neurotic, dim-witted camping questions

[misshardbroom]

As you will no doubt be able to tell from these questions, we are very new to this camping lark and whilst I can't wait to get going this year, I have a couple of nagging concerns:

1. we have the sort of tent with a bedroom each side and a central area for keeping all your stuff. So the idea is that the DCs go one side and DH and I go the other side with 'the baby'. 'The baby' is now ginormous and almost 3 so I don't think it's going to be all that comfortable anyway, but I digress. Can't help but worry about the other two being in the other pod by themselves, admittedly a whole 10 feet away. Obviously I could hear them if they woke, but what if..... someone snuck in and took them while they were sleeping ???????

[yes, I realise there is probably no more chance of this happening than if they were in their own bedrooms at home, but I keep thinking how there's no locks on tents, and how you could just cut through nylon....]

1. Rats. Last year we had one fab camping trip (apart from lying awake half the night squashed by the baby, listening for abductors cutting through the nylon of my children's sleeping pod, obviously) and stayed in a big field on a farm. Absolutely no frills, portaloo but nothing else, jolly good stuff. However, as night fell and we sat round our little fire, multitudinous rats appeared and scampered round the place. Is this par for the course? Were we just unlucky with our choice of site? How do you keep the feckers from coming into your tent?

If anyone can maintain a sense of composure long enough to answer these questions, I'd be very grateful. Probably more, equally neurotic questions will follow.

[FourArms]

Question 1 - suppose this is possible, but very very unlikely. Could you and DH sleep seperately?

Question 2 - I've never seen a rat, so I'd say unlucky. Keep all your food under wrap and you should be OK.

[seeker]

Rat - I think you were unlucky, but there are rats on farms and if it was a quiet site there may not have been enough human activity going on to keep them at bay. You do need to pack food away very carefully at night though wherever you go. Our favourite campsite is divebombed by seagulls in the early morning and woe betide you if you leave any food out!

About the abduction thing. This is not one of my personal paranoias (I have many others!) so I've never thought of a way to combat it. You can get tent alarm, I know. Would something like that help?

[maxybrown]

I have been unlucky enough to have a badger try to get in to our tent once....big hole from his mucky paw! and then another time, rats......I have camped for years (Dad was in scouts) but it finished me off! We have a camper now and I'm happier.

The animals coming is generally a food issue though. With the badger I was camping with a friend years ago and we stupidly left a little barbecue out...no food but obviously the smell was there. The rat/mouse was in our front awning bit routing through our food supplies.....i was pregnant at the time and over sensitive anyway,but that was IT for me!

[Hassled]

OK - I've always been a bit wary of camping. Seems like an awful lot of faff for relatively little reward. But now I know there is the possibility of rats I will never go again. That is it for me .

To answer the OP - I think you were unlucky with rats. On my brief forays into camping, I've never seen them - I should go somewhere less basic and with more people around.

Re security - you would hear someone cutting through canvas. It wouldn't be a quiet affair.

[troutpout]

Never had a problem with rats.
Not sure about your bedroom prob.We used to have a tent with a similar layout to yours and i used to sleep in with dd and dh went with ds...mainly because dd was a sleep-walker and i worried she would wake up disorientated.
I would probably do this in your case (just for peace of mind)

[SammyK]

RATS - that sounds unlucky but I agree you need to keep all food wrapped/sealed.

kidnapping paranoia - our tent layout is like yours and I am dreading it this summer with a four year old 'baby' in our 'bedroom' (we are plotting to get the older two their own little tent). You could put some little bells on the zip tags so you hear if the bedroom pods move about in the night.

Personally I find the reward of camping is relaxing, there are no distractions, at home I cant sit still and relax but camping I can sit outside for hours doing nothing watching DS play in his favourite playground (a field).

[muffle]

Rats - I've never seen any. (Though loads of bats!) Probably just bad luck.

The abduction thing is exactly what's gone through my mind although I know it's highly unlikely, in fact if it had ever happened I'm sure it would have been headline news and I can't recall ever hearing of it. For an abductor to try to get into a tent with the parents in the same tent would be extremely reckless - you would almost certainly wake up. But, I have bought an extra large universal inner so we can all be in the same "room" in our tent - also DS prefers this.

[anniebear]

we didnt get a tent with bedrooms like like misshardbroom for that reason

we got on with 1 larger bedroom, we put 2 double blow up mattresses in and DH, me and 2 children aged 7 sleep together

Not neurotic at all I dont think, just safety

I think if someone can get into somebodys apartment and take a child away, or into peoples houses and take a child from a bath....How easy to do it in a tent

[anniebear]

lol sorry, I wont help ease your fears!!

[anniebear]

(obviously they wont be taking a child from a bath in a tent !!!)

never even crossed my mind about rats!!!! Oh no!!!!

[seeker]

You children are not going to be abducted from your tent. THEY ARE NOT. This is not a worry you need to consider for a second.

[misshardbroom]

right, thanks all. So we need a rat-free campsite and to take a deep breath about child safety.

But I do like the one-big-sleeping-compartment idea. Any recommendations of such tents, or where I can buy a universal single inner?

(needs to accommodate 2 adults and DCs of 5, 4, 3)

[troutpout]

We have an outwell monty 6 which has 2 adjacent bedrooms that can be made into 1 big one.

[seeker]

We have a tipi. It cost us a small fortune but it's wonderful. Shall I link to it, or will it cause tent-envy?

[misshardbroom]

go on seeker, show us your tipi

[Peachy]

Rats? they're everywhere you know, whenever you to to a retail area / park / whatever they're there, somewhere. Campsites bring you closer perhaps (but I've never seen one near my tent just in a planted area). badgers i've experienced but then if you pitch in an area called Bager's Hole it's to be expected.

I've laid awake waiting for the phantom rrrrippp in the boys pod. Sometent layuts are better than others (I lke ours but no longer ono sale), we also park car right up behind or pitch to a hesge if at all possible.

[twinsetandpearls]

Everyone knows that only nice people go camping, hence the fact I allow my dd to disapear from view or pop to the shop whereas at home I would never do this.

Rats have freaked me a bit actually, thanks

[troutpout]

am already merely at the idea of seekers tipi

[Peachy]

MHB the best bet would be a tent with pods with a divider curtain instead of fixed divide; Khyam use them I know.

[FeelingLucky]

We just bought this one
had the same paranoia as you about abduction, etc. so this one can be made into one big bedroom or two side by side. You might need a bigger version as you have more DCs.

[muffle]

I can't remember where I got our inner but it only sleeps 3, 4 max. Have a google for universal inner or tent inners and "sleeps 6" etc.

[Peachy]

Universal inners are a feature of Outwell tents especially, an the curtain divides some others.

Grab a few of the catalogues.... have flicked through teh Outwell one today and tehre's loads of designs to suit, you should be able to grab some off the internet websites

look at khyam, outwell, gerlert, royal, vango, coleman for a wide enough range

[mumshadenough]

Here's a link to the Orchy 600 which is a great one/two bedroom possibility. also has sig so no rats!!