Clueless...

[katrina1122]

So we are thinking of doing the tent camping thing. It's been years for both of us and we've never done it at a site with electric hookup. So here's where the cluelessness comes in:

What tent for 2 adults with a queen size or 2 full size air mattresses (we tend to both wiggle alot so I'm thinking a shared queen might make for a tough nights sleeep)? More importantly, how do you get the electric in? Just use an extension cord through the zipper door and not zip it fully shut?

How does the a/c thing work? Fit it into the front door? How do you deal when you go in and out? Or is it better to have a non-window kind that you self empty the drip tray?

I see some tents have ceiling fans/vents. How does this work with the a/c or a space fan heater for colder nights? Do the vents shut?

Just starting out here in case you hadn't guessed, lol.

Any pics you might have to help visualize would be great too.

 

[gillenkl]

Sorry I don't have a tent - do a search on the disboards for tent air conditioner or tent camping. Here is a website to help with the tent a/c:
http://acboot.com/

what month are you camping in?

 

[TinkMomma]

We tent camp a LOT and for our family of four, in order to be comfortable for a few days, we have a 10 person/3 room tent. Now when it's just me and DH, we use a 4 person tent. Plenty of room for the queen size bed, toiletries, clothes, and a mini fridge. We don't use an AC boot. We just need the air moving. We went to FW last July (yes, JULY) and just had a ceiling fan and stand fan in the tent. That Coleman one pushes a lot of air! As far as electric, we just put the cord through a door or window and then zip shut as much as possible.


Make sure you look at the pictures of how the people are placed in the tent when buying a tent. That gives you a better idea as to how many can actually fit. Our 10 person one shows 10 of those stick figure folks laying right on top of each other. We don't camp like that, lol!! The four of us have to have our personal space!
We've also used a space heater. We just keep the windows of the tent closed during the coldest parts of the day so that the heat is retained.

Good luck! Tent shopping is hard!!

 

[GoNfast38]

Most larger tents have a port for a cord to pass through to the inside. Just check the box or advertising for the features list to see if it has one. It should be listed. Some come with the AC boot as well. Just shop around until you find what you are looking for.

 

[martymarty]

we have a 10 person/3 room tent. just had a ceiling fan

I wanna see a pic of that!!

 

[Running_Bell]

We tent camp a lot and I too found that sharing a queen air mattress with my DH was challenging. We purchased the Coleman "King" which is actually two twin mattresses that zip together. We put king sheets over it just fine.. and sleep much better as one cannot tell when the other is wiggling.

We have a 10 x 14 cabin style tent that we love. It's great room for 3-4.

You can check out the tent photo thread on this board to get some great ideas.

 

[katrina1122]

Thanks for the help.

 

[katrina1122]

So the acboot looks nice, but is pricey for what it is.

I've searched and found a few pics on the board, am I missing something?

Oh the decisions

 

[DisCamper]

When I tent camped I bought a $89 A/C unit put it on a milk crate and duct the air thought one of the windows. Hope this helps

 

[katrina1122]

When I tent camped I bought a $89 A/C unit put it on a milk crate and duct the air thought one of the windows. Hope this helps

How did you duct it through a window? I can't picture that, was it a window unit? They have the vents on the front. Did you just put them up to the window?

 

[DisCamper]

How did you duct it through a window? I can't picture that, was it a window unit? They have the vents on the front. Did you just put them up to the window?

It was a cheep window unit. I cliped a small piece of clear plastic around the window using the tents window seam and black paper binders. I put the A/C unit on a milk creat making it high enuff to blow into the window. I wraped the other end around the window unit just the front part and duct taped it to the unit. It work get for the two weeks we camped even in the rain. Hope this helps

 

[katrina1122]

It was a cheep window unit. I cliped a small piece of clear plastic around the window using the tents window seam and black paper binders. I put the A/C unit on a milk creat making it high enuff to blow into the window. I wraped the other end around the window unit just the front part and duct taped it to the unit. It work get for the two weeks we camped even in the rain. Hope this helps

So your window was low to the ground I guess?
Being clipped to the tent didn't cause leakage when it rained? Or did you have a tent cover over it.

 

[DisCamper]

The windows start about 2 feet up from the bottom. The tent also has a rain fly so we can leave the window open in the rain without any getting in unless it windy

 

[dbenlee]

It took me a while but I found some pictures on another thread I remembered seeing last year. I haven't done anything like this, but I thought the idea they used was pretty good.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1706043&page=13

Follow the link above and go to post #185. They used dryer ducting to get the AC air into the tent. Good luck with what ever you decide.

 

[katrina1122]

Thanks for all the insight.

 

[TinkMomma]

I wanna see a pic of that!!

Haha! I don't have a pic I can post right now (on the phone), but the tent is the Coleman Canyon Ranch. Good tent! Lots of room, comes with an internal lighting system, and lots of room!

To the OP: I hope you find one that fits all your needs! We never did the AC boot mostly because my husband is terrified of messing up the tent (lol) and the four of us are pretty good about being ok as long as the air is at least moving when it's hot as blazes outside!

 

[katrina1122]

DH and I are fine with heat and just a fan, it's the humidty that we can't deal with while sleeping. The a/c would cool things down and we have one with a dehumidfier as well so it makes a huge difference.

We were hoping to head down there this fall, but it doesn't look like it will happen .

We are going in 2012, but friends coming with us are a no go for camping, so I now have plenty of time to figure things out and buy things on sale. Still can't fully picture how to hook things up, but I guess that will come with time.
I'll continue to follow this board to keep getting tidbits of knowledge for the future.

Thanks everyone!