Tent camping vs trailer camping.

Shawn5800

Shawn5800

New member
Hey guys,

Just wondering how many of you do alot of camping in these warmer months. I have always been hardcore tent camper mainly because.

1. Its easy to pack up the truck with a huge tent and supplies and still have room to fit 5 comfortably.
2. Really no preventative maintenence to a tent besides a good washing once in a while, plus a good quality tent that will last is like $300 compared to 2+k for a camper.
3.No towing means, no worries of extra flats, better gas mileage and overall less headache.


I am posting this because im trying to decide on buying a cheap camper that is for sale locally, or just keep on tenting. Any opinions would be great!

Oh and feel free to post pics of your campers/sites/tents etc. :)
 
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We tent camped when I was younger 5-10ish. I'm an Eagle Scout too so I've had my share of tent camping. It's not too bad. It's kind of a pain when it rains though and the inside of the tent can get cramped. Tents also aren't the most comfortable.

We now have a pop up and I enjoy it much more. It's nice to be a little more sheltered from the elements. For example we can hook up a heater during the winter months and it will heat the entire camper. Same goes for AC during the summer. In general it just provides more room and connivence. Having a queen bed to sleep on is nice as well.
 
Tent campers are a lot more work than tents. If you step up, you may want to consider a hardwall. We have a Trailmanor which is folding and hard wall.
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Flexus said:
Tent campers are a lot more work than tents. If you step up, you may want to consider a hardwall. We have a Trailmanor which is folding and hard wall.
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What do you mean by "tent campers"?

It also depends on the size that you want. You might have a family. Our family, ages 51, 49, 20, 16) fits comfortably in our pop up. I've seen some pop ups that are way too cramped.
 
I don't know much about used camper prices, but that one doesn't look bad from the pictures.

I would check for mold on the canvas. Make sure the faucet works. Check the mechanism that lowers and raises it.

The only thing that I don't really like about that is having to climb over the table to get to the bed. Is the stove removable?
 
I have a hard sided camper. I looked at tent trailers but the canvas can wear and get moldy.
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If you put down a tent camper while it is wet it get moldy and start to stink. If it rains while you are camping more than likely you will have to put it away wet to go home. Then you have to wait for clear days to put it back up and wait for it to dry. If you wait to long it will stink.

Too much of a hassle for me. Another issue is keeping them warm when it is cold out and cooling it down when it is hot out. And you have the hassle of having to putit up and take it down.
 
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I prefer tent camping mainly because I dont want to give up my spot in the garage. If I had a three car then I would consider a popup, I really dont want to pay a monthly storage fee. I got tired of leaky tents so I spent $300 at REI and have slept through many tstorms without a drop of water. Unless it is extremely hot or cold, buy a good air mattress and I think a tent is plenty comfortable.
 
Tent. I lived in one for two months when I was tree planting, and it was plenty comfortable in all weather, and it never got wet inside.

If you want to sleep in a bed, stay at home or stay in a motel.
 
Shawn5800 said:
I dont have much experience with campers overall but i will show you the one im interested in.. Camper for sale!!

I figured for the price? How much really goes wrong with these?
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I'll chime in. In 2001 I took a 5 week trip to Newfoundland and did it all camping. It was a lot of fun. It is nice not being able to not tow a camper.

In 2005, I went to the dark side and bought a pop up camper. I went on a 4 week trip to go out west. Mileage went down from around 21 MPG to about 17 MPG. Really, that isn't too bad. I looked at your pop up, one thing I see is that it does have a air condtioner, truely, that is a nice thing to have, but being a 1997, the air would probably be in non working order. It is nice to have electricity, you can have a TV and even a microwave. Of course most pop ups don't have a bathroom. By the way, it takes about 45 minutes to set up a pop up, really setting a tent is about the same time. I would guess a hard sided camper is much easier to set up. Of course a pop up is much easier to tow.

Bottom line I like my pop up. I wanted it for about 2 years, but I have kept it for 6 years so far. I got a little tired of sleeping on the ground, I kind of like the idea of having a refrigerator and a soft bed.
 

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I would advise against a bathroom in a camper. I just don't see that working out very well.

It doesn't take use anywhere near 45 minutes to set up our pop up. Once you do it 3-5 times you really get the hang of it and it goes by fast. That's assuming you have somebody else to help you out.
 
fourwd1 said:
You forgot hotel camping ;)
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That isn't bad either. We just rented a room at a time share resort. We got a 1,000 sq foot 1 bedroom condo for about the same price as a decent hotel. Got to enjoy all the amenities but not spend the rest of my life paying for them.

I spent over a decade camping the Army way. I like to be comfy now. Roughing it is now going in the trailer.
 
We use a tent. Mostly because we usually are camping at a lake and are towing the SeaDoo. One of the things I really like about a tent is that, depending on the campsite, you have a few more options of where you can set up. With a camper your stuck setting up on the driveway of the campsite. We've been to a few places where we could set up the tent closer to the lake and be more secluded from the other campers. If I wanted AC, I'd stay home and not be out camping. If it gets too cold a Mr. Buddy heater keeps the tent plenty warm. Over Memorial day we were camping and it rains every year, but this year it was only 38 degrees and raining. It was dry and 72 in the tent.
 
Bigrupp said:
If I wanted AC, I'd stay home and not be out camping.
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Funny story about my camper. I was so excited to have air on the camper for going out west. Well, in SD it got real cold and I fould out the air conditoiner had a heater. In Yellowstone, we woke up in the morning to snow, this was mid June. Bottom line, I was excited to have the air, but found out that I needed the heater more and it was something I didn't even know I had. Go figure.





Picture of camping in the Smoky Moutians during the winter. (There was one time in the Smoky Moutians and we were in out tent and it was unbearabley hot, not a lot of fun at night.)
 

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peter78 said:
Well, in SD it got real cold and I fould out the air conditoiner had a heater. In Yellowstone, we woke up in the morning to snow, this was mid June. )
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I've found much more use for a heater than I ever have for AC here is SD. It's been awhile, but we've had snow here in June. It's been close this year, especially in the hills.
 
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