View Full Version : Car camping tent
Powder River
10-07-2010, 01:39
Just a curiosity: How many here own a tent just for car camping? I am really intrigued by the North Face Minibus 33
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ABAt5CzXQ
I currently own two one man backpacking tents and a too-cozy two man tent. Nothing really that I would want to share with a male friend (female being a different story of course). So the roominess of the minibus would be awesome. I really don't see much backpacking value however. I realize there are other, light tents I could buy that would fill the car camping purpose as well as double up for backpacking. But by the time I got to a suitable weight I would be right back where I started, with a too-cozy tent. So that is my logic for what may be guilty pleasure impulse buy. Somebody talk me out of it. Please?
Scooby99
10-07-2010, 07:47
Just go to Walmart and buy a huge 4 man tent, seem seal it really well, and go camping and spend the money you saved on some other gear. I did this for my car camping tent that my wife and I have used and it has worked really well. We have been through some torrential all night rainstorms, with me just waiting for the rain to start pouring through the tent, but nary a drop has made it through yet.
rpenczek
10-07-2010, 13:02
I have a car camping tent or two (really three). When I camp with my Boys Scouts (car camp that is), I use a 3 person Mountain Hardware tent (Haven 3) that I guess I could backpack with, but I prefer my Rainbow II (much lighter).
When I (car) camp with my wife and four kids, she and I stay in a huge MH Casa (allows her a way to big PITA air bed) and the kids (two boys and two girls) use the other MH tent and an old Euraka 3 person tent I have.
If I were in the market for a new car camping tent, I would go with something from Alps Mountaineering. Fairly inexpensvie and my Boy Scouts have proven they are fairly kid (read hard on tents) proof. Oh ya, they keep the water out too :)
I have the ALPS Mountaineering Neptune 4 that I purchased from REI a few months back. I have set-up a couple of times at home and will be using it for Car Camping this weekend at the Gulf Shores National Seashore Campground (http://www.nps.gov/guis/miss.htm (http://www.nps.gov/guis/miss.htm)). I have been pleased with it’s ease of set-up, color scheme, advertised features. I say advertised features because I have not experienced it’s durability and weather ‘proofness’ yet. Folks claim their good and have a good reputation with the Scouts. There is a discussion here about it some:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=64635 (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=64635)
I will update my experience on the above thread once I have some new impressions good and/or bad.
SMSP
Many Walks
10-07-2010, 15:36
We have a Coleman 4 person tent for car camping. Fairly inexpensive and works great. Used it last weekend as a base camp for a couple of great hikes in the Lakes Basin near Sierra City, CA. Room for a couple of cots, gear and the dog.
I would go in the middle of the TNF and a Walmart tent.
Look at the Eureka Scenic Pass 3XT. It's a bit wider and a lot less money. The other specs like vestibule, weight, interior height, etc. are very similar. Also, the big mesh doors have fabric windows that you can adjust for circulation/privacy.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/ProductComparisonView?storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226&langId=-1&categoryId=200368487&breadCrumbs=||
Eureka makes good 'bread and butter' tents...nothing fancy, but they get the job done well.
I bought this tent a while ago for car camping. (http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___28225) Ay $75, found it quite nice. My girlfriend at the time had a dog and it was rather palatial for two people and a pooch. For just my current girlfriend and I, it is a ginormous palace! :)
Not quite as nice as the Eureka above, but about $100 less. Does not have a full vestibule is the main drawback. But, you are car camping...throw the extra gear in the car. :D
timebreaks
10-07-2010, 19:12
I have this tent for car camping: http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Hooligan-2-Backpacking-Tent/dp/B0016HMBN0
It's not too cozy for two people (two women, anyway), and we even got a (small) dog in there too. I haven't seam sealed it yet, but it made it through the remnants of Hurricane Earl without a problem. And the price is great!
brotheral
10-08-2010, 07:58
Just go to Walmart and buy a huge 4 man tent, seem seal it really well, and go camping and spend the money you saved on some other gear. I did this for my car camping tent that my wife and I have used and it has worked really well. We have been through some torrential all night rainstorms, with me just waiting for the rain to start pouring through the tent, but nary a drop has made it through yet.
Better buy a HUGE TARP too if you're going this route. I've encountered folks that wish they'd spent the extra $$ and had a tent like my "Sierra Designs Nomad 5" after being soaked by a gully washer in The Smokies...
I've seen folks string tarps over most of their campsite. I guess it's "Whatever works for YOU" Get out and enjoy it all :sun
rodonne1
10-08-2010, 21:46
REI is having a sale in a week or two, I just got a Quarter Dome T2 and love it, probably not what you're looking for though.
Powder River
10-08-2010, 22:58
Sale just started. Was in there today, boy is that place DANGEROUS. Barely managed to escape with only a new jacket. There were some interesting tents, but their website has dozens more. In fact, the Minibus 33 is on sale for 300 down from 400. But there are even better deals. Dang, its too bad the Minibus is so "cool" or I wouldn't have gotten fixated on it to begin with.
brotheral
10-09-2010, 16:48
When I know bad weather is coming I do something like this. Here I was camping at Linville falls campground last Oct. I had my Eureka Sunrise 8. Easier to hose off my tarp than clean up / dry the tent after days of bad weather.