New w/ a Tent Question

[citykidzmom]

Hi ! My extended family and I are planning our first camping trip and we are having The Great Tent Debate. Our group has 10 children and five adults. I think we should invest in 3 large cabin type tents and my sister thinks the children should be in smaller 3 or 4 person tents. What do you think ??

Also what types of tents are durable and kid-proof ??


Thanks,
CKM

P.S. I love this forum !! I am learning so much.

[Hanified]

Hi City Mom. I'm a city mom too! Well that and a Girl Scout mom.
Anyway - I've found that if you teach the kids from the very beginning
to properly maintain, setup and take down the tent, then they'll be fine.

They start to take pride in their tent and treat it as such.

How old are the kids? Most little kids want to sleep near their parents.
Pre-teens/Teens do not. Camping with the family is not the time to
have sexytimes with the husband so forget cuddling. LOL. I'm not a fan
of those huge cabin tents. Can't put my finger on exactly why but they're
too homelike and not enough wilderness. Plus, they're heavy. I like dome
tents that sleep 5-6. Remember that even though it says it sleeps 8, factor
in your luggage, possibly food and other gear you might need to store inside.

So far my "Sleeps 8" = 4 adults and their cots.
My "Sleeps 6" = 4 teens on cots in zigzag formation.

Have fun. Keep us updated!

[citykidzmom]

Hi Hanified,
Our kids range in age from 7 to 19. I get what you're saying about the cabin tents seeming home-like. I'm trying to get away from that "home" feeling because I really want the kids to be more comfortable outside.

They did really good last year when we took a day trip to Hocking Hills State Park (OH) and I think they're ready for an overnight trip.

Another question... even though we are scouring Craigslist, yard sales and thrift stores for stuff how do you keep costs down ?? I'm trying not to let this weekend getaway turn into a thousand dollar vacation. lol

So far we've done pretty good we nabbed 2 fishing poles, 4 nice sleeping bags, 1 tent, 2 lanterns and 3 hot dog skewers for $50.


-CKM

[Eaglebait Ranch]

To both of you............. a HUGE "Welcome" to our awesome community of campers.

Have you considered borrowing gear from friends? Doing that might give you an idea of what gear/tents you might want to invest in down the line.

[citykidzmom]

We don't know any other campers. (It would be great if we did) We went out today and found some tents at a yard sale. We got two Northwest Territory Family Summer Crest Family Dome Tent and one Northwest Territory Bristol Bay Vacation Home Tent. We also picked up a queen air bed, twin air mattress, a 10 gallon water jug, a camp stove, 3 sleeping bags and two camp chairs for a grand total of $200. I'm pretty happy with our finds.

[Hanified]

Camping is expensive!

Have you considered borrowing gear from friends? Doing that might give you an idea of what gear/tents you might want to invest in down the line.

Yup. What he said.

However, I'm super stingy when it comes to loaning out my camping
gear b/c I don't always get it back. :(

Keeping Costs Down: This may seem tacky but I buy my camp gear at
Walmart because Walmart has an awesome return policy. You don't even
have to lie to return stuff. Just say "it didn't work out for us" and be on
your merry way. Cots, airbeds, beddings don't fall under the same return
policy but tents, gazebos/sun shades/camp stoves... they do!

I don't like buying things used or outside of warranty. I like to have a
receipt and some recourse in the event something goes wrong.

Give it a try. Camp your heart out with something from Walmart (stay
away from Ozark Trails - cheap, generic brand) and you might be
pleasantly surprised that you don't need to return anything at all. BTW,
Target does not have an awesome return policy. They have one of the
worst in the industry. They usually apply a 15% restocking fee to big
items like tents. Stick with Walmart.

Oh and I have to literally pinch myself when I wanna buy new gear. I
geek out in the sporting goods department of any store and browse
REI.com when I'm stressed. I'm trying to reduce the amount of crap
I drag along on my camping trips. I'm always the first one to set up and
the last one to leave and I HATE THAT! I bring too much stuff! :D

*Thanks for the welcome Eaglebait. I just jumped right in, didn't bother
with formalities and salutations. Haha.

[Rob22315]

Ask the kids what they'd like, then get something inexpensive both of you like. Kids either outgrow stuff, change their tastes, or change their minds about activities pretty quickly. You don't want to make a large investment in an activity thats not going to stand the test of time. On the other hand, you don't want to buy twice if you don't have to. You're the best judge of the situation.

If you think this will be a long term family activity (like it is for us), then getting a quality family tent is the way to go. If the kids are pretty independent but change activities a lot, then getting a couple of cheap small tents might be a better choice.

Borrowing from friends until you know better is also a great way to go. We've kept much of our old equipment and lend stuff out from time to time.

[Bigdog57]

One problem with Walmart's dome tents is very small rainflies - if you go that route for the smaller kids grab some cheap tarps to cover the tents IF the heavy rains should come - Mr. Murphy is a camper too!
Ans of course, if the going gets rough, the kids will come in to sleep with Mommy & Daddy! :D
Definitely go with Coleman gear over Ozark Trail or Coughlan's budget brands where possible. A bit higher priced, but cheap often fails at the worst possible time!

And don't forget the Smores making stuff!

[renodesertfox]

Citykidsmom! You're doin' real good! Ya don't want to spend a lot bucks just tryin' out campin! Your kids probably will like it...but you don't know for sure! Don't go too far from home your first time out either. Once you have determined that you like camping and so does everyone else. Then you can start slowly gathering better equipment over time. For example, lookin' at the photos of our campsite...to some it may seem rather imposing but Rome wasn't built in a day! It took us 4 years from the last child leaving until now and our equipment needs are just about set. 4 years, our campsite looked nothing like it does now! Take everything that everyone helps you with and store away that info! I think you have done well keeping your costs down and over time you are going to be one heck of a great camper!

[citykidzmom]

Thanks for the advice everyone !! We did our dry run today.. putting the tents up in yard. Two of the tents went up good. I am amazed by the size. Tent #3 has an issue, it's missing three brackets that attach the legs to the tent on one side. Hopefully we can call the manufacturer tomorrow and get those parts before the weekend.

I'm still pretty happy with my purchase (unless those brackets cost $100 each.LOL) , and the kids were totally excited.

CKZ

[Smokey Mtn. Camper]

You are already following one of the golden rules of camping..."always test new equipment out at home and not at your camp site". I have 2 girls, 2 and 9 and they would rather camp than eat. It's all they talk about. We always make sure and have plenty of activities planned so they dont get bored...hikes...wildlife viewing...tubing...scavenger hunts...bike riding...make sure and bring along a favorite game and a deck of cards.

We find some of our best times are not spent running from activity to activity but sitting around the campfire talking. Camping will ALWAYS bring familys closer together...at least from my experience.

You are off to a great start and sounds like your shopping is next level. I have a ton of money sunk into my gear but just as Reno said, it has been over time. You will learn more and more what to look for in equipment and will soon be shopping based on those criterior instead of the price. Trust me, camping is an awesome pasttime but it is addicting as well. My family goes through camping withdraws during the winter...:D

Goodluck on your trip and I have a good feeling this wont be you and your familys last camping trip.

[renodesertfox]

Every campout is just practice for the next one! Good luck to ye!

[citykidzmom]

Called the manufacturer and they had the parts in stock ($4.50 each) Requested 2-day delivery, the Customer Service Rep said they would ship out tomorrow. By the time I got home from work I had the confirmation e-mail stating the parts were shipped today and will be here by Thursday. :D

[Hanified]

I keep forgetting about torrential rains and inclement weather. I'm in
SoCal and each time I've camped it's been a calm 70-85 F. Haha. My bad.

I don't like the rainflys that suffocate and cover every inch of the tent.
I know they were designed for insulation but oh man - my BP goes up if
I feel trapped and can't feel a breeze.

Have Fun CityMom - be sure to post some pics.

[citykidzmom]

I know... I've been worried about rain for a week now. I check the online weather reports every day. So far there's a 30% chance of rain Saturday, but the rest of the weekend looks pretty quiet. Now I'm a little worried about the nighttime temps. looks like lows around 59 degrees all weekend.