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Bit of background first

family of 6 - hubby and I, 4 kids and 2 dogs.

we camp as a family but also in large groups with friends and their children.

We have one of those big appollo 12 tents, so we take up quite alot of space already.

We recon we would benefit from some sort of seperate cooking/bbqing/sitting/eating area. Making meals outside in the rain isnt fun - we've just had a wet weekend in lyme regis.

The dome in our tent is huge but you couldnt cook in it for fear of the kids/dogs knocking into the stove and setting the whole thing alight - not safe at all.

and with it being a 'done" and circular there's no flat wall or corner to put a kitchen set up against - so it really does have to go outside.

Ive been looking at 3 main options

1. a utility tent like this http://www.somersetcaravans.co.uk/details.php?details_id=26&category_id=%E2%8A%82_category=28

handy multipurpose, front rolls up and we could get all the kitchen gear in there and keep it there, prob get bikes in it too. But is it safe to cook inside it? can i bbq in it?

2. a bbq tent like this http://www.tents-direct.co.uk/show_tent.php?productid=499

another handy tent, the roof has roll up vents and its fire resistant so we could bbq in it (we bbq alot). But it looks quite big and I dont think it pegs down.

3. or a day tent like this http://www.camperite.co.uk/day_tent.htm

best of both worlds maybe but its huge and we already have a 12 man done tent to squeeze onto a site!

What are the pros and cons of these do you think? I need help working out which one would be best for us.

Hi

We have just bought your option 3, a sunncamp day room.  We haven't used it yet but we plan to in August.  We have quite a big tent in a Campus Indiana 8 but when we asked at the site we are visiting they said they would just charge us for a gazebo at £2 a night.  We plan to cook in ours and use it to sit in of an evening as our tent doesn't have very big windows and I feel a bit shut away.

I would go with the day room and just check when you are booking that there is room for it on your pitch and what they will charge you.

By the way, we got ours from Bucks Camping for £99.

Trace x

Sorry, meant to put a link in for you!

http://www.buckscamping.co.uk/view_details.php?productID=355

Trace x

We have a Sunncamp Utility tent, rather like your option one.  We use it as a kitchen tent.  You can see a pic of it in my profile.

Quote: Originally posted by frome50 on 24/07/2005

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In reply to frome50 - re utility tent profle picture

 

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Thank you very much for showing me that pic - it's exactly the kind of set up we have been thinking about. Keeping the whole cooking area seperate would keep the children safer I think and i would relax more, knowing that they can't hurt themselves.

On the downside, we wouldnt be able to use it as a seating area when camping with friends due to its size - so I'll have to weigh up how many times we're likely to camp alone as a family compared to as a group.

thanks for the reply.

Quote: Originally posted by nutty tart on 24/07/2005

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In reply to nuttytart

I think option 3 looks to have more room.

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yes it does - but thats part of the problem perhaps? it might prove too big for alot of sites to accomodate alongside our big 12 berth dome tent.

I want my cake and eat it dont i.

Quote: Originally posted by TraceyD on 24/07/2005

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In reply to Traced - re suncamp day room

Hi

We have just bought your option 3, a sunncamp day room.  We haven't used it yet but we plan to in August.  We have quite a big tent in a Campus Indiana 8 but when we asked at the site we are visiting they said they would just charge us for a gazebo at £2 a night.  We plan to cook in ours and use it to sit in of an evening as our tent doesn't have very big windows and I feel a bit shut away.

I would go with the day room and just check when you are booking that there is room for it on your pitch and what they will charge you.

By the way, we got ours from Bucks Camping for £99.

Trace x

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I really like the look of these day rooms. we've just suffered a broken pop up gazebo due to heavy wind and rain this weekend. the gazebo was very handy for keeping the adults dry in the evenings but just wasnt man enough to cope with the bad weather.

So im looking for a multi-purpose alternative. Something heavy duty, easy to put up, and looks good. The day room seems to fit the bill but im wondering if it'll be too big for just the 6 of us - brilliant for large groups im sure, but just 1 family? is it worth the agro?

hey maybe i should buy both! A small kitchen/utility tent for H and i and the kids, and a big day room for when we go with friends!

look here http://www.khyam.co.uk/ridgi-dome.asp?productID=0 we have the Screenhouse its fantastic...

There are cheaper ones too..

• Flysheet: 2oz polyester 185T • Hydrostatic head: 3000 mm • Optional inner tent: poly cotton • Inner tent ground sheet: polyethylene • Optional footprint ground sheet available • External height: 210 cm • Weight: 13.5 kgs • Packed size: 100 x 30 x 30 cm • "Flame retardant"

Hi Familyof6

We have both the Sunncamp Utility tent and the Sunncamp dayroom and there are only two of us! 

I bought the utility tent first and soon realised that what we also needed was something to sit under like a gazebo but more stable so I ended up buying the dayroom which we mainly use as a rain or a sun shelter and as a kitchen. 

The dayroom isn't too big for six of you if anything it might be too small for you to both cook in and sit in.  We find the day room just the right size to store the kitchen stuff and for two of us to be able to sit around a (admittedly large!!) table. 

We originally bought a large dome tent that had enough space in the middle for sitting out but then realised that this didn't work for cooking etc.  so we bought a much smaller Vango Venture 500 for just the two of us and use this and the dayroom for normal trips.  For longer trips when there are a group of us we intend to use both the utility tent for the kitchen stuff and the dayroom for shelter.

For info the dayroom actually packs up smaller than the utility tent if that makes a difference to your decision! 

If you have the space and can afford both I'd buy both and then you can mix and match as you wish.  I'm seriously considering selling on the big tent I bought originally and sticking with the Vango and the dayroom. 

I'm not sure if this helps at all!! 

Happy Camping! 

Piglet

We're going to Upper Carr in Pickering in August and they are charging us £2 a night for our day room, same as a gazebo.

Trace x