Talk to me about trailer tents

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

Currently have a Vw Campervan which we love.
but I may need to release some money so I can do a masters - a car same age as the campervan would be around £5k and the van is worth around £20k
i do love getting away for the weekend though, and I’m wondering about a trailer tent?
I really dislike camping, because I get cold and uncomfortable. But thinking a trailer tent may have a good bed and seating?

Some seem to have sofas?

Hopeful bump for afternoon campers

my parents had a trailer tent when I was in my teens. Comfortable to sleep in. But being a short statured family, it was problematic actually reacting the things nd definitely needed two people to do so. Ours was a hard top, a soft top may be easier. High winds made it quite dangerous to open up. On the plus side it was easy to leave everything packed up - but only if you packed the tent etc away bone dry. You do need somewhere at home you can open it up to dry if you packed up in the rain or with dew on the canvas. Once I moved on, my parents used to leave one side set up as sofas and a table, with the other side set up as a bed, it had a built in kitchen area which swung out into the main area from the tailgate.
You may well be able to get a folding caravan. They looked much easier to use and tow - I did look at one as an option for my DH and I as we could both tow it and manoeuvre/set it up solo handed, just in case one of us was incapacitated or not available. Might be worth a look?
Hope you get more answers and have fun whatever you decide to buy.

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 thank you, I didn’t know the sofas and bed were interchangeable! That’s exciting

Not a trailer tent, but we had a folding caravan when DS was little. Ours was three berth but our friends had a four berth version which wasn’t much bigger. It was about the size of a large trailer when folded down and fitted in the garage. Not that it spent much time in there, when we weren’t camping, DS would use it as a play house!

It had two sofas which folded into a double bed and a single bed, cooker and fridge. Plenty of storage too. We’d arrive on the campsite, level up, undo the roof clips and raise the side panels. Took about 20 minutes.

What you want is called a Folding camper! Pennine etc, loads of options depending on price. Checkout various Facebook groups for selling/buying

Oh that’s sounds great!
we haven’t towed before, and were put off caravans for this reason- will a folding camper be easier?

My parents got a trailer tent in the early 1990s. My abiding memory is of spending nights sleeping top to toe with my sister, kicking each other in the head with our sleeping bag covered feet.

Anyway. Apart from that, it had a wee detachable kitchen thing that was pretty decent to cook on and a large living room awning. Plenty storage.

@EmotionalSupportVest awww that’s sweet
@Flowerfairy13 I have just been looking at a Pennine Pullman on eBay for £2k! Amazing, I’m going to live in it

Yes they are really easy to tow as they are light weight and low down and the smaller ones are no wider than your car. Depending on your family size, a Pennine Fiesta sleeps 4 comfortably. There are lots of different layouts, just depends what you prefer. We loved ours for 5 years, took it France and all over UK

Haha yes you could! Happy camping :)

We had the camplet it was ace but cold

Hmmmmm cold cos it was draughty?

Yes we went in April once never again. The summer months were fine

We had a trailer tent for a couple of years, including one two week trip where we stayed at 5 different sites.

We loved the size and the fact that canvas is so much nicer to camp in than polyester. But DH is 6’3” and the beds were not big enough - we solved the problem by making one massive bed and all sleeping sideways.

It was a challenge to put up, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it solo.

For me (a bug hater) the big drawback was that although the groundsheet zipped in, there were lots of ingress points for bugs and no way to keep the bedrooms bug free (mostly worried about midges but I also don’t like sleeping with spiders!).

We sold it and bought a bell tent (because canvas is so nice to camp in) and a trailer.

We have a Dandy. It is insulated, double glazed and has heating. Plus proper beds and carpet on the floor. We have used it comfortably in below zero weather.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dandyforum/

Look for one that is “winterised”.

Great, thank you
hmmm there are some nice inflatable bell tents out there!