Help finding car camping tent

I’ve been pleased with the REI Kingdom 4 that my wife fell in love with. It’s ~6′ tall inside which means it doesn’t retain warmth well because heat rises.

kelty generally makes good durable tents for reasonable prices ..

if yr in canuckistan MEC tents are pretty bomber and reasonably priced …

;)

Sierra Trading Post has the Big Agnes Teepee Creek (4-person, 3-season) up for $330.  Not stand-up high, but 44″ inside height and somewhat sloped sides, so it should be reasonable in the wind.  Its 32 square feet vestibule is bigger than my entire 2-person BPing tent!

Smaller, lighter and cheaper would be the Marmot Ajax, 3-person, 3-season tent up on STP for $180.  I’ve got the 3-person and the 4-person versions and it’s biggest “car-camping tent” (they call it a backpacking tent) as I’ve used on family trips (say, flying to Hawaii or Virgin Islands and car camping out of a rental car).  The smaller size and weight when you’re checking baggage and four people are living out of a compact car is helpful.  Decent ventilation in the sun if you stake out the fly to let the breeze get to all that mesh:

It has a smaller vestibule than the BA Teepee Creek, but enough to cook in, IME:

REI Kingdom, Big Agnes Black Diamond, Mountain Hardwear Optic, Blackdiamond Skylight

just the ones i have used. all are nice, depends on what you want.

Kirkham Springbar. Pricey, but ours is good after 20 years of use.

We have an REI Co-op Camp Dome 4 and it’s done well.  A bit shorter than the Kingdom 4, but less than 1/2 the weight and cheaper.  The covered eaves aren’t big enough for a cooking area in my opinion, but I’d rather a separate fly for that if I’m not going to worry too much about the weight.

I’d be looking at Big Agnes and REI with your criteria.

I have 3 different friends with families of 4-6 people and each of them has a version of the REI Kingdom.  Each says they would buy them again.

The only caveat on the kingdom is it needs to be well staked out if being exposed to a broadside wind.  It has low lateral stability.

The best part is it is tall throughout the entire length of the tent rather than just the centre.

I have the 6 it is 8 years old with probably 150 nights in it.

Last year I had to reseal one of the seams in the fly but outside of that it’s been pretty flawless.

Thank you for the responses, just got back from snow camping.  Will research with the referenced tents.  Just thinking too, not a deal killer if low headroom/cooking area, only needed to cook if it is raining.  Was trying to hold off buying to keep the credit card down another month or two, but also thinking would be nice for a group camping trip to the desert over Eastern.

Duane

REI Base Camp is also a good choice.  We have had a 6 for maybe 15 years.  We bought it when our boys were young because it was pretty bomb proof. It still is. They are grown but the tent still is going strong. It handles high winds with no issues.

Thank you all again.  I just hate researching.  Either tents are too long, a bad review here and there, too low or too long, need two people to set up.  Have it narrowed down I think to either a REI Camp Dome 4 or a Nemo Bungalow 4P.  Double wall, good inside height.  Dont think I can get all I want, have to remember will not rain that often where a large area to cook in is needed.  Can always buy a Easy Up or something.  Two person tents are too low, I’d like to get something a little roomier since I can carry stuff in my truck.

Duane

For car camping, I’d look for a 4 person dome tent from a major manufacturer.  I don’t think there’s a lot of difference in them, look for one on sale.  Another idea would be the Eureka Timberline Outfitter.  I saw the 4 person version at Campmor for $220.  Bomber tent.

I looked at all mentioned.  Really like a couple but one was almost 12 feet long with the big covered/vestibule area, the Mt Hardwear Optic 6.   Smaller versions were too low or did not care for them. Some had zipper issues, broken poles, two person setup, sand intrusion.  Canvas tents would be too bulky, but liked a couple, Cabelas had one I would have liked but took up too much real estate by the time the front porch was erected. Like when I researched for a new backpack after over 20 years on my old Camptrails, you read a lot and come away with more knowledge.  I’ll be patient and wait for the REI Spring Sale or other suggestions.  Appreciate it.

Duane

Cabela’s has the toughest car camping/pack horse tents I’ve ever seen, and very well designed.

Further looking, think I found as close to what I think is perfect for me, still a little bit larger than I’d like.  A canvas Springbar tent, Campsite 3 model, a little smaller which was what I like, lighter than the China made canvas tent Cabelas sells.  20 dollars more, 20 pounds less, but made in the USA, which was not a requirement.

Duane

You can greatly extend the longevity of your car camping tent by purchasing a cheap poly tarp with grommets and tying it over your car camping tent. It will also help you keep it cooler in hot sunny weather. In addition, store the poles at home in the open position and the shock cord will maintain its elasticity much longer (though you can always string new shock cord).

There’s a trade off between height (especially of a big tent with large surface area walls) and stability in a storm. For stability, flexibility and better views, you might consider getting a tent that needn’t be tall for sleeping in, and then getting a net house with waterproof top and some netting walls and solid walls to use as a vestibule, like Nemo Bugout Screen Room: http://www.nemoequipment.com/shop/tents/?type=screenRooms

+1 David T. regarding buying from STP if you find something you like – with one of their generous regularly-offered coupons, you can find some amazing deals. I bought a nice roomy +$300 Sierra Designs tent from them years ago to use as a car camping tent for $60.