this thread is all about trailer tents. I hope you've got several hours to spare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTree Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 We've got a Cabanon frame tent which is proper canvas, we've had it about 9 years now. It's a 4 berth, 2 bedrooms with living space in the middle. We love camping & so do the boys, we've been all over including Spain twice & Holland. We're pretty basic, no electric or heating, just plenty of warm clothing & blankets. We're with the Camping & Caravanning Club and usually stay on Club Sites which have full facilities. There's lots of bargains to be had on eBay, I've seen some people offering the tent and lots of accessories like cooker & air beds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feleena4 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Hi We had a brilliant tent which I sold last year on ebay (reluctantly) because we had bought a touring caravan. The tent was a Vango 9 berth. It was the dome type with 3 bedroom pods and had plenty of room. The only draw back was that large pitches for huge tents (like ours) are usually limited on camp sites and we did struggle sometimes to find a site that could accomodate us! Make sure any tent has a built in ground sheet as it can be draughty. We had a double flock air bed and we always took our kingsize quilt as well as sleeping bags and were warm as toast! We purchased our tent from an' open day' tent sale which are usually held locally in the spring and you can buy the ex-display models. They may have had visitors walking through them for a couple of days but you can save a fair amount of money that way. You can't beat sitting under the stars on a warm summers night....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hubby has been trying to get me to go camping for years. My stock answer is that 'I don't do camping'. Well, YS has got quite heavily interested in kayaking and at a weekend event last weekend, talking to some of the other members we were informed that they go all over the country and camp Not quiet sure how I'm going to get out of it now. OH looked mightily pleased. So not sure if we'll end up with a tent or I quite like somebody's idea that they bought a little camper van (seen some lovely VW ones). I suppose he's got me on the motorbike so the tent is probably the next step Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
