Returning

[geogentry]

Well I have been off here for quite some time. We have been traveling now four some time, going on ten months. What an education.

I can understand the attraction of a van but a body has to use what they have. So we ate in a car with a tent. Drawback on the tent is, of course, the wind. Seems most tents are made for the family just camping for a weekend in the woods. We are on our third tent. We now have a tent that is supposed to hold up to 60 mph winds. Time will tell.

I know that this site is geared towards the van nomad but is there an area that leans towards tents? Idea and information exchange is always a good thing. Is anyone else on here that is a tent nomad?

I do have an interest in doing the camp host thing - will they hire someone who uses a tent? Anyone know? And is age a factor?



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[cyndi]

Welcome back K, geogentry!

There are plenty of threads about tent dwelling. But there isn't a dedicated forum.

I seem to remember that CLM (California Land Management) used to hire renters for remote campgrounds
http://www.clm-services.com

 

[DLTooley]

I’m a fan of a camping based start rather than attempting to plan out a full build. A good basic tent is worth the money. A free standing 3 season should be good. You want a solid ground cover. What you use as a pad matters. Rafters have very good ones. I use multiple standard style, but all I do is roll and unroll.

Depending on your vehicle setting up a kitchen on the vehicle would be a plus. A 5’ folding table from Walmart is good thing regardless. Good camp chairs too. The time spent outside is always the best. An awning or canopy is worth figuring out.

 

[Cammalu]

I was at a a state campground in Missouri and the camp host was using a tent

 

[ckelly78z]

We used to use a tent to hold our campsite, and all of our big supply items. We slept, and played in our small runabout boat. It was 16' long, with back to back seats, that we would fold down at night.

I currently have a 32' camper with a big slideout pulled by a Ford diesel Excursion. This site is for anyone who thinks about "CHEAPRVLIVING", and has many members that don't have van builds.

 

[Wabbit]

Hi geogentry, I tent camped for 6 months out of the year for like 5 years before I went full-time. We went thru 2-3 tents each year, and that was just 6 months of the year! Never seemed to have the $600 or so for one of them quality tents, easier to come up with $150ish for the cheaper ones. I do miss tent camping at times though, specially in the summer when we're more in the forest areas. Best of luck!

EDIT: Got to talking about myself and forgot to address your question! Lol. I saw a camp host in a tent at a Corp of Engineers site in Illinois. Was a small campground with just a vault toilet, single water pump, and maybe 10 sites, but they are out there.

 

[bullfrog]

My wife and I use a 10'x14' Kodiac for 3 or 4 months of the winter along with a large home built topper on a 1978 Jeep truck to travel and try to stay warm along the Arizona / Mexican border. Sometimes in summer when people visit in Utah. We have done this 4 or 5 years now and the tent zippers just got cleaned and lubricated for the first time. We bought it with a ground tarp on sale for under $600 on sale with free shipping. By the time we bought special stakes, ball bungees and some ruggs we probably have $750 into it. The sloped sides eat up a lot of room and if windy even more as you don't want the canvass rubbing when it moves. The truck topper is 80"x80" and a little over six foot high with two beds down the side and one across the front we use for storage. The reason I mention this is the topper cost less than the tent in materials to build and now only set up the tent for showers and food storage/living area. See tnttt.com foamies section for how to build something like this. Remote campgrounds and most government/state campgrounds are usally glad just to get someone, private ones are more picky in my opinion but sometimes will furnish a trailer or housing just to fill a vacancy. Many of the large park concession providers furnish housing but you need to apply now.

 

[Beetle]

In the colder weather I use the Clam® Refuge Thermal FLR Ice Shelter and switch to their new
Escape Sky Camper in the summer (netted roof so I can see the stars).  Bob favorably reviewed a smaller older model Refuge in a video.

 

[geogentry]

My wife and I use a 10'x14' Kodiac for 3 or 4 months of the winter along with a large home built topper on a 1978 Jeep truck to travel and try to stay warm along the Arizona / Mexican border. Sometimes in summer when people visit in Utah. We have done this 4 or 5 years now and the tent zippers just got cleaned and lubricated for the first time. We bought it with a ground tarp on sale for under $600 on sale with free shipping. By the time we bought special stakes, ball bungees and some ruggs we probably have $750 into it. The sloped sides eat up a lot of room and if windy even more as you don't want the canvass rubbing when it moves.

Remote campgrounds and most government/state campgrounds are usally glad just to get someone, private ones are more picky in my opinion but sometimes will furnish a trailer or housing just to fill a vacancy. Many of the large park concession providers furnish housing but you need to apply now.

I got tired of the fragility of the average 3 season tent and made the plunge for an Alaskan Guide model. It is supposed to hold up to near gale force winds. I went the four season to cut down on the net roof. Camping in desert or high desert dust is my consideration. Having the stuff sprinkle down on your face, like powdered sugar, during nighttime winds made sleep rough.

Am looking into the small national/state campgrounds now. Searching for the companies.

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[geogentry]

I saw a camp host in a tent at a Corp of Engineers site in Illinois. Was a small campground with just a vault toilet, single water pump, and maybe 10 sites, but they are out there.

Thanks. Never thought of the A.C.E. renee is ok.

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[geogentry]

Thanks Cyndi, will give them a look.

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[Zephyr]

geogentry, how is the Alaskan Guide tent working out for you?

I always tent camp when car or motorcycle touring. Tenting appeals to me because they work with all vehicles. They are much cheaper than a huge fifth wheel and the truck necessary to haul it around. Vans are cheaper but have a restricted living area. Might be claustrophobic for me. I've had some bad nights in tents like when a thunderstorm blew mine down and the waterproof floor held two inches of water all night. I spent the remainder of the night laying on my air mattress keeping my down bag dry. I was on my motorcycle. If I had been in my car, it wouldn't have been as bad. My main problem is my 71 year old legs cramp at night and crawling out is difficult. I need a tent I can walk out of. I assume you bought the tent size with a stand up height in the center.

 

[geogentry]

geogentry, how is the Alaskan Guide tent working out for you?

I always tent camp when car or motorcycle touring. Tenting appeals to me because they work with all vehicles .... My main problem is my 71 year old legs cramp at night and crawling out is difficult. I need a tent I can walk out of. I assume you bought the tent size with a stand up height in the center.

I am extremely happy with this tent. It is not a speedy tent to setup by any means though. To fully setup the tent takes the wife and I over an hour. This gives the advantage to vans and trailers that allow you to pull over and your basically camped.
Having 24 stakes takes most of the time. 18 stakes are used on the rain fly. We used the supplied stainless steel stakes until we experienced a wind with gusts into the 30s. Although the tent never moved one of the stakes did bend a bit. We use log spikes now on the rain fly. We were in the tent sleeping when the wind happened. We could not tell the wind was that strong since the tent never moved or flapped.

We use billboard vinyl under the tent as a ground cloth and another piece inside the tent to protect the floor from damage that might occur outside or inside the tent.

We bought the 8 person tent so yes there is standup room when inside. Even for me at my 6'6" stature. You should be able to walk out of the tent, but the vestibule gets a bit tricky when fully closed.

This tent may not be one for a motorcycle though because it is heavy. And the bag is not small.

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[Zephyr]

geogentry, I watched the video of your tent set up. It looks like it needs two people to get it up. I'll be by myself, so that a negative for me. I have a Marmot four season tent that is very wind resistant and well made. but, like yours, takes a lot of stakes and quite awhile to set up and take down. Getting the fly on in the wind is a challenge. While motorcycle camping in New Mexico the tent was set up but I was still working on the fly. Had a shower and it soaked the inside of the tent. Had to use my laundry to dry it out. Now, I have a Redverz Solo tent that has the fly attached to the tent. Everything goes up at once. Two poles, six stakes and it is up. Another ten stakes will tie it down well, but that's optional depending on the weather. It is slab sided which gives me standing up room. In Arkansas I had it poorly staked in rocky ground because my aluminum stakes were bending. It is slab sided and catches wind. A powerful downdraft collapsed it. I spent the rest of the night in a flooded tent . After that I started carrying long steel stakes and a hammer to pound them in. But my gear was wet and I was envious of the folks in vehicles with heaters. HDR has some good advice on stakes.

Money is tight. My vehicles are old but I know them. Despite all the advantages of a van, etc. going cheap is my only option. My 1987 4 wheel drive Chevy pickup with a topper will be my home. That's heads and shoulder above a motorcycle since I can carry more gear and use it for shelter also. I had been planning on buying a Kirkland 10'x10' springbar tent since it seems to be easy to set up, no fly needed, and touted as as well made. I like the option of a roof jack for a chimney and heating with a small wood stove. It has standing up room and a walk through entrance. There's a video of one surviving high winds from a nearby tornado. But I have read that the canvas floor will rot when set up for a long time in wet weather. Also reports of the canvas stretching from the tension of the springbar and leaking. Your tent is synthetic and shouldn't have any of those problems. The advantage of canvas is that it's not deteriorated by UV.

Your tent is a great size for staying at one site for an extended time. The set up and packing time is short compared to the advantages of interior size, head room, and streamlined wind resistance. Having a two person team speeds things up when moving. Use of the interior space is versatile and easily changed whenever and however you want. You can change vehicles easily and it doesn't have be a certain type or size. Gas savings with a fuel efficient car is a big plus.

I'm sold on tenting and boondocking. Easily evolving, cheaply, as I learn is the greatest advantage for me. Probably get a year long pass to New Mexico state parks. Good luck with your new tent!

 

[highdesertranger]

Zephyr, if you ever need parts for your square body Chevy let me know. highdesertranger

 

[geogentry]

Zephyr-
Being just a step or two this side of 70 I fully understand about setting up the tent solo. I believe I could do it but it would be a task.

My primary reason for the 8 person tent, week the are two really, is having a wife and some dogs along with me. And being that I am, or was, 6'6" I wanted the headroom. They do have smaller sizes to look at.

I looked at the bowflex tent and it looks like it would really flap in a high enough wind. Then I watched a video of the Alaskan in a 60mph windwind- it moved but not as much.

The dome tents will withstand the wind better - but mostly the tent has to fill your needs and the type of environment you are going into. Having spent most of last year in one desert environment or another with nothing to really slow down the wind I learned, the hard way, that I needed something strong. And budget was a concern. Basically I bought the strongest tent I could afford that fit my needs.

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