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new to camping
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Posted by cowchaser (My Page) on Mon, Mar 5, 07 at 14:35
| Hello folks. Well I am not exactly new to camping but, I haven't done any in about 15 years. I have my own family now and don't know how interested they would be. My wife seems thrilled about it but, I think she would prefer a travel trailer over a tent. However due to credit problems that will not happen.
Need to start buying things to get started. Looking for a very large tent in a good quality. Probably around 10 man so that everyone has plenty of space. Anyone have any recommendations. Need this large to accomodate 5 of us even though it won't be all of us all the time. I have a 15 month old son. So I want to be on top of my game when it is time for him to want to start going for boy scouts or just spending time with dad. My 2 daughters were never interested since there were no private toilets, showers and the hair straightner don't work well out in the campgrounds.
Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: new to camping
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Wow! A ten man tent! WOW!! You're going to need ten men just to set it up! If you get to a camp-ground after dark, with a bunch of cranky, hungry people or kids, of which 3 don't want to be there, 2 are afraid of the dark, and the rest are "watchers", you'll surely think you have made a big mistake, especially if it is raining, or cold, or both!
A word of advice from one who has been there, done that!
If you buy a tent to go camping, no matter how large, or small, and against the advice in the fancy brochure, which tells you: "Easy set-up, 5 minutes or less!" DON"T believe it! It doesn't work that way!!
After you buy the tent, take it home, open the box, read the instructions, and then set it up! HAWWW! Out on the lawn, in reach of the coffee pot, or your secret stash!
After having your assistants decide to leave after ten minutes, and your wife wanting a stiff drink, and a lot of re-reading the instructions, and some soul and head scratching, you can then stuff it all into the box it came in, and retire to where your secret stash is, and loll away the rest of the afternoon, as you sit and ponder why you ever thought you wanted to go tent camping, especially with a ten-man tent, and a bunch of kids!
And, if you don't practice setting it up at home more than once, and try to do it after your arrival at a camp ground, the folks already there will get a good show to laugh at, and you might get some help from another guy who has already gone thru that! Don't count on it. And after your entourage has managed to keep folks awake long into the dark night, you will be "personna-non-grata" the rest of the weekend!
Better to buy a trailer, or motor home, pare down the amount of companions you want to take along, or do what i finally did-and do! The wife and kids stayed home, i camped in the bed of my pickup with a cap, and everybody got along great!
HTH: Rusty Jones |
RE: new to camping
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| I've own a few tents and prefer Cabela's tents. They don't tend to sweat inside like a cheaper tent from lets say Walmart, and the floors in them tend to be thicker. Have you considered buying 2 tents, with a back and front door, then just put them side by side with 2 doors facing each over. |
RE: new to camping
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Cowchaser, I'd carefully look over rusty and iamchewy's advice above and consider it. I'd throw in with them concerning tents - large one's are h*ll to set up, tent pads are often no larger than 6-8 man tents due to slopes and sites, and finally, the larger the tent the more fragile it is due to structural issues. Best bet is to stick with a tent 2-men larger than you need and use a smaller tent if you must store more gear than that.
I'd rate the #1 most important item for my family's comfort to be - - - ThermaRest CampRest 25" wide 2" thick self-inflating pads. More important than a quality tent or thick goose-down sleeping bag, a ThermaRest pad means a good night's sleep. Over the years, each child has a good goose-down bag and ThermaRest pad to call their own. Rest assured, when they're past college and into adulthood, they'll have these two friends to count on. With God's blessings, I hope your days in camp are as wonderful as ours. |
RE: new to camping
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| Hi Cowchaser (interesting handle :-) Let me second, or third that! A ten person tent is too impractical for family camping. Add two to the # of persons you want in a tent and that should give you plenty of room. You might want to consider a multi-room tent so the girls kinda have their "own room". Get good sleeping bags and good sleeping pads...they are a god-sent. One other thought...go to a sporting goods store that has some tents on display. Alot of them should be setting them up since Spring is here! Take the family and get inside the tent and crawl around, lay down, picture where everyone will sleep, make sure the girls can work the zippers, etc. This way you get a feel for size and space and "dry run" what it's going to be like when you get the tent and go camping. All the best! |
Here is a link that might be useful: TheCampingGuy.com : Family Camping Tips
RE: new to camping
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| Welcome to our world. take the advice given by others above. I'm new to this forum and enjoy it. Hang in there maybe your girls will learn to like it, my daughter did. she will soon be 16 and is finding a few other interests but over the last few years we have had some great camping experiences. |
RE: new to camping
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| Hey... A group of friends are I have deiced that we wanted to go camping just like you. Yet I was really iffy about actually going and buying a tent... so after a little himming and hawwing... I checked out ebay. If you kinda know what your looking for you can find tents relatively inexpensive plus if this whole camping thing backfires you don't feel so bad about spending so much money. Just be-careful because you dont want to get a tent that might be defective. However most sellers are great to deal with and a lot of help. I just got a Swiss army 8 person tent for only $40 and shipping was $20. I did a little research and found the tent that I bid on for $150 on most camping sites... There was a few larger ones I saw when I was looking for mine that you can actually take the middle out of the tent so that its two tents connected with a rain fly between the... I hope you guys have fun camping and just remember... always be prepared... sometimes it rains... and sometimes its cold. But there is noting better then those clear nights sitting around a fire under the stars. As a kid we camped a lot and those I have to say are my BEST memories... Good luck and I hope you find the best tent... |
Here is a link that might be useful: Our camping page... check it out if you get a moment... THANKS
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