Tent camping with cots!

[svan1957]

Need a little help finding a tent that my wife and I can use cots in. I'm disabled with two bone diseases, (AS and DISH) and have to sleep on a cot, no longer able to ground sleep. Its just the wife and myself most of the time but need extra room for grand child and storage. Can anyone recommend a tent that has enough room for cots with good ventilation and multi season use capabilities? We live in central Texas and it can get quite hot here (looking to add a/c window unit later). I found a nice looking tent by Trek 245C canvas 9x12 but cant find any reviews on it. Has anyone used this tent or know of something similar in style. I like the old fashion canvas straight wall design of the tents we used in our youth, but open to other designs if need be. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone has any suggestions. Thank you and happy camping!

[Dixie Dog]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

svan1957, you scare me,,,with the 1957 thing,,I can relate. Any how one of the folks I deal with out west here made straight wall tents and stuff for the Horse people who like to use cots and tables and stuff. I am betting out of business, but I will keep looking.
I have got to see if they still are in business,, 2 people I know bought these and haul them on horses, cowboy re-enactment guys?????
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/produ...roof?a=1584474

I have not seen it up close but I can vouch for SG quality. As far as like AC ports you may need to find a Boat Cover shop or other heavy tarp sewing place to help.

[yogiyoda]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

If you like canvas tents, you might want to checkout Springbar and Kodiak tents too. They make some with designs that are easier to setup than traditional canvas tents. You can do a google search to get more info on these tents. Both brands will allow for cots etc. They aren't good for snow though as it will collect on the roofs and could collapse.

[howl]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

That is crazy cheap for a wall tent.

[terasec]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

That is crazy cheap for a wall tent.

thats about the low end of going prices for wall tents,
dont forget the fine print
Please Note: 10 x 12' floor is sold separately. Frame is also sold separately -

[tplife]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

Canvas is grand, but if you want to ditch the extra maintenance and weight, modern top-tier Polyester/nylon tents currently offer superior ventilation (condensation-proof), and very little molding possibilities, strong floors for cot legs (use an inner tarp, tennis ball feet or a floor blanket for longevity). When the day comes that a cot is my best option, you can believe that in a (Sierra Designs, NorthFace, Marmot, Mountain HardWear, EMS, REI, or Big Agnes) 4 or 6-man tent, Marmot down bags will have the extra loft to keep us warm, over a low-rise cot,
even when "up off the ground", lol!

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

It's funny, I hear about all this extra maintence with canvas, and I don't do any of it. I just make sure it's dry and put it away, as you would with any tent. Been fine for over 5 years now. Seems the only bad things about the Kodiak, that you hear of, is from misuse.

[howl]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

Canvas would not be my choice for hot humid weather, either. If a person has a wall tent budget, something like a Cabela's Alaknak seems a good choice instead. That, and camping at high elevation in summer would probably be the simplest arrangement.

[yogiyoda]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

I agree about canvas not being the best choice for hot, humid/rainy weather.

[dukesangel]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

I've had my Kodiak canvas in 90F + temps and it has not been anything crazy or any worse than sleeping in a regular nylon tent. The side vents make it easy to let air in all day even with the doors zipped up while we are gone hiking or what not. It's easy to set up and one person can do it. And their customer service has been amazing. I would recommend Kodiak all day long.

[monzter]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

I agree about canvas not being the best choice for hot, humid/rainy weather.

Looking at canvas tents now (Kodiak/Springbar) and will mostly camp in Florida (from the Keys to North Florida), what makes you say that about the humid/rainy weather? From what i've read they are supposed to "breath" better than their Nylon counterparts. thx

[Sparky]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

svan1957, I picked up a Cam-O-Bunk XL. It is a bunk bed design and saves lots of space in the tent; it also forms into a couch. I have only used it 3 times so far but love.

[Cog1]

Re: Tent camping with cots!

Does your disability impair your ability to lift heavy things, position yourself awkwardly? I think a canvas tent sounds like a lot of extra work and the recommendation of another poster to use a synthetic-based tent with thick floor and extra cot-foot protection sounds like the best idea to me.

What kind of cot are you looking at? Do you own one already?

I'm a big guy and have the cabela's outfitter cot... it's the size of a Twin XL bed. My girlfriend and I can fit on it together but more comfortable for 1 person. I have the 3" foam pad and nightstand attachment (it's just a cordura thing that slips on the side of the cot, it has different pouches/pockets and a cup holder plus a gun sleeve on the back side) and this thing is seriously about as good as a bed. The other thing I like is that this cot is raised off of the ground by maybe 24" so it is very easy to slide stuff underneath it for storage. The problem is the whole setup is maybe 50 lbs for cot and pad and HUGE, I can barely fit both the cot and pad into my trunk.

If I had to do it again I'd probably buy a regular size cot, pad, and still go with the nightstand ... but I also wanted it as a guest bed in my house, which is probably hard to beat with a smaller cot.