Only have a Sedan. So what about a tent?

[ktoddweaver]

I am seriously considering camping all over the west country. However, I have a 4 door Ford fusion sedan and was thinking about adding a stand alone tent outside my car. My question is; Can you keep a tent warm enough during the winter, having no insulation? 

If you have tried the tent, what are the pros and cons of setting up a tent in the camp? Any info would be greatly appreciated.  I am able to sleep in my car, with the seats arranged correctly, for extremely bad weather. But I really would like to have more sleeping room in a tent if it is recommended.

Thank you for any help you can give.

Todd

 

[bullfrog]

It depends on how big a tent, where and how you plan to use it. Are you going to try to stand up, cook, shower, poop, sleep and work in it? Will you sleep on the ground or sit a table in it? In other words there is a huge difference in having a good ground mat/sleeping bag with no heat required in a mountain climbing light weight tent as opposed to “glamping” in a yurt or wall tent. Spring bar or Kodiak tents are stand up sort of in between and highly recommended for the Southwest winds as they will survive but are heavy and do take up space depending on size. We need to know exactly what type of experience you are looking for and length of stays in one place. With a good sleeping bag which is necessary an outside heat source isn’t necessary to sleep. A Good tent mainly protects you from wind, rain and snow. Another possibility is an extremely light weight foamy teardrop trailer since you will be mainly on improved roads with your car.

 

[ktoddweaver]

Thank you for your reply. I would like to relax, read, work on the computer in the tent rather than my car. Probably a chair, small table and a cot to sleep on, and to cook in if it's raining. So I have been looking at the 6 person tents, which should have enough room. So if it's cold, than I would prefer to have heat, maybe some type of propane heater?
If I go this route, what are the odds of a tent enduring some good winds and rain? I would be staying the 14 days allowed per place. So I don't mind setting up and tearing down. I am just wondering am I on the right path in thinking about a good size tent? I want to get solar also, so I need to figure a way to all this outside my car somehow. Like I said, I can sleep in my car if I have too. So before I go ripping the seats out to make a bed, should I consider a tent as a good option?
Thanks a bunch!

 

[Uncle Todo]

Depending on your budget, maybe a pop top camper trailer would be a good fit.
It has a hard top for mounting solar panels and would greatly simplify your setup & tear down.
Something like this:
https://meguiarsonline.com/forums/s...65fb79430feb85&p=344810&viewfull=1#post344810
You'd have to check tow capacity of your car but they are lightweight little trailers, I almost say even designed to be pulled by cars.

 

[bullfrog]

I would rip out your seats or do whatever you need to do to get a comfortable place to sleep as well you will need all the room you can get for storage of camping gear, solar and a heater. Many have used a Toyota Prius to start with that allows you to have a thermostatically controlled temperatures in your vehicle where you can sleep comfortably all ready built in. A Prius can also have an inverter installed large enough to power a small house so a ceramic heater ( no additional condensation) can be run in a smaller tent like the Spring Bar or Kodiak which will last a life time if taken care of in severe weather, there will be days and nights where you will need to drop the tent to protect poles from bending or breaking but they will be few. No solar is necessary with the Prius to take care of all your power needs. With a larger inverter on the main battery you can even air condition your tent! Even though I have never owned a Prius I would if I were starting out all over again as it just makes things so easy. When you start having to deal with heat from fuel (which you have to store) you need space and ventilation as well as a way to deal with condensation. When you need electrical power same deal lots of space for storage of batteries and panels. You can do it in your car but it won’t be easy or convenient. There are many compromises that must be made a Prius doesn’t involve near as many. Bob Wells has a good video of a woman living in an 8’x8’ Kodiak I believe and several of people living in a Prius.

 

[bullfrog]

See post in new comers.

 

[[email protected]]

OP see my post under miscellaneous builds for "unorthodox  camper" it is about a 6'x8' camper I built a couple of years ago. I used a Harber Freight trailer kit with a used pickup shell for the roof and upper sides and framed up short connecting side walls. The original post has plenty of pictures. I think I only had about $600 in the build. It was fairly light at 1360 pounds ready to camp. It would give you a good some base camp. Best luck on your future home.

 

[ktoddweaver]

Makes perfect sense. Thanks for your input!

 

[shadowmoss]

Look at motorcycle popup tents. They are trailers designed to be pulled behind motorcycles that open up into larger tents. I drive a Mazda 3 and am tempted to go this route for traveling. Since they can be pulled behind a motorcycle my small car should be able to handle it.

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Todd to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

highdesertranger

 

[maki2]

You can purchase ice fishing tents that have insulated walls. The do an instant popup in about one minute. But they do not generally have a floor in them however thete might be some brands that offer an attachable floor as an option.

 Clam is one company that makes them, Eskimo Fish is another. It will be warmer in the winter. 

Another option is there are some small woodstoves made for use in canvus tents. But for car camping the smaller sized, lightweight, nearly instant to put up and down, inulated, popup is your best option. When it is cold out fast to get it put up is a real bonus and you will use it often.

 

[ckelly78z]

If you are going to be in cold weather, you may want to consider sleeping in your car, and storing everything in the tent. This will be a much smaller area to keep clean, warm, and dry than a stand up tent. I really like the idea of a Clam quikset screen tent with zip in side panels.

https://www.amazon.com/Clam-Quick-Set-Escape-Portable-Outdoor/dp/B07DRKCF72

Make sure to crack a window open for ventilation if you plan on sleeping in the car.

 

[Clair de Lune]

I saw several comments about high winds in the Southwest desert areas, and it is an issue raised in Bob Well's videos as well. Would a motorcycle tent trailer weighing around 300 lbs. stand up to the winds in those areas? I've been looking into them, but I would hate to wake up in another camp site due to being too lightweight! What do most nomads do with awnings, popup shower tents, and other items? Do they carry weights? Do they fill bags with rocks that they just pick up in the area and use temporarily? I imagine that stakes would be routine. I'd appreciate learning about any experiences that people have had with what works and doesn't work in windy conditions. Thanks.

 

[bullfrog]

There are a few days where almost anything that is deployed will be damaged or blown away. Simply by taking them down, laying them on the ground or lowering them and securing them with stakes or weights will save them. Ten square feet of canvas in a gust of 50 to 60 mph wind is gonna move, it will break aluminum poles and steel tube legs if you try to hold them down. Most use something that can flex or weak enough to stretch like bungee cords which will save ripping and breaking things up to about 35 to 40 mph gusts. You definitely don’t leave things unattended when weather fronts come thru. Flapping canvas keeping you up for several nights is nothing compared to a gust ripping and breaking things. Wind blocks help but there will be at least one day where you will need to shelter in the vehicle with the trailer closed up to protect the canvas in my opinion, so be prepared. There are some good videos of Spring Bar and Kodiak tents in high winds. Just watch and imagine being inside trying to sleep!

 

[Clair de Lune]

That was a great response, very detailed and complete. Thank you!

 

[nature lover]

Are used to do a lot of winter camping many times for a month at a time PA. I found it one of the major things you need to do is insulate under your sleeping area. Those rollup exercise pads are very dense foam and they work pretty good. I could tolerate the cold inside the tent when I had to move around but in sleeping insulating under my sleeping area was key to keeping warm.

 

[bullfrog]

We experience wind gusts quite often where we are at Lake Powell. Wind here funneled through canyons is really remarkable in it’s power. It can come from any direction even straight down. A few years back a 44’ house boat that was anchored to shore by 4 anchor lines was picked up 20’ in the air, flipped over and set back down upside down on it’s top. On the way to the scene a 26’ patrol boat had it’s bow shoved 4’ below the surface of the lake. Another house boat anchored 300 yards away up the canyon didn’t even get the plastic chairs blown off the upper deck! Sudden gusts of wind preceding a storm can easily be 50 to 60 mph. It pays to be prepared and watch the weather.

 

[highdesertranger]

heed bullfrog's advice. the wind can tear up almost anything. I know. highdesertranger

 

[shadowmoss]

Normal tent stakes won't do a good enough job in the desert. 10" or more threaded posts ( I have to look for what they are called) that I got at Home Depot, and that are put in the ground with a battery operated drill will help keep things anchored in the every day wind. When a front comes through, taking things down and packing up is the best way. Keep an eye on the forecast. The trailer tents seem like they would be quicker to pack up, but I may be wrong on that as I have no experience with them.

 

[abnorm]

^ My friend Shadowmoss is referring to SPAX screws..........we use the 8" x 3/8 diameter screws....Driven with a cordless drill fitted with a 1/2" nutdriver