Pick my Tent

[Sarahknavy]

We will be living on Whidbey Island... so camping around Seattle year round.

Driving to camp site. Would consider a truck tent if that is the best option. (Ford Explorer Sport Trac)

2 adults and 1 infant in the party (plus 2 dogs who can't be trusted to roam around unleashed). Plan on inviting groups to go also.

We would like to spend <250 on tent and tarp style rain fly combined.

I have no experience.

[surmisez]

Re: Pick my Tent

I prefer a tent with upright walls as that is what I grew up camping in -- I cannot even picture my mother crawling into a tent on her hands and knees! :eek: Heaven forbid!

When I was a kid, my mother was camping with two babies (an infant and one that had barely started walking) plus 5 other kids. Having a tent that you can walk into carrying children, to stand up in to help them dress and brush their hair, and whatever else us kids needed was pretty essential to her.

While my husband and I are not camping with children, we prefer to walk upright into and out of the tent, to be able to stand up to get dressed, and walk upright while we are inside the tent.

We also like to have room for a full-sized, raised airbed, and our gear, without having to trip over stuff. So we have a tent that sleeps 8 and is 10' x 12' (or thereabouts).

We also wanted a tent that was super easy to set up, as we were new to camping as adults. I hadn't been camping in over 20 years, and my husband had never been camping without the army.

You will need to pick a style of tent according to your needs, preferences, and comfort level.

[imskipinout]

Re: Pick my Tent

I would like to day that you can go camping in about any car/truck that you will as long as you can fit all the gear in. That being said I am a big fan of a tent that you can stand up in when I go car camping and I use Eureka tents for this -- I have 5 Eureka tents ( I have three kids who have there own 6 person tent ) In the area that you live and want to camp in I would suggest the Eureka Equinox 6 as it is a great all weather tent and a full coverage rain fly with windows and top vents that you can close from the inside of the tent -- Most tents will not allow you to close off the top vents like my sunrise 11 by Eureka when the wind starts to really get bad in the rain the ( spindrift ) a term usually used for snow getting inside of the tent from blowing snow -- everything gets wet inside of the tent -- Not good -- So I would find a tent that you can close off the vents and windows for rain & warmth

[hiker11]

Re: Pick my Tent

I have occasionally used a truck tent when it is just my husband and I going on a short trip. Truck tents definitely help skip the hassle of putting up a traditional tent which is nice. You can also find them for much cheaper as well. This is what I have -->http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/c....aspx?a=614014. It comes with an optional rainfly.

[tplife]

Re: Pick my Tent

Unless my info is wrong your bed length is 49.6", so a truck tent is out of the question unless you're all "little people"! And having to break camp every time you take your truck back out is going to become an annoyance, and you may not be able to get right up to a level campsite with your vehicle. Since you seem to need a 6-man tent and your budget is too low for quality (unless you have months to shop and time to buy at auction) you are better off with a standard Eureka Tetragon series tent. It is more watertight than the Sunrise. If you really need watertight tents, prepare to open your wallet for a minimum of 4 poles and full-length vestibules. Look at what CampMore offeres in your price range and then cross-check Ebay, Resellerratings, and Amazon.com.

[immortal_ben]

Re: Pick my Tent

Also, if you are going to bring the dogs in the tent, don't forget about laying down a protective barrier inside, to protect the tent floor from doggie nails.