Tent campers

[hondacuraplanet]

Been looking into possibly picking up a tent camper and hitting the road with the family this summer on weekends. I'm just sick of ending up sitting on my front step watching my kids ride their bikes and play while I end up sitting and doing not much of anything. So, family getaways camping seem like a great idea

Anybody have any experience using tent campers? How well does the family take to one......in other words, I don't want to buy one to end up with kids saying "I hear this" or "I hear that" or "I wanna go home" etc etc etc. My older boy is almost 5 and the little one will be 2 this summer.

I'd love to hear your experiences

[OnHonda11]

Our boys (5,4 & 2) LOVE camping !!! The boys keep asking when we can go camping even though it's -10 with 2' of snow.Our Jayco 10' pulls great with the Pilot. I'm told that now's the time as when the get into their mid teens they don't want to hang around anymore. We do find that if it is raining out, you have to have the VCR or DVD as a back up if there isn't much around. Get the add a room (canopy & screen surround) if at all possible as it gives you so much more room should you want to stay up after they go to bed as well as if the weather is bad/lots of mesquitoes.

That's my .02 !!!

[Reef]

I have a large Coleman tent trailer. I just got the pilot so I've not pulled it with that yet, but it will do fine I'm sure.

I have a 3 and 5 year old, both girls. We love camping! It is a GREAT way to make a quick getaway. We store almost everything we need in the trailer and can literally take off with an hour's notice.

Weather is a factor, since tent trailers are much harder to heat than a fully enclosed trailer. It like it though, because you still get that tent feeling. It has a propane heater that will keep the temp reasonable down to about 35 degrees assuming you are wearing a sweatshirt or something. Last trip was a couple weeks ago and we cheated by using an electric blanket at night, lol.

The girls have been just fine every trip. Occasionally something causes them to get out of their side of the trailer and crawl in with us, but hey, what's wrong with that? On rainy days, we manage to stay occupied. I've never gotten out a tv or dvd or anything, instead filling time with games and naps. Usually though, we go camping somewhere that has something to see nearby, like a nice town or historic monument or some such.

Your kids are at a great age for camping. I say give it a try!

You're up in the NorthEast, so Summer might be on the hot side (you can get an air conditioner I suppose) and winter's are not so nice either. Spring and Fall should be perfect.

[hondacuraplanet]

......but I'm picking up a tent camper tomorrow. She's a 1963 Apache Raven, about the tiniest thing there is, but it's got a new canvas and the price is right at $100

Figure we'll test the waters with this one, and go from there

I pick it up tomorrow. My plan it to cut and lengthen the tongue and weld a box on the front for a stove, storage, and a small heater (safely of course).

This is a pic taken off the net.

[hondacuraplanet]

Another shot

[hondacuraplanet]

Big inside. Claim is that you can carry 10 storage totes with it folded down.

[Art]

Looks good, but IMHO, it's gonna be kinda cramped. We had a tent camper, and with 3 kids (had it before #4), it was a killer. We bought it new, kept it a year and sold it. Had a shower, toilet and a roof AC unit. Hard to move without steping on somebody. Was a pain to if you pulled into a campground near dark. Trying to assemble everything. We never used it much, was a pain to go away for just a weekend with all the set-up work and then tearing it all down a day later. But, that's only my .02.

[hondacuraplanet]

Cramped is perhaps an understatement

But with any luck it's just a place to sleep. It's a stepping stone to bigger things, everyone's got to start somewhere

[Reef]

lol, that one will be a bit cramped and frankly, no different than a tent. Has lots of retro appeal though. I'm not sure what your goal is, but that won't be a good comparison to what you will end up getting if you buy a modern one. Hope is does not turn you off to trailer camping.

Modern tent trailers are quite roomy and have all the amenities you might want. Very easy to set up too.

$100 beats the band though! Let us know how it goes!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, but I did laugh...

[fireflock]

I kind of like that trailer - it looks like a great place to start out Look how many people put 5k down for a new one only to find out that they don't like camping. As an added bonus, everyone will appreciate the 'next' trailer if you decide to move up.

Good luck camping! Check out http://popupexplorer.com/ if you get a chance.

[OnHonda11]

Good Luck !!! "Camping is great" !!!

[savg99]

We camp in an Apache Eagle, '69 vintage or so. These old Apache's have tons of retro appeal, trailer nice, and are lots of fun.

I miss having a furnace and a stove inside, but still lots of fun.

$100 is a great price, a new canvas will run you more than that!