Norcal Spotted and BS Thread

For those that camp with families and aren't in the super cool RTT club, how big of a tent do you have? Is 20' going to be too big for most campgrounds/wheeling camping? Ideally I'd like to be able to stand in mine and with the wife and 2 kids we have a ton of stuff (toys/room to play for the 6 year old).

Probably get a big tent for the family and a small cheap one for solo/me and the 6 year old trips.

 

I've got the coleman instant up cabin (6 person or 8 person, can't remember), I can fit the Coleman queen size inflatable bed inside, with the Dog's crate on one side, and the baby's pack n play at the foot of the bed, and there's still room to change. I know they make an 8 person pop up that's the same size as mine but I think has an additional screened in room attached that's about the same size.

 

My last big ass tent was 10' wide, 18.5' long, 3 rooms.

I didn't have a problem most of the time.

It was sometimes at the cost of a less than ideal spot. Really depends what kind of campgrounds you'll be staying in, and how early you reserve/claim a spot that will fit your setup. The less desireable spots have less open, flat space and those are usually hard places to stick a tent that size.

Sometimes I have barely enough room for a nice pitch on my backpacking tent, which is like 8 ft long.

 

Also I'll get to your PM today or tomorrow.. remind me.

 

I've got an 8 man and it fits us (wife and 3 kids) but with mattresses and stuff it fills up. I should've went with a 10 man

 

I have a 6 man tent for me and the wife, and sometimes the kid. perfect size it sets up in about 2 mins with one person and is almost 6 ' tall , also have a few 4 mans for kidos or just for wheeling trips but there a bitch to set up. a 20' might be hard to find a good spot to set up in some cases but in most you will be fine.

 

no families but i have moocher friends.

8 man Coleman tent, super easy to set up and it can fit 3 queen air mattresses in it easily. Plenty of room for the wife and I and a friend with room to change and hold our gear.

 

you ,your wife and a friend , tell me more.

 

*separate mattresses. We typically have two queen mattresses in it when we camp.

 

Reminds me of quiet yoga time.

 

Thanks for the insight, maybe an 8 person will work better. Really just going to use on wheeling trips and designated campgrounds around CA.

 

I like space, so I always get way more than I need.

How tall are you? A dome tent has never been tall enough for me, so I get the super long, multi room tents and the center room has the peak, I can stand in there and get dressed or whatever. The walls are held on with a simple toggle and loop, so it can either be one huge room, two rooms, or three.

I had a Wenzel brand tent I think I got from Costco or something, maybe it was $150-180? Setup was easy, probably 10 minutes. Color coded pole structures.

Only complaint with that style tent is the bulk and weight, but for car camping it is glorious.

I ended up giving it away to friends who had young kids (8-10) and wanted to camp but didn't have the money - so as i am writing this, I might just pick another one up instead of dropping über bucks on a big REI tent that's 3x the price.

 

Like this one.

Wenzel Great Basin 1839x1039 3 Room 10 Person Tent

https://www.amazon.com/Wenzel-Great-Basin-1839x1039-Person/dp/B00E0BYK8S

 

I got a sweet deal on my big coleman through the Amazon warehouse deal thingy

 

@SCRunner12

 

This one has a 78" center height and is cheaper. 719 reviews - 4.5 star average rating.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Tr...ategy=PWVUB&visitor_id=f6ok8c2r10em-XZOVQgUPE

 

thats exactly the style of coleman i have. its awesome.

 

Cheaper still. $99, 300+ reviews, 4 stars.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Tr...ategy=PWVUB&visitor_id=f6ok8c2r10em-XZOVQgUPE