Tent for car camping?

Matthew, at the next REI garage sale, look for an REI Base Camp 4. They use these for their rental program, and sometimes you can find them dirt cheap. They are bombproof and truly good for 4 seasons. It's a bit cumbersome to set up at first, and it's gawd-awful heavy at 17+ pounds, but they're super spacious and comfortable. Great for a "base camp," but I hate to set mine up for just a single night.

If you really want to go for it, REI's Base Camp 6 is absolutely huge. That's the one if you want to play "Hemingway in Africa." It has enough interior space for two cots, 2-3 big dogs, and a small table and 2 chairs.

Either of these two tents would work great if you were to stay somewhere for a week. For 2-3 nights, I like the Base Camp 4.

Thats pretty much the target market for probably 3/4 of the camping tents made .

A good 3-4 person double wall tent will give ylu lots of room, quick freestanding setup and the fly can be rolled back fir star gazing on fair nights.

Good bets for the money are the REI Half dome and Various Kelty Models. They are around $200 on sale and mature designs. Most average about 5 pounds.The only reason to get a more expensive tent would be to save weight and thats not really and issue..

Unless your car is a gram weenie, of course.:)

For car camping, I wouldn't worry too much about weight — but would shift emphasis to comfort — while still wanting something easy to set up. As above, the REI Half Dome or the Kelty equivalent are perennial favs. But for true car camping (meaning minimal distance from car to site) — why not something even bigger — if that's what you like? Maybe get a tent for 3 with a higher ceiling to really stretch out?

I managed to score a Big Agnes Big-House 4, new with tags, for $100 (retail was $399 originally down to $299) we are going to get the vestibule too eventually so we can have space for a table and chairs too.

A full or queen size air mattress, a cheap comforter blanket and two real pillows fit nicely in a rubbermaid tote (don't forget the power inverter for your car, and an extension cord) and the tent is more or less just a bed area for us. You can get everything mentioned nicely at Target at around $100-150. They also make a fancy memory-foam mattress topper if you want to seriously upgrade your comfort for another hundred bucks.

Sorry guys, to be clear, I am not worrying about weight here. I already have an ultra-light set up for the both of us with the SS2, this is purely for taking out of the car, walking 10 feet to the camp site and setting up shop for a few days.

I'd like something that's large enough for the 2 sleeping pads + plenty of extra space for standing up to change. I'd love the possibility of an open roof or roof window when the weather is good. Plenty of windows for natural light and to be able to see out.

I'd keep an eye on Sierra Trading Post and use a coupon code to get at least 30% off. My wife and I have a Kelty 4 person that we use with a queen size air mattress. Makes a great base camp.

I am a big fan of my Hobitat 6 I use with my family of four. The 4 person model is on sale right now:

http://www.rei.com/product/829919/rei-hobitat-4-tent-special-buy

Vertical walls and lots of headroom to stand up and walk around.

If you want vestibule space get the garage attachment:

http://www.rei.com/product/810167/rei-connect-tech-garage

+1 REI Hobitat in either size. Bomber quality at a great price.

Somewhere along the line I picket up a Eureka Tetragon 5 dome tent and that works for us.

http://www.campmor.com/eureka-tetragon-5-tent.shtml?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=ppc&gclid=CKCt3aCzx8YCFUlqfgodMcMPRg

It is weatherly enough and has tons of room for the two of us and a dog. It uses two poles with clips for the basic structure and isn't too bad to put up. All these "cabin" tents are a bit of a wrestling match to get the poles in place and popped up. Having two people is a good thing, but I can put it up solo.
We use an MSR Missing Link more often. It can fit in a smaller campsite )and car) and goes up fast. It has plenty of room to sit up and big storage spaces at each end, with enough room for my Aussie Shepherd. It does have just one door, but my wife takes that side as she does more night ramblings than I do. Ventilation is good.

When we first got married, we bought a 10'x12' Colman dome tent that was huge. I had a sleeping platform in my pickup and we would haul the mattress out of that and use it in the tent. We spent a rainy weekend at Ruckle Park on Saltspring Island in the Canadian Gulf Islands with a box of books, a radio and the usual big Coleman stove, ice chest and all. Cozy. I still have good memories 30 years later :)

Things to look for: factory sealed rain fly and a fly that goes way down the sides, cross-ventilation, rain-protected entry, as few poles as possible, good zippers, inside storage pockets, available footprint. Look for pole clips vs sleeves.

Any large tent marketed for *BACKPACKING* would work well.

I say "marketed for backpacking" as most car camping marketed tents are crap.

Backpacking tents usually have a full fly, are seam sealed and tend to be more weather worthy and have aluminum poles.

Eureka and REI tents are perfectly fine. Heavy for the backpacking we do…perfect for a dispersed campsite in the middle of BLM land for a few days. I'd also throw Kelty into the mix, too, for similar reasons.

REI-Outlet.com is a great place to find these type of tents.
http://www.rei.com/outlet/c/tents

The wife and I use a Hoodoo 3 we found on clearance for $150 in 2012 IIRC which is very spacious for the two of us, has two entrances, very weather worthy and makes a good car camping tent for us.

The lightweight backpacking tents I find do not work as well for car camping where site selection can be more exposed and limited. Plus the tent is sitting out all day.

YMMV.

i would keep an eye on steep and cheep. every week or so they put up big agnes tents and other brands for good prices, all of them being what we here would consider car camping tents. BA makes some nice big base camp tents that i would look at, plus in my experience they have good customer service.

Hudson

Well, as they say, a spacious 2-person tent is a 4-person tent. And REI carries a few — some you can indeed stand up in.

If you want to stand up, then +2 to the Hobitat.

I can recommend the Eureka Copper Canyon 6 (10'x10'). Quite heavy but a good value and plenty of room to stand up and change your t-shirt in. Great for two people with two cots and gear. The body has a full mesh roof and large windows – it is great when the weather is good and you can fully open it up. The upright walls give you a lot of room inside. The fly can be a little challenging to get on with just one person because of the height of the tent. The Silver version is the same basic tent but with a full coverage fly for nastier weather. I think there is a 4p (8'x8') version if you want something a little smaller.

Thanks for the info guys. Tempted by the Hobitat 4. Sale for $237 ATM but that finishes tonight.. not sure whether to bite the bullet or not.

Does anyone have any experience with Coleman tents? They seem to be super popular in regular camp sites and there's some decent looking tents. Guess the main thing I'm worried about is durability.

The Coleman tents are popular because they are sold in Wally World and Big Box stores…

I am not against buying gear in those places per se (my favorite 100 wt fleece is from Sports Authority) , but I've always said for shelter and sleeping bags, I'd be hesitant at going the dirt bag way.

When I started backpacking in the dark ages of the mid-90s, I bought a Coleman type tent with the same very small fly they also have now. Not seam sealed.

Leaked like a sieve when on a trip in Maine.

My buddy's Eureka tent was not that much more expensive than my K-mart special..but it was bone dry come morning. I did not know any better. I would not take his Eureka tent backpacking today…but for car camping, it probably still works like a champ.

20 years later, I think for "bread and butter" tents you still can't go wrong with both Eureka and Kelty

Which is a long rambling way of saying, don't buy the Coleman tents. Coleman makes some surprisingly good gear (the gold standard of the Coleman dual burner stove, the forgotten gem of the Coleman F1 canister stove, the bomber lanterns and single burner propane stoves), but their tents tend to be less than stellar.

As mentioned, Kelty makes some good "bread and butter" tents that aren't fancy but are rock solid and do the job well.

If you are looking to save money..don't get the Coleman.

This Kelty is a four person tent, has a full rain fly and is factory sealed for $110
http://www.rei.com/product/869083/kelty-discovery-4-tent

It does have fiberglass poles, but unless you camp out in super windy areas, should not be too much of deal breaker for car camping. Lots of mesh for stargazing on nice nights, too.

If you have a little more money ($165), the Kelty Grand Mesa 4 has better ventilation, aluminum poles and is also 4 person. I'd get this one personally over the one above. http://bit.ly/1KJ4a8G Only two left…

ps. personally, even for car camping, not keen on cabin-type tents. We car camp year round and I like something that has a better profile for shedding wind (and why I keep on mentioning aluminum poles). And while weight is not important, I still like something easy to set up and take down vs a larger and more complex tent. So that is why I advocate the oversized "backpacking" tents sold from larger retailers. A three-person backpacking tent is spacious for the wife and I. The four person tent would be a Taj MaTent :D

Other people have different needs/opinions so take this advice with a grain of salt depending on your needs…

My vote goes for Eureka for car camping tents. You can either get a 4-man backpacking tent, with will have plenty of floor space for two and all kinds of gear, or you can go to the car camping (or "Family")models and get full stand-up height. I would stick with aluminum poles only.
Just remember that the big dogs take up a lot more room in the trunk, so if you have a small car that can be a factor. My big Eureka, a 6-man family model that I don't think they make anymore, does take up a bunch of room in the trunk – but man is it nice to be able to stand up and spread out the whole family in there. If going with just my wife I'd mostly take the 4-man Eureka backpacking tent I have, since it packs much smaller.

I have an ALPS Mountaineering 3 person tent "Meramac" that has been in several rainstorms and a hurricane and it still works great. It may be a bit small for what you want, but its less than $100

I would recommend either the REI Basecamp 6 or the Big Agnes Tensleep station 6. I have both and I really love the Big Agnes. Both have plenty of room for a cot on each side with a walk way in between and room on the ends for bags/packs. The both have great, very large vestibules on the front entry and smaller but still roomy back door vestibules. I think the big agnes has the advantage because you can roll up the rain fly half way up the sides to mesh vents in warm weather and also the front vestibule has zippered mesh windows. The feature I like the best about the REI is that it has two roof vents that are accessible without leaving the tent via small zippers. I don't think you can go wrong with either one. I hope this helps. :)

I have 2 Eurika Headquarters tents, sleeps 6 but for 2 it
s a total luxury. One person can assemble it. I use it for solo tent camping because of it's ease of assebly. Just follow the manufactures directions and all is well. Eureka advises seams to be sealed on all tents. All we have to do is follow directions and all will be well. Look at the windows and air space on this tent:

http://www.trailspace.com/gear/eureka/headquarters/

Coleman tents are popular because they're sold in big box stores AND because they work. They're inexpensive too. Check out Winzel tents also.

Ryan

Coleman tents are inexpensive, are dry and for the most part bulletproof.

Also, most Coleman tents do not have no-see-um mesh. They will keep the bigguns out, but not little buggers…and they will eat you even worse.

It would be hard to find a car-camping tent as intuitive to set up, as weather-proof, and as livable as the REI Base Camp 4 or 6. They are heavy and not inexpensive, but this is truly a case of you get what you pay for. I see that you live along the Front Range, so you know the kinds of winds that can kick up unexpectedly in the mountains. The Base Camps can handle our weather, unlike many of the other tall tents out there (including REI's Kingdoms and Hobitats). They also have strong aluminum poles, whereas many of the cheaper tents including Kelty's Discovery series use fiberglass. With fiberglass, it is a matter of WHEN, not if, a pole splinters.

One of the problems with cheaper tents is that many of them use only 2 poles, which does not always provide enough structural integrity when the weather turns foul. The Base Camps use 4 interlocking poles for the main tent body, and another for the fly. Plus you can sit under the vestibule in your camp chair and enjoy the weather even if it's raining.

Disclaimer: I do work for REI. I talk to a lot of people about their experiences with a lot of tents, and I see what gets returned for various reasons. The Base Camps do not get returned because of quality issues. You have some nice choices.