Bell tenters - advice please

[chuffoff]

I’m all set on buying a bell tent for my family to use for camping this summer but want to try and keep costs as low as possible. We are a family of 6 (2 adults, 4 kids ranging from age 2 to 13)). I’ve managed to find a company local to me that is selling off ex rentals. They are priced according to the level of wear (just marks on the canvas, no holes or anything) and they originally come from reputable bell tent brand.

Max I’d be looking at paying is £300. They are only offering 5m classic bell tents with sewn in ground sheet. I just have a few reservations:

1. size. I’m pretty sure it’s not going to fit us all truly comfortably but then I could look to get a
   separate smaller one, say 3m for my older boys. Maybe in future I could buy a larger multi door that would connect to the 5m tent or should I just bite bullet and go for the big one now.

2. groundsheet. I’d sort of decided on a zig before these came up but just wondering what people’s preferences are. If you have a zig do you unzip regularly? Is it a dealbreaker? We’ll be fair weather campers (as much as can be guaranteed anyway) and will be mainly south east based or France.

Any advice and other tips gratefully received. I’m due to view the ex rentals tomorrow morning with a view to buying but don’t want to part with cash and regret it. I guess my other option would be to just buy new and spread the cost.

Zero privacy in a bell tent
Deffo get a sewn-in ground sheet of available. You will certainly need a ground sheet of some description even in dry conditions
Zero privacy in a bell tent
Cotton/canvas tents are MASSIVE AND HEAVY to pack and store. Make sure you consider the packed dimensions before you realize you're gonna have to leave a kid at home.

Did I mention the lack of privacy?

I would defo not get a bell tent for that many kids!!!!!!! Get a tent with bedrooms, a living section and a porch for cooking in!!!! If the weather is crap everything in the bell tent will end up wet whereas at least with a tent you can leave stuff in the porch! There are loads of 8 man tents within your budget and if they don’t already have a porch you can buy these separately. I’d head to a big go outdoors (or similar) and have a look at tents that are up on display. As someone else said canvas tents are so heavy compared to a normal tent

I love bell tents - pretty much every holiday with the kids was in our bell tent when they were younger. But we have two, not four, and stopped all sleeping together when they were about ten.

We slept the four of us in a four-metre bell tent, which took up about two thirds of the ground space - so theoretically you would all fit in a five metre. But it won't leave any living space, or privacy. I'd have an extra 'normal' tent (say four man) for the older kids to sleep in, with you and the littlies in the bell tent.

Thank you, that’s really helpful. I’ve booked two pitches for the site we are going to and thought about getting a smaller tent for my 13 year old as they will want their own space. I think a cheap normal tent for them is the ideal option. The other children are very much in the musical beds stage of life with us so all being in together will be perfect for them. The pros far outweigh the cons for us with a bell tent, I was just keen to establish whether 5m will be a sensible investment or if I should go larger but sounds like we’ll be fine for now and can upgrade as little ones get older. We’re definitely a family that will lean towards a more glamping type experience with sites specifically chosen with decent pubs nearby for us to eat at rather than cook ourselves. We will take a small stove for tea, coffee and hot chocolate but that’s it! Car is plenty big enough and we have a heavy duty trolley to transport everything.

we have a pretty tarp that we add to our bell tent for a bit of extra space and we use a small pop up tent to store our crap in.
5 m is big. You can buy these button in pods for privacy. Maybe look into that.

Brilliant will do. Yes, I have an awning and the inner dividers on my wish list!

We have a 5m and 5 children for us it was perfect. We had a double airbed which was a sofas during the day and bedrolls for the kids set out like spokes of a wheel at night. We found it easier all in one and have an extra pup tent with a loo in, because life is too short for multiple trips to the loo in the night. When they were very little we slept across the door so we could sleep deeply. Plenty of room for us.

Bedrolls is a brilliant idea!!! We got our tent for £290 today. He put it up for us to inspect, can’t believe it only takes 10 mins! It’s in immaculate condition bar a slight mark on the door flap which makes it unsuitable for the high end glamping rental business it came from. Absolutely delighted.

We had a 5m and loved it,
There were 4 of us and we had the bell tent inner which gave us 2 sleeping areas.. you could unzip the central divide if you all wanted to sleep together.
We unzipped the ground sheet and rolled up the sides once!

We put fairy lights (solar powered) inside with the cable running outside. Means you have low bedtime lighting - worked well for my three.