Advice on extended tent camping trip

19 years ago

First let me say this is just an idea I am intertaining. I am retired, and ought to also add I am not a novice camper, but most of the camping I have done in recent years was of the backpack/backcountry variety. But I am thinking about taking a car trip across the country and staying in a good tent rather than in a motel at night. I imagine State Parks or National Parks would be the target for the overnights. There would be two of us, my wife and I, and she likes to be as comfortable as possible and I don't mind spending the money to make that happen, if it is possible. So I am thinking of gear; tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, chairs, cooking gear, etc, Maybe a small tow behind trailer to keep the gear in. Some of the gear I have would suit but I know most of it is light weight stuff and might not be best for what I have in mind, Anybody do this? Is this a crazy idea or what? Any equipment ideas or thoughts on the best way to do this?

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Comments (3)

Campin_Fool
19 years ago
Great Idea!! The questions you posed are real close to what my wife and I are doing. We are retired/semi retired and spend 3+ months tent camping last year. We couldn't bring yourselves to buy a motorhome with all the related expenses so some great camping gear was and easy choice when you compare costs. To have all the comforts of home does require a bit of set up time, so you will probable be staying in one place for a minumin of a week. We normally stay 2 weeks in one spot.
The heart of our camp is a 16X12 wall tent w/internal frame. We had it built with extra windows (11), roof peak vents, stove jack, snap in vinyl floor. We use a woodstove inside when camping at high elevations or late in the year. The 16X12 is comfortable and roomy for 2 people, but will not fit on just any tent pad. We also have any 8ft porch for the tent we use once in a while. It has more square feet of space than a lot of motorhomes.
Sleeping, we use a raised frame fold up bed w/foam mattress. 60x80
Showering, a Zodi 2 burner flash water heater w/shower tent. This unit is plumbed to a portable sink for washing dishes.
All this stuff is transported, stored during the off season in an 8x5 lockable enclosed utility trailer.
These are the high points. Maybe 9-10 grand all up but you don't pay any license fees, insurance, and that tent it gets real good gas mileage.
dalew
19 years ago
We have a member of our fly fishing group that uses an old time canvas wall tent (I think he's just about worn it out ... who knows how old the thing is!) - AND, he tows everything around in a little utility trailer. Really does it with some kind of military efficiency; a place for everything and everything in it's place when he's traveling. Plus he gets on me about my popup tent camper - he says that at least when his utility trailer is not being used for camping that it can be also used for other things, like hauling his yard work bric-a-brac and debris, maybe even hauling a wash machine or refrigerator for somebody - in other words he says his utility trailer "earns it's keep" by using it for many other things besides camping. Says my tent trailer's only purpose in life is camping ... and he has a big point!

My friend uses these large plastic bins to carry a lot of the camping gear (keeps it water tight) in the trailer; and has also made some wooden storage/carrying boxes for things like the axe, tent stakes and poles. Also has made a table with folding legs that just fits the bottom of trailer. When he gets everything loaded aboard, then has a plastic tarp he secures over the load - also uses this same plastic tarp as a canopy over his table & cooking area. Bottom line, he has an efficient system for setting up a most comfortable camp.

Awhile back I told my utility trailer friend that at least I could carry my canoe on top of the closed popup camper for traveling down the road rather than having to carry it on the roof of the tow vehicle and partically obstructing some of the driver's vision, like he had to do with his utility trailer. Darned if when I saw him the last time that he had not made a removeable carrying rack for toting his canoe around that just fit the trailer!

Dale
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For our first tent trip, our kids were 2.5 and 4. I had no idea if they would like it, so we went only for 3 nights to a fairly close camp (about an hour away). We all loved it, and have since camped at the same camp exclusively. Of course, that was only 2 years ago, so we've got some time to find other camps! You didn't mention what kind of vehicle you have other than a car. What kind of car? You may be hard pressed to pack all you need into a car. We have a station wagon with no rooftop carrier, and we barely fit all we needed for just the three nights. We did not take bikes or scooters or firewood or dog . (We had one at the time.) We did shop for the perishable once we got to the camp, so I was able to use the big cooler to pack other stuff. The biggest volume hoggers were the tent, cooler, food container, tool/utensil/misc container, sleeping bags, clothing bags, and dining fly. I tried to condense as much as I could in each of the containers, like packing only as much oatmeal or sugar or Captain Crunch in one Gladware container as we would use for three days. Condense condense condense!!! That was my mantra for the three days it took me to pack!! We packed every cubic inch of that vehicle. Under the seats, under the kid's feets, under my feet in the passenger side, between the kids, between me and my husband; we cozied some smaller items in with the spare tire and in every crevice we could find. It was a project! The next year, we broke down and took two vehicles so we could bring the bikes, and skip the shopping trip (it was SO expensive at that grocery store near the camp...duh!) This year, we have a new F150 truck, so we may be able to pare down to one vehicle again! We'll see! My husband kinda babies that truck and is hesitant to take it into the "wilderness" of the state park! mozy
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Kathy ~ when you talk "cabin tent" I'm reminded of an old timey canvas "wall tent" I had many years ago. Now the thing had a ceiling height of something like 7' and there was plenty of room, but it was a heavy bugger and it practically took 6 men and a boy to set the thing up! It was like a major military operation going anyplace with the thing. I guess my point here is bigger means more weight (even though the newer materials are lighter than the old canvas) and more time to set up and maybe even more tent area for something to go amiss. What I like to do mostly with a tent is to make an overnight canoe/fishing trip down river. My main base camp is now a popup camper (tent trailer) so the tent is secondary. By the way, quite often I will pitch the tent next to the popup for storage, to get camping gear out of sight, like lanterns, fishing equipment, ect.. I'm 5' 11" and like y'all, I like to be able to stand up in the tent. Now I like the size tent I presently have and the previous one, too, which was the exact same size - 9' X 9' with a 6' peak. Pleanty of room for two people and their gear (and I should think for one little person, too). And it's an easy job of setting up and taking down. The present tent is an Eureka "Sunrise 9", I bought it a couple of years ago for $160.00 and they paid the freight - (www.vtarmynavy.com) This is an excellent summer tent in that it has great ventilation - and I've been caught out in some hard rain and it has nary leaked a drop ... that's around the windows or anyplace else. The previous tent, same size, 9' X 9' with a 6' peak, another dome style tent but it did not have the windows the present Eureka Sunrise has. But none-the-less, it was an excellent tent and I had it for a few years - also, some hard rains, but no leaks with that one either. Now I bought this tent from K-Mart - called "Northwest Territory". The tent was on a 30% Labor Day sale, regular $79.95 and I got the thing for less than sixty bucks, tax included. What's important is that tent does not owe me a dime, it was well used when I got through with it (but I also take care of my gear). Since your not going to use a tent all that much, I don't see how buying a K-Mart or Wal-Mart tent will be all that bad. Consider this, I know for a fact if you bought a tent from our local Wal-Mart and it leaked, or anything other was wrong with it, they would take it back and refund your money in a flash! I see our local Wal-Mart has tents on display and if I remember right, they were something like $59.95 for about the size I'm talking about. Bottom line: your not going to be using the tent all that often. AND, when you are using it, you'll be out doing things and the only time you will be in the tent is for dressing and sleeping. I'd vote for the Wal-Mart special. When you and DH begin planning to climb Mt. Everest, we will worry about finding you a tent with all the whisles and bells ... THEN. Good luck, Dale
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jersey_ponder
19 years ago
I'M JEALOUS!!
Enjoy it.

Advice on extended tent camping trip

Comments (3)

Campin_Fool

dalew

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