Tent camping

[leadfootlevi]

Who loves it? Who hates it?

We've decided - this year we are doing it! We keep talking about it, but DH wants a $500+ tent and the money is never there. I keep trying to talk him into a less expensive tent and he's finally agreed. He'd rather go camping than not, so a less expensive tent it is. We're a family of 3. I was thinking a 6 person tent - any recommendations?

We have a truck so we have plenty of room for our stuff. Coolers - check. Lantern - check (we used to tent camp all the time). No sleeping bags. Could we use an air mattress and blankets/sheets from home? We have a single person cot that DS could use, so he can definitely just use a blanket/sheets from home. We have pots and pans we can bring from home. And plates, cups, silverware. Do we need a propane hot plate/burner? I'm thinking not at first - we could always add it later if we find we really enjoy camping. I will probably cook most of our meals while we're camping (cook being a relative term - dinner will be deli-meat sandwiches, chips, fruit, etc. most breakfasts will be quickies, with lunch being our big cook-on-the-fire meal). I'm sure we'll eat out a couple of times...it is vacation after all!

Am I missing anything? I was thinking mid-late spring for our first venture. Somewhere close to home. Maybe this summer we'll venture out further. We would love to go to South Dakota. And, of course, Fort Wilderness!

Thanks!

 

[MeekoB]

I am a tent camping newbie...my son is in Cub Scouts so I go camping for him, but I wouldn't go on my own...

that being said, I bought the tent recommended to me by many longtime camp veterans...a Eureka Sunrise 11X11 six person. It's a pretty standard tent, but boy is it easy to put up and sturdy.

I really like that I can put it up by myself.

The first time we went camping, the wind absolutely HOWLED all night. There were several tents that flapped all night, some collapsed, but our tent was great!

It was really hot but the tent has a lot of windows and vents so we had nice air circulation.

The second time we went camping, it poured rain the first night. Many, many people had their tents flooded. But the high bathtub bottom on the sunrise kept us nice and dry.

I'd definitely make the purchase again.

 

[MrsPete]

Who loves it? Who hates it?

We've decided - this year we are doing it! We keep talking about it, but DH wants a $500+ tent and the money is never there. I keep trying to talk him into a less expensive tent and he's finally agreed. He'd rather go camping than not, so a less expensive tent it is. We're a family of 3. I was thinking a 6 person tent - any recommendations?

We have a truck so we have plenty of room for our stuff. Coolers - check. Lantern - check (we used to tent camp all the time). No sleeping bags. Could we use an air mattress and blankets/sheets from home? We have a single person cot that DS could use, so he can definitely just use a blanket/sheets from home. We have pots and pans we can bring from home. And plates, cups, silverware. Do we need a propane hot plate/burner? I'm thinking not at first - we could always add it later if we find we really enjoy camping. I will probably cook most of our meals while we're camping (cook being a relative term - dinner will be deli-meat sandwiches, chips, fruit, etc. most breakfasts will be quickies, with lunch being our big cook-on-the-fire meal). I'm sure we'll eat out a couple of times...it is vacation after all!

Am I missing anything? I was thinking mid-late spring for our first venture. Somewhere close to home. Maybe this summer we'll venture out further. We would love to go to South Dakota. And, of course, Fort Wilderness!

Thanks!

We love tent camping. You're wise to consider waiting 'til warm weather for your first trip. Make it something short. You'll learn from that first trip, and then you'll be ready for longer excursions. State parks are a nice place to start car camping (which is what you're describing with coolers and air mattresses). You'll find lots of friendly people in the state parks, and people visit around campfires in the evenings. A typical park site provides you one parking place, a tent spot, a picnic table, a safe fire ring, and sometimes a lantern hook. Usually you'll have a water spigot and an electrical outlet too. Be sure your son brings his bike. Taking off on bikes is a big bonding thing for kids in campgrounds.

I have no aspirations to camp at Fort Wilderness. I see Disney as one type of trip, camping as another. I want air conditioning and a private shower in the Florida heat. After you've camped a few times, you'll be able to judge for yourself.

I suggest you get a book on camping /camping equipment. Lots of little things can make your life easier, and they aren't necessarily common sense. For example, you might think that you can lighten your load and skip pajamas -- you might think that in cold weather it makes sense to sleep in whatever you wore that day; however, that's wrong -- any clothing you were wearing for any period of time has some small amount of sweat in it, sweat which will become cold after you lie down, and sweat which will make you cold all night. Instead, put on the clothes you plan to wear the following day -- they aren't sweaty yet.

Try eBay for tents; we bought a great three-room tent (brand new) for $50, including delivery. Definitely choose a domed model. They're easy to set up and can be assembled on sand or rock (meaning that stakes aren't necessary). If you plan to camp in established campgrounds, don't go too big. You want to be able to fit your tent into an average campsite.

Yes, for a family of three, you need a six-person tent to really be comfortable. When they say "three people", they mean three sleeping bags lined up side-by-side with no space between them. If you want space for your bags inside, you'll need a larger tent. Never allow shoes inside; teach everyone to tuck their shoes under the edge of the tent right by the door when they come in. This'll keep your tent clean, and it'll prolong its life.

Sleeping bags are also cheap off of eBay. We have good sleep pads rather than air mattress. They're more comfortable and take less effort to blow up.

Don't try to use your at-home pots-and-pans -- not if you're cooking over a fire. Cast iron is best over a fire. Rub the OUTSIDE of your pots with a small bit of dish soap before you cook over a fire; it'll make clean-up easy. You can start out with NO cooking equipment though: Make hobo dinners in the comfort of your own kitchen (ground beef patty, vegetables, maybe some gravy -- you can adapt and use a chicken patty or something else); double-wrap these in foil and bake them in the coals. For breakfast, make up a one-egg omlet in a small ziplock bag, and drop it into boiling water to cook it -- a perfect omlet, cooked without butter.

Do bring along a water bucket to keep near your fire -- that's a safety need. And you can use it to rinse your hands.

Sometimes the parks'll outlaw fires (because of dry conditions), and then a propane stove becomes a necessity. That's the kind of thing you can add on as you go.

You really need very little to start. Just go and see how you like it, but I suggest that you don't invest a whole lot of money up front -- if you do, you may end up with a bunch of stuff that you thought you'd like, while you're wishing that you'd bought something else. Much of the stuff in the camping stores is not necessary.

 

[3boymthr]

We’ve been camping for 20+ years now. And I agree with your DH a good tent is well worth the price, but if you’re not sure about camping then buy a less expensive but not cheap tent and test the waters. If you find you love it then invest in a more expensive tent. We have several tents and I like both our Coleman (kids tent) and our REI tent (DH and I). I like the Coleman tents for ease of set up and price and the REI for waterproof-ness (it was expensive and it is PITA to set up).

When you first start out you can definitely skip the sleeping bags and go with blankets and an airmattress from home. Make sure that you bring a waterproof mattress pad and an extra heavy duty blanket to put between you and the air mattress. As I learned the hard way the air temperature of the air in the air mattress will match the air temperature of the outside air. If it is cool the air in the mattress will be cool which will result in condensation on the outside of the mattress and just plain cold that will seep thru to you making your camping a much less pleasant experience.

While not necessary I strongly recommend a stove for heating water, etc. for coffee and cleaning dishes. People get rid of used ones all the time so check craigslist and yard sales you can find a bargain on one. I found one on the side of the road last month that someone had put out for the trash – all it needed was a little cleaning to get rid of some critter crud and poof it was like new. (I also scored to like new Coleman lanterns)

Things you will want to invest in before your trip: A mallet with a loop on the end for pounding in and removing tent pegs. Some tarps to hang over your picnic table in case it rains or the trees are shedding (a few years ago we graduated to a pop up awning - love it but they are expensive @$100). Some long metal skewers for cooking hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire (@ $4 ea at Target or Walmart). Rope for haning said tarp and for hanging towels, clothes.

Also, don’t forget to bring a rake for raking the site to remove rocks from under where you are going to put your tent and a wisk broom to sweep dirt out of your tent.

Finally, we may live in MA but we’ve camped our way across the country and if you want to try camping in SD I strongly recommend camping in Custer State Park near Mount Rushmore. You’d need to book now for this summer, but the campground and facilities are really, really nice and relatively inexpensive. I have some photos of the site we had here that I will post when I get home.

 

[pperfectmom]

We are big tent campers and I agree with the idea of the 6 person tent for your needs. We are a family of four and upgraded to an 8 person last year. It is huge and takes a long time to set up but I love being able to stand upright and having extra room if we are stuck in it for any amount of time. My DH and I prefer the air mattress and sheets and quilts from home but I would suggest getting a good sleeping bag for your child. They don't have the extra body heat you get from a warm, snuggly DH. I would also strongly suggest buying a Coleman stove. The last thing in the world I want to deal with is trying to start a fire in the rain to get my morning coffee. Also, like a previous poster said sometimes there may be fire bans and almost all states restrict the transporting of firewood across state lines. So then you will have to buy or try to collect enough down wood to last you long enough for all your cooking. After buying several bundles you would have been better off just going ahead and getting the stove. We save the fire for enjoying in the evening and do most cooking on the stove. And, if you decide to go to SD, Custer State Park(in the Black Hills close to Mt. Rushmore) is a wonderful place. Just make sure to plan for winter even in the middle of summer.

 

[leadfootlevi]

Don't try to use your at-home pots-and-pans -- not if you're cooking over a fire. Cast iron is best over a fire. Rub the OUTSIDE of your pots with a small bit of dish soap before you cook over a fire; it'll make clean-up easy. You can start out with NO cooking equipment though: Make hobo dinners in the comfort of your own kitchen (ground beef patty, vegetables, maybe some gravy -- you can adapt and use a chicken patty or something else); double-wrap these in foil and bake them in the coals. For breakfast, make up a one-egg omlet in a small ziplock bag, and drop it into boiling water to cook it -- a perfect omlet, cooked without butter.

Our at-home pots and pans are cast iron! Do you still think it's a bad idea to use them on the fire and on the stove at home? The dish soap idea is a great one!

 

[racechick8293]

I'm not a fan of tent camping. We used to do this as a cost-saving measure while still in college, but there are so many factors I dislike- dependence on weather, communal restrooms, bugs, etc... Give me a hotel room any day!

 

[Juliegirl1]

Just a few recommendations before you go. Set up your tent in the backyard so you are familiar with it and you know that all the pieces are there and in working order. Also, while the tent is set up in your backyard Scotch Guard the rain fly and the tent and use seam sealer on the tent.

I have taken my son camping (usually just the two of us) since he was two and now we are doing a lot of camping with the cub scouts. I have camped so many times that we have a set menu, I know exactly how much food I need to take and we have no leftovers. We have a Wenzel tent - I camp in Texas so we need a summer tent so it's very lightweight. It's a 10x10 and perfect for three people (we have used a queen size air mattress and a single cot).

Previous posters have given you great information. Yes, you can use the cast iron for both. I second the recommendation to purchase a campstove. I received one for Christmas a few years ago that has a regular burner and a grill. We love to grill our meats so it has been wonderful and especially if there is a burn ban you will need a stove to cook on.

Have fun!

 

[Pigeon]

I'd rather set fire to my own hair than go camping.

 

[MrsPete]

As I learned the hard way the air temperature of the air in the air mattress will match the air temperature of the outside air. If it is cool the air in the mattress will be cool which will result in condensation on the outside of the mattress and just plain cold that will seep thru to you making your camping a much less pleasant experience . . .

Finally, we may live in MA but we’ve camped our way across the country and if you want to try camping in SD I strongly recommend camping in Custer State Park near Mount Rushmore. You’d need to book now for this summer, but the campground and facilities are really, really nice and relatively inexpensive. I have some photos of the site we had here that I will post when I get home.

Another reason why sleeping pads are superior to air mattresses for camping! But for starters, use what you have -- air mattresses are okay for summer camping.

Another vote for Custer State Park! It is wonderful.

Our at-home pots and pans are cast iron! Do you still think it's a bad idea to use them on the fire and on the stove at home? The dish soap idea is a great one!

Well, you didn't say that in your post! Cast iron is the best for car camping.

 

[3boymthr]

As PP mentioned your pots and pans can get ruined over an open fire. Same goes for cooking utensils. While this is less likely with cast iron the ash and smoke will do things to your pans; the ash especially may not all come off the outside of the pans. Oldest DS is in scouts and they frequently cook over an open fire. Every so often he brings home one of the troop’s cast iron pans to clean. Those things are encrusted with ash in the crevices and flame and smoke stains. Even after lots of scrubbing (which you are not supposed to do with cast iron ) I could not get the stains off. I suggest hitting your local goodwill for cast iron pots pans and even dishes and utensils. I bought all my utensils for camping at goodwill I think I paid $2 for enough for a family of 5 for two meals. For less than $20 you could probably outfit yourself for camping including plates and cups and.... I keep a separate set of cooking and eating gear all bundled up in a Rubbermaid tote just for camping. I pull it out and away we go whenever we camp. It just saves lots of time.

As PP also mentioned, there are lots of campgrounds out there that no longer allow open fires due to drought, etc. and if they do you are not allowed to leave the fire going when you leave so you could be stuck around waiting for the fire to die down. Even if bought new a good single burner camp stove can be had for not too much money.

For tents and sleeping bags I recommend staying away from used from e-bay (craigs list might be okay if you are allowed to do a thorough inspection first) simply because it might look good in photos and may truly have only been used once or twice but there are lots of people out there (we’re friends with a few ) who will put there stuff away wet and then sell it off because it’s gotten moldy or mildewy and unfortunately e-bay doesn’t come with smell-o-vision.

Another thing to bring – flashlights. A lantern is good for the camp area, but you don’t want to have find it and matches in the dark, fuss around with lighting it then haul it to the restroom in the middle of the night (when little my kids always seemed to have a way of needing 2 AM potty runs when camping ).

 

[Swimalie]

I love tent camping. We like to hike in, though. No car brings in our stuff, just what ever we can get on our backs. We have a 2 person tent from REI that weighs 4 lbs, I think. Titanium pots and pans and utensils, too.

Instead of a lantern, try head lamps. Then your hands are free. Plus, water proof matches are a great idea just in case you do get a bit of rain or some leakage gets on the matches.

 

[MrsPete]

I keep a separate set of cooking and eating gear all bundled up in a Rubbermaid tote just for camping.

For tents and sleeping bags I recommend staying away from used from e-bay

Another thing to bring – flashlights.

Rubbermaid totes are great for organizing camp stuff. We have a big one for our tent. It's big enough for the tent, stakes, poles, and mallet. And Rubbermaid totes pack easily in the back of our SUV. We keep our cooking gear in a metal camp box, which has a fold-out front that makes a clean work surface.

NEW tents and sleeping bags are widely available on ebay. They won't be as cheap as used ones, but there's no shortage.

After years of camping, flashlights are something we've quit bringing. They just never got used. We have the lantern by the campfire. We can identify everything in the tent by feel. If you're camping in a state campground, the paths are lighted. We've pared down a number of things, and this is one of them.

 

[MrsPete]

Plus, water proof matches are a great idea just in case you do get a bit of rain or some leakage gets on the matches.

We make FREE firestarters at home: Save toilet paper rolls and stuff them with dryer lint. Store them in ziplock bags. Works great, and they're literally free -- things you would've thrown in the trash.

 

[laurafergie]

We're a tent camping family. We actually did tent camp at Fort Wilderness over Spring Break one year and it was one of our best vacations ever! That being said - it was in March, I would never tent camp in Florida in the summer!

You've gotten some really good advice. My advice would be to start small with the camping "stuff". Air mattresses and blankets are fine vs sleeping bags. A lantern, a Coleman stove, kitchen stuff that you can buy at the thrift stores or dollar stores, all put into one Rubbermaid tub is your "chuck box". Have a separate Rubbermaid tub for your loose food (Never leave food out unless you want animal visitors)

I would invest in decent tent stakes and a heavy hammer/mallet with a hook on the end to pull them out of the ground. And an oversize tarp that will cover your tent completely. I just strap it down with those cable straps things. This will keep the rain out, because no tent is completely 100% waterproof. It also helps with keeping heat in. Some people will hang a tarp over the tent, but at lot of the State Parks around here, you're not allowed to hang things form the trees.

Camping is a blast and is a great bonding experience for the family. Have fun!

 

[3boymthr]

Rubbermaid totes are great for organizing camp stuff. We have a big one for our tent. It's big enough for the tent, stakes, poles, and mallet. And Rubbermaid totes pack easily in the back of our SUV. We keep our cooking gear in a metal camp box, which has a fold-out front that makes a clean work surface.

NEW tents and sleeping bags are widely available on ebay. They won't be as cheap as used ones, but there's no shortage.

After years of camping, flashlights are something we've quit bringing. They just never got used. We have the lantern by the campfire. We can identify everything in the tent by feel. If you're camping in a state campground, the paths are lighted. We've pared down a number of things, and this is one of them.

We have a tote for our gear too. It makes everything so simple. One tote for gear (stove, pegs lanterns, etc.), one tote for cooking. We keep the sleeping bags separate simply because they get used for Boy Scouts too. (Though aside from this the kids have separate camping gear for scouts).

Oh, yeah, new is fine from e-bay just watch out for the used.

Around here the state and most private campgrounds (except KOA and those are few and far between) aren't lit at night. When we were at Sebago Lake State Park in Maine last summer once quiet hours went into effect the only lights were inside the bathrooms themselves (not even over the bathroom doors) and the bathrooms were around the corner down the path and up a hill and a few hundred trees away from our site. The same held tru at Russel Pond in NH.

 

[armomof3lvsdisney]

We love to tent camp. We bought a new tent 3 years ago. I researched tents for a long time, decided on the Columbia Cougar Flats II. We love it!! I would definitely buy this tent again.

We have camped at the Great Smoky Mts. 2 out of the last 3 summers. There is so much to do and it's beautiful. We went white water rafting this last summer, it was a blast. We found that when we camp, we spend way more quality time together as a family. All of us sitting around the camp fire and playing games on the picnic table are memories that are priceless to me.

 

[cheekymonkey]

We are a tent camping family too! The kids LOVE it and it's a wonderful way to stretch you vacation $.

This past October we camped at Fort Wilderness. It was just lovely-one of our favorite family vacations ever!!!

Check out the camping board here-they have lots of great FW specific advice!
Sandra

 

[marie1203]

Join to the club! My DH also decided we are going to start camping this year. I am not big on camping but I will go with him. We just got all the stuff we need we got a nemo tent for 4. It is very light and has a lifetime warranty it was over $400 for a 4 person tent. I think it is important to have the right gear to make your sure you enjoy it. Depending on the season I would buy sleeping bags. There is not way blankets are going to be good for extreme weather.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

One of the important things about a good tent is the floor better if it has a bathtub wall meaning the floor material comes up the sides of the tent - try to get one that has these specifications http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___28504
Click on specifications. That is the tent my DH selected and we had no leaks. Specifically because the coating on the floor is 1800mm, very good. I see Campmor has a sale on tents right now.

Freeze gallons of water to use in cooler
I always make a chili at home to have for our first dinner

Happy camping! Would love to hear how your first trip went.