Hi, been following the site for a while, but haven't posted until today, after some peoples thoughts on how to finalise how camping setup.
After much deliberating I went for a mondeo estate as opposed to a van, which I would have done a basic conversion in. We're well set up for longer stay camping in sites (berghaus air4 tent, units etc). I think ultimatley I'm going to need a trailer as currently it is just me and my wife and it maxes out the car.
Anyway, now I wandering the best option for setting up for short/ weekend trips or particularity exploring further a field from a base in a campsite. Bed in the back of the estate with window blinds of some sort (some I've seen look quite cool) - offers good stealth options, a roof tent (pretty obvious you are camping, and may not be allowed in sites) or a 2 man tent. Anyone else use any of these options to complement a decent camping setup. I think a second vehicle as a camper is appealing but financially viable.
We have a pop up tent that we use for weekend trips away to save us taking the big tent. I would personally rather sleep in a tent than in the back of the car. We then take whatever we need of all our usual kit and can use the car to go out ant about whilst on site.
When we used to camp in tents we found ourselves not bothering to go away for just a short weekend trip due to the hassle of putting up the big tent for such a short trip. We ended up buying a small 3 man tent for weekends and really cutting down on our kit and ended up enjoying these minimalist trips just as much! The small tent was also brilliant in France for overnight stops on the way further south. We used to use cheap hotels in France for overnight stops when we just used the car but as out kit expanded, we got a trailer and didn’t feel comfortable leaving the trailer unsupervised in the hotel car park. The small tent was up in 5 minutes and meant that we didn’t need to worry about leaving the trailer.
My husband is now in his 70s and we switched to a caravan several years ago as it is easier for us but I still think back nostalgically to those wonderful tent holidays we had.
LOL, if there are only two of you, with a 4 person tent, you are taking far too much stuff if you can't fit it in an estate!
Personally I would go for a roofbox before a trailer, because of the trailer speed limits, but it all depends on your storage and other circumstances.
Smallish tent with a tarp?
I can't be doing with a tent I have to stoop to go into and can't stand up in. I downsized a tent that took too much trouble to pitch (endless pole threading) to a great tent that was only 140Cms tall. That was quickly replaced with a small but tall tent. It is such a shame that small, tall tents like the Aura 3 and the Vango Kalu have been discontinued - non-bulky packs, not heavy, I can put my Kalu up by myself in less than 10 minutes, perfect for 2 for a long weekend.
Quote: Originally posted by DeborahTurner on 19/5/2020
LOL, if there are only two of you, with a 4 person tent, you are taking far too much stuff if you can't fit it in an estate!
You'd think so! but every year the amount or stuff gets more. This our set up for 3 - 4 weeks in Europe - also includes lots of toys - surfboards, bikes, even SUP. We base ourlseves in one or two sites and explore within a few hours of there - would like to be able to explore overnight as well (hence considering small tents and car camping).
Yea, roof box might be a good way to go in terms of storage as opposed to a trailer. Seeing as we're probably not going to get to Europe this summer I might get a 2 man tent and see how I get on in the uk. Issue with that as an option in Europe in the height of summer is campsites are fully booked and places to put one up to wild camp are limited.