New to camping, need thoughts on tent camping basics

[Meshell2002]

Hi camping forum! I know this is a seasoned camping friendly bunch so I want to ask some questions about camping. I put the thread here because this is about general camping, not necessarily WDW camping. I went on my first overnight camping trip last week with the family and they want to go again. So I'm trying to look into some Christmas gifts that will be used for car camping in the future. We will try local camp sites first, as we become more seasoned, and the kids get older, we may even consider a Fort trip. Our family consists of 5 (me & DH, DS11, DD8, DD5). We live in central AL, so most of our camping will be 3 season (above 40 degrees +++)

We need to get

1. Tent (what size, one 6-8 man or 2 smaller tents?)
2. Decent sleeping bags (we have 2 basic flannel lined 40 degree bags but we need 2 more for the adults and one for the 5 year old)
3. cots or air mattresses (which do you recommend and why)
4. camp stove

5. we have a cooler and camp chairs (from kids sports activities), flashlights, head lamps

I know that camping may use more than this but I'm just trying to gift some of it for Christmas to budget us out so if we want to get more equipment and add it slowly, we will already have the basics.

Also I'd love to hear any stories about your early days as a tent camper, I know many move on to RVs, but for the inital investment, that's just a little out of my budget

TIA

 

[garneska]

Tagging a few folks who tent camp who might help

@ilovedisneymm @snowmedic and tagging @bama_ed am sure he will see this post

 

[ilovedisneymm]

I would get as big of a tent that your budget allows. Three kids and two adults need a large foot print. Do NOT go by the "four man, six man tent" based on the number of people in your family. They are lying shoulder to shoulder. Who does that? Not normal people.

Cots or air mattresses? That's a personal preference. We have used both. The cots are nice and firm and you don't have to inflate. I personally prefer the air bed.

Camp stove? Depends on if you have electricity or not. I really like our two burner electric we got from Walmart several years ago. If your going to be camping without electricity, well then your going to need a propane one.

I suggest you take a look at a couple of my trip reports and see what we used and also Snowmedics too. We both camp with kids!

When I was just starting our tent camping, I heavily searched Pinterest.

A tent would be an awesome Christmas present!!!

 

[bama_ed]

Meshell,

I am in central Alabama too (Tuscaloosa). If you plan to go car camping (as in back up the car at your destination and unload right there), then that drives the gear decision making.

For a tent, I would go with one bigger tent and as Melissa says, don't go by if it's 6-man, 8-man, etc. Go by the size of its footprint and also I prefer tents with more upright walls to leave more room to walk around in. Some tents have dividers inside so you can have "the parent's room", "the kid's room", and the common area. Think if you had a rain storm of a couple hours and everyone had to be inside, how big would it have to be to feel like everyone wasn't on top of each other?

Sleeping bags should be 30-40F rated. You can offset cold nights by sleeping in clean socks, stocking caps, and long sleeve t-shirts. If camping where there is electricity, electric blankets do wonders too.

Cots or mattresses? I have both (cots and ground thermal pads since me and my boys did LOTS of camping in Boy Scouts). If you have room to carry 5 cots, you won't have the cold ground sucking your body heat out on cold nights. Inflatable beds (not like swimming pool air mattresses) take less space when packing and can maybe double up (you and DH, your girls, and a smaller one for your son - or something like that).

Stoves are pretty ubiquitous so if you want to go that route any folding stove that runs off the 1# propane disposable canisters will work. I also keep a string of clear lights to hang around the ends of my EZ up (clipped on with clothes pins) to provide light at night. Although I also have the traditional Coleman lantern that runs off the 1# cannister because my dad had one growing up when we camped and I like the sounds it makes - the WHOOSH lighting it and then the hum when you turn it down and let it run.

Lately I have gotten pretty handy with my electric skillet for just about everything a stove can do. I work the menu around having essentially a non-stick one-pot approach. When car camping, you can bring some things pre-made from home to augment the skillet.

When looking for places to camp nearby in the state, besides state parks don't forget the Corps of Engineers campgrounds at www.recreation.gov that are usually on the shoreline of navigable rivers. They are basic (water, power, some have a sewer hookup), inexpensive, have small comfort stations, away from the big city lights, and offer a nice camping experience. Plus the waterfront views are pretty nice at sunset. National forest campgrounds are in that site too but they are generally primitive (no power, water).

I would suggest camping the first few times only when it's good weather to build up the positive aspects of camping and give everyone a good experience baseline.

Good luck!

Bama Ed

 

[Meshell2002]

Thanks for the feedback guys. BamaEd I'm in Montgomery, our first overnight trip last weekend was at Fort Toulouse with a group, We pulled my DD gymnastics mat into the tent, and yes I felt that ground chill! It was 42 degrees friday night. Of course I also used blankets from the house (gave the kids the sleeping bags). Fort Toulouse has RV hook ups so we were able to run a space heater (in a borrowed tent) and the water kettle from home for hot choc, coffee, tea, oatmeal, ect. I have an electric griddle already.....could totally make grilled cheese and fajitas on that....I do it at home....don't know why I didn't think of that! I guess people also use crock pots as long as they have some sort of cover (from dew or whatnot) and an outdoor electric cord.

I grew up in WV so I'm used to dressing for colder weather, just never stayed out all night in it, skiing yes, but then the cabin waited.

The air mattress thing, well I found some intex twins on sale for $7.99 each normally 29.99, so for 45+ we got one for all of us. I like a soft sleep so I will open one and blow it up at home and see if it will work. In addition to the price being cheaper, I thought singles might be better in case someone turned over a lot in the night then it wouldn't wake the other person. I kept the receipt just in case. That's cheaper than any cot, so worth a try as starter gear.

So now for Christmas maybe I will stick with sleeping bags for those without one, and a tent.

 

[snowmedic]

Sorry I'm late to the thread. I agree with all the above, do get a bigger tent than the size of your family. There was 4 of us tent camping at one point, now done to 3, we have a 12x19 tent. When it was for of us we had 3 cots and a raised queen airbed, now that we are down to 3 we have 2 raised queen air beds, a 6' folding table, a plastic 3 drawer stand, and a stand fan and still have lots of room to walk around in the tent.

If you are use to cooking on the electric griddle that would take care of your stove, as long as there was power. We have both and a electric skillet, and also the electric water kettles (2) for heating water for drinks and dishes.

This is just some of what we have when we go to the Fort, we don't camp anywhere else.

 

[PaHunter]

One thing you can also do to insulate the floor of the tent are the foam protection squares, they come in grey and colors usually snap together for bigger spaces. It gives some insulation value and it protects the floor of the tent.


Home Depot sells them about 25 bucks for a six pack.

 

[ForMyBoys]

I highly recommend an instant tent if you can afford it. They are a bit bigger but they literally take 5 min to set up. We are a family of 5 and I believe we have an 8 person instant tent. That 8 person tent is really just accounting for sleeping bags, not air mattresses. We can’t fit 5 single air mattresses. We wish we would have gotten the larger two room instant tent. I would measure your twin mattresses once you have them laid out to ensure they will fit in the tent you select.

Some good camping related stocking stuffers are carribeaner clips, battery operated fan and/or noise machine, waterproof matches. We also have fleece sleeping bags we can use inside our normal sleeping bag if necessary.

Have fun!!

 

[GusGus77]

Our family of 4 has an 8 man tent- 1 queen sized cot and two twin air mattresses is all we can fit. I think it is 10x8. The number of people is based laying right next to each other, shoulders almost touching, on the ground in a sleeping bag, no gear. We used to have a 12x10 but I think that was too much space for us (although that was before the cot and kids are 9 and 7.) Cabin tents that you can stand up in are great.

 

[GusGus77]

Propane stove with the ignition switch is great! We have a Coleman one. Learning to cook in a Dutch oven over charcoal is also a lot of fun, just make sure the Dutch over has feet. We make a lot of our food that way.

 

[Meshell2002]

One thing you can also do to insulate the floor of the tent are the foam protection squares, they come in grey and colors usually snap together for bigger spaces. It gives some insulation value and it protects the floor of the tent

Home Depot sells them about 25 bucks for a six pack.

Thanks I will be on the look out for those in the future.

I highly recommend an instant tent if you can afford it. They are a bit bigger but they literally take 5 min to set up. We are a family of 5 and I believe we have an 8 person instant tent. That 8 person tent is really just accounting for sleeping bags, not air mattresses. We can’t fit 5 single air mattresses. We wish we would have gotten the larger two room instant tent. I would measure your twin mattresses once you have them laid out to ensure they will fit in the tent you select.

Some good camping related stocking stuffers are carribeaner clips, battery operated fan and/or noise machine, waterproof matches. We also have fleece sleeping bags we can use inside our normal sleeping bag if necessary.

Have fun!!

Is this the Coleman brand instant tent? Oh and that was a great thought about the twins taking up more room I didn't think of that.

Our family of 4 has an 8 man tent- 1 queen sized cot and two twin air mattresses is all we can fit. I think it is 10x8. The number of people is based laying right next to each other, shoulders almost touching, on the ground in a sleeping bag, no gear. We used to have a 12x10 but I think that was too much space for us (although that was before the cot and kids are 9 and 7.) Cabin tents that you can stand up in are great.

Yes after reading the dimensions in feet on the tents I think we need an 8 man min. Some of the 8 and 10 man tents have the same measurements. The biggest one that's not too expensive is 10x15. My DS11 is already 5 feet tall. I need a cabin tent for myself! (I'm 5'10 and DH is 6'1). With the twin mattresses it may be harder to configure than I thought. I may get one queen mattress for me and the 5 yo to share.

If you have a bigger tent does it still fit on camp sites?

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Hi camping forum! I know this is a seasoned camping friendly bunch so I want to ask some questions about camping. I put the thread here because this is about general camping, not necessarily WDW camping. I went on my first overnight camping trip last week with the family and they want to go again. So I'm trying to look into some Christmas gifts that will be used for car camping in the future. We will try local camp sites first, as we become more seasoned, and the kids get older, we may even consider a Fort trip. Our family consists of 5 (me & DH, DS11, DD8, DD5). We live in central AL, so most of our camping will be 3 season (above 40 degrees +++)

We need to get

1. Tent (what size, one 6-8 man or 2 smaller tents?)
2. Decent sleeping bags (we have 2 basic flannel lined 40 degree bags but we need 2 more for the adults and one for the 5 year old)
3. cots or air mattresses (which do you recommend and why)
4. camp stove

5. we have a cooler and camp chairs (from kids sports activities), flashlights, head lamps

I know that camping may use more than this but I'm just trying to gift some of it for Christmas to budget us out so if we want to get more equipment and add it slowly, we will already have the basics.

Also I'd love to hear any stories about your early days as a tent camper, I know many move on to RVs, but for the inital investment, that's just a little out of my budget

TIA

Not a regular on the camping boards, but a regular camper in real life. This stuff has accumulated over the last....several decades, let's say...so don't get all flustered about the amount we have. LOL

1. We have multiple tents. (Not helpful, I know). It's only 3 of us now (was 4), and we used an 8 man tent. We also have a 4 man tent and two 1-2 man tents that DH and DS use when they camp. The 8 man is tall enough for DH to stand up in, but he can live with the smaller tents for a few nights if he needs to. Remember that the 6 man isn't really a 6 man, unless you keep a 2nd tent for gear! Don't forget the tarp underneath the tents.

I put a pop up over the front of the 8 man, and make sure the tarp extends a little ways under it. I have a large plastic bin that sits under there, along with a camp chair. I have one of those plastic grass welcome mats, the kind that sucks all the dirt off your feet when you rub on it, and everyone sits and takes their shoes off outside. Shoes and dirty socks on top until they dry, then they go in the bin (and it does get stinky...there is always foot powder and spray and body wipes there as well). Feet get wiped off before coming into the tent...I hate sand and dirt in a tent.


2/3. We have multiple sleeping bags. (Oiy, not helpful again) Each has a 40 degree bag, and the guys have lightweather (basically like sheets) ones, and 2 lightweight but cold weather layered bags for backpacking.
When we go when it's cold, we use comforters under the bags, above the mats (and not the cots/air mattresses...those are for warm weather), as well as some extra blankets as needed. Plus we have those foam, interlocking mats (like this: https://www.amazon.com/BalanceFrom-...UTF8&qid=1510859561&sr=8-6&keywords=foam+mats ) that we cover the tent floor with (well, we use those no matter what the weather, when we take the 8 man).


4. We have a large, propane 3 burner stove. I like that one for longer trips. I use a big turkey frying pot to boil water in for washing dishes, making coffee/hot chocolate/tea, cooking, etc. It has a griddle for frying bacon or pancakes.

We also have two 2 burner stoves, that use the small propane canisters. Those are good for 2 night trips, when we aren't going crazy cooking. The guys also 2 single burner type stoves for backpacking.

5. For long trips: We use 2 heavy duty coolers (one for drinks only, and one for foods like cheese, eggs, etc.) We also get a disposable cooler (like from the grocery store) and store that in our 3rd cooler, and we use that one for meats. That way if the meats leak, they don't contaminate anything, and the styrofoam cooler (without its lid) tends to keep it contained so I don't have to scrub nasty out of the cooler. I get 2 liter soda bottles and freeze them, and tuck them around the outside of the styrofoam cooler, and pour ice over them, along with some ice in with the meats. Keeps them nice and cold.

Plus a 5 gallon drink cooler for water (one of those orange ones). And two 5 gallon handled water bags (for handwashing or whatever). Two pop-ups shades---one for the seating area and one for the cooking area. Two long folding tables (from Walmart) for cooking, prepping, playing cards on, eating, whatever. Camping chairs. Two lanterns (one battery operated for inside the tents, one small propane that we hang on a tree or post). Flashlights, headlamps.

Cookware (I have a cheap set from Walmart plus a cast iron Dutch oven and a cast iron Skillet/skillet-lid set). Cooking utensils (again, cheap). Plastic picnic plates/bowls (cheap). We use disposable silverware (but wash and reuse until they break). Good knives (but not my Henckels, lol), several of those thin plastic cutting boards; can opener, etc. Stuff that I'm not going to cry over if they get broken or misplaced. I spent maybe $50 on all this about several many decades ago (except for the cast iron. I did get them on sale at a sporting goods store, spent another $70 on those, but they are the best. I use the skillets at home for burgers and steaks all the time).

Glass Press Pot for coffee (I pre-grind the beans if we are going somewhere without electricity, otherwise I grind fresh just like home); I use a warming bag to keep it warm while brewing. https://www.packitgourmet.com/Ultralight-Cook-In-Cozy.html (Their food is really pretty good btw.) We use our Tervis cups and mugs for drinks, and Bobbles for water. All the cookware fits in a trunk.

Also, we have locking trunks for the dry food. Pop up trash cans (empty every night, and when you leave the camp for longer periods). Several large basins that I use for dishes (two are metal, and I use them for washing and rinsing; the 3rd is plastic and I use that for sanitizing on nights when we do things like chicken. Just a little bleach in the cool rinse water.) I have an old Tupperware measuring cup, that's like 12 cups, for making pancake batter in (so easy to pour).

 

[ForMyBoys]

Is this the Coleman brand instant tent? Oh and that was a great thought about the twins taking up more room I didn't think of that.

We don’t have a Coleman, I think we have an Ozark? We got it on sale at Dunham’s but I’ve seen them at Walmart. Just look for quick set up or instant. They have to poles already assembled to the tents goes up and down way quicker. Ideal when it’s raining. Now is a great time to find discounted tents as it’s the end of the camping season.

 

[Meshell2002]

We don’t have a Coleman, I think we have an Ozark? We got it on sale at Dunham’s but I’ve seen them at Walmart. Just look for quick set up or instant. They have to poles already assembled to the tents goes up and down way quicker. Ideal when it’s raining. Now is a great time to find discounted tents as it’s the end of the camping season.

Ok, i've seen the Ozark brand but wasn't sure if it was good? They currently have an Ozark 12 man dark rest instant tent on sale for $222. It's rectangular and measures 20 x 10. I like the idea of the darker lining, my kids awaken at the crack of dawn. We have black out curtains at home for that reason.

Now I will need a tarp to go under it, mmmm and maybe an ez up or another tarp to shelter the table.... but we could use the ez up for things other than camping, softball tournies

 

[ForMyBoys]

Ok, i've seen the Ozark brand but wasn't sure if it was good? They currently have an Ozark 12 man dark rest instant tent on sale for $222. It's rectangular and measures 20 x 10. I like the idea of the darker lining, my kids awaken at the crack of dawn. We have black out curtains at home for that reason.

Now I will need a tarp to go under it, mmmm and maybe an ez up or another tarp to shelter the table.... but we could use the ez up for things other than camping, softball tournies

I would feel really badly if I steered you wrong so I asked my hubby to check the size and brand of our tent because we really do love it. He looked at me kind of crazy but he's a good guy and went ahead and looked it up for me The brand we have is Portal, and its labeled a 12' x 9' Speed Up tent. I can't find it anywhere on line. Not sure if they sell them anymore? I would see if you can find reviews before you buy the tent and best yet would be if they have a video showing the set up of the tent as sometimes they say speed or instant but aren't really the super quick so its good to watch. We don't have to put any poles together and our tent literally goes up in 2 minutes.

Having tent camped a lot a few features we like are the ability to run extension cords into the tent so look to make sure it has access points for that. Also one of our scout families has a quick up tent with a hinged door which I'm quite jealous of. Their tent door swings open and closed like a regular door and has velcro to keep it closed when not zipped. Not a necessity but very handy if you will be going in and out of your tent a lot so you don't have to keep zipping and unzipping. A tent with a rain cover that extends a few feet beyond the tent door is also nice so your tent doesn't get wet when you are going in and out and its raining. If the tent doesn't come w/ a built in mat in front of the door then bring one as its handy not to track dirt into the tent.

I thought of another camping related stocking stuff, a little hand broom w/ dustpan.

 

[lanejudy]

We're a family of 3 and use a 13' x 9' tent that "sleeps 8" -- we have a queen-size cot/airmattress plus a twin-size cot or airmattress, and I wouldn't want to add another person/bed. At least the cots we have, cots tend to be slightly narrower but longer than airmattresses, so you may want to keep that in mind when planning the footprint and layout of your tent space. It's only a few eaches each, but x5 people that can add up to an extra foot or more. Our first camping trip we had a queen airmattress and twin sleeping pad in a borrowed "sleeps 5" tent which allowed no room to walk, though the sleeping accommodations were adequately comfortable at that time (we just needed a bigger tent). Over the years we've "upgraded" to the cots. Since you are packing everything into a car, cots can take up a lot of space so you might opt for airmattresses which usually roll into their own carry bag and can be tucked into a corner easily. If your airmattress doesn't come with a battery pump, consider purchasing one and remember to charge it a few nights before your trip.

I'd say a camp stove is much more convenient than trying to cook everything over the fire pit (did that, it works, but takes longer and makes for very sooty pans). Many of our early camping supplies were store brand (either KMart's Northwest Terriroty or Walmart's Ozark Trail); when we've replaced or upgraded, we tend to look for name brand, but really we didn't find the store brand stuff to be particularly inferior quality - it's lasted several years. Our first camp stove was an Ozark Trail; it still works, though it lost a knob. I think that's the main reason DH finally bought a new Coleman stove last spring (but the old one works and he drags that along too).

I'm still using the sleeping bag I got as a kid, probably around the time I was camping with Girl Scouts, which was probably close to 4 decades ago. It's an old JCPenney brand, flannel inside. DH's sleeping bag isn't as old, and a different brand. Since we use a queen airmattress, we open up both sleeping bags to lay one on the bottom and use the other as a cover -- at some point I would like to upgrade both sleeping bags to be the same brand that can zip together, but we don't camp in really cold weather so it has been ok. DD has an LLBean sleeping bag that her grandmother gave her for birthday or Christmas a year or so ago; she had a youth version but outgrew it. As someone else mentioned, warm clothing to sleep in can make a big difference on a cool night -- my mom has pictures of us as kids around a campsite in our winter blanket sleepers.

Most of our camping has been at either state parks or "basic" tent sites without electric or water. We started out with a few basic items and have added on over the years.

Enjoy!