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   Camping under canvas -  Tent talk. Advice, info and recommendations
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Subject Topic: New Campers, recommendation required Post Reply Post New Topic
21/6/2018 at 2:19pm
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View Markc939's Profile View Profile   Reply to Markc939 Reply   Quote Markc939 Quote  
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Hi,

My wife and I are considering camping with out 4 teenagers and two dogs, could anyone recommend a tent (I’ve been advised 8 man might be best) ideally we would like separated bedrooms and a sewn in ground sheet and easy to put up, I quite like the idea of the inflatable type, but not prescious about that.

Would like reasonable quality as planning on taking camping up over the next few years

Thanks in advance
Mark


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21/6/2018 at 4:05pm
 Location: Newton-le-Willows
 Outfit: Many tents and a Dandy.
View Aldi Fan's Profile View Profile   Reply to Aldi Fan Reply   Quote Aldi Fan Quote  
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Have you considered a frame tent ? Cabanon is recognised as one of the leaders in the field. There's three Cabanon Espaces on ebay very reasonably priced. They are huge tents. They have 4 *bedrooms*. I watched one chap erect an Espace on his own one afternoon....He didn't seem to struggle very much. YouTube is a good source to see what they are like and have pitching instructions.

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Getting old isn't fun but the alternative is much worse.


21/6/2018 at 4:19pm
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View Markc939's Profile View Profile   Reply to Markc939 Reply   Quote Markc939 Quote  
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Thanks, I’ll have a look


21/6/2018 at 6:05pm
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View Tupik's Profile View Profile   Reply to Tupik Reply   Quote Tupik Quote  
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Vango Illusion TC800XL would fit the bill perfectly as would similar options from Outwell such as as the Pheonix or Vermont.

We plumped for the Vango and have zero regrets. It's a fabulous tent but it may limit the type of site you visit as it is very long, like the others.

If serious about taking it up, best advice I could giver would be to go straight to a polycotton air beam tent. You'll need more room than you might imagine to cart a tent this size about as packed, they're around 80 x 60 x 60cm and can weight in at well over 100lbs. The alternative may be to go to two separate smaller tents, for when only a few of you may be going away. That's the way we started, with one 3 or 4 man bell tent and one ridge tent some years back.

Whatever you decide, nothing beats getting down to your nearest tent superstore and checking out all the tents together, plus working out just how much space you have for transporting everything.

Despite having a large SUV, the three of us still needed a very large roof box to get everything in (it was that or a trailer).


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21/6/2018 at 6:32pm
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Thanks for the advice, loving this forum already!


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22/6/2018 at 11:06am
 Location: Cambs
 Outfit: Ford Duetto Autosleeper
View duffs54's Profile View Profile   Reply to duffs54 Reply   Quote duffs54 Quote  
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Definitely an 8 man tent, there's only 2 of us and a dog and we have a 6 berth .

We went from polyester to poly cotton to airbeam poly cotton and we love it, easier to put up, but still the same time pegging out etc.

I'd also go straight to polycotton, if you know you will be camping for the foreseeable future. Also factor in how long will your teenagers want to keep going with you. maybe look at pup tents for the kids, that way it clears the bedroom area for clothes storage etc.

We have a Kampa Croyde Air 6 berth, but Kampa do do an 8 berth tent too.

It's good to have seperate areas, especially if it's raining etc, dogs to like to shake in your tent lol!

Keep us informed and pictures to



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Duffs54      



22/6/2018 at 11:07am
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Karsten tents offer excellent versatility, start with a single pod then add additional pods / awnings / bedrooms to suit your needs.

http://www.campingtravelstore.co.uk/


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25/6/2018 at 3:06pm
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Hi, we're new to camping aswell. We are a family of 5, plus a dog. Kids are 14, 12 and 9 and all of them demanded they have their own space if we bought a tent!

We visited a few camping shops and eventually bought the vango illusion 800XL TC. It's an 8 berth polycotton airbeam tent with 4 bedrooms, a living area and a porch area. It's easy to pitch too. I'm a 5 ft 3 inch female and I have put this up on my own! We love it and although it was the most expensive on our short list, it feels built to last and solid in bad weather. The only negative point would be the weight when it's packed! It's very heavy and large but we bought a small trailer so it's not a problem. I would definitely recommend it if you can cope with the pack size and the weight!


25/6/2018 at 4:47pm
 Location: Greater London
 Outfit: Illusion TC 800XL
View moonstone's Profile View Profile   Reply to moonstone Reply   Quote moonstone Quote  
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another thumbs up for the Vango Illusion 800XL TC...everything about it is quality...

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"tereba nessa, kemer wyth"

.~*MOONIE*~.

Snowdonia - Peak District - Brecon Beacons - Lake District


26/6/2018 at 10:12am
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View Tupik's Profile View Profile   Reply to Tupik Reply   Quote Tupik Quote  
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Just added a sun canopy to ours...now a bit embarrassed by the size it takes up for three people LoL! Joking apart, when the weather turns bad, you'll never regret buying more space than you need when things are dry and you spend most of your time outside.

As for the tent size, we didn't want the hassle of a trailer so fitted one of the largest roof boxes we could find...job done, an extra 600 litres of space for all but the heavier items.


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28/6/2018 at 4:23pm
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Depends what you are after - better quality comes with higher cost so Vango for example - but we went cheap and cheerful and bought a Kalahari elite 8 and we've had it years. Try to go for rooms at each end (most will be) so you can banish the kids to the end - OR buy two four man tents and set the kids the task of putting theirs up, if you explain to the campsite most will understand!!!!!


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01/7/2018 at 6:12pm
 Location: South Cumbria
 Outfit: Lightwave T10 Trek
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Hi Mark; welcome to the forum.

I would be a bit cautious about spending too much money on a mega large tent; teenagers have a habit of growing up and suddenly deciding that they want to do their own thing.

I would consider 2 tents, as suggested above.

-------------
wildaboutwalking on wordpress


02/7/2018 at 11:16am
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Yes, that's sound advice from Richard.

Perhaps something like a Vango solace for you and the Mrs and a bell tent for the teenagers?   You can always add a sun canopy to the Solace or go for the slightly larger TC500XL which I would be happy to use for just the two of us as a weekend tent, especially if the weather turns bad but it can comfortably sleep 4 to 5 if needs be. The Solace, despite the 4 person tag, is really best viewed as very comfortable and roomy 2 person tent.

There are some great deals available on the 6 person gelert bell tents at the minute...perfect for 4 teenageers.


02/7/2018 at 11:30am
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View Markc939's Profile View Profile   Reply to Markc939 Reply   Quote Markc939 Quote  
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Some good advice here thanks everyone, I’ll take it all on board, might be next year yet as missus has started looking at log cabins for this year now lol, but def gonna take the plunge sometime soon.



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