Tent Camping

[HARDTRAILZ]

Wondered if anyone else was into camping. I still prefer tent camping, but the wife is trying to convert me to a pop-up or TT.

I had a pole failure on the VA wheeling trip and ended up with a snow covered tent on top of me, but stayed warm and dry in my Eddie Bauer Bag. The tent was a Jeep branded one that had served well for 10 years and was used from snowy IN winters to FL everglade backcountry camping way south of Aligator Alley. Will try and fix it, but cant seem to find the right size pole.

I picked up a basic 2 person 3 season Kelty tent this week and looking at a large family tent as well. Will get some pics once I get it out and set up.

What do you use?

 

[jham]

Wondered if anyone else was into camping. I still prefer tent camping, but the wife is trying to convert me to a pop-up or TT.

I had a pole failure on the VA wheeling trip and ended up with a snow covered tent on top of me, but stayed warm and dry in my Eddie Bauer Bag. The tent was a Jeep branded one that had served well for 10 years and was used from snowy IN winters to FL everglade backcountry camping way south of Aligator Alley. Will try and fix it, but cant seem to find the right size pole.

I picked up a basic 2 person 3 season Kelty tent this week and looking at a large family tent as well. Will get some pics once I get it out and set up.

What do you use?

tent camping is the only way to camp IMO I been using a Ozark 10x10 tent for the past couple years but with the kids getting bigger I need to upgrade to a bigger more family size were looking at something like this Cabela's: Kodiak Canvas Cabin Tent with Awning

 

[djthumper]

I have a small 4 person tent that I use when I go out camping with the scouts. I need to replace my family tent that the floor just fell apart in.

 

[tbuckalew14]

I'm more of a cabin person...I like the idea of camping...peeing in the breeze, drinking by the fire...but hate sleeping outside.

 

[RichieT]

I'll be going out this weekend with the scouts. I'm definitely a gear junkie. I use a Sierra Design Lightning for backpacking. I have a 3 man 4 season EMS Tundradome for winter. This weekend I'll use a Wenzel 10x10x6 that I got at Costco for about 50 bucks or so a couple of years ago. Leaked a bit when I got it but after spraying the rainfly and sealing the seams it's been holding up pretty well. I have a 18' 3 room that I use if we go a week or more. I had a couple of others that I donated to the troop. Trying to pare things down a little.

 

[Mark20]

We've gone from tent to pop-up to hybrid travel trailer. Try to get out every month. After dropping my daughter off at college we tried to surprise a friend by tent camping next to him but Hurricane Irene changed those plans.

 

[jimmyjam]

i'm in the market for a small tent thats easy to put up quick and is light for carrying while hiking or biking... cabellas selection looks pretty weak, rei has some nicer stuff

 

[RichieT]

REI, Eureka, and Kelty make reasonably priced decent quality tents suitable for backpacking. My son uses the Eureka apex2 and that is holding up pretty well.

 

[rcam81]

I have a Eureka sunrise 11 that I have had since 1993. The only problem that I have ever had with it is a broken zipper. Campmor has good Eureka prices.

 

[Jkust]

We tented and then had a truck camper my entire upbringing. Towed the boat and went everywhere in MN. I still love boating but I don't like camping any longer. We had a 24 foot Coachmen travel trailer at my folks cabin for a number of years until my mom pissed off the local authorities and they enforced the no second permanent living structure regulation and had to get rid of it. I didn't mind the Coachmen since it had all the comforts of home. There is no way in the world my wife would spend a single minute in a tent these days. Even If I wanted another travel trailer, I couldn't tow my boat at the same time here in MN.

 

[jbones]

I had a pole failure...

Not what you think

Second use of a new tent last year and that cheap thin bungee broke inside of both poles. Darn lucky to have duct tape with me.

 

[Instrumental]

We have a 10x15 Columbia Cougar Flats tent that we've done a lot of camping in. We tend to camp for a week or so at a time, so the larger tent is good for us. We usually tent because we take the boat with us.

The last couple of years we've been borrowing a popup from friends to take longer trips. Went to Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons two summers ago and toured Michigan's Upper Penninsula last summer. Reservations are made for trip to New England, Acadia in particular with the pup again. We're trying to get in some great trips while the kids are at a good age, currently 5th and 6th grade. There won't be too many years left!

 

[sLAsh]

We have a popup for our annual vacation. We also have a tent that I use with the scouts and for when we go on canoe trips. My two kids use a eureka chrysalis whether we are canoe camping or taking the popup.

http://images.owneriq.net/download/images/3/33a96188-6b0d-4123-873f-91302f106831-000001.png
http://www.helsdonoutdoors.com/images/products/chrysalis.png

The chrysalis is a pretty awesome piece of equipment. While it might be considered a bit heavy if you are a light weight backpacker it is perfect for canoe trips and my kids both say it is more comfortable than a bed. Sets up in less than two minutes and no worries about setting up on wet ground in the middle of a downpour.

 

[IslandRunner]

Not what you think

Second use of a new tent last year and that cheap thin bungee broke inside of both poles. Darn lucky to have duct tape with me.

Don't pick on him too much, a lot of "poles" would fail with 4" of snow on them.......
Mine didn't break but was almost pushed to my face, I had to hit the tent during the night to knock off the snow to keep it out of my face.

 

[TollKeeper]

Personally, I do the cabin bit. But of course, I own a cabin burried in the mountains .

But I have XUV Specific tent, havent had a chance to use it yet. But it will get used later this year, unless I dont have the time. Then its to the cabin.

For the cost of a pop up.. You could save the gas money, and go to a hotel.

 

[The_Roadie]

My favorite for stand-up room is this REI Hobitat4. Fantastic net visibility for warm starry nights in the desert.

For high winds when I was alone, a smaller cheaper Coleman dome I could tie to the truck

And now, without kids and mostly without Mrs. Roadie coming along, the RTT, but that's not everybody's solution.

 

[jimmyjam]

i'm going to do some biking in the woods this weekend and we were planning on camping. i thought it would be fun if we trekked into the woods to make camp instead of just hanging out by the cars, so i was trying to figure out how to get the stuff out there. i could either get a big backpack but i figure we need at least 2+ gallons of drinking water since we are going to be biking all day and hauling that 5 miles along with tent, sleeping bag etc is going to be a pain. so i looked into bike trailers but i have a hard time dropping $350 on something i'm only going to use a few times... so i got some aluminum stock and made my own. horizontal movement is handled by two bearings on the bike attachment and vertical movement by nylon bushings in the trailer. connects to the qr skewers and to my suspension point so it can be removed/installed in under a minute. this was my first test run, i'm defiantly going to raise the attachment point on the trailer to eliminate that length of threaded rod, as the bending moment on that is a bit much right now. but all in all it should work pretty well!

hopefully the gators aren't hungry... bringing my 45 just in case

View attachment 19946

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I dig it. Could carry several sleeping bags or lighter stuff even better and spread the water weight throughout the group in backpacks...

 

[jimmyjam]

we may just get a couple of quick mount handlebar baskets and put the water in there, but yes the trailer is really nice for the lighter, bulky stuff like sleeping bags and mattresses

 

[Fire06]

We had a fleetwood hard top trailer and it was great. Did the tent thing for years before the trailer but unfortunatly are back to tenting. The son got in to rowing 4 years ago and we have not had a summer off since. Used to camp every weekend but then got into a week and a bit at the end of summer in between the big St Catherines Henley Regatta and national time trials 2 weeks later. A week and a bit did not justify a camper so it went. So be it since it has become our life running the kids.

 

[RichieT]

I used to do a lot of bike camping about 35 years ago. Our trips were anywhere from fifty to a hundred miles or so. We had racks on the back of our 10 speeds and we just piled on and fastened securely our gear. The gear was a lot bulkier then too but we never had a problem with overloading or load shift. Just never ride with a loaded backpack on your back. The weight will kill your back at the end of the day and the high center of gravity will definitely throw off your balance.

 

[sLAsh]

i'm going to do some biking in the woods this weekend and we were planning on camping. i thought it would be fun if we trekked into the woods to make camp instead of just hanging out by the cars, so i was trying to figure out how to get the stuff out there. i could either get a big backpack but i figure we need at least 2+ gallons of drinking water since we are going to be biking all day and hauling that 5 miles ..

View attachment 5492

If this is something you end up doing a lot of you might want to look into a water filtration system rather than carrying water. We use this system with the Scouts because there is no pumping necessary and it lasts a long time before you have to replace the filter
Platypus® GravityWorks™ Filter

They make a bunch of smaller ones but this is really light and filters a gallon in just a couple minutes. Of course where you are there is still the gator problem to worry about

 

[jimmyjam]

If this is something you end up doing a lot of you might want to look into a water filtration system rather than carrying water. We use this system with the Scouts because there is no pumping necessary and it lasts a long time before you have to replace the filter
Platypus® GravityWorks™ Filter

They make a bunch of smaller ones but this is really light and filters a gallon in just a couple minutes. Of course where you are there is still the gator problem to worry about

i'd feel a little safer doing that up north where you have snow runoff in rocky rivers all clear and beautiful. down here its murkey swamp water i really would rather just carry water with me than risk drinking that
plus as you stated i don't want to be the gazelle at the watering hole. although i've never heard of any issues at this location, i have personally seen around a 12ft gator in the river. i think its a little early and dry for them to be really active right now though (famous last words )

 

[TollKeeper]

although i've never heard of any issues at this location, i have personally seen around a 12ft gator in the river. i think its a little early and dry for them to be really active right now though (famous last words )

Next on FoxNews... Florida man barely escapes as a gator does damage to his SUV!!

[video=youtube_share;q4HCxGzpmZw]http://youtu.be/q4HCxGzpmZw[/video]

 

[Uncle Blazer]

My average size Ozark Trail has served me well for many years. Sleeps two large adults fomfortably, and three large men uncomfortable. Now that my boys are getting a little order, we will be taking them out tenting with us. Needless to say, we are going to need to upgrade. Does anyone have a suggestion for a large (most likely 3 room) tent? I remember the one we had when I was a kid that had the aluminum poles and what seemed like about 100 elbows(and I learned a new curse word for each of them). I'm sure times have changed. Ozark and Eureka are the mainstays. Anyone used a store brand like Gander Mt(Guide Series) or Cabelas tents?

 

[RichieT]

My average size Ozark Trail has served me well for many years. Sleeps two large adults fomfortably, and three large men uncomfortable. Now that my boys are getting a little order, we will be taking them out tenting with us. Needless to say, we are going to need to upgrade. Does anyone have a suggestion for a large (most likely 3 room) tent? I remember the one we had when I was a kid that had the aluminum poles and what seemed like about 100 elbows(and I learned a new curse word for each of them). I'm sure times have changed. Ozark and Eureka are the mainstays. Anyone used a store brand like Gander Mt(Guide Series) or Cabelas tents?

I know a few people that use eurekas and coleman family tents and have very few complaints. I use a three room wenzel if I'm going for a week or so and have no complaints other then it came with one wrong sized pole that they replaced.. I didn't like the cabela tents when I looked at them in store. Not knowing your budget or specific needs, I would suggest going to campmor.com. They have a huge selection of family tents from under $200 to over$800. I found by going to their store that their employees are very helpful and actually know what they're talking about. I'm sure their on line help is good too.

 

[LBB]

I had a pole failure on the VA wheeling trip and ended up with a snow covered tent on top of me, but stayed warm and dry in my Eddie Bauer Bag. The tent was a Jeep branded one

I wouldn't buy a tent that was made by someone that builds cars.

I have a couple of tents, a bigger one when I go with a group and a medium sized one when I am going with one other person or alone.
I might invest in a two people tent when I am alone.

I went camping last December when we had it around 20 degrees at night. Was kind of interesting, but my German Armed Forces sleeping bag kept me kind of warm.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

That car people tent camped from 2 feet of snow to weeks in everglades. Best tent I have owned. A decade of camping and other than a new pole section...no failures.

My bauer bag is plenty warm at 20. Might want to upgrade the german junk.

 

[LordBear]

havnt done any real camping in years... did use the tent a couple years ago..but hurt like hell on my back and getting up off the ground...hate doing it but thinking on getting a pop up.. either that or finger out how to get a extremely light cot that can hold my weight and then need to finger out how to have a continuous source of power with out running a gen.

 

[Uncle Blazer]

Last summer I camped with a bunch of buddies for a bachelor party just outside of Caldron Falls WI near this place Caldron Falls Bar and Grill Crivitz,WI-Hog wrestling capitol of the world! and then we Caldron Falls Bar and Grill Crivitz, WI-Hog wrestling capitol of the world! :wootwoot:

This was the TB's first long distance trip. 400 miles through scenic WIS there, and 400 miles "so hung over i wish i were dead" back. In addition to the "wrestling", there is a lake for fishing, white water rafting, and (since its WIS) a bar every 300 feet (state law).

 

[DocBrown]

We tented for a lot of years, then got a PUP because of my wife's arthritis. Now we have a hybrid TT and frankly I love it. Very little work to set up/take down. I pull in and am sitting in my chair with a Guinness in 20-30 minutes. I've done the back country portaging thing to a campsite and done the family tent thing. I enjoyed it all very much. But I no longer want to work hard when vacationing. I have no need to prove to anyone that I'm a "real" camper. Funny, the only people who ever accuse me of not being a "real" camper because I have a travel trailer are usually people who have never slept in a tent for even a single night.

 

[jimmyjam]

i ended up getting an MSR Hubba 1 person tent. very light. my thermarest mattress is probably the same weight as the tent. I also have an alpine design solitude tent which was 1/4 of the cost of the msr and isn't bad considering. the msr is nice in that it is freestanding, you don't have to stake it, the alpine design relies on the stakes to maintain its structure, which could be a problem in this stupid florida sugar sand

i can't knock anyone for pop up camping, i just hate going to campsites. having to hear someones ac compressor going all night, kids running around yelling, and the packs of racoons that come out at night and get in everything. maybe up north campsites aren't as busy but down here they are pretty much fully booked every weekend

 

[Mark20]

havnt done any real camping in years... did use the tent a couple years ago..but hurt like hell on my back and getting up off the ground...hate doing it but thinking on getting a pop up.. either that or finger out how to get a extremely light cot that can hold my weight and then need to finger out how to have a continuous source of power with out running a gen.

An air mattress works very well, my wife and I graduated to that years ago. You'll be very comfortable in a pop-up or bigger camper.

 

[LordBear]

An air mattress works very well, my wife and I graduated to that years ago. You'll be very comfortable in a pop-up or bigger camper.

i have tried an air matress... its ok..but still way low to the ground... i need something solid .... thats why im looking at tent trailers.... damn disabilites suck azz.. what gets me though is the cost of camping.. unless u know of some place out of the way that is free... only a few bucks difference between a tent and a hotel room in price..lol

 

[kardain]

i have tried an air matress... its ok..but still way low to the ground... i need something solid .... thats why im looking at tent trailers.... damn disabilites suck azz.. what gets me though is the cost of camping.. unless u know of some place out of the way that is free... only a few bucks difference between a tent and a hotel room in price..lol

Have you looked in to one of these?

http://www.cabelas.com/dome-backpacking-tents-cabelas-deluxe-tent-cot-1.shtml

A bit pricey but might suit your needs.... maybe....

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I despise air matresses. Yet to find one that stays fully aired up over night. I much perfer a sleeping pad.

 

[RichieT]

I found that a thermarest self inflating mattress coupled with a foam pad works well for my sometimes temperamental back, especially when backpacking. I picked up a couple of discolored thermarests at campmor for less than half price.

 

[mika]

Always tented it, up to a few years ago got a deal on a tent trailer, it's a small one. It sleeps 4 to 5 people, no fridge or heater all 12 volt hook up for lights and water. Beats hotels where you can't hear the birds, bees and crickets , not to forget the person snorking up a storm in the lot next to you. As for the extra expense in pulling the camper, we bring all our own food and booze and not spend any money driving around to find and eat in returants.

 

[mika]

Wondered if anyone else was into camping. I still prefer tent camping, but the wife is trying to convert me to a pop-up or TT.

I had a pole failure on the VA wheeling trip and ended up with a snow covered tent on top of me, but stayed warm and dry in my Eddie Bauer Bag. The tent was a Jeep branded one that had served well for 10 years and was used from snowy IN winters to FL everglade backcountry camping way south of Aligator Alley. Will try and fix it, but cant seem to find the right size pole.

I picked up a basic 2 person 3 season Kelty tent this week and looking at a large family tent as well. Will get some pics once I get it out and set up.

What do you use?

Did you try a piece of conduit and a pipe flare, I have made a whole tempo frame for my snow blower that way. I ended up making my pipe flare thingy and for the male end of the pole brase a smaller piece of tube in the other one.

 

[04xuv]

Personally, I do the cabin bit. But of course, I own a cabin burried in the mountains .

But I have XUV Specific tent, havent had a chance to use it yet. But it will get used later this year, unless I dont have the time. Then its to the cabin.

For the cost of a pop up.. You could save the gas money, and go to a hotel.

got my xuv tent for christmas. can't wait to try it this summer. plus i just got the stock roof rack, so it'll be easier to take a canoe.