happy medium? Tents v caravans

[rmackay]

Whilst the debate between canvas lovers and pikey owners rages on, :argue: does anyone have any opinions on using the good ol' landy as a convenient place to stay? (and I don't mean when the missus kicks you out!)
I knew somebody with a Series III that used to take the front passenger seat out and stick a piece of plywood right across the bulkhead from the rear door to the dashboard - there must have been good supports at either end as well as the bulkhead supporting the middle section though...
what do you think?
where are all the carawagon owners out there?
what about roof tents?

cheers!:chase:

[timbott]

I have slept many times in the back of my 109 StationWagon. I just fold the rear seats away, unroll my sleeping bag and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I have recently bought a caravan though so I won't be sleeping in the Landy as much now. I also have a shed full of tents so I'm lucky enough to have the choice of all 3 types of mobile accommodation:yay:

cheers, Tim

[s.stirley]

Never slept in this Landy, but have in other cars .. prefer that caravan _or_ a tent anyday !

Both have their advantages for different reasons, I/we still use both as we see fit really. SMWBO tends to prefer the comfort of the caravan though .. I like it a bit rougher, but then you can't beat proper cooked breakfasts in the caravan ! Tent gives me more freedom though, tend to go for that if I'm away on my own more.

S

[rmackay]

well I am looking forward to a summer of both tents and caravans - as you say both have their uses in different situations - have been using an alegedly 3 man tent from blacks for the past year but planning to buy a bigger one for the summer -

any one have any comments regarding the make coleman or the ones you can get from Index?

i have found that ones more expensive don't mean that they are better quality - a vango dome tent lasted about three hours in a west coast wind many years ago!

[Otter]

Dome tents seem to be especially bad in high winds. Back when I was climbing they always seemed to collapse first. Tunnel tnts are a little more stable with similar space inside but for real stability you have to go for a trad type design. I used a Pheonix Phortress in winds up storm force and temperatures down to about minus 15. Only problem: not much room inside!

I would pay the extra and stick with a good quality make, mind you, Vango do make some cheapo tents these days!

[rmackay]

found a good web site called "wildday.com" based up here in Nairn (N Scotland) so it saves us on postge - for a change! they are advertising discounted tents so some of them look pretty good - the tunnel ones are certainly roomier and with a car beside them should block most of the wind!



:icecube:

[R0Y]

VANGO:yay: tbs equinox 350, can highly reccommend this tent. Have had it up (ooer) and stay up (ooer ooer) in a force ten wind up on the cliff tops at Whitby. Tunnel design, aluminium poles and a tension band system enable it to do this. After going through 5 tents in 2 years trying to find one that adequately suited wifey and i, this was the one we decided on without a hint of compromise. Have now had this one for 3 years (average use of tent 16 times a year) and it is still going very much strong. It's a far cry from my very first Vango tent, an ex scout troop, canvass, Force ten "traditional style", boy was that thing solid in high winds, but you paid for it in weight. As has been said in earlier replies Vango are inexpensive enough to satisfy most needs and are a well respected maker.

[rmackay]

found a vango gamma 350 so thinking about giving it a try - as you say the tunnel style with the tensioning straps may make all the difference in a camping trip to Durness for the midsummers weekend coming up in June!

certainly be bigger than the one we have at the mo - head and feet both touching the sides!

cheers!:yay:

[R0Y]

rmack', if the gamma 350 is anything like the equinox 350 then you should have plenty of room. Don't ask me ask the wifey, she's 6' 1" and finds the tent spacious enough.:yay:

[R0Y]

edited to remove previous comment, now that my screen has returned to normal. Sorry for any undue curses my previous comment may have caused.

[OldFart]

Originally posted by rmackay
as a camping trip to Durness for the midsummers weekend coming up in June!




Mac, we spent Xmas and Homany up there 2 years ago, aquaint yourself with the range officer and he'll show you around the bombing range up on the headland.
Piccy of Stephen and myself amongst the Durness dunes :yay:

[R0Y]

twasn't the piccie or poster at fault, once again apologies.

[rmackay]

cheers for the comments bhodisatva - will let you know how the tent buying goes! mind you have now had my ear bent from 'er indoors saying she wants a tent "with a bit where she can stand up in"!! honestly - it'll be back to the caravan before we know it!!

O/F - durness is a crackin place - have gone up there for the past couple of years at that time but haven't ventured over towards cape wrath yet - did it years ago with my father when we walked from the lighthouse at Cape wrath down to Sandwood bay - a good walk along the cliff top!

cheers!:p

[hotspanner]

hi is that pic a picture of the lane that runs to the lookout station and starts near the church? is it legal to drive? when i was up there last year some bikes used it.

[Hector]

Originally posted by bhodisatva
VANGO:yay: tbs equinox 350, can highly reccommend this tent.


Got to agree there. Tunnel tents are not normally the way to go for good stability but the tension band system makes up for it in this case. A good spacious general purpose tent.

If you're going to be camping anywhere especially exposed or at any significant height go for a design known as fully geodesic.

These are like a dome tent but have extra poles that overlap the others for extra strength. A good one is almost indestructible. The only downside is the cost, they start at about £150 but a good Vango or North Face will be at least £350.

We had lots of visitors staying at hogmanae and a couple decided to camp outside using my, new at the time, Force Ten Spindrift. They gave up and came inside pretty quickly as the weather was horrendous. Braemar about 20 miles away and a good 200m lower had 30cm of level fresh snow in 12 hours along with gusts of wind of over 120mph. :icecube: The tent was fine in the morning despite being completely buried. It was pitched just to the left of the pic.

If anyone needs any advice about tents or outdoor stuff in general give us a shout - I've worked in a local outdoor shop for years so like to think i'm reasonably up to speed on things. :)

[rmackay]

thanks for the comments everyone - still have not purchased one yet but the dome style with a porch type bit at the front "to stand up in" looks to be the favourites at the moment - although 'er indoors has now mentioned that she would like a tent with an "extra room for when friends come to stay"!!!!!!!!:banging:

.......I give up!!!!!

cheers!

[mike k]

We've got a Pennine pullman folding camper, caravan base but canvas top, now thats a happy medium me thinks.....

[paul (panda)]

i use a dome tent with a sleeping area to the rear and porch you can stand up in to the front , only adequate space though so have bought a gazebo with sides which can be pegged down etc to extend the porch and it works a treat for cooking in etc
only downside is the time it takes to set it all up now al least an hour to set up and the same to pack and put away

[allan picken]

I have a Vango force ten mk 4 tent and have had it for 20 years ,I can recomend this tent for any weather.It must be a good design because you can still get a hold of them and get spare parts.Its ideal to throw in the back of the landie

[Paddles]

I have a vango but Im not sure which model it is.I bought a new tent from the Driffield show.It is an OZ tent, they take 30 seconds to put up.There are various permutations with extra add ons etc.I bought the largest which is 2.4 m square.There is an awning which comes off the front.I bought the extra side panels and extra front panel .All together it was about £700. I wont have a caravan as we use a lot of ferries to the hebrides and to Ireland so paying for two vehicles is out of the question.Roof tents are probably alright in Africa but I have seen them blown all over the place in the Isle of Lewis last year.Also if you set up a roof tent then remember you need to nip out for some milk you have to drop the whole thing.

[rmackay]

yeah the lewis gales can get a bit wild - esp when they blow right across the minch to the west coast!

Never mind - have finally bought our new tent - so much for looking for a large two man tent - ended up buying a vango colorado 8 (yes 8) man tent - for the two of us!!!

however we have plans to go away for weeks at a time so reckon on big is best!

will let you know how we get on!

slàinte!