Basic tents

[jimmyjazz 46351]

The family is itching to do a little car camping west of Austin this spring, likely in state parks and other easily accessed sites.  We've had various tents over the years but they all seem to get separated from their stakes, etc.  I need to start over.

I'm looking to find something (a) inexpensive (b) easy to put up and take down and (c) easy to store.  Weather is not an issue -- I doubt we'll go when nighttime lows are below 50 F or it's expected to rain.

This is for 4 people -- either 2 each in a pair of tents or all in one tent.  My recollection is that whatever the tent claims to accommodate is probably 1 person more than is realistic, but that may not be true across the board.

Brands?  Models?  Other suggestions?  (Like "don't go".)

[South Austin 52662]

Our family has a Coleman that fits up to seven, which gives us nice room for the four of us. For a guy who never pitched his own tent until his thirties [insert joke here], it’s real easy to set up and break down, and it’s held up well for the past decade, even through one particular wicked storm in the middle of the night. 

This is our exact model:

[Surly Bevo 25256]

[TwiceHorn 31646]

The usual "capacity error" is without gear.  Meaning, it's a 3-person tent without gear and 2 with, etc.  In some cases, like backpacking, you may hang your pack outside the tent so the capacity is legit.  For car camping, probably not, so estimate 0.5 person for an individual's gear inside the tent.  Pro tip:  remove shoes outside the tent or in a vestibule, if available.  Cuts down on mud and grass and shit on the interior.

Because weight isnt a concern, you can go big.

Edited February 10, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[Upgrayedd 5822]

We use REI Half Domes for car camping.

[Anton Chigurh 3320]

REI stuff is solid. If you want a palace, this thing is on sale.

https://www.rei.com/product/894016/rei-co-op-kingdom-6-tent-2018

Coleman stuff is usually okay, too.

[Fred Willard 115]

This is surly, so we can tell you how to bivouac on Everest, but for family camping I think they all work about the same. Double the people your going to sleep, so get like a 8-12 person condominium type tent. 

[Updawg 2295]

Check out steep and cheap . Com. Good deals on outdoor stuff

[Updawg 2295]

And you are correct about sizing. A 4 person tent is really 2-3 for your purposes

[ohchaucer 1443]

We have an REI kingdom 6 which has a little "room" partition in it that's nice.  We love it and it's been really durable (esp considering one of our tent mates is an 80 pound chocolate lab).

[zork 629]

Get the kind that have the poles built in, quick release type I believe, and just need to be easily put up and then a few stakes around the edge.  They are about 30% more than the old kind but well worth it after you spend about 15 minutes checking out how to put them up.  They go up, and come down, much quicker than the old kind.

buy a tarp, the gray not blue, that is about 25% bigger than the floor of your new tent.  Situate it such that the extra part is like a front porch of your tent.   Leave a bit of the tarp on the uphill side exposed so you can flap it up in case of rain to allow any impromptu water to run under or around your tent.  Keeps your tent cleaner as well.

 

[castolon 193]

6 hours ago, Upgrayedd said:

We use REI Half Domes for car camping.

Yep. Just get  a half dome of the appropriate size. It will last longer than you want it probably. 

[bigcigar 1165]

Dude. I will kick your ass in tent setta

[jimmyjazz 46351]

Thanks, good information here.  I'll definitely get a tarp.

[Telegraph_it 3360]

Exuma has a fyre sale on tents. 

[The Dude 1247]

Did you hear about the fire at the circus?

 

it was in tents. 

[TwiceHorn 31646]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Thanks, good information here.  I'll definitely get a tarp.

If you wind up at REI, you can get a tailor-made tarp called a "footprint."  They may have em at more big box type stores now, too.  More expensive, but tend to be more "wieldy" than a tarp, because they are only a few inches bigger than the floor of the tent.

[Anton Chigurh 3320]

Footprints should actually be just a little smaller than the tent floor, so that water doesn’t run between the footprint and the tent floor itself.

[52-80 19274]

i would get 2, 3-person tents for the modularity.   if you hike, you can split the carry across people.  if simply if you do a couple's trip.  kids can be in their own tent.  etc.

just buy anything at rei.  they dont carry cheap shit.  they have good service and policies.  they actual display some tents on the shop floor so you can poke around.

or you can even rent tents from them to get a feel for what you like.

 

[zork 629]

7 hours ago, Anton Chigurh said:

Footprints should actually be just a little smaller than the tent floor, so that water doesn’t run between the footprint and the tent floor itself.

trust me, the turd floater rains(big fast rains that cause little soak and lots of runoff) you want the up hill side with a bit of extra tarp flapped up all the way around.  Also, it is intuitive to me now but the front porch part should be on the downhill side as well. 

You want a flat spot to  pitch your tent but still you want to take a look from a ways back from that spot you pick to see if there is any place rain water, from aforementioned turd floater, might come a calling in the middle of the night.  Then situate your tent, and tarp, accordingly.  

We also try to keep our heads on the uphill side if possible.

In the summer, another tarp with a bunch of bungee cords, to nearby trees, can be used as a sun break in the morning or afternoon, we generally pick the afternoon to shield.  This can get a bit weird if the wind picks up but if it is a still hot day the shade is awesome.  Of course if you are your own pack mules bringing in all the extra gear on foot with you and your spouse you can't have all the extra gear or at least pick wisely. 

We used to go with the in-laws about once a quarter.  Finally we bought a used pop-up once it was going to be a July camp-out in Texas.(the AC is nice!)  Typically we buy a Texas State park pass as well even if we don't always get our fill of it due to family busy-ness, etc.   Good times.

Edited February 11, 2019 by zork

[zork 629]

tried to edit but hit new post

Edited February 11, 2019 by zork
tried to edit but hit new post

[El Diablo 4232]

This "footprint" tarp, how do you stake the tent down? 

[Kennythetiger 9490]

If a couple of your kids are a little older and don't want to stay in the "family tent", I would highly recommend one of these.  Very, very simple to set up, and pretty tough.  I echo what everyone else has advised about a tarp.  I would also add that one of these tents fits a twin-sized air mattress, and I would splurge on a few of those for your trip as well.  

Edit- timberline two-person tent.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Kennythetiger

[Anton Chigurh 3320]

This "footprint" tarp, how do you stake the tent down? 

 

The manufacturer will make one specifically for the tent and they will typically use a buckle system or have a grommet that you just stick the tent pole through just like the would corner of the tent body.

 

You can see it here on this MSR Hubba Hubba. This is one of the tents I have, which is a great tent, just small for car camping (it was my old backpacking tent). The poles stick thru grommets at the end on the corners. The tent body has a similar attachment, as does the rain fly. The footprint is the gray attachment on bottom (hard to see), then the tent body, then the rainfly which is actually put on last.

 

[Upgrayedd 5822]

Get the footprint.  Also get decent stakes like MSR Groundhogs.  Take the stakes that came with the tent and toss.

[El Diablo 4232]

Custom footprint I get, folks were talking about using a simple tarp as a ground barrier. It left me confused.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4979]

We have a Coleman Weathermaster 6 person for car camping. It has a screen porch on the front with no floor so you have a spot to stop and take off wet or muddy gear before going into the actual tent and you can also store gear there out of the rain. It also has a hinged door that opens and closes just like a normal door for easy entry and exit. I would go with a cabin style tent for car camping because being able to stand up near the edges instead of just the middle makes a huge difference. The Coleman Weathermaster 6 will usually drop down to $150 or so a few times a year on Amazon if you track it on Camel Camel Camel.

[TXLNGHRN10 341]

I just bought this, it was cheap. 
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-11-Person-Instant-Cabin-with-Private-Room/54644005

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Car camping, meaning you won't be walking much more than 50 ft. to "lug" gear from your vehicle.  You can go heavy, no big deal.

Footprints can get pricey.  I suggest a good, heavy tarp but  don't take Zork's advice from above - if you wrap the tarp up the sides of the tent, you'll simply trap water that runs down the walls of the tent.  Take that tarp & fold it under itself & then make sure the outer edge of the tarp is a couple of inches under the wall / edge of the tent.

Keep your eyes on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.  Always a great deal to be found there.  My 1st tent we got for using on Cub Scout campouts was a used Ureka! for $ 85.00 with fly (no footprint, I got a large tarp).  The heavy tarp will smooth out any minor irregularities from the ground & definitely be durable to last for years of use.  On the other side, if y'all decide to not keep up with camping then you can simply use the tarp for other functional things.  I did a smart & knew the tent wouldn't easily fit back into the bag it came out of, so I purchased a large clear tub with lid & fit the tent, tarp, stakes, fly & extra cord + stakes in there.  Saves on hassle.


Oh, & whatever you get, you will absolutely, 100% want to ALWAYS flip the tent inside out before you leave the campsite & ALWAYS hang it out to dry when you get home.  Leave it hanging inside out for @ least 1 day on the back porch, whatever, because nothing is worse than a smelly tent that's been packed away for 6 months & you can't ever get the smell to go away.

Edited February 12, 2019 by ROFL BOX

[tbone_ 14211]

I bought a 4 person $29 job from Walmart. Works great for me at the kiddo.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

 Also, you'll want to get some reflective tent line.  Trust me on this.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Also, you might also want to look @ air mattresses for general car camping comfort.  Again, fully functional for sleepover guests, whatever, if you don't decide to like camping.  For inflating mine,  I used

on the blower side & it fully inflated a double height queen sized mattress in approx. 20 seconds.  The ones with the built in inflator are crap.

[BillyBadAss 189]

I'm my experience car camping in Texas, heat is your biggest enemy. To combat it, you want as much mesh on the tent as possible and going down as far to the ground as possible. Think cross breeze across your head.  Most Coleman's I've seen are not good in this regard. I've had an REI Basecamp 4 and kingdom 6.  I liked the Basecamp a bit better, but for 4 ppl and the current sale the kingdom 6 is pretty good. 

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Another item, the Ureka! is a 6 person similar to the one South Austin posted above & it was always my "wing" on the R, Monster's on the L & in the center, I had a single chair like the one pictured so it was easier & more comfortable to get dressed, the side pouches held my wallet, a flashlight & misc.  The other available space in the center was for bags, gear, misc. other crap.  Our Scout uniform shirt would hang from the back of the chair on a coathanger (used for evening activities & we always travel as a group in our Class A's).

 

Also not mentioned yet was, again - car camping & weight / bulky packing isn't a big issue - look @ interior height & make sure you are able to stand up inside for the majority of the center area.

[TwiceHorn 31646]

16 hours ago, Anton Chigurh said:

 

The manufacturer will make one specifically for the tent and they will typically use a buckle system or have a grommet that you just stick the tent pole through just like the would corner of the tent body.

 

You can see it here on this MSR Hubba Hubba. This is one of the tents I have, which is a great tent, just small for car camping (it was my old backpacking tent). The poles stick thru grommets at the end on the corners. The tent body has a similar attachment, as does the rain fly. The footprint is the gray attachment on bottom (hard to see), then the tent body, then the rainfly which is actually put on last.

 

Yeah, the modern backpacking type tents don't rely on staking down the floor, they are only staked at the corners and for the fly, away from the floor perimeter.  Mine sticks out a bit from the tub floor, but much less than the fly.  It's an older Eureka.  I'm not sure I'd get too twisted up about whether a groundcloth collects water under the tent floor.  Without it, there would be running water and mud, and the floor is usually heavily water resistant, anyway.  I have it mostly for protection against punctures from sticks and rocks.

[Longhorn Al 440]

I have a cheap Ozark Walmart tent I bought like 10 years ago.  It's a pretty big tent.  It looks a lot like the one South Austin posted in post #2.  It has a ton of mesh and gets great cross breeze.  It's about 6' tall in the middle.

[Anton Chigurh 3320]

Also, you might also want to look @ air mattresses for general car camping comfort.  Again, fully functional for sleepover guests, whatever, if you don't decide to like camping.  For inflating mine,  I used
on the blower side & it fully inflated a double height queen sized mattress in approx. 20 seconds.  The ones with the built in inflator are crap.

If you camp in cool to cold weather then I do not recommend this. Those home type mattresses have no insulation. The camping ones will have either a synthetic promaloft type stuff, down, open/closed cell foam, or foil.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Just now, Anton Chigurh said:

 

If you camp in cool to cold weather then I do not recommend this. Those home type mattresses have no insulation. The camping ones will have either a synthetic promaloft type stuff, down, open/closed cell foam, or foil.

Car camping, I typically have a bulky, large / rectangular sleeping bag that's fully zipped open & a sleeping pad under this.  But yeah, I def. get the notion about ground warmth, etc.

[BillyBadAss 189]

I assume the volume of air your body would have to heat up would be a big factor as well as any insulation. 

[zork 629]

1 hour ago, ROFL BOX said:

{snip}

Footprints can get pricey.  I suggest a good, heavy tarp but  don't take Zork's advice from above - if you wrap the tarp up the sides of the tent, you'll simply trap water that runs down the walls of the tent. {snip}

Flipping the uphill side up is not:

"wrap the tarp up the sides of the tent".  Just to be clear.  But, do what you want.  It has worked for us.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Heavy-Duty-Tarp-Silver-Brown/35736815?athcpid=35736815&athpgid=athenaItemPage&athcgid=null&athznid=PWVUB&athieid=v0&athstid=CS020&athguid=743bbfa5-b07-168e07636f6f5e&athena=true

If you do it right any water can be diverted to the sides with the, rare but, big danger water coming from uphill sources going under or pooling under the tarp and not in your tent.(at which point you can manipulate the water towards the side or under)  Most people don't get caught in big storms these days since they have much better weather sources.   Sweeping the tarp is easier and protects your tent. 

Also, the front porch on the downhill side, where the front door is, is great for keeping/creating a transition area.  that is the main reason we use the tarp under and for the tent protection.

We bring a doormat or old carpet piece to use as a mat while taking our shoes off before entering the tent if possible or sitting in the tent with feet on porch while you take them off and get dirt/water off as much as possible.

 

Academy has the 1" foam mat deep olive color for under the sleeping bag.  buy it early and let if off gas though. very comfy although checking for big rocks, roots, etc is good before setting up your site.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4979]

REI has their Kingdom Insulated Sleep System for car camping. It's basically an insulated air mattress with purpose built sheets and comforter/quilt that is rated to 40° F, but be aware that the queen size is actually closer to a full. It has good reviews, but I haven't had a chance to try one yet. We found out last spring how cold a traditional air mattress can be while camping at Mt Magazine in the 30's. If you are going to try and use a traditional air mattress in colder weather, there are a few tricks you can use, like layering some foam and those wool felt moving blankets between your sheets and the air mattress and putting one of those reflective space blankets under it on the ground. The good insulated air mattresses are expensive, so trying some of this stuff out may be worth it.

Edited February 12, 2019 by NotActuallyALonghorn

[jimmyjazz 46351]

I've camped in 40 F overnight temperatures a few times and for me it's a non-starter.  It's just too uncomfortable with standard summer gear and I'm not about to spring for all the googaws that make it tolerable. 

This is strictly genteel car camping we're talking about, and the budget is "low".  I'm just trying to get the wife and kids away from the house/TV etc. for a couple of nights now and then.

[52-80 19274]

just rent all your shit from REI bruh

[Judge Roybeanbag 11821]

Not relevant to your immediate situation, but if you do much camping on the beach or in sand, invest in one of these tent-cots.  

[jimmyjazz 46351]

Yeah, I used to go to Galveston and Port A with a group of friends when we were all fresh out of college and dirt poor.  We'd camp on the beach to save money -- that thing would have been useful.  By the end of the 2nd night everyone was sick of sand and salt in and on everything.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11821]

I use it for car camping too because you don’t have to worry about ground water or leveling a pad.  But obviously wouldn’t work for a family, it’s heavy and folded up still takes up a bit of storage space.  If you end up doing 2 tents I’d second the timberline one up above. I’ve had one last for 20 years and is still usable. 

[luke duke 6420]

I’ve got 3 or 4 backpacking tents that never get used any more. Now that I’m an old man with a family I bought a ginormous Coleman tent where the entire family can fit with plenty of room to spare. It’s worked out very well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TS8Q94/

[Your Mom 4860]

One tent for the kids. One for you and the old lady. 

[52-80 19274]

listen to your mom

[jimmyjazz 46351]

20 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

One tent for the kids. One for you and the old lady. 

Well, the kids are a 16 YO girl and a boy who's about to turn 15, so that would be kinda creepy.

No pics.  Of any of them.