Bell tent owners some questions for you

[SilverSixpence]

I've nearly convinced DH we should get a bell tent even though we've never camped before! We will most likely camp for weekends in warm
weather only for the time being.
This thing about drying out the tent - is that only if the tent gets rained on? If its not rained the whole time does it still need to be dried indoors? We have a nice long banister but our garden would be too small, how long Would it take to dry?

Does it need regular cleaning as its a light colour and if so is it difficult/expensive?

Will it fit with rest of camping gear in a smallish car boot (vw polo?)

Do we need a 5m tent for a family of 4 or will a 4m do?

Thanks for your help!

Hi Silver - good choice. You only need to dry the tent if it goes in the bag damp, so if it has rained or, I guess, if you feel the air was damp in some way (foggy maybe?) when you packed up. Our tent has a separate groundsheet with a rubber flap round the bottom of the tent which is in contact with the ground (it goes under the groundsheet to create a seal to protect against water and wind getting in the tent). We tend to wipe this before we put the tent away as it is invariably wet and if the damp from this gets to the canvas in storage mould could be an issue. If you don't fancy doing this, then it might be worth drying it indoors when you get home.

It doesn't need cleaning - it will probably get muddy sometimes and you will get bird poo on it. Otherwise it doesn't tend to get dirty and all these things wash off in rain.

From what I have seen of friends' family tents, a bell tent wouldn't take up more room than most of them and less than some - you should be fine, although if you take a lot of gear (like us) you may need to invest in a roof box.

For a family of 4 I would recommend a 5 metre as you will be pleased with the extra space you get. A 4m is really better for a couple IMO.

Bell tents are also really easy and quick to put up compared with family tents - lots more time to relax and drink wine!

I would say that the bell tent package is big IMO, I had a shock when it arrived and immediately got my DH to pack the car as if we were going camping because I was freaking out, luckily it fitted. It was a 5 m Bell tent and a medium sized car but with a decent sized boot. Look carefully at dimensions of pack tent and make up a dummy size by rolling a duvet, of course you can't squish the tent like you could a duvet

We always air the tent despite whether its rained or not, it's not worth risking chance of mould anywhere.

We lay a separate groundsheet under bell tent groundsheet to keep worst of it. I don't care if a £10.00 tarp thing goes mouldy, I do if the tent does. This makes it easier to keep clean and to air at home.

5m definitely for family of four.

Thank you both, very helpful replies

Do you use an inner? Do you find not having separate rooms in the tent a problem for privacy?

Silver, we don't use an inner and it's not been a problem. The kids often see me dress/undress at home.

Silver - we have an inner - a half size one. We have only used it once because it definitely affects the feel of the tent and you lose a lot of the feeling of space (it takes up more than half the tent and hangs quite low). I think it would be useful to keep you warm on a cold night but otherwise I am not keen.

Soulpad do a quarter size one which might be better space-wise and might be quite good for chucking stuff in during the day to keep the rest of the tent tidy (and for corralling the children at night). On the whole though I am not a fan.

We are a family of 3, and our DD is only 3.5 so privacy is not yet an issue for us though.