car camping tent?

I have a Kingdom 4 with the garage and I have mixed feelings about it.

Pros

• Quality of build
• Easy to setup
• Nice pockets
• Love the garage
• Tons of room for 3 people plus gear (even with my wife’s ridiculous car-camping sleeping pad)

Cons

• 6′ tall tent is much colder than a smaller tent. Heat rises.
• There is a minor drip that I have experienced above the door if you do not use a second garage or vestibule. I’ve had it happen on a couple different camping trips. It’s nothing major and I have resolved it with a small piece of a garbage bag and 60 seconds of ingenuity. I can’t remember exactly how it happens but water ends up dripping on one spot at the apex of the door and there is no rain-gutter there.
• The drip should not happen on such an expensive tent

Definitely don’t pay full retail for it.

thank you! I read about the drip somewhere. How long does it take you to set it up?

SInce I have only car camped a couple of times, not sure how realistic/useful is the hang out at the vestibule/awning/garage thing while it rains scenario…..? this is where im undecisive.

Cabelas has some nice car camping tents.

I wouldn’t get any of those large 6+ people tents, particularly for about 3 people. First, there’s the issue of footprint. I’ve been to parks where it was hard to find room to pitch my sister-in-law’s Big Agnes Big House 6. Can’t imagine with larger tents. Not often, but at times it has been a problem.

Second, the issue of height. I remember a trip to the Outer Banks in NC where we were camping at the beach. The Big House 6 was impossible to pitch, even with three of us, and we had to use the bathroom building as a windbreaker. The ranger was not happy, but since the place was practically deserted he let us get away with it for the night.

Besides the issue of height, there’s also the fact that the fly doesn’t reach the floor. Had the Big House 6 had a fly that reaches all the way to the floor, I think pitching it in the wind it might have been easier. Lastly, every owner I know or have spoken with says their Big Houses leak. That has been about 5 people. I find it easier to seam seal a fly than a tent, so I want my tent fly to reach to the ground all around.

Lastly, if you have a small vehicle or see yourself camping at places where the car is relatively far from the campsite, the large tents can be heavy and unwieldy…

Good luck!

I also have the Kingdom 4, but haven’t used it as much lately.  I camped for years with my son with the YMCA Adventure Guides (we called it Indian Guides).  Just the two of us and our 4 person tent.  We had plenty of room for gear, including a small REI chair and table, which was great on a rainy night – if just to sit down and take off your shoes or read without laying down.  The back of the Kingdom has a large gear-style vestibule built in.  I originally had the front vestibule and my friend had the more extensive tech garage.  Another friend replaced a Big Agnes larger tent with the same.  I never setup the front vestibule unless expecting consistent rain.  No inside drip for me or my friends that had the same tent.

I saw some wear in the fabric and returned back when you had more than a year to do that.  It was purchased with discounts and REI was great to just give me the same price on the newer version.  I could have taken the price paid and got anything, but I like this tent.  You can get 20% off now with a member’s coupon and the tech garage is on sale or clearance.  They usually have the 4 or 6 for an even better price at their anniversary sale in the late spring or summer.

The setup takes some practice to get the middle pole centered, but is not difficult.  Rainfly coverage and ventilation is great, and you can raise the rainfly on the side if you want in good weather.  If you are car camping and have the gear I used to take along, it would include a coleman propane heater, which we would turn on at night while changing clothes and climbing in the sleeping bags.  We might turn it on again in the morning again while getting up and moving about.  We took this down to high 20’s and had a space blanket and another blanket on the floor, along with foam and self-inflating pads – it’s car camping luxury, so bring it all.

Now we’re camping with the boy scouts and my son has an REI Half Dome he shares with a buddy.  I try to hammock camp whenever possible, but just thinking about it I should roll out the Kingdom 4 for myself at the next Camporee.  I can put the hammock up just for naps!

Thanks Bob. Not clear…you havent been using the Kingdom 4 lately? Not sure which tent you are talking about?

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Sorry if unclear,  I was talking about the REI Kingdom 4, which I think Matthew was also speaking of.  I haven’t used it lately, but all my comments are about that tent.  Great car camping tent if you want to stand up and spread out.  It’s made from quality materials and has a good return policy if you are not satisfied (in the first year).  The REI Kingdom or Basecamp 4 or 6, or the Big Agnes Big House 4 or 6 are all a big step up from the Kelty, Eureka and Coleman tents I’ve seen.

The Kingdom 4 comes in a large stuff-sack with backpack style straps.  It’s true about the size of the tent, you can go smaller and it will fit in smaller sites.  I usually don’t worry about finding a big enough flat space when car camping, but maybe I’m just lucky.  There are some huge tents out there, and I think you can go too far.

I just recently got an REI Kingdom 6 at the garage sale to use for car camping.  We could’ve gotten a Big Agnes 4 person tent, but the deal we got on the Kingdom would have been silly to pass up.

When we set it up at home, I just laughed.  It’s so big it was comical to me.  But, that being said, I can see this tent being awesome with kids.  Can separate in two rooms.  One room is solid silnylon and the other is just no seeum mesh, as you could probably see in pics.

The four of us have been using the LL Bean King Pine tent for almost 10 years now and have been really happy with it.  There’s a fully screened vestibule that is great for taking off wet gear (and footwear) when it’s raining.  The “tent” part is 10×8’6″ so we’ve never had a problem finding a flat space for the tent.  I don’t really care how the area under the vestibule is.

We have, on occasion, slept 6 in the tent but it gets a little snug.  It helps if you have 20″ Thermarests versus wider mattresses.

Today I went to REI and set up the Kingdom 4 at the store. More than big enough for me and my 6 year old and the maybe one day friend or 3rd. 8.4ft x 8.4 ft . Nice tent. Not crazy about price and no outside area to hang (awning) just a vestibule.

I think since I havent car camped much, only a couple of times with borrowed stuff, Im having trouble envisioning:

-How much will I use/need some kind of covered outside the tent area if it rains…..?

-Any work arounds for a tent that has no awning, porch etc?

-How tall do I need/want it to be inside?. Im 5’8. Will I hate a 5 foot or 5.5 one?

-Then there are the Coleman Instant tents which are cheaper and set up in like 3 minutes…. An attractive proposition given I carry and set up everything (its just me and 6 year old).  But it has no outside section to hang outside….so you can only hang inside tent.

Then theres the Colemans with a screened in porch…which get massive at 11×9 and probably take long to set up….

Just trying to discern practical needs.

thoughts?

Eureka Timberline 2 or 4. Reasonable cost, easy to set up, durable.

+1 on NIck’s suggestion.  My partner’s old backpacking tent was the Timberline 2…28 years ago.  It’s still our go-to car camping tent.

About a workaround for a tent without a large, set up chairs size vestibule, we use a tarp. A simply blue tarp with some tie outs, and throw it over the table that most campsites provide. Inexpensive and effective. If we need mosquito protection we have large inexpensive mosquito netting, easy to find at surplus stores or even amazon. Maybe something like this would be large enough for three:

The tarp is nice also because if it’s daytime and we are waiting around for rain to stop, I don’t mind setting up the blue tarp over the campfire.

Going back to the size of the tent, usually it’s not a problem, But it has been at times. We do 2-3 week road trips with extended family and we camp every night, usually in places we have never been to… For example on our last trip, I was looking for a campsite by a lake in Southeastern PA, arrived there about 1 hour before dark, staff was gone. Never been to the place. I was looking for spots to set up my 4 person tent and the Big House 6 in the same site. Plenty of families camping, so not a lot of sites empty. I had to pass the first three sites I found. They all would accommodate our 4 person (roughtly 8’x8′), but not the Big House as the sites were carved on the side of slope with trees not only all around, but also within the small flat platform areas that had been carved on the side of the hill. I was thinking I was going to have to split the group between two sites, but we would have been far from each other as none of the available sites were in close proximity. Finally I could make do on the fourth site, but again, the relatively small Big House 6 floor was not all usable, the site was only large enough to pitch the two tents.

Not the only time this has happened with this Big House 6… But I was able to manage every time and stay in tent sites eventually, although again, not using the whole floor at times. There’s no way I would have found a tent site at that campground for my friend’s three room 12 people Coleman monstruosity since the trees were in the way. Not even if that was the only tent in the platform. We would have to take an RV site, which we’ve had to do at times. But I tend to avoid, as I have experienced more unnatural noises and other disturbances in those occasions (loud tvs, generators, bright lighting, etc) and also gravel surfaces, higher prices, etc… No offense intended, my wife wants to buy an RV when we retire, but for now, we prefer tent sites for our tents.

Again, it depends on what kind of camping you do. If you stay local in the same 2 or 3 parks people always tend to go to, then no big deal. You know the area and you can buy accordingly. But if your camping is diverse and you go to places where the situation will be unpredictable, I would look for the 4 person tent or maximum 6, but no fancy vestibules, multiple rooms, etc. At that point just get multiple 4 person tents… And a fly that reaches to the ground all around for better weather protection. Bring a blue tarp of desired size and mosquito netting if rain and/or bugs are a concern…

Wife and I use an Alps ‘Lynx 4’. Think I paid $89 for it on Steep and Cheap. Big enough to hold a queen air mattress plus plenty of extra room to hold bags and other stuff in it. Its not tall enough to stand up completely. Build quality seems fine for what it is.

Alps and Paha Que make very good car camping tents. One or both occasionally available at Sierra Trading Post. Another suggestion is a Stephenson’s Warmlite 5R – easy to set up, spacious, and light enough per person to be used in the backcountry on an expedition. Downside on the Warmlite – 8 to 10 week lead time to purchase, and very expensive.

-Any work arounds for a tent that has no awning, porch etc?

I usually don’t set up some additional covering (rarely rains in California)… but a blue tarp works well and is cheap.  Finding structure to set it up with can be challenging

How tall do I need/want it to be inside?. Im 5’8. Will I hate a 5 foot or 5.5 one?

Having a tent you can comfortably stand up in is a luxury.  Note that max height only gives you head room at a single spot.  If you can’t stand up, you might is well get a heavy backpacking style tent.  It will be warmer, more wind resistant, and probably better in the rain.  I have a REI Hobitat 6 with 7.5 ft ceilings it is very nice.

-Then there are the Coleman Instant tents….

I would stay away from Coleman’s.  I see them in every campground I visit and always in a state of disrepair.  Broken poles.  Torn fabric.  on the verge of collapse….

I wouldn’t dwell too much on set-up time.  All of these tents are designed for a much more novice market than the average backpacking tent.  I would look for a quality tent brand that is on sale that meets your criteria.

The kingdom 4 is on sale right now:  https://www.rei.com/product/829184/rei-kingdom-4-tent

One heck of a deal with the 20% off coupon