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Subject Topic: Awning or larger tent? Post Reply Post New Topic
PersonLaoise
18/8/2015 at 9:38am
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I recently purchased a new Nevada MP for our first camping trip. We really enjoyed it and we are considering a longer trip to France next year. We stayed for 4 nights but think we need more space for a longer trip. I'm wondering which option is better:
- buy an awning which would give more space to set up equipment. This is the cheaper option but I am unsure about comments relating to awning performance in windy conditions?
- buy a bigger tent that has porch space and keep the Nevada for shorter trips.

I would be grateful if anyone had advice.


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Persondijo
29/8/2015 at 9:38pm
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It all depends on your plans for your holiday. A bigger tent means more time to erect and take down but then you get the larger living space. In france its usually very hot which means you only use the tent for sleeping and then an awning or ttarp with the nevada would be fine. Personally I like to change places on our longer holidays and therefore its impotant to have a tent like the nevada which is fast and easy to get up and down. So theres pros and cons and the right choice depends on your preferences.


PersonLaoise
29/8/2015 at 10:00pm
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Thank you for the reply. It is my first tent and I really like it but have nothing to compare it with. You have made some very good points. I thought we might split our trip into two blocks of approx 7 nights each. Maybe I should consider more stops? We have never been beyond Paris in France and have only stayed in cabins on Spanish campsites (pre-children!). I was leaning towards getting an awning from a storage point of view but I can see that is only practical on longer camp stays. If you have a tarp setup does that mean pulling stuff in every night or not bringing much in the first place?!


Persondijo
30/8/2015 at 7:21am
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I have cut down on my gear because we want to move sites but I still bring the essentials which for me is (we are 2 adults and 2 kids): small cupboard for kitchen utensils + coolbox, chairs + table, gas and 2 burners, weber q1000. The kitchen cupboard is inside and the other tings are outside under the tarp. I only bring table and chairs in if the weather turns really bad. We have both longer and shorter stops, here a long stop is 7 days and short 2 days if we want to visit a "playland" for the kids. There are also open awnings if you want a little of both. A little note: awnings are often easier to set up for one person than a tarp but the tarp is more flexible and cheaper:-)


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Personfoggers
30/8/2015 at 10:36am
 Location: Sheffield
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A tent extension with a closed end is more wind resistant than an open ended one, so that is something to bear in mind. I had an open type extension for a Vango Orchy some years ago, and I always took it down in high winds.

I have a couple of tarps too which iare much more vesatile as I can use them with any tent: I have delta ground anchors, bungee clips and some extendable poles to use with them.

Keeping your kit to a balanced amount is also a good skill to develop with camping. Some years back I had much more kit and a bigger tent. Then I realised I was enjoying camping less because it was hard work. So I got rid of some things ( like kitchen cupboards: now I use a plastic drawer set which just lifts in and out of car and tent, this saving loads of time packing, building, loading the shelves etc).


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PersonLaoise
30/8/2015 at 10:45am
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Thanks again. We are two adult and two children also. We don't have much gear yet so not much cutting to do! We have tubs chairs which could be folded at night. We have a small roll up table from Halfords. That was our cooking and eating space so we will have to review that. We don't have a kitchen cupboard or coolbox. They are on the list. We have a single induction ring which we will need to supplement. We have a melamine set but no camping pots or kettle yet. I don't want to spend forever setting up or packing up so will have to figure out a balance.


PersonLaoise
30/8/2015 at 10:54am
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Thanks foggers for your reply too, didn't see it while I was typing. It is wind stability I am afraid of. I have only found the awning in stock but I was hoping that it would very rarely need to come down because it is closed. We had to pitch in coastal winds on our first trip so it makes me a bit anxious!
The Nevada has fibreglass poles so I assume a tarp is just pitched near the tent?
Is your kitchen unit packed and ready to go in the car? We have an estate car so reasonable boot space and we will get a roof box to supplement.


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Persondijo
30/8/2015 at 4:46pm
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You can fasten the tarp over one og your entrances to get a space close to the tent like with an awning. I dont have a picture og mine but maybe you can google it, people are very inventive with their setups.


Personkate w
30/8/2015 at 5:17pm
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A good thing about camping in France is that the weather is generally better than at home so you've no need to sit inside so your tent doesn't need to be as big. One alternative you might consider is to get a kitchen / utility tent so you could keep the kids away from all the cooking stuff and the food etc, leaving room inside the tent for the rest of your stuff.

-------------
Kate

Trailer tent, caravan and too many tents!


PersonLaoise
30/8/2015 at 6:29pm
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I looked at pictures with tarps but thought I had read that it is safer to attach if you have steel poles rather than fibreglass?
Yes Kate, hopefully the weather will be better in France! If we could spend more time outside the tent that would help. I will have a read here about utility tents.


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Persondijo
30/8/2015 at 7:25pm
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You dont need to fasten it to the poles just fasten it with its own lines and pegs so that a part of the tarp rests on the tent. I have aluminums poles but I dont see why fibreglas poles should have problems as long as you dont fasten directly to the poles.


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PersonBob61
30/8/2015 at 8:29pm
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Just one thing to think about...some campsites charge you according to the 'man' size of your tent whereas few will charge you extra for an awning or tarp.

I camp solo but had a 6 man tent (could have held a dinner dance inside!) but I recently changed it for a 4 man tent partly because I discovered one of my favourite sites had changed their tariff and classed a 6 man tent as 'large'. This was annoying because the footprint was little bigger than a 4 man tent.


Personfoggers
31/8/2015 at 12:25pm
 Location: Sheffield
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Hi yes the drawer set of camping kit stays packed at all times, so i just lift it into the boot ( we have an estate) and from the car into the tent. It is so much quicker than taking a cupboard that you have to build, and stuff in boxes or bags that you then put in the cupboard. It is a wide set of 3 drawers; I think it came from Argos. here



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