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Getting a bit concerned here.  There are numerous posts on "camping under canvas" re the dangers of cooking in a tent.  Now, I know that the canvas of a trailer tent is far safer than nylon etc. but is it really safe to cook in a trailer tent kitchen?

I'm beginning to wonder if we've just wasted a lot of money on a kitchen setup which for safety reasons we shouldn't use.

So, what's the general view and if it is safe - are there any precautions we should take (other than the obvious) to ensure everyone stays safe

Thanks

SF

I think the main problem would be with people trying to cook inside 'crawl in' tents, or against a sloping tent wall so the canvas / nylon / whatever gets too close to the flame. I cooked safely inside Big Blue the tunnel tent, at the end away from the sleeping area, using a very sturdy kitchen stand pulled well away from the tent wall so it didn't get over-hot or splattered. During the nice weather I raised the end door as a sunshade, but when it was chucking it down the door was down. I always had a washing up bowl with water in beside me anyway so if the worst happened I could always douse the lot. 

All the day tents / utility tents are made with pretty straight sides, and the assumption is that people cook inside them. On my new Combi Camp trailer tent (!!!!! ) the kitchen is on the tow bar; my utility tent frame (an Argos handy tent) will fit over it well, and I'm going to do some work with repair patches and velcro on the centre back of the utility flysheet so it will fit over the towbar kitchen snugly, with plenty of space between the fly and the cooker. 

Common sense and an eye to safety are the watchwords.

TTs are big & relatively safe for cooking inside.  The issue most people worry about is the chance of flame touching fabric.  In TTs, FCs, caravans, motorhomes, & houses the walls are pretty much vertical so the chances are fairly small of a fire caused this way.  It doesen't help much with fireballs caused by gas leaks though!  You'll be safe enough as long as you are careful...

Steve.

I have had two different trailer tents, and have cooked in both.   Both had an area that was obviously designed for cooking in.     Looks as if your's has a similar area.

My Sunncamp Contential frame tent, also has a cooking area.

Cotton tents with proper straight walled fire resistant kitchen areas are a different thing entirely to a synthetic tent. It would take some persuading to set a cotton tent alight and unless it was bone dry (in the UK???) it would just smoulder sullenly. Even if it did catch fire it would not spread at anything like the rate that fire in a synthetic tent would.

Also, TT's often have big, heavy, stable kitchen units with good solid fire resistant backplates.

I'm one of the more fanatical anti-cook-in-synthetic-tent people....but I quite happily cook in my TT using the big kitchen supplied. And I used a solid camp kitchen with good metal windshield in my last TT too. Just be sensible...stable kitchen, wrap round windshield, leave 12" gap minimum behind the cooker, keep a fire blanket and bucket of water handy. And know which way you're going to get out if necessary.

Thanks all - it's only our second season and although I felt it was probably safe it's nice to hear from the experts.  We've camped a bit around Ireland and frankly, cooking everything outdoors doesn't appeal.

SF