Trailer tent or folding pop out camper?

[nilbyname]

We are upgrading and wonder which option is better?

Like the idea of the awning bit of a trailer tent but are they a faff to erect? Also how about comfort/storage.

Talk to me please?

i cant really advise but we have a folding camper - a pennine and it is bloody marvellous. warm and dry whatever the weather, the trailer bits takes minutes to put up and awning bit is huge but does take a bit of time to put up but worth it for more than a night. also has a storage bit under beds so if you do only put up trailer there is somewhere to put everything packed in trailer - chairs, kids bikes etc. i was hugely reluctant to give up our outwell tent but am a total convert to luxury camping!

That sounds good! Thanks for your input!

Anyone else please?

We had an Esterel folding caravan and Aunty and Uncle had a Carousel folding caravan when I was young had some great holidays.
They look like a trailer tent when towing but then 4 sides pop up on hydraulics so looks like a normal caravan.

There was an Esterel on ebay last week.

We also have a folding camper and recently upgraded to a Conway Crusader which has a toilet. It's slightly irksome as it's more like a wannabe caravan than a really really good tent, which our much older Conway Cruiser was.

But we do love folding campers and for us they are the perfect compromise between a tent and a caravan. You get the canvas, outdoor noises and feel of camping in a tent. But also the cupboards, fridge, running water of a caravan. The best things are the mattresses on the beds and the soft cushions on the sofas, I couldn't give them up now.

We prefer them over a caravan as they are a lot more open as the side can unzip and roll up, the beds stay made up during the day so bedtimes aren't a faff and they don't cost as much to tow. You can store a lot of stuff in them between camps too. We only take clothes, bedding and food in the car. Everything else is stored in the camper.

We store ours in a storage yard as we only have one parking space on our driveway. But some people put them in their garage.

HTH.

We have a dandy designer. I luffs I. DH has an in off relationship with it lol

It's "better " that the previous units because it's PVC ( made of the stuff they make lorry sides from). It's completely waterproof but doesn't get wet like a canvas unit . We are also insulated and heated.

I'd definitely go folding camper not trailer tent. A unit that can be used without putting a single peg in is bril for quick trips /short stays on non grass pitches etc.

Again we store everything in the unit.

The trailer itself is small (just sits on the drive under the front window) and we can manouvre easily by hand. I can put the unit up not quite on my own but with a child of 9 or 10 to steady/balance/grab bits you can do it.

Fixed beds - luxury!

However we shove the kids into their own pup tent as the unit is not huge.

As a slight aside, does anyone know the name of the folding camper that can be stored in its side? I saw them a couple of years ago before DS! They came with a trolley type thing that they could be manoeuvred around on...

What's a pup tent?

Do pop out campers come with an awning, can you affix and awning to them?

Think we are going to take a look at some this weekend!

Found it...it's a Camplet

A pup tent is just a 2-man tent which is erected next to the camper, usually for the teenagers to sleep in.

You can buy them with awnings, usually they are the full width of the opened-out camper so they double the footprint of the camper. They look just like the caravan ones. You have to buy one with the awning though, because they zip on so it needs to be compatible. Awnings sold on their own are very very rare and the caravan ones don't fit as they use a different type of attachment.

A raclet quickstop is a hybrid between the two. The cabin can be erected on its own and the kitchen put in the cabin for short stops or for longer trips tbe awning can also be erected and the kitchen put in it.

I really want to get a folding camper, hopefully Pennine Pathfinder. They look fab. Just need to persuade DH....

I have an incredibly ancient vintage Rapido folding caravan, which cost us £500 last summer. She's a bit of a bugger to get up, as she can be a bit of a diva if the ground isn't perfectly level. But is a dream to get back down again. We squeeze 2 adults, 4 children and a baby into ours. She came with an awning, which doubles the space (as long as you're not on holiday when it's totally arctic). We don't have running water, or a toilet, or even ehu, but like it that way.

After cursing for half an hour when wrestling it up (can take longer if she's being particularly tricky), we forgive her instantly when we start clipping on all the kitchen units and the cupboards in the living room, and the beds and chairs and tables suddenly appear.

I've got a fab raclet quickstop I'm going to sell (bought an old combi camp instead).

Even if not interested in mine, they are so quick to put up. It flips out into two double beds. And two more single beds underbeds. The awnins take a bir longer to put up but at least you can sit in the main cabin if raining.

They look like this m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=IcvL5P0H2lo&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DIcvL5P0H2lo

Though I do like my combi better. Like a giant pram hood. They are so easy. Love camping but hate tent poles. :)

What's the difference between a folding camper and a trailer tent?

My parents bought a camplet at the start of this year and absolutely love it. It is easy to tow and move into place. The beds are comfy and they have loads of storage space. They have no trouble putting it up and down, and can do it in minutes now.
They have always loved camping in a tent but were after something a bit comfier and warmer so they can go away for a longer season each year. They highly recommend them (think they are quite pricey to buy though!)

We had a trailer tent and it took hours to get set up, which was a real pain if it was raining. It was really hard work as you had to faff about with the huge awning, peg out, set up the kitchen and toilet etc.
After a few years of this we decided to upgrade to a folding camper. We now have a lovely Conway Crusader and life is so much easier. Erecting it takes minutes and is a lot less stressful. We are sitting on the sofa with a cuppa in no time. We also do a lot more weekend and short breaks now as the time previously spent putting up the trailer tent meant it hardly seemed worth going away.

Folding camper is lower half caravan top half tent, trailer tent is large can as tent that ypu erect around a trailrr. Combi camps, camplets and raclet s are somewherin between.

I think:)

So guess you can use folding camper without an awning, but trailer tent you need to put the whole thing up?

With a folding camper, you can cook in the main cabin and it doesn't need pegging. With a trailer tent you can't cook in the cabin and it generally does need pegging but there can be a bit of overlap beween the two.

Ah I see! Think a trip to Camperlands is in order!

i too have an ancient rapido folding caravan. We bought it 3 months ago and its the best thing we have ever bought.

It is small when packed away, and easy to tow, but opens into a reasnoble 5 berth caravan.
We didn't get an awning with it, but tbh i don't care.

No more stress and near relationship breakdowns whilst putting the tent up.

It took us 15 minutes to put it up and sort from start to finish this wknd just gone.

15 minutes! Wow! In awe.