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Please talk to me about trailer tents

17 replies

rallytog1 · 09/04/2015 15:57

We used to camp a lot before the arrival of now 2yo dd. I've now realised that realistically we'll never be able to afford anything but a camping holiday when she and any subsequent dcs start school, but the thought of sleeping on the ground (even with a decent SIM) ever again is not in the least appealing.

So we're considering buying a folding camper or trailer tent, as they seem a bit more civilised somehow, but I'd love to hear whether others would recommend them over a regular tent.

We'd probably do two or three holidays in it every year, plus several weekends - mainly in the UK but probably into Europe as well. It feels like it would be a good investment but I just don't know whether the benefits over a regular tent are as good as I imagine.

OP posts:
YoungJoseph · 09/04/2015 16:19

Can't tell you about folding campers but we did have a trailer tent and wouldn't recommend it.

The positives are that they are generally more spacious and sturdy once up, also if you buy second hand, you will get a lot of tent for your money.

The negatives are (and this is really about me and my family,remember that)
You need a towbar, obvious I know but it adds to the cost.
I needed dh to be here for me to pack it, I couldn't even unfold it by myself.
It needs to be level when pitched, dh is a stickler for this sort of thing so pitching took ages and ages.
Towing is a PITA for us.
If you want to take it on a long journey you need to think about security, it can't just be left in a car park, too easy to steal.

So we found it hassle overall and camping with a tent a lot more flexible.
We had a Cabanon Stratos.

lavendersun · 09/04/2015 16:20

We bought one about five or six years ago (Cabanon Stratos).

It was very nice, but, the fact that it is a trailer tent limits some of the sites you can visit.

I quite liked it, although felt quite embarrassed tbh because it was very big. DH thought it was one step away from the dark side of caravanning (no offence meant, just not for us). We didn't use the under bed bits apart from to fill them with the empty bags the poles/canvas came in.

So after about 18 months we sold it. We lost about £1k on sale, put it towards a lovely tent and a new trailer.

Our beds were not comfortable, you will need to add something for comfort. It just seemed massive and a lot of faff tbh. Drying it on return from a trip seemed harder than drying our current tent - make sure you have somewhere big enough to dry it.

We use a different tent for weekends (do even now), the bother of possibly having to dry such an enormous tent after a couple of days meant we preferred not to take it.

Obvs everything can be stored inside, but that means that you can't access it to make a cup of tea, start thinking about cooking until the thing is pitched unless you plan ahead.

So, I would say don't do it. 50-60 minutes to pitch and peg. Big to dry, can limit site choice.

But if none of that bothers you then it might work for you. If you planned on 3 weeks a year in France, pitching it once or twice for the whole holiday it would pay for itself in 4 years.

I think ours cost £3.5-4K from memory, lovely, well thought out, etc., but just not for us. There are usually lots of nice examples on eBay, I waited and sold mine around this time of year when you pay more for them. If you buy at the end of the summer they cost less.

Storage too, we used to empty the trailer bit and store it inside a barn but checked it every month or so for damp/mice, etc.. It is still a tent though, rain = damp feeling, cold = cold.

lavendersun · 09/04/2015 16:23

Waves to Young Joseph Smile. By complete coincidence my friend had the same TT. Her DH was a stickler too and spent all trip faffing and pegging it out perfectly.

We had a 'it will do, bring on the wine' approach to ours!

DownAtFraggleRock · 09/04/2015 16:27

We had one for a couple of years and loved it - so much better than a tent. It had a porta-potty, a heater and lights. Bliss. First time we went away in it, it rained. We sat in the warm and dry with wine and cards, happy as clams.

Much warmer than a tent, mattresses (ours had heated mattresses when we had a powered site) and running water. (Sleeping off the ground is a lot warmer).

DH and I could get it all up and sorted in about 20mins. Me inside and him outside.

It made camping so much more fun that we sold it and bought a caravan because we're middle aged

Theas18 · 09/04/2015 16:31

We have q dandy designer but now the kids are older teens / uni we don't use it.

When they were small it was heaven in a quirky Morris minor or reliant robin way.

It is pvc lorry side material so never wet as such and if it's rained you can wipe it with rags and fold. It never leaks ( the swing drips condensation at times but that's differnt.

It's heated and has a gas hob / girl and a sink. The beds are surprisingly comfy and always there.

We wouldn't have had a canvas tent if any sort. They are hard work !

I can put this up I about 15 mins though help from a 10+ yr old is a real bonus. That's not includibg the awning. That is a tricky thing the main unit is peg less so can be used on concrete and caused as a " caravan" if you wish.

Google it. See what you think. We might ge selling it T some point ( cheaply) so if you or anyone is interested srp ME a pm ( we're brum based)

rallytog1 · 09/04/2015 17:09

Wow, didn't expect so many replies so quickly! Thank you everyone, you're giving me a lot of food for thought. Seems like it might be a bit of a Marmite thing...

OP posts:
LegoClone · 09/04/2015 17:19

We have a Camplet trailer tent and I love it! I spent a lot of time showing my DH video clips of them being put up and explaining just how great it would be to have one before he caved realised it would be a great idea.

We've never managed to pitch it as quickly as Camplet suggests you can, but it doesn't take long to get the canvas over you if it's raining and a lot of the pegging out can be done from inside the tent. Also the "kitchen bit" is the first thing that you open out so you could brew a cup of tea before you pitch it if you like! Wink

I have no experience of pitching anything other than a 2/3 man tent, however from watching others pitch large tents I think that the Camplet is easier! It does help to have a fairly level pitch though - we've spent a fair bit of time faffing about when pitching on a slope!

Also the Camplet seems to qualify as both a tent and a folding camper so we've pitched in both tent-only and caravan/camper-only sites!

I find the beds to be comfortable and warm - I think it is possible to upgrade on the mattresses if you have any money left after buying one but we haven't needed to. The beds are spacious (kingsize fitted sheets required), although the one in the bottom half of the trailer is narrower due to the wheel arches. Our DSs currently share one of the beds, but we also have an annex which zips on in place of one of the side windows so can have an extra "bedroom" if required.

It's very spacious inside and I think that one of the Camplet models has the option of zipping on additional bits to make it even larger.

There's only one place in the UK where you can buy them new so we visited while we were in the area, spent a lot of time looking at one, decided we definitely wanted one and then left and started looking for a second hand one.

We got very lucky as the one we bought was clearly hardly used and came with some of the extras we were after - we ended up spending more than we originally budgeted for when you include the other extras we were after but it's worth it! They are chuffing expensive if you buy a new one. Shock

I won't bore you with how much I love it and why any further, unless you're interested and then I will! Wink

lavendersun · 09/04/2015 17:32

I think it is a marmite thing OP, we expected to love ours, just didn't. We felt like it would be suited to a 3 week jaunt every year but in reality we don't do that, even when we go away for a while we move around every 4/5 days. Just didn't work for us.

YoungJoseph · 09/04/2015 17:46

waves to Lavender

A Camplet is the Rolls Royce of trailer tents and this is reflected in the price, even second hand. If you bought new you'd be able to sell very easily if you didn't like it. Originally I wanted a Camplet but was uncomfortable with the amount of money it cost so compromised (always a mistake) with the Stratos.

Like Lavender I was convinced that I would love ours but I didn't. We did get quicker at putting it up though. It's really a tent for at least a week whereas we wanted a tent suitable for weekends as well.

BaronessEllaSaturday · 09/04/2015 17:47

I have a trigano chantilly and love it, it does take 2 people to put up if you are using the full awning but I have also used it for overnight stops with just the bedroom compartment which is easy to do on my own.

YoungJoseph · 09/04/2015 17:48

Also we are a family of 5 so we'd have required extra bits for the Camplet.

LegoClone · 09/04/2015 18:55

The Camplet definitely works for weekends away, particularly if the weather's good and you don't need to peg it out as thoroughly.

RhubarbCrumbled · 09/04/2015 22:43

We have a Conway Challenger folding camper, so a trailer tent with brakes and a built in kitchen and we love it. We've used it for overnight stops and have it up and running in about 20 mins as no pegging out. To put the awning up too takes another hour but we only have that up it we're there for a few days. Otherwise we rig a tarp as an awning.

The beds are warm and comfy as off the floor. We were in France during the horrible weather last August and there was a stream running under our trailer but as we were off the ground we were warm and dry. I like that it has a built in hob and grill but do take a cobb for outside cooking.

We've had it out in all sorts of weather and getting it dry is fine as we just out it up on the drive until it's totally dry.

Ours is a 1999 model which we bought 2 years ago for £600 including all the kit we could possibly need. Towbar was £250, but we had double electrics fitted.

I'd say do your research and have a look at lots but we love ours and it makes our holidays fantastic!

hels71 · 11/04/2015 18:11

We have a Conway county man folding camper.
It's the only way I will agree to camping. Has a kitchen with little fridge, no sleeping on the floor etc. I can't put it up myself..but I am only 5 ft all. Dh can. It does take a while to.put up and down. However I think it's better than a tent!!

snowplop · 12/04/2015 17:50

We have a Trigano Galleon and absolutely love it. We use it for 3 weeks in France each summer. Yes, it takes a while to pitch perfectly but once it's up it's fabulous. We receive endless compliments and questions from curious passers-by.

The optional kitchen is brilliant: it has two burners, a sink and a grill plus loads of storage. You can unhitch it from the trailer and carry it outside the tent which is an added bonus that some trailer tents don't seem to offer.

The beds are really comfortable and we also have two underbed tents for when the 3 DCs want their own space - atm they share one of the big double beds.

However, we've just bought a 8-man igloo tent for weekend camping in the UK. We needed something quick to pitch that we can sling over the washing line to dry.

I second the advice to do lots of research. If you're in the Midlands I can heartily recommend Black Country Caravans - they have loads of trailer tents in stock and the staff are lovely. Camperlands in Manchester also comes highly recommended.

Flappingandflying · 15/04/2015 19:07

We have a pullman folding camper. Love it and I hate camping. Beds are more comfy than at home. They retain value well. Takes us about half an hour to put up and down.

seventiesformica · 15/04/2015 19:14

We had a trailer tent which was great for a few years but then we got fed up with the time it took to put it up and take it down. Just over 3 years ago we bought a new folding camper (Crusader) which has a toilet,fridge, wardrobe,heater and 2 king size beds.

It is lovely, really comfortable but ds is now a teenager and doesn't want to camp. We have not used it for almost 2 years now Sad

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