My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

[a65hoosier]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

Hi a65Hoosier,

The Kelty tarp seems really great. I actually looked over your Kelty pics and descriptions many, many times which is why my setup has 3 poles! I saw one of your pics had it setup with 3 poles and it looked great. No point in re-inventing the wheel. I did three poles, and just tied down the last one, and seemed to give us exactly what we were looking for.

The other mistake I think I made was I was putting the loops over the poles, then trying to hammer in stakes. Next time I think it would be easier to just sort-of estimate where the stakes should go, hammer them in, and then attach the guy-lines after. Is that what you do?

SW

Glad I could help. We really do love the Noahs tarp.

Yep, that's what I do, except I put the pole tip into the tarp grommet and loop my main 90 degree guylines over the tip and tarp. I will also clip an additional guy line to that same corner tarp loop (where the poles are) and stake it down (lined up with the tarp ridgeline) as a "last resort" hold down point. If you lose a pole, the tarp itself is then still held down/staked at all 4 corners. It may flap, but won't blow away if the poles fail. Good if you're away from the campsite or even when taking it down in windy conditions to maintain control.

Presetting your guyline stake points just makes it easier to set-up in wind, etc. (esp the 16 footer). After a few times you'll have a good idea how far from the pole you'll need to guy out at 90 degrees. Once you master this "guess-ti-mation", you'll be able to set it up solo. I keep thinking I'll cut a cord to properly measure both the 90 guylines distance and the distance between the poles...but I still haven't. lol

Wait until you have a steady rain and can hang out, cook, and eat under the Noah without everything getting wet or having to retreat to the tent. Even setting up and taking down camp...it's nice to have that dry shelter to stage everything. The tarp is first up and last down. My wife's favorite gear is the "Loo"...mine really is the Noah.

ps...I did some more diggin/research on the Bighorn Tent. Browning Tents are manufactured by Alps Mountaineering. You've got a decent tent in the Browning with decent waterproof ratings (esp the floor), a thick denier fabric floor, and a lifetime warranty. Nice!

[a65hoosier]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

Yes but does the Luggable Loo have a cup holder anddddddd maybe a magazine pocket? That's a sign of true love......snigger.

We checked that "Throne" out at our local Cabelas (I'm blessed to have a Cabelas, REI, Gander Mountain, and Dicks Sporting Goods within 15 minutes from home-makes it easy to "feel" the merchandise. lol). Cabelas had it set up inside of a combo bathroom/shower enclosure/tent in the store. My son and I both gave it a seat trial (of course-we're guys!) Nice! Talk about "sitting" in the lap of luxury. lol

[Stillness Wilderness]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

Glad I could help. We really do love the Noahs tarp.

Yep, that's what I do. Just makes it easier to set-up in wind, etc. (esp the 16 footer). After a few times you'll have a good idea how far from the pole you'll need to guy out at 90 degrees. Once you master this "guess-ti-mation", you'll be able to set it up solo. I keep thinking I'll cut a cord to properly measure both the 90 guylines distance and the distance between the poles...but I still haven't. lol

Wait until you have a steady rain and can hang out, cook, and eat under the Noah without everything getting wet or having to retreat to the tent. Even setting up and taking down camp...it's nice to have that dry shelter to stage everything. The tarp is first up and last down. My wife's favorite gear is the "Loo"...mine really is the Noah.

ps...I did some more diggin/research on the Bighorn Tent. Browning Tents are manufactured by Alps Mountaineering. You've got a decent tent in the Browning with decent waterproof ratings (esp the floor), a thick denier fabric floor, and a lifetime warranty. Nice!

Ok great thanks for the tip! Definitely hammering in the stakes first next time then. I did that for the last pole we put up thinking there had to be a better way but wanted to confirm it with the experts here! I think my wife's favorite piece of gear was the sleeping bag. The first night was a lot colder than we were expecting. Mine was definitely the tarp. It was nice to have the covered-front-porch feel for the tent.

For the tent floor, I put down a tarp and we put the tent on top of the tarp. Some threads on this forum mentioned not extending it past the tent so I folded up the edges to make sure they didn't extend out from the tent walls at all. Inside the tent, we covered the floor with red blankets. The tent floor seems pretty rugged, but we weren't sure, so wanted to be on the safe side. Attached is a pic of the floor to give you an idea...its the only one I have that doesn't have the blankets on it.

Thanks for checking into the tent. I didn't know about the warranty..that's fantastic!

SW

[a65hoosier]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

For the tent floor, I put down a tarp and we put the tent on top of the tarp. Some threads on this forum mentioned not extending it past the tent so I folded up the edges to make sure they didn't extend out from the tent walls at all.

Correct. It's important not to extend a tent footprint or under-tarp beyond the tent footprint. In a rain, you don't want the tent side run-off to hit the tarp and then be able to run/pool under your tent floor on top of the footprint/under-tarp.

Inside the tent, we covered the floor with red blankets. The tent floor seems pretty rugged, but we weren't sure, so wanted to be on the safe side.

I use a couple of 100% thick heavy (6 lbs each) wool Italian Army surplus blankets I got off of Amazon a couple of years ago on our tent floor. Cool in the summer on bare feet, warm for winter camping. Easy to brush off..they are our tent "rugs". Glamping and comfort at it's best!


Nice dog!!!!

[actad]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

i would not recommend using such container for drinking waters
chemical properties of the containers are different than water/food grade containers
especially when plastic has been in contact with chemicals from soap for a period of time,
the plastics will leach chemicals into your water, washing hands is fine, but do not use such for drinking water

I thought the OP's was the correct type. My drinking water one is meant for drinking water and I wash my hands with most anything else. Sorry if I seemed to misdirect anyone.

[Stillness Wilderness]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

All,

All,

Here is a quick video I made that gives you a better idea of the campground, and setup.

https://youtu.be/lCvKZZq5Km8

SW

[toedtoes]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

I honestly just dump it a bit away from my camp. But I am never in a campground so it isn't a problem for other people. However I know there are going to be people that think I am completely wrong for doing that.

With my clipper, I just bring it home and dump it.... but when I tent camped, the general rule was dump it in the bushes away from anyone's campsite or areas where a person might walk. If the campground has a bathroom with a faucet, we always used that for our general hygiene - teeth, face, etc. During the day, we would wash our hands with handi-wipes in the campsite (were no baby wipes in those days) or walk to the bathrooms. That limited water needing to be dumped to dishwater only.

It's funny because this is a HUGE argument on RV forums. RVers think that because a tent camper can dump their bucket of dishwater into the bushes that the RVer can dump their grey water tank (18+ gallons) out at the campsite. They talk about digging a hole in the dirt parking pad, filling it with the water, then covering it up; letting it drip out at a slow pace during their entire stay, etc. They don't seem to understand that most tent campers don't dump their water right in the middle of the campsite - they dump it away from where anyone will be (which is why IN the bushes is a popular choice).

[Denni2]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

For a hand washing station we use a MSR dromedary bag on a iron stake with a detachable arm. The bag has a spout with a smal flow and can double as a pocket shower. It take almost no space. And works really well. We waste a lot less water and don't have a big puddle of mud under it.

[tplife]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

Do you have a pic of your laundry soap container w/ spigot? I'd love to put something on the end of the picnic table to wash hands.

A 2.5 Gallon SolaShower heats the water, has a one-hand-operation no-drip shower head and has a thick rope for hanging it up and using gravity for flow. It washes your hands, does the dishes, and can provide a hot shower. Coupled with a Nalgene tub for a sink and some CampSoap, and you have all the comforts of home, LOL.

[Bingo]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

Ive researched on amazon, you tube and any other site to do with the Big Horn tent, it don't seem very popular as a camping tent. It's funny that it's not since the rating seem to be as good if not better than the coleman and even the larger eureka tents. For the price range I think this is going to be my next tent, love to have the more expensive tents (not totally quit on them yet), but with the lifetime warrantee and the customer service don't see where a person would go wrong. With my wife and two teenage daughters I'm highly considering this as a perfect tent for our camping needs. I think putting a tarp over the entrance just in case of a good storm getting in and out would be a lot dryer. We don't usually camp if ever in areas where the wind is real strong and if I did I'd be looking for more of a tent built for that.

Glad I could help. We really do love the Noahs tarp.

Yep, that's what I do, except I put the pole tip into the tarp grommet and loop my main 90 degree guylines over the tip and tarp. I will also clip an additional guy line to that same corner tarp loop (where the poles are) and stake it down (lined up with the tarp ridgeline) as a "last resort" hold down point. If you lose a pole, the tarp itself is then still held down/staked at all 4 corners. It may flap, but won't blow away if the poles fail. Good if you're away from the campsite or even when taking it down in windy conditions to maintain control.

Presetting your guyline stake points just makes it easier to set-up in wind, etc. (esp the 16 footer). After a few times you'll have a good idea how far from the pole you'll need to guy out at 90 degrees. Once you master this "guess-ti-mation", you'll be able to set it up solo. I keep thinking I'll cut a cord to properly measure both the 90 guylines distance and the distance between the poles...but I still haven't. lol

Wait until you have a steady rain and can hang out, cook, and eat under the Noah without everything getting wet or having to retreat to the tent. Even setting up and taking down camp...it's nice to have that dry shelter to stage everything. The tarp is first up and last down. My wife's favorite gear is the "Loo"...mine really is the Noah.

ps...I did some more diggin/research on the Bighorn Tent. Browning Tents are manufactured by Alps Mountaineering. You've got a decent tent in the Browning with decent waterproof ratings (esp the floor), a thick denier fabric floor, and a lifetime warranty. Nice!

[a65hoosier]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

Ive researched on amazon, you tube and any other site to do with the Big Horn tent, it don't seem very popular as a camping tent. It's funny that it's not since the rating seem to be as good if not better than the coleman and even the larger eureka tents. For the price range I think this is going to be my next tent, love to have the more expensive tents (not totally quit on them yet), but with the lifetime warrantee and the customer service don't see where a person would go wrong. With my wife and two teenage daughters I'm highly considering this as a perfect tent for our camping needs. I think putting a tarp over the entrance just in case of a good storm getting in and out would be a lot dryer. We don't usually camp if ever in areas where the wind is real strong and if I did I'd be looking for more of a tent built for that.

I have thought about this also. I did some boredom digging and researching after another forum member purchased this tent. The Browning Big Horn doesn't really fit my style of camping due to the umbrella rainfly and upright wind catching profile, but for a new camper looking at the larger cabin style tents it has a lot to offer in terms of materials used (fabric denier) and waterproofing applied compared to a similar Coleman or big box store tent. A good starter tent or a tent that won't experience high winds often. Alps Mountaineering is a decent manufacturer offering gear and tents one step up from Coleman/big box. Close to some Eureka and Kelty offerings. You won't get lightweight materials or the bestest stitching/zippers, but for the price, it's a good value.

It could be that this tent price point (around $250 online) goes just above the similar 8p Coleman/big box/Amazon offerings and somewhat below higher end offerings from manufacturers like REI, Marmot, etc. It's at a middle price point with a not so known name.

[Stillness Wilderness]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

Hi Bingo,

Made a quick 1 minute video of a walkthru of the inside of the tent. This was the weekend before I went camping and the first time I set it up. Hope it helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j9YM70rZAk


SW

[tplife]

Re: My first car camping trip - What I Learned and some pics

I side with a65hoosier on this outdated tent. No wind or rain integrity with its pin-and-ring construction, D-doors, bikini rainfly, leaky into-the-rain windows, too-thin fiberglas poles, too-big (over 10 X 10) footprint, etc. The guy in the (summer camping, light drizzle) video is gonna be p*ssed when he gets windy sideways rain and the temps drop, and freezes his tush on those big air mattresses! Head for REI for other options. Look at Alps tents and notice this one bears no resemblance... Just sayin.