Where to start for family camping?

[PalindromicUser]

We camped a bit pre-kids but now that our youngest is old enough we’d like to try camping with the family.

What would you recommend we do vis-à-vis a tent - poles vs inflatable? I’m inclined to go big or go home in terms of berth and go for 8P but is 6P enough? The other plus for 8P in my mind is that you can sometimes get one with bedrooms at opposite ends - is that a genuine plus or does it make no difference?

Is it a mistake to buy second hand?

Paraphernalia: some kind of table and chairs? We have stoves, lamps etc.

Camp beds vs air beds?

Thanks for your help

Gentle bump

Second hand could be good. I would want to see it up first. It may have been used one weekend and left the owner thinking "never again!", so could be virtually new.

I would go as cheap as possible to see if you like it, then spend the rest of your life upgrading. Borrow stuff, use stuff you have already, or buy stuff that's always useful to have. (Sleeping bags, stove and kettle, etc.)

Thanks Plar. I didn’t realise vis-à-vis was a thing in tents

We have a good size estate car but I think for weekend camping we will go for a pole tent and start with a 6P. We can always upgrade as the kids get bigger.

I understand go cheap as Mysterian suggested but we did the opposite and got good quality comfortable things that made us give it a really good go. To me the difference between make or break is the equipment you have, so it is worth the investment initially

There are a few sites where you can hire a pre-erected tent. It would not only give you a chance to see if you like it before actually buying your own, it would also save the faff of assembling and disassembling a tent whilst dealing with the wants and needs of small children!
At this site you can hire a tent either already furnished or unfurnished. www.plattsfarm.com/pre-erected-tent/

Here are a few more which have that facility
www.orchardcampsite.co.uk/pre-erected-tents/ This one has an enclosed play area, a kitchen area with free to use hot water, fridge, freezer, kettle and microwave, plus a coin operated washing machine and dryer which is always handy!
www.plattsfarm.com/pre-erected-tent/
www.treenfarmcampsite.com/pre-erected-tents
www.eazycamp.co.uk
Wherever you end up going, take lots of toys for the kids. Really handy when you're cooking or wake up early!

We are two adults, one teenager and we have a 6p tunnel tent. We love it, but would not go smaller and quite frankly wonder where three more people would fit.

Also if the weather is bad where would everyone sit?

I agree go big or go home, however once you get past 6p the costs mount up.

I prefer self inflating matresses but they are expensive. We've had csmp beds and dp isn't keen.

I can see the attraction of double ended tents now dd is getting older. Tunnel tents however are a piece of piss to put up. Takes us about 20 minutes.

You need something to cook on, you can get portable stove things for £10, we just use two of those, then something to cook on - we got a £10 table from the range and ended up with three. Got decent chairs from eBay but they are space thiefs in the game that is car Tetris.

pillows!!! You'll need pillows we didn't take them on our first trip. The very first thing we did on the second day was buy pillows!!

We have an 8 person tent for 3 of us. There are 2 bedrooms at either end with a large living area in the middle. DH and I sleep in one end of the tent (our double campbed takes up two bedrooms!), and DD (6) has one of the rooms opposite. We use the spare room for storage.
I wouldn't go for a tent much smaller than this - the large living area is great if the weather isn't great. We also use the tent for a two week holiday each summer, and a large tent is perfect for that.
We all have campbeds with a SIM on top, which is pretty comfy. We take a table and chairs too, and also have a collapsible cupboard which we use to store clothes in on our fortnight's holiday. To be honest, none of us would enjoy camping if we weren't comfortable.

I forget something every single camping trip, I've reached the point where I can't relax until I know what I've forgotten.

The first ever trip, we forgot the tent poles... The next one I forgot the chairs, it was almost worse. Good chairs make a difference - test them before you go. dh needed an old school folding flat chair for his back, he couldn't use the squashy camping type.

A permanent camping packing list has helped a lot - now I forget things like my third pair of pants, or my tweezers.

I like having transparent lidded boxes for things by activity - so I put the matches, sharp knife, peeler, mini chopping board, tin opener, corkscrew, plastic wine glasses and wine glass holder spikes into one box, and I'm ready to cook :) provided I haven't forgotten the wine...

Sorry - we found air beds awful, self inflating all the way.

For the first couple do ready pitched.

Definitely Self inflating mats and decent chairs.

Using a pre-pitched or borrowed tent is a great idea, you will find out how the size works for your family and what features you do/don't like.

Self-inflating mats here too.

We started as novice campers when DC was 5 and, six years later, this would be my list...

6-person tent for 3/4 works but I wouldn't want to go smaller. Check that you can get chairs (and possibly a small table) into the living area so that you have somewhere to sit if it's wet or cold.

A porch area makes a huge difference if it gives you somewhere to cook when it's raining.

Comfortable chairs are important as are comfortable beds. We've tried a number of options but 10cm SIMs with a big sleeping pod work for us. Don't forget pillows from home.

I have a kitchen box with all of the plates, cups, cutlery, knives, matches, tea bags etc. in it. Means that I know I have everything I need stored in one place.

Good lamps are helpful and a couple of decent torches. DC loved having a head torch for reading in bed!

Things we have accumulated through the years...

Cable for electrical hook up and kettle/chargers etc.
Briefcase stoves for cooking - have tried loads but keep coming back to these
Solar lights
Microfibres towels - handy for keeping in the kit in case you forget proper towels or the DC go paddling
Cupboard unit for storing food and extra table space
Icey Tek cool box - my favourite piece of kit
Quality frying pan - so much camping food can be done in one big pan
Plastic backed picnic blankets to make a carpet in the sleeping pods
Snuggly fleece blankets for sitting outside
Assorted card games