Tents - Just Get One!

What We Have Learned to Look For In A Tent

• Few poles
• Easy to set up (very important for those times you arrive to your destination in the dark)
• Bathtub floor
• Floor plan with room enough for air mattresses and gear
• Tall enough for my 6 foot husband to stand up straight
• Thick, tarp-like floor that comes up the side of the tent several inches
• Stick to your budget (there are many tents in a wide range of prices, look for one in your budget range only)

What to Consider

• Fancy tents with lots of "rooms" can be more of a challenge to set up
• Big tents require a big flat area when set up
• Highly recommended to have a tarp under your tent if the floor of your tent is thin

I just posted about the tent we are currently using for our car camping adventures.  It's a rather "fancy" tent and technically categorized as a tent-trailer since it's on a trailer.  I wanted to do a follow up post for those of you new to camping...please do not think you HAVE to have a fancy tent trailer to have a successful car camping experience.  You don't!

My husband and I have been camping since we were first married in 2001 (our parents did take us camping as kids, so I guess we have been camping for longer than that) and during that time we have used several different tents.

Our First Tent - a Coleman Dome Tent

Our first tent (and probably my personal favorite) was a Coleman tent purchased from Target.  This was a roomy two-poled dome tent.  My husband had chosen it for our wedding registry because it had what is called a bathtub floor.  The floor of the tent comes up onto the sides of the walls a few inches which helps prevent water from coming into your tent.  This tent worked well for many years keeping us dry even in the middle of downpours.  It was very easy to set up and tear down and served us well until our daughter came along and we wanted more space.

The tent we used one time.

Our second tent was a also a Coleman purchased from Target and was BIG.  In fact, it was one of those fancy-schmancy dome tents with rooms and a  "porch."  We set this tent up one time and decided it was not for us (we still have it though in the garage for "just in case").

Our Third Tent: Eureka Copper Canyon

Our third tent was an Eureka.  This was a great tent as well with the room we were looking for and the ease of set up.  We used it until we discovered our current tent. 

Our Jumping Jack Tent Trailer

Our current tent is a tent-trailer.  View my post about our Jumping Jack Tent Trailer.