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Hi everybody, I'm still fairly new to tent camping after 30 years ago tin-tenting on family holidays as a kid. At the beginning of this year, I made a concerted effort to finally do it. Ideally I wanted a big family tent to suit my OH, the 2 kids and I, but due to budget restraints, and pack size for biking, I went for the Oregon 5. It suits our needs as a weekender tent, but I really wanted to go for the Vermont XL for the longer stays.

The question now is, does the Vermont XL class as a large tent? I've seen several posts concerning large tents getting charged double pitch fees, but is that because they're domes with side pods, or wide tunnels? What is the standard pitch size for the average site? What seems to be the maximum footprint of a tent before it's classed as a large requiring 2 pitches?

What I don't want to do is shell out for the perfect tent, and have to pay double in pitch fees for the privilege. The Vermont XL is the one I want, and at 4.8 by 7.7m doesn't seem to be excessive if you consider the 6m firebreak pitch gap.

Has anybody else had problems with the Vermont, or am I worrying over nothing here? 

Thanks in advance,

Iain

I think you would find that most if not all campsites would consider the Vermont Xl a large tent the question then is what do they do about it. There are some sites that don't accept them, though there are plenty more that do.

Worst case - they won't accept you

Best case - they won't charge you any extra

Most sites are somewhere inbetween. I wouldn't go to a site that charges for 2 pitches but am happy to pay a supplement afterall our SV8 does take up a lot more room than a 2/3man tent. Last year we camped at Jasmine Park and were charged £2 extra per night.

In summary you won't be able to go to all campsites with the Vermont and you will probably have to pay a bit extra but there are still loads of sites who would be happy to have you.

On the few occasions we have booked, 6m x 6m ( anything other is classed as a large tent) is the size that they don't quibble over. If your tent exceeds this, then they will either not take you or allocate a bigger pitch. But i'm sure this won't be the case all over.

Just check out the thread on sites accepting large tents, and you'll see theres quite a few.

Thanks for all your replies everyone.

I guess it's gonna be one of those "suck-it-and-see" decisions. When wishful thinking meets reality 

I've plenty of time to make my mind up, so we'll see what happens...You just know I'll end up getting one anyway, but at least I know what to expect now.

Thanks again

Iain

I think whatever tent you go for it will be perfect, and if we cannot get into a camp site because of it's size then it just wasn't meant to be. We shall just go to another one.

Edited to say... Hello... New to the site. I'm Sharky's OH. He's said how good this site is and I've been on here for hours today reading and have to agree. Great posts and lots of excellent information.

Yes, the Vermont XL or even L is classed as a large tent.  Its 25 foot in its longest direction.  But it is rectangle in shape which makes it a lot easier to fit on a pitch.  I have never really had a tent that is much smaller then a Vermont ( some a lot bigger ) and I have never had problems finding a pitch for them.  I have never been charged for 2 pitches in my camping life.  I have the found the Vermont will fit on some pitches that some of my older ( and smaller ) domes would not go, purely because a Dome tends to be big both ways.

If the Vermont is right for you then I would go for it.  Campsites over the last 2 years are making their pitches smaller to try and cram more on, but tents have got bigger.  Even low berth tents are now stretching the bounds of a normal pitch.  Something will have to give in the next couple of years.