Car camping travel trailer vs tent

[yeahman]

If I had to shell out the better part of a grand every time I wanted to get away for a long weekend, I'd end up staying home a lot more. With the camper, the cost of leaving for a weekend isn't really a consideration at all.

Yep. For all the years of kids' sports all over the state we never got a hotel room like most people did. Just stayed at the local KOA or whatever and enjoyed our own food and a campfire. Made the sports trips much more tolerable for me, and cheaper too.

[AK47bp]

My buddy bought one of these and I go camping with him a good bit.

Nice set up. The tent pack slides out and can use as a utility trailer. With the tent packed in you can use it as a toy hauler / flat bed.

https://www.jumpingjacktrailers.com/




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[jmedslc]

My buddy bought one of these and I go camping with him a good bit.

Nice set up. The tent pack slides out and can use as a utility trailer. With the tent packed in you can use it as a toy hauler / flat bed.

https://www.jumpingjacktrailers.com/




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This is interesting. Company appears to be in SLC too. Might try to find one to go look at

[Shorty_J]

I'm having the same dilemma.

Bought a 24' trailer from my wife's grandma last year and spent over $1000 on storage and insurance and never used it once last year... just didn't line up.

I'd like to sell it but I'm not sure the wife is on board with that.

[AK47bp]

This is interesting. Company appears to be in SLC too. Might try to find one to go look at

It’s really great quality. People stop all the time to ask him about it.




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[Name Redacted]

^^That thing looks like it would be miserable in a windstorm. I have a RTT mounted on top of an enclosed cargo trailer. At least I have the option to sleep inside the trailer when it is really blowing outside. I take that option so often that I'm thinking that I might ditch the RTT all together.

Personally, for us, I think just an enclosed cargo trailer is the answer. If we had kids, they'd be sleeping outside in a tent.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Most cargo trailers are really noisy in the wind with the thin aluminum walls. The ghetto version of that jumping jack (of which there are a few versions) is a RTT on a utility trailer. A slide in on a utility trailer has been done as well. We all justify spending our money our own ways. For me, #cotlife in the back of the truck works great. A trailer would be a bad option for us. There is a reason 4x4 vans cost what they do. They are the most versatile option for many.

[AK47bp]

^^That thing looks like it would be miserable in a windstorm. I have a RTT mounted on top of an enclosed cargo trailer. At least I have the option to sleep inside the trailer when it is really blowing outside. I take that option so often that I'm thinking that I might ditch the RTT all together.

Personally, for us, I think just an enclosed cargo trailer is the answer. If we had kids, they'd be sleeping outside in a tent.

In the category of a family sized tents I’d take heavy canvas with metal frame attached to a trailer over a nylon tent staked into the ground with guy lines in a windstorm any day.

Obviously can’t beat an enclosed trailer with hard sides in bad weather.

Problem with canvas is drying it out before storing. Easier said than done in the PNW if you don’t have a garage large enough to open it up to dry out.




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[Danno]

I would never choose a camping option that requires off site storage. Too much of a production to go camping when you have to go fetch the camper versus getting shit ready at a more leisurely pace.

[nickwm21]

+1 for REI kingdom and Exped Megamat

Im not sure what you gain by going to the canvas tent and cot game


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[rod9301]

Rei kingdom 6 if great and it takes about the same thing to set up as a pop up trailer.

No cots needed plus they will be cold

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[Jong Lafitte]

Im not sure what you gain by going to the canvas tent and cot game


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Canvas can be awesome if it fits for you. It wouldn’t work for me presently especially given the cost for a real one but things I absolutely love about canvas tents:

Keeps warm better, stays cool better, is far more comfortable to be inside of during the wind, stove options almost limitless, far far far less worry of sun damage (if I have a regular double wall left set up during the day, I usually take the fly off if it’s sunny) overall durability and repairability are great, uses more sustainable natural materials. Just way better to hang in when the weather is bad. Much closer in overall comfort to an RV than a nylon tent.

My dads bud had a full on bonafide teepee that must have been 25 feet tall. Cast iron stove in the middle. You felt like you were indoors.

Of course drawbacks include the cost, weight and setup time. Seems like great option if you’re staying for days at a time at the same site (or as a base) “rain or shine.”

More rare for a reason.


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[Ville]

Tipi style tent with stove/other heating system is really nice. Last's everything nature can throw at you.

Lähetetty minun LYA-L29 laitteesta Tapatalkilla

[jmedslc]

Rei kingdom 6 if great and it takes about the same thing to set up as a pop up trailer.

No cots needed plus they will be cold

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Don’t be silly. Cots are infinitely more comfortable and easier to sleep on than any sort of pad or mattress. I use a nice 2” insulated sleeping pad on mine and am never cold. If weather goes bad or temps drop significantly I use a bivy on the cot. It’s a very comfortable setup for a single individual spending multiple nights out.

[EWG]

My wife grew up with a pop up and always wanted us to get one. Never did. We have a huge Kelty Ridgeway dome tent we got at Costco that's like 14'x9' and tall enough for a 6' person to stand up in instead. Has three rooms. When the kids were little my wife and I were on one end on a queen blow up mattress, the kids on the other on camping pads and sleeping bags, and a big space in the middle. Tent was heavy as shit, but who cares - it's car camping. Still holding up well, does great in rain, etc. Only downside was finding a large enough flat spot for it. (Costco has a couple of these online right now by Coleman and some other brand if you are looking.)

Now that our kids will soon be in college, I was thinking I wanted a trailer for just my wife and I to hit the road with. Was thinking of going high zoot and buying a used Taxa. However, the more I thought about it the less I liked the idea.

I think what we'll do instead is make car camping more of a luxury. We'll get real cots, nice pads for them, a fold up kitchen, shower bucket, etc. Use the huge tent, maybe get a smaller 6 person tall tent dome tent too for tighter spots. An inflatable mattress made to fit perfectly in the back of the Grand Cherokee if we just wanna crash in the back of the car if it's late. Already have a coleman road trip grill, roll up camp tables, nice chairs, all that crap.

As long as I have a nice bed and a nice chair, and I can stand up inside the tent, I'm good. It'll save a ton of money over a trailer, and it's easy to take the setup anywhere. It's really a mountain bike setup for us. For skiing it'll just be hotel rooms I guess, but a Taxa sucks in the cold anyway.

[AK47bp]

Always make sure you have room to pack your pizza oven.




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[brown9]

We have a 2018 so it’s the classic layout. When we bought it I could park at our house but 2 moves later we have a house with a view that needs a carport roof list that might not fly with the city to fit the camper.
The tenting when it’s nice and spending the extra costs for hotels or Airbnb and plane tickets is where I am leaning. I figure I can spend $1000 on a tent nice pads and a bunch of storage and have a great setup. I can also consider a non tow capable car which is another plus.
Basically looking for validation or holes in the idea.

I’m looking to sell a TNF Wawona 6 that’s been used three nights. We went the travel trailer route as we do a lot of off season camping in questionable weather.


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[singlesline]

What about in bear heavy areas? My wife's a little more nervous about being in a tent in peak grizzly season and I'm sure that's only going to get worse when a kid enters the picture.

I'm really not a fan of the idea of owning a full travel trailer, but its not like a popup or rooftop tent provides much more feeling of security than a tent.

Maybe in a year or two a bunch of underutilized covid van builds will flood the market at reasonable prices.

[yeahman]

^^It is something to think about depending on where you camp. Some campgrounds around Yellowstone NP won't even let you camp with anything that isn't hard sided.

Same concern is valid re security when camping in urban areas. Staying in Las Vegas in our old popup tent trailer was sketchy IMO. Gang bangers were hopping the fence around the RV park and stealing mountain bikes as we were staying there. Security guard warned us about staying in a soft sided popup that anybody could easily get into. I kept the bear spray and baseball bat handy that night and slept with one eye open.

[Falcon3]

I’m looking to sell a TNF Wawona 6 that’s been used three nights. We went the travel trailer route as we do a lot of off season camping in questionable weather.


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My sisters family has been looking at that tent. Sent you a Pm

[carlh]

Closing this out we sold the escape and bought a 2003 Coleman tent trailer for ~10% the price. Towed it home today and being able to see over it makes life less stressful. Looking forward to more interior space and a king sized bed camping. Needs tires and a bearing repack before want to pull it very far but otherwise in great shape and came with a packasport on the roof rails.