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Hi all,
Looking for people's experiences in setting up a tent for a family holiday. Looking for some tips on sleeping gear etc, as Im a heavy chap, and never get on well with airbeds, but maybe Im not doing it properly. Have a chance to borrow a tourer intead but would be more hassle to tow etc, so wondering what people's setups look like. Photos appreciated 🙂
Take the caravan if you have the option.
Tents are great, if you are into camping.
Otherwise take the (minimal) hassle of towing a caravan as its far less than the hassle of setting up a family camp and everything that goes with it, and packing it all away again.
It's a damned sight easier to overtake a car carrying a tent than one towing a caravan
i've never got frustrated being stuck behind a car with a tent....
It's a damned sight easier to overtake a car carrying a tent than one towing a caravan
Depends if there is an overtaking "queue" 😉
Trailer tent FTW, you get to put it up, take it down [i]and[/i] tow it. Worst of both worlds!
must be a uk thing.
drove to newcastle , hopped over to amsterdam and drove to the alps .... caravans were going faster than me and i was going as fast as my van would let me.....
a heavy chap, and never get on well with airbeds
Tried a thermarest (or other brand equivalent)? Not as tall/wobbly as an airbed - not as much cushioning but the better support might make them more comfortable?
Shame the Alpkit Dozer has sold out
http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16534&category_id=253
Although tbh I'd probably take the caravan if the option is there.
Never been side swiped by a car carrying a tent when the driver forgot he had it on board!
Hmm so consensus might be caravan? Ive used thermarest mats in the past when I was a lot younger, but nowadays I think they might break me lol 🙂
The good thing about towing a caravan is, you don't need to worry about getting stuck behind a caravan 😉
Mile after mile of empty roads and nobody in front to spoil the view 😀
Just spent a weekend (at a festival) in a tent. Waking up the minute the sun comes up, half an hour later being boiled alive and struggling to breath. That's if it's sunny, if it's raining you get to drag water into your accommodation and everything gets that nice damp feeling. Normally we go wild camping, using a hammock and basha but if it was a social bash I'd much prefer to wake up in a caravan.
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family holiday? How old are the kids?
My 3 year old absolutely [i]loves[/i] camping in a tent. In fact we were away two weeks ago with her, her 6 week old baby sister and another 3 year old.
No hardship though: big (allegedly 6 man) tent,
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with a living area and fitted carpet (oh yes!), two bedrooms with a kids ready-bed in hers and a big double inflatable in ours.
Caravan wouldn't be the same "adventure" IMO, but it would be more comfortable.
Caravan. Tents are not comfy. Fine for a short camping weekend or festival but not sure about a family holiday.
As woodsa says the sun beaming into your tent is not a pleasant experience, and gets v cold at night.
Saying that you can get huge tents these days and equipment to make it feel like home. And everyone is into different things.
I used an inflatable sleeping mat at a festival once and would recommend.
Tents are not comfy.
You're not doing it right
Carpets are ace in tents! so much nicer to walk on than the sewn in groundsheet.
We added a porch to ours, more space, it has no groundsheet, so wellies/shoes/dog bowls, all the cooking stuff, electric coolbox stay out there.
We took an electric fan heater, though we did get baked from 1pm onwards on our last camping trip, there was still a chill after sunset.
Read an article about how a week of camping will reset your natural bodyclock.
Ive used an alpkit thermarest mat and a ready bed in the past, which only proves i can sleep anywhere on anything.
poor pitch placement leads to piss poor sleeping.
its not just rock up and pitch , you need to think about it .
Read an article about how a week of camping will reset your natural bodyclock.
This one?
Caravans are vastly more comfortable. However, if you have the space you can get camp beds for tent camping that are cool, and folding dining table sets, kitchens and stuff. That would make for comfortable camping but you still have to put up with noisy cold canvas etc. Really big tents though give you more room than a caravan. There was a place in Bridgend with some huge tents set up really comfortably.
Still prefer caravan of course. If you get one, remember to pull over regularly 🙂
GrahamS - MemberRead an article about how a week of camping will reset your natural bodyclock.
This one?
ha! it was something like that, but on the BBC website 🙂
sleeping = thermarest (the ones with extra memory foam; expensive, but as comfy as my own bed)
We used to have all our family holidays in a tent when I was in my teens. I used to love it, but it will never be as comfortable as a caravan.
I didn't used to like camping until OH and I got our big tent. It's a 4 man tent, with a separate living/sleeping area, and 2 sleeping "pods". It can get cold at night though, so definitely having the right sleeping bags....we usually take a sleeping bag each and a couple of blankets which can be thrown off in the morning when the sun comes in.
We've just ahd a weeks camping in France in our tent,.
We've a five man Vango, for the 2 of us.
A decent double aerobed,our normal Duvet coupled with electric hook up that provided us with power for a cool box, and music etc, meant we where as well equipped in it as we would have been in a Van IMHO.
Loved it.
Will be doing the same next year.
Camping everytime for me, ideally though you need a nice big van to pack full of gear and an electrical hookup for lighting etc. to be 100% hassle free comfy. But kids won't care if it's fairly simple, just bring plenty of stuff to amuse them whilst you're wrestling with the tent.
Caravans just bring back dreadful memories of holidays in Aberaeron in a wobbly CI Sprite. Not happening again.
Frankly, I prefer not to associate with caravanners.
it's one of the few areas where I am rampantly bigoted and discriminatory, and as far as i know, it's not illegal
If you make the effort and get the right kit then yes camping can be just as comfortable and definately more fun
go to decathlon or go outdoors and look at their demo setups, plan your tent area
comfy camp beds or mats and the right sleeping bags, have wet weather gear etc
with kids small camp chairs and a low camping table make meal times much easier
we got a small pop up tent for the kids to play/ shelter in while you set up is very useful and
a gazeebo or sun / rain cover for your eating area is also great
at the torq rough ride this year with 2 littluns (6months and 2) they loved it!
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Definitely get a tent you can stand up in. Our "festival" tent had to be crawled into. 5 days of lying down to struggle into jeans etc is a right pita.
If you make the effort and get the right kit then yes camping can be just as comfortable and definately more fun
Unless I take a sofa camping it's never going to be as comfortable as my campervan or a caravan.
But do agree that camping can be more fun, unless it's raining.
We have gone: Tent(s) -> Caravan -> Camper van
....now going back to tent and looking to sell the campervan. All due to what has suited the current situation/family.
We did the tent thing - twice, then bought a caravan. We're now on our second caravan. I gave our tent away.
Camping is OK with the lads on a "bikes and beer" weekend but not for the family IMO.
depends on how deep your pockets are....
Mick Jagger had this at Glastonbury
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Family carlosg stopped in a caravan (static) for the first time earlier this year and didn't really enjoy it as much as when we camp.Our tent is a 6 berth with 2 separate sleeping compartments and isn't too bad at sunrise due to being black.
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and with added awning so we could keep an 18 month old away from the cooking area.
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The caravan will probably be comfier but for us a touring caravan would have less space than our tent.
We have an Outwell Montanna 6 and it is bigger than our first flat was!
I can't say we have ever found it uncomfortable but we are now approaching car carrying capacity as Mrs S purchases more 'comforts'. Latest was a double camping bed.
I'm sure caravans are more comfortable but you would expect that considering how much more expensive they are.
I prefer not to associate with caravanners.
People who treat caravanning as an activity in itself are indeed weird. But there are plenty more people who simply consider it convenient accommodation for doing other things..
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email in profile if you want advice on choosing the best pitch
Close proximity to fresh water supply.
I've got a big 6 man Vango tent that has a living area for another 6 If need be. It's a great tent buck a total pain in the baws to put up and weighs a tonne. Its quite comfy but as has been said If the sun rises at 4.30 so do I. 🙁
With this in mind we booked 4 days in a Pod in the lakes last week. The Pod was great as It was warmer than a tent and obviously the light dosen't get In. On the downside we all have sore throats this week as the 4 of us and a dog causes a lot of condensation and I think that why we are all feeling crap.
Our friends took a £300 caravan and cooked in It all week and look and feel much better than we do.
Last time my inflatable mat punctured so I got to borrow a camp bed. That was comfortable. I'm quite big (long, not wide) so often find caravan beds a bit small. Then again I can sleep on a piece of string compared with my wife.
Our bell tent is ace. Loads of room for 4 and plenty of headroom in the centre (I'm 6'2").
The longest we've been away in it is 10 nights and the kids never want to come home. It's a lovely place to wake up in a morning. Off again next week and we can't wait!
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikesnthat/8145999550/ ]Untitled[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/bikesnthat/ ]redmancunian69[/url], on Flickr