New to camping and buying a tent - get much bigger than we need?

[Coriandersucks]

We are looking at buying our first tent and having borrowed an 8 person for the four of us to try out for the night we would like a bit more space (two boys under 5 needing lots of toys and I like my comforts).

Would we be ridiculous to get a 12 person tent? Seen one that the perfect layout and good price but would it cause an eye roll at the camp sites if we rock up with that?

If you were thinking about a caravan then I’d probably consider a trailer tent or a folding camper

We have a huge posh tent maybe 8 or 10 - can't remember - and a smaller 5 man one. We now only use the small one. The big one is heavy, takes up too much room and we can't be arsed with the time it takes to put up. Drying it is a nightmare.
We found no need for all the room inside anyway and you may find you have no packing room to take all that stuff anyway.

We had a 2 bed "6" person tent and that's fine for 4 plus a dog. Many sites have a max tent size these days

Sorry I'm giggling here at work reading more replies ... you take tables, cooking equipment, wardrobes??? Gosh I have a single burner hike stove and a credit card that purchases meals at the nearest pub

Kids are grown and we go camping on the motorbike, space is rather limited!

We camp as we can't afford to eat out 3 times a day.... so yes, we do need chairs and cooking facilities. But our wardrobe is a bag...

(We aren't averse to parking up, putting minimal equipment in the canoe and going somewhere remote either)

Really? My outwell tent is over 20yo and going strong. Friends have newer outwell tents and the quality seems as good and certainly better than most other brands. Coleman also good and the more expensive Vango range

Ooh a trailer tent that looks interesting - could be a good compromise if we can’t have a caravan will look at those too

I have friends who have Zempire tents, which seem enormous to me, but which aren't large in terms of sleeping numbers. They have ample living space, and then attached porches which have zipped in floors, so a fully integrated extension. Beautiful things, but weigh a ton, take up a lot of space, and take a while to put up and down. Berghaus are a good option - the XL options, especially, as you may not need the additional porch extension. Be aware that even the smallest 4-man weighs 20kgs and the bag is big enough to almost full the boot of an average sized car.

You also need to consider if you have the room to store all of your gear between trips - the bigger the tent, the more stuff you buy to fill it, the more you have to cart around and store...

Interesting how everyone falls into the trap of calling them X 'man' sizes. I call mine a 4 berth tent. I've got a Vango airbeam and I would recommend them

Surely you’ve noticed the bigger tents around for sale, and people camping in them? That’s us! The lovely thing about camping is that there’s space for all types. We have a big tent, but only look for sites with hot water showers, toilets and allowing campfires. Others go all out for electric hookup and playgrounds and entertainment and shops. Others turn up in a field with a block of chocolate and a packet of baby wipes. It’s all good!

Personally I weirdly love the “setting up house in a tent” thing - keeping camp all nice and organised, lanterns, blankets, cooking outdoor meals. And cosy blackout rooms with big thick sleeping bags and a load of balls and water kit for the kids. But it’s different for everyone and that’s fine!

@Coriandersucks I highly recommend a folding camper - just like a trailer tent but the cooking bit is inside the trailer whereas in a trailer tent its in the awning. We had a Pennine Sterling when our 3 were young and it was fab - I bought a 2002 Conway Countryman for me to use and it's lightweight enough to tow with an Audi A3 or VW Golf. Big advantage is that you can leave all your stuff inside it, chuck clothes in the car, hitch up and go away for the weekend! Downside is you can't chuck it in your loft when you aren't using it like you can a tent.

I probably shouldn't comment as I have a 4 berth / 2 bedroom tent to myself - but the bedroom only takes a double airbed with little space for anything else so I use the 2nd bedroom for luggage storage.

We have a six man air tent for three of us. Plenty of space. Remember when you're asleep you don't worry how much space you've got and the sleeping area can become a play space during the day! Go to go outdoors or similar place as a family and lie down in the sleeping areas together to get a feel for space. I noticed last time we were there. You can get a food up bunk bed for the children to save space, although it is another thing that'd need storing. Or a trailer tent is a good bet as you can store loads in it when not in use and to transport.

Have you thought about buying two smaller tents, one for you and one for the boys? We did this when DD was little and her tent was small enough that we could pick it up and move it so that both entrances were connected when we went to sleep. I would focus more on living area than sleeping area. So gazebos/shelters for cooking, good preparation area, and if you have some spare money, a Joolca shower system.

We have a 6m emperor bell tent that I absolutely love. If you have the ability to store and transport canvas tents they’re great, lots of space to stand up in. But they are harder work, they have to be stored dry and the poles are big. We camp 4 times a year with ours.

Canvas shelters are brilliant for extra space. We made our own one to save money but you can buy great ones as well.

We've got a massive tent and don't regret it at all. Ours is sold as an 8 man tent but cold easily take more. There is a large "living area" which is big enough to have the table in if it rains. We love it.

Separate tents might work though youngest has only just turned 4 might take him a while to get used to it.

for those of you with a trailer tent my cars only a 1 litre is that going to have enough poke? Thinking we might have to use do’s van as well but wanted to avoid taking two cars away with us each time.

It would not be a happy drive.

Make sure you check standard pitch sizes at a few campsites as we own a tent which is too big for most pitch sizes, making it unusable.

🙄

@Coriandersucks check your vehicle specs for towing capabilities as its more that than engine size which affects it. My Audi is 'only' a 1.4 litre but can only tow up to 1750kg (I think) which limits me to an old and small folding camper!

Trailer tents can be very light but you’d need to look at the towing capacity and weight of your car more than the engine size. Your trailer should ideally be 85% of the weight of the car or less

Even a small trailer tent offers as much usable space as a large tent and they aren’t too bad to put up. Folding campers are easier and tend to be better equipped but also tend to weigh more

I dream of a Dandy which is a solid bit of kit and suitable for use in the colder months
This one has heating and an awning and weighs 500kg fully loaded. They are expensive but there’s quite a cult following

Go and have a look at the tents packed up in a a family oriented tent shop like go outdoors or an independent if you have one locally. Many of the bigger tents just wouldn't fit in a family car and must be designed for huge estate cars or trailers. It also does limit the campsites you can go to as not all allow you to park by the pitch or others have limited sized pitches or charge more for bigger pitches.

It might just be that the layout of the 8 berth you borrowed wasn't quite right for your needs so maybe look at a few tents in different layouts. Something like the Robens Eagle rock has 2x 3 person bedrooms and a separate room in the porch for keeping things in so you can keep it relatively organised. and still have space in the tent if it's raining. Something like an event shelter paired with a smaller tent makes it much easier to use the outdoor space you get with camping if the weather isnt good.

6XL here for four. Three bedrooms at the back, huge living area and porch but we also have the porch at the side as a dining area. The joy of detachable bits is that we don't need it for a weekend but will take for a week long break.

Separate shelter for kitchen gear but often just outside.

I have a Horizon 7 berth, which is ample room for 4. It is big though and we just about fit everything in the large boot and big roofbox. In your situation I think I'd take a small 2 berth pop up tent and stick all the toys in there. It will keep your big tent tidy and double as a play tent in the day.