Tents v. Pop-Ups

[Shortpants]

Re: Tents v. Pop-Ups

LOL! Yup, you got it, a "clown tent" for sure! Hubby would lay diagonal in the tent, myself and DD curled up in one corner, and the dog in the other... Comfy! Haha! God forbid anyone had to use the restroom in the middle of the night... The WHOLE tent was woken up. The first time we put up our new 12'x16' tent we felt like we could have a flag football game in there!

[actad]

Re: Tents v. Pop-Ups

If it is the two of us, we take our 14ft. travel trailer. I felt it was a better alternative to a pop up and not much bigger of a footprint. I put a permanent mattress on the dinette fold down bed, it has heat and air if needed, a refrigerator, stove, sink, loveseat/storage seat, and bathroom all in a small 8ft x14ft space.

It takes us 30 minutes or less to set up or tear down. I don't think either of us want to haul it and set it up by ourselves, but with two people, it is not bad. Since DH has health issues, it is the only way we can camp together. A regular bed is easier for him to use than a cot, so while some may not consider it camping, it works for us

It is nice to have a hard-sided tent that is pretty much self contained - just need to drop it, crank down the stabilizer jacks, fire up the hot water heater if used, haul out the camp chairs, and we are done. The highway rest area near our house has potable water and a dump station, so we can more easily use those than dump stations at most campgrounds, or if we disperse camp. But a lot of times we don't bother with the black and gray tanks on two day trips and just use the campground shower/bathroom if they are a known quality. (Most state parks have pretty good facilities.)

That being said, if it is just me, I like my 4 person instant tent, cot, camp chair, thermos, and cooler. My newest gadget is an electric kettle and I prefer it over building a fire to make tea. I mostly car camp in one place in Maryland and the public bathroom has outlets by the sinks. The stink bugs were pretty bad there last year, so I am thinking of adding the Kamp-Rite Insect Protection System for inside on the cot. I think it will keep me warmer when the temperature drops, as well.

[kc8pny]

Re: Tents v. Pop-Ups

We have always had campers. I enjoyed my campers and really enjoyed our 5th wheel we had!! However it was not camping, it had all the luxuries of home and we found ourselves just hanging out in the camper. We then made a decision to sell it and go back to the pop-up, we recently sold it as well, since my wife and I both work in emergency services we are unable to camp like we used too. So we bought a tent and decided to go tent camping over July 4th. We had no electricity and it was the best time we had ever had while camping!! We are planning another trip over Labor Day Weekend. We just had the opportunity to purchase another camper in which we turned it down. I think we will tent camp for many more years.

[Dust Devil]

Re: Tents v. Pop-Ups

I grew up in a family with travel trailers on one side and canvas tents on the other. Enjoyed both as a kid. Spent many years in the military and wanting my kids to have the camping experience, got tents as they were the only thing practical when you move every two-three years, much of that overseas. Have played with the idea of getting a popup for years, but have never quite pulled the trigger. Even set up my minivan for towing and recently bought a small SUV with the tow package. Even so, all of the disadvantages of a popup, already mentioned by MacGyver, have outweighed buying one. Being able to set up in about 10 minutes, tear down in 15, and store it in a closet until the next time seems to win every time. My next project will be to turn the minivan into a transformable camper by building a bed in the back and adding a hatch tent to extend it, as I am finding that any campsite with electricity, which is now almost a necessity for all those electronic gadgets, plus lights, heaters, fans, etc., is set up mainly for RVs with very little space to pitch a tent. Why CGs haven't catered to their tent only customers by installing electricity in at least some of their sites is beyond me, since most of them are offering WiFi these days. I'm not really regarding it as a necessity, but for cool weather camping it would be nice to be able to set up away from the RVs and still be able to run a ceramic heater, plus recharge the cell phones.

[toedtoes]

Re: Tents v. Pop-Ups

As a kid, we did tent camping, trailer camping and truck camper camping. As an adult, I started doing some tent camping, but I really hated the prep time required. I just got back from a weekend camping trip and realized why I really like my clipper:

1. It is just big enough to hold everything in a "proper" place - so I don't have to move X to get to Y, or tear down the dinette to go to sleep, etc. It is big enough that in a rain, two friends, two large dogs and a bird can all sit and relax and eat, but is only 20.5 ft long and easy to get most places.

2. I don't have to find room in my small house to store a bunch of camping gear. Everything is stored right in the clipper and I don't have to think about it. Other than perishable foods, the clipper is stocked and ready to go.

3. I love having hot water by turning the tap. I REALLY love having a comfortable bed. I REALLY REALLY love having a bathroom no matter where I am.

4. I love the turnkey lifestyle - just hop in and go, park and be set up. No having to set up camp before I can crash.

5. I like to enjoy being in the outdoors, but I don't want to have to work at it. I never did think that backpacking was fun.