[p]Quicksilver folks, I know you do...because that's how you roll. How about the hard siders?[/p][p]
[/p][p]Lots of great sleeping out under the stars. I'll be longing for that sometimes while in the trailer. My kids prefer tenting/hammocks. We have lots of tents and hammocks but they are all backpacking oriented except one that is a tight two person car camping model. A four person would be better. Looking for at least a 3/4 mesh walled "bug net" style with a fly that won't break the bank.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Anyone lug something around for those adventurous moments? Maybe a getaway when the wife says "GET AWAY!"?[/p]
Nope. The whole reason we got a trailer was to not deal with dirt/muddy/wet tents that need to be dried in the rainy weather before coming home and again when we get here so they don't mold up and rot. And also because I'm too damned old/soft/fat/lazy to sleep on the ground anymore.
Also, people in tents and sleeping bags are the soft tacos of The Bear World.
Not to mention hammockers. They are virtual bear burritos that are fun to play with like a pinniatta. We don't have too much to worry about in that department like you do. People are the biggest concern around here. We have been false charged on foot in the Adirondacks though.
I figured someone might carry a tent like this along for those clear nights just to keep the bugs off. The fly to trap some heat in for the cooler months. Ideally one that will fit in the spare sewer hose carrier 6"x24"
[quote source="/post/10498/thread" timestamp="1431056942" author="@pinstriper"]Nope. The whole reason we got a trailer was to not deal with dirt/muddy/wet tents that need to be dried in the rainy weather before coming home and again when we get here so they don't mold up and rot. And also because I'm too damned old/soft/fat/lazy to sleep on the ground anymore.
Also, people in tents and sleeping bags are the soft tacos of The Bear World.
[/quote]What he said!
I carry a small backpacking tent and a large (and heavy) screen room tent...we rarely use either one, but gotta fill up that storage space with something! lol
-Graham
[attachment id="851" thumbnail="1"]I take along my backpacking gear when camping, I may incorporate an overnighter while the Camp Commander stays at base camp.
That's another thing too, a screen room. Might be more useful. Blackfly season is coming in the next couple weeks. We are going to be in some wet woody places. They can be brutal as well as skeeters.
This expands the search for a screen room now with a screen roof. In a quest for more outdoor time here with less DEET.
We always have the packs with us too. With minimalist shelters. At least a tarp and some tarred twine.
This one is probably overkill for most people, but I bring the Alaknak II from Cabelas for the annual November hunting trip in the rockies.
[attachment id="852" thumbnail="1"]
It allows for a great flex space to dry gear and hang out in the after hours -20C. Like pinstriper said, it's pretty much a giant soft taco for the grizzlies, so it's nice to sleep in the hard wall CL after lights out. Also have an outdoor screen room that acts as a kitchen that's easy to clean-up for the warmer months. The back packing tent is a great idea I've thought about it a few times...always thought it would be nice to use the RDB as a base camp for some good remote backcountry treks...maybe a good alpine over night fly fishing hike...
Not ever again.
Anyway with this BC16FK and the full pulldown rear screen it will feel like I'm in a Tent. I really doubt if I will ever leave the rear loading door down during the night, not only because of critters in the campsite during sleeping hours but mainly because of the elevations I am at, most of the time at the 8000+ft elevations, mornings can be a bit cold.
[p]So, we went with the Acadia 4 tent by Kelty. This coupled with our 1lb Ailite Mayfly backpacking chairs that we love so much and our small roll top tables would have been a great bug solution to stargaze under this weekend. This will definitely fit in the unused sewer hose carrier that came with the trailer. Certainly without the fly that we will barely use, if ever, and maybe even with it.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Hybrid poles are not my favorite but it keeps the cost in check. It will be a welcome solution.[/p][p]
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Kodiak canvas truck bed tent. Always with me camping or not.
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Wow that's a nice piece!
[font size="3"]A year before we bought our Camplite trailer, we bought a Big Agnes Bighouse 6 tent and loved it. Spent a lot of comfortable nights in it that summer. The key is to get one you can stand up in. But since we bought our trailer, it remains packed away at home. We now call it the "spare room". [/font]
[quote source="/post/12649/thread" author="@brenda" timestamp="1435173467"][font size="3"]A year before we bought our Camplite trailer, we bought a Big Agnes Bighouse 6 tent and loved it. Spent a lot of comfortable nights in it that summer. The key is to get one you can stand up in. But since we bought our trailer, it remains packed away at home. We now call it the "spare room". [/font][/quote][p]Always liked the Big Agnes line of tents. They are made well. My son recently inherited my old Fly Creek UL2 backpacking tent. That one you can barely sit up in. All the great tents are purpose built. That Fly Creek trekked countless miles with me and never ever let me down even in some pretty nasty snow conditions.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The Kelty above is like a palace for what I'm used to. That Bighouse6 will last you a lifetime with any care at all.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The kids enjoy the Kelty. They prefer tents to trailers anyways as that's what they grew up in in pretty much. They appreciate the privacy. I mean, really, we do too.... [/p][p]
[/p][p]My daughter and beau.[/p][p]
[/p][p]
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A few years before we bought a tent setup for car camping from Walmart. It was a duffle bag with a 4-person tent, a beach shelter open-sided tent-thingie, and a couple sleeping bags. The whole kit & caboodle was 100 bucks. How is that possible? I must assume the tent was sewn by political prisoners or five-year olds. Whoever they were I give them a thumbs-up as the workmanship is surprisingly good. The design is also very good with lots of well thought out details.
Anyways, years pass & we buy the small but mighty Camplite 11FDB - hooray! We don't take the tent with us but we do take the beach shelter open-sided tent-thingie. It is going strong. At our campsite it can make a great windblock or can be used as a privacy screen when needed. Sometimes wind or privacy screens aren't needed so it doesn't always get setup. I used to keep it stuffed into the trailer's sewer slinky holder! Not with a stinky slinky but just stuffed in alone. With the cassette toilet I don't have much use for a slinky. (I admit I usually drain my graywater tank to my lawn as soon as I get home).
[quote source="/post/12679/thread" timestamp="1435307529" author="@peislander"]A few years before we bought a tent setup for car camping from Walmart. It was a duffle bag with a 4-person tent, a beach shelter open-sided tent-thingie, and a couple sleeping bags. The whole kit & caboodle was 100 bucks. How is that possible? I must assume the tent was sewn by political prisoners or five-year olds. Whoever they were I give them a thumbs-up as the workmanship is surprisingly good. The design is also very good with lots of well thought out details.
Anyways, years pass & we buy the small but mighty Camplite 11FDB - hooray! We don't take the tent with us but we do take the beach shelter open-sided tent-thingie. It is going strong. At our campsite it can make a great windblock or can be used as a privacy screen when needed. Sometimes wind or privacy screens aren't needed so it doesn't always get setup. I used to keep it stuffed into the trailer's sewer slinky holder! Not with a stinky slinky but just stuffed in alone. With the cassette toilet I don't have much use for a slinky. (I admit I usually drain my graywater tank to my lawn as soon as I get home). [/quote][p]Luckily we were able to find this tent for $87. It's one of those things that won't see much use but is good to have on hand when needed. There are some screaming deals out there for kits like you describe and with some reasonable expectations they are truly a great value.[/p][p]
[/p][p]My wife always keeps her sun shelter in the Escape. She's been known to head for the coast at the drop of a hat and spend the afternoon reading a book under it. Those are key pieces for me as I don't do particularly well in the direct sun at ~100F. The tiny backpacking chairs, shown above, sit well underneath it.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I believe all tents that you will find in department stores these days are made under less than optimal conditions and some shady standards not well received in our first world nations. We may think we are getting a great deal but deep down we feel that exploitation is the reason. We guilt trip ourselves for 32 seconds and buy it anyway.[/p][p]
[/p][p]But please allow me to shed some light on this subject. We are wrong in feeling only guilt. If you ever wondered how they can do such a fine job sewing and sealing in such small places you are correct in assuming 5-12 year olds do that work. Here is a smuggled video from one such place. It shows the horrors and traumatic experience of these enslaved foreign youth. Prepare to break out the handkerchief if you choose to watch this. And we tell ourselves they are happy living in this squaller.....sheesh [a href="https://www.facebook.com/StevenJoTV/videos/864482106914602/?hc_location=ufi"]https://www.facebook.com/StevenJoTV/videos/864482106914602/?hc_location=ufi[/a]
[/p]
So, can I claim "Gotcha!"?
We have always traveled with our Northern Breeze Eureka screen room tent from back in the days when we owned our Lil Snoozy. We got to be able to set it up over a picnic table without it touching the ground. It provides us with an airy, bug free, rain protected area to relax in, whenever the campground allows us to set it up. I intend to make use of it with our new Camplite. I had considered a screen room addition to work with the awning, but our tent is a better option. We bought it used on ebay. Highly recommended.
Happy Trails.....
Eureka makes some bomb-proof stuff for sure..
[quote source="/post/12705/thread" timestamp="1435366282" author="@gleamb"]We have always traveled with our Northern Breeze Eureka screen room tent from back in the days when we owned our Lil Snoozy. We got to be able to set it up over a picnic table without it touching the ground. It provides us with an airy, bug free, rain protected area to relax in, whenever the campground allows us to set it up. I intend to make use of it with our new Camplite. I had considered a screen room addition to work with the awning, but our tent is a better option. We bought it used on ebay. Highly recommended.
Happy Trails.....[/quote]I was looking at that Eureka tent but in Canada it was really expensive! I finally bought a cheap tent at Target during their closing liquidation for about 50$, I used it at the Fundy meet-up it was nice!
I always bring a "Clark Jungle Hammock" with me.
We enjoy a nice hammock too. When backpacking it's the best way to go in dead of summer provided there are trees or some other anchor points. I carry the netted, dual layer, Warbonnet Ridgerunner bridge hammock in the trailer for lounging and napping.
Have several hammocks but no Clarks. Almost bought a North American model but the interest was backpacking at the time and those are weighty. Built like brick houses though...
Yes the clark is a bit heavy for backpacking, I really don't do that anymore, my intentions were car camping, and canoe camping. Hennessy makes some nice hammock tents too. I just took a look at the Warbonnet Ridgerunner Bridge Hammock, looks like its comfortable, I like the spreader bars,,,mmmm gonna have to give it some consideration.
The Clarks are probably the toughest camping hammocks on the market today. They are priced accordingly. I could never get used to the bottom entry of the original Hennessy. It's quite different and clever. Used to joke about birthing whales when exiting.
Before the Ridgerunner there was only the Jacks'R'Better Bear Bridge bridge hammock for hiking. I initially bought that one but as a back sleeper I couldn't take the shoulder squeeze. The Ridgerunner eliminates the shoulder squeeze real nice at the expense of needing trees that are spaced further apart for stability. The way the fabric is cut there is lumbar support and also a pillow rise at the head end. The deep and long side pockets come in real handy.
A single layer, non-netted Ridgerunner version is offered. I have one for the winter as well when there is no bugs and the use of under quilts negates the dual layer bottom fabric. It is only $100. For lounging in warmer weather the dual layer netted version can be flipped upside down if the net is not needed. It is an excellent design and one that I doubt any other manufacturer could improve upon. Like the Clarks, I think it is special.
I never evan considered the Hennessy for that reason, (birthing whales). Just didn't appeal to me, plus I like the storage on the Clark, I did swap out the suspension to a whoopie sling.