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Hi there,

I'm new and would be grateful for any help regarding camping. I'm buying my first tent this week. So any tips or advice for a complete beginner. Any do's and dont's. I'm hopefully going to have many happy holidays with my dog, King Charles Spaniel called Charlie.

Hiya,

Welcome!!! I'm new-ish here too. What tent are you buying chick?

Hopefully:

1) Look before you buy - they are never the same as in the pictures.

2) Check the packed size and weight as well - some of these can be monster space eaters in your car or just untransportable without a forklift truck!

3) Ignore how many they are quoted as sleeping and calculate your bedroom width on the basis of a std airbed being 80cm and a double being 140cm.

4) If there is one of you (as your post seems to say), then ease of pitching/errecting needs to be high on your crieria. Most sizable tents need two people, but there are tents more designed for one person errecting.

5) Only buy a tent that you can't stand up in, if you really have to (saving weight for backpacking). There is no need to compromise on height, to save money.

6) Throw away the tent pegs that come with it (the cr*p thin L shaped ones) and buy decent ones.

May be we can give you some pointers as to a few models?

• How many people is this for? in what sleeping arrangement?
• Primarly for weeks away or just wekeends? all year aorund?
• How are you transporting it?

Camping with dogs is great fun, I love taking mine (although they tend to take up a lot of room! Some good advice above, but more info is definitely needed to give you the right advice. I'm no expert, but have done a fair bit of camping in the past.

Do you intend to camp only in the summer? Do you want a tent you can stand up in (can be awkward to put up on your own)? Is there going to be just you and the dog? Will you be travelling around by car? Do you want to dog to sleep in the inner with you or in a separate area?

I know some of these have been covered by others, but just thought i'd reiterate.

Quote: Originally posted by Big Bunny on 27/6/2006

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6) Throw away the tent pegs that come with it (the cr*p thin L shaped ones) and buy decent ones.

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Post last edited on 27/06/2006 19:07:08

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The L shaped thin ones may be okay in fine weather, but not so good if it's breezy. The straight metal ones with a sort of hook top aren't bad though.

Sharon, something else to consider is that quite a few tents these days erect 'inner first', this means that you put the poles through sleeves in the inner tent, then throw the fly sheet over the top & secure it with guy ropes and pegs. However, 'inner first' means that if it's raining when you pitch, your bedroom pod gets wet before you can get the fly sheet over it.

Another important point is the hydrostatic head (HH), which is a measurement of the amount of rain the tent fabric will take before it leaks. You should be looking for at least 2000 HH if you're camping mainly in England.

Hopefully you will view a few tents before you buy, so don't be afraid to lie down in the bedroom pods to check the size suitability for your needs. Welcome to the forum & good luck with your search  

Hi and welcome to UKCS.

Have a think about whether you can manage sitting on the floor when you are in the tent, just using a chair when you sit outside - if so you can have a smaller tent.   I used to manage weekends with two young children, in a tent where we had to sit on the floor inside.    However do consider getting a tent with some storage space for your stuff as the last thing you need is to find that when in bed, between a cav who can probably take up a surprising amount so space for a small dog, and your gear, you have no room to move.

Quote: Originally posted by Cinderbecca on 27/6/2006

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L shaped ones? do you mean the metal ones that come with every tent ...? I am rather new to all this malarky and only have said pegs that came with my tent - do I really need new ones (am on extremely small budget) ...?

The ordinary ones seem to have done me well in the past...(?)

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Quote: Originally posted by Cinderbecca on 27/6/2006

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L shaped ones? do you mean the metal ones that come with every tent ...? I am rather new to all this malarky and only have said pegs that came with my tent - do I really need new ones (am on extremely small budget) ...?

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