Selling our beloved camper and buying a tent, help.

[booge]

We are broke so the T4 must go :( so I need to buy a family tent, I would like something:

Warm at night
Cool in the day
quick and easy to pitch
Not too heavy
Roomy

As it is replacing the van I reckon we could afford a decent tent and still be quids in so experienced tent users please give me the benefit of you wisdom as I don't know where to start.

First things first, how many will sleep in it, are you planning on pitching and stopping for days on end, or do you need to be able to set up take down daily,... what vehicle do you drive, (governs size a bit), will there always be 2 adults to pitch it, do you want a retro look if you're exVDubbers - so many questions! I've ended up with FOUR different tents which I use for different jobs/trips!

Hi yedI forgot to add the all important details

There are 4 of us usually, the children are 5 & 7 however I do sometimes take them on my own so I would need to be able to take it up and down by myself.

We generally camp for 2/3 nights at a time but sometimes up to a week. We have a small estate car with a roomy boot.

Yedi... Dratted phone!

Not too fussed about a retro look as I would prefer something more practical although I do like the look of the old 70's frame tents...

Are the children the same sex? Cos if they're one of each the day will come when they won't share a sleeping compartment. So that will govern how many bedrooms you need.
I've got a DP who only comes on about half our trips, and twin dds who are now 13. I find it hard work to erect the otherwise lovely six man tunnel tent with just dds help, so use a very cheap six man dome tent with three 'sleeping pods' sticking out the sides if it's just the three of us for a weekend. I've also got a three man dome which was my pre-child tent and still comes out occasionally
For the big tunnel tent we invested in an awning which gives useful extra cover and storage, it also provides a place to remove muddy footwear and cook when wet (you're not meant to do this, but sometimes you have to).
Ours is a HiGear Zenobia 6 which I bought two years ago to replace a similar sized one that had been worn out after six years of heavy use. It was heavily reduced in one of Go Outdoors! weekend promotions.
I suggest you find a big tent dealer, like Go Outdoors! and have a good wander round their outside displays - they should have a lot of tents up and erected.
Things that are actually useful...
Footprint groundsheet (you peg this out before you start erecting the tent, it means your tent ends up where you wanted it by the time you've finished pushing poles etc. It also means only that bit gets filthy and wormy and needs to be scrubbed down)
Sewn in groundsheet (keeps the whole thing straight)
Lots of openable ventilation windows and doors, including at least one which will provide a through draft.
An awning/porch over the main door entrance. If the zip up doors are on an angle and unprotected, gallons of water will flood into your tent when you open it up in a downpour and all come rushing in. This was why I bought the porch as an extra.
Strong things to dangle lighting from inside - we've got a LED hanging lantern but the cheap tent has nowhere to hang it from so it's yet another thing on the floor ready to be kicked over.
Difficult to check before purchase but worth finding out if poss... how easily does it go back in the bag? On this one strangely enough the cheap tent wins hands down!
Things that are expensive extras and not really that useful.
Fitted tent carpet.
Will add more if I think of it.
Dear friend incidentally has a bell tent, it is very splendid and have been trying to think of an excuse to buy one for months now.

BTW the fourth tent is tall and narrow and described as 'utility'.... it's for the emergency loo!

I have the Vango Icarus 600, mainly because I'm able to put it up myself if DH doesn't come with us. I also have a canopy extension for it for some extra room. It packs down reasonably small. Ive found it an ideal size, it is big enough to feel that we are not squashed in (me and DCs who are 5 & 3) but small enough to fit in my car. The one downside is that it only has one big bedroom with a curtain down the middle which is maybe not ideal for you. There is an Icarus 800 in this years range which might be worth a look if you want separate beds.

For ease of putting up, I would fancy one of the Vango Airbeam tents - no poles, you just blow them up! V pricey though.

DH wants to know how much the T4s are going for. [sigh].
We have a 6 person vango tent if anyone wants to swop.

I was in the same position last year when I sold my t25. I've got a bell tent now......but it is heavy. But worth it.

Dh's car is a VW and has 210k on the clock so that won't stop him!!!

DP has absolutely banned me from looking at VW campers. But he doesn't know what I do on MN - so post some photos please while I look at the holiday slush fund bank account!
I've heard good stuff about the Airbeam tents.