Tents

[Gypsy108]

What’s a good tent for camping in the desert ?   

Thanks

 

[MrNoodly]

The deserts tend to have high winds during the seasons when it's not dangerously hot. Teepees are good for windy conditions. Bob has done some reviews on the YouTube channel.

 

[Gypsy108]

Yeah...i watched that video...might be a little complicated for one person to do ?   It would be nice to be able to stand up.
I'll check it out again.....thanks Mr. Noodly !

 

[user 30781]

An old boyfriend had a TP we used to use at the barter Fair festivals in Northeast Washington. 16 footer. He would never let me help set it up he always did it all by himself. I would never try to do it all by myself. Once you know how to do it I think it's pretty easy though. You have to carry all those long poles on top of your van, the teepee itself packs pretty small.

 

[bullfrog]

Any tent in high wind will make enough noise sleeping will be difficult in my opinion. We ended up using the back of our truck and then later a small trailer we had enclosed. You learn to watch the weather and on really bad days we found an cheap motel or AirBnb. That only happened one or two days a month and longer stays work better when tenting so we used bad weather days for traveling, doing laundry, long showers and traveling away from bad weather. Our Kodiak tent never was damaged and kept us dry and warm but in extremely high winds the floor would lift and items inside needed to moved away from flapping walls.

 

[bullfrog]

Something else to keep in mind is once a tent is wet it needs to be stored dry or unpacked and dried soon as possible or it will be damaged. Yet another reason you need to be flexible and pay attention to the weather.

 

[maki2]

Are you planning on sleeping in a tent or just having a place to hang out in?

 

[RoamerRV428]

I would google 'best desert camping tents' and see your options. prices we know vary wildly and you can weed out the hard setup ones against the EZ type set ups plus you can check off low dome tents etc if you want a taller tent for at least standing in the middle for dressing etc and let it fan out lower on the sides kinda........at least you get those options to check out and see what floats your boat.

Always buy extra tent stakes and more or extra type bungee lines for securing. Winds can be a pain.

I do prefer tents with 'alot of options' for opening and closing window coverings.....that way you can get cross breeze when needed etc but close when rain or ? whatever. Just a personal like of mine when buying our tents.

Let us know what you do get

 

[Gypsy108]

My car is too small to live comfortably in, so i want to live mostly in the tent (sleep too).  If the weather gets horrible & the tent will not be safe I will go to the car or find a motel.  Looking online for best desert camping tents i came across a few recommendations :

#1)    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NZWQ1...olid=2JR8XZH7A5OX6&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

(they are sold out of this one ^)


#2)    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OQKNFSE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2N5S5OBUOG886&psc=1


(This would be easy to put up & take down ) ^



BTW....the last time i went camping in a tent was in 1972 ....at the top of the Sandia in NM....it was so windy i stayed up all night holding the tent up....while my friends slept peacefully.............................................

 

[Gypsy108]

Are you planning on sleeping in a tent or just having a place to hang out in?

I think it would be nice to have both.....

 

[Gypsy108]

Always buy extra tent stakes and more   or extra type bungee lines for securing.  Winds can be a pain.

I do prefer tents with 'alot of options' for opening and closing window coverings.....that way you can get cross breeze when needed etc but close when rain or ? whatever.  Just a personal like of mine when buying our tents.

Let us know what you do get

Thanks Roamer...i will

 

[Gypsy108]

Any tent in high wind will make enough noise sleeping will be difficult in my opinion. 

Maybe i should get these ?

https://www.amazon.com/ProCase-Prot...ise+blocking+headphones&qid=1627837756&sr=8-5

 

[maki2]

The kodiak is a good one to get. The other option from
Amazon is a no go. The reason it is not suitable is the dark interior. If you are going to hang out in it during the daytime you will want it light and bright.

There is another option, a screen room for day use and set up a small tent inside of it for sleeping at night. The screen rooms typically do not have floors in them and for sleeping you want something that totally keeps out bugs and mice. Lots of bugs and mice in the desert. But truthfully you should consider sleeping in your vehicle and having a sturdy screen room for day use. The ground in Quartzsite is covered in small sharp, very hard rocks. it will destroy the bottom side of a tent even when using a ground cloth.

 

[Gypsy108]

@Maki    Good idea, inclosing a tent inside screen room....won't bugs & mice also get inside the car ?   I will also get stuff to deflect them .....already my skin is crawling.......i will take every precaution to avoid  these critters.....

 

[highdesertranger]

Just a note, nylon tents don't last long in UV light. Highdesertranger

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

Gypsy, IMHO the high-wind-camping experts are found at Burning Man ( https://eplaya.burningman.org/) . The consensus seem to be for the Kodiak Flex-bow tent. And for extreme safety they  erect a Monkee Hut over it .

 

[maki2]

Dont leave your car doors open at night or during the day. Make bug screens for the windows. Sleeping in it or not keep the doors closed to keep out mice and other creatures. The desert has mice that jump!

 

[Gypsy108]

Gypsy, IMHO the high-wind-camping experts are found at Burning Man ( https://eplaya.burningman.org/) . The consensus seem to be for the Kodiak Flex-bow tent. And for extreme safety they  erect a Monkee Hut over it .

yeah… and they are SOLD OUT until October

i don’t know if I could erect a monkey hut by myself…. But looking at the photos at Burning Man it looks like a great set up !!!

 

[Gypsy108]

Dont leave your car doors open at night or during the day. Make bug screens for the windows. Sleeping in it or not keep the doors closed to keep out mice and other creatures. The desert has mice that jump!

I got these screens that fit over the door, so you can close the window and get ventilation & stop bugs … but they don’t look like they can hold up without the use of duck tape to help hold it down…I’ll get some no see um mesh…
I also ordered a ton of magnets…and emergency blankets that are also like tarps to shade my car with….reflecting the UV rays…..
maybe I should put mega size wheels on to give me height so the mice can reach inside….yeah right….
i will be super careful nevertheless……..

 

[Gypsy108]

so the mice can reach inside….

I meant CAN’T ….lol