Setting up for camping

[Alans17]

It may not end up being the last tent you ever buy, but a Coleman Sundome will get you out there. I read a lot about their reputation for not being sturdy, but ours has a few years of light use and still looks new. When I say light use, I mean a couple times per year. At the very least, it may help you learn what you do and don’t like so that you nail it if/when the Sundome finally gives up the ghost.

As for heat, you can’t escape the nighttime air temperatures, but a “dark” Skydome is basically a variation of a Sundome with light blocking side panels all around. Great for late sleepers and near-universal reports are that it keeps the inside cooler once the sun is up. That’s not a small thing if you’re at all a late sleeper. The inside of the tent will start to heat up fast once the sun is up.

Sponsored

 

[XJADDICTION]

All camping gear fits in 7’ Yakima skybox, luggage, cooler etc. in locked in hard top covered bed, bikes on the bed top racks. Nice thing with this set up is nothing you don’t want is in the cab on a long trip.

 

[deuce]

We use a RTT and an add on tent for the ARB Touring awning. The Missus slept in the RTT while the mutt and I hunkered down in the ARB. The ARB has lots of ventilation if you need it.

 

[Jcsii]

Cargo box was great for extra storage on my last trip, was easy to throw in the camp chairs, ground mat, camp tables etc. Especially since the box was a $50 craigslist purchase... either of the bars above will let you partially open the cover with the box installed.

That left plenty of room under the cover for recovery gear, totes with kitchen gear, sleeping gear, food, etc. My DB does well keeping it dry but there seemed to be a lot of dust coming in from under the tailgate so I highly recommend good totes for your gear.

My favorite cooler (pelican) was too high to fit under my DB so before investing in a cooler if you need one check the height.

 

[Terminus33]

Shiftpod.

I mean for the price of that I would just hire an architect, have him draft me up some plans for a tiny home then hire the contractors to build it, Or just buy a shiftpod...

 

[Wilhelm 10]

I bought my Sarge Green Mojave last Saturday. So of coarse I’m now planning on some trips and will be doing a little camping also. Most likely the camping will be in state and national park campgrounds. The wife is not much on roughing it, years ago we had a 27’ airstream and she was good with that.

But i don’t really want to pull a trailer, so we will probably stay in motels along the way and tent camp when we get to a park. We are planning on going to Utah in the fall or spring. Probably some closer trips before then.

I ordered a diamond back cover, the SE model. I know the weight limit is 400 lbs, but I just can’t see putting that much up there, and I’m not doing the roof top tent. I’m 64 and I’m not climbing up and down a ladder.

Any suggestions for a tent? Also any way to cool it?

Any must haves?

folding cots or air mattresses?

Advantage of a cot is that you can store/put items under it. Plus can sit on it when putting shoes on or doing other stuff. Pay the extra for a nice insulated sleeping pad. Gazelle tents are easy to set up, which is nice. Also tent that can stand up in is nice for when getting dressed/moving around. REI Kingdom tents are nice but pricey. Alum poles are best. Had a $68 Walmart 4 person tunnel tent that was great but one of the fiberglass poles broke. Couple of years ago got a Coleman 4 person easy up tent. It is heavy and no more easier to set up than other type tents. Will be getting a RSI or RDL bed cab with a roof top tent that has a solid top.

 

[stingrey]

I also recommend a Gazelle Tent.
FWIW - I have a T4 and T3X. For 2 people and a dog it makes no difference, comfort wise, which one we use. Gazelle increased the old T3 dimensions with the new T3X 76” x 82”
T3X fits in the length of the bed with some room to spare.

 

[Free2roam]

I bought a Cabela's tent. Then got a double wide cot from Bass Pro. Set up some foot pieces from plywood so the feet wouldn't poke through the flooring. Bought some moving blankets off of Craigslist keeps the floor soft under foot. Storage under cot is perfect. Woke up to this the next morning. Gotta love Yellowstone in September. Two days in the tent. Then two days the way the wife camps. Lodge life! Happy wife happy life.

 

[PhantomChameleon]

I also don't understand the roof top tent. Seems like a very large hassle with not much benefit (unless you're in Florida with alligators ).

I'm a long time grounder/tent camper. Get a new tent almost every year because it's just easy and cheap to do. You can also donate old tents at a homeless charity. A tent for me is a place to take shelter in rain and get maybe 4-5 hours of sleep at night. I'm not one to stay inside since I took the effort to be outside

This years model is a bit more pricey than I usually go, but have used it 3 times and love it. Easy setup, good air flow, and if the weather's nice great views from inside.
https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/ma...ftrise-4-person-hub-tent?sku=gray-dark-orange

I use cots as I hate the bounciness of air matresses, but my wife and kid use an air matress if they come with me, so that one is personal preference.

Cooling a tent is very hard to do. The Magellan has A LOT of mesh and good air flow, but if it's 95 outside , it's 95 inside. My camping ceases around the middle of June-middle of Sept here for that reason.

I go to be outside, fish, hunt, and enjoy nature ,so my must haves are based around food and cooking. I have a small camp stove, a large RTIC cooler and a shoe box full of spices. If we're 'glamping' (site with electic/water) I'll take an electric smoker just to really set the atmosphere.

Required camping items are always in the truck (First aid kit, small hatchet, windproof lighter, knife, etc...)

Other than that, a good book, a reliable GPS and good company are all that's needed!

The rooftop tent question depends in part on what kind of RTT you have. I have a hardshell tent that pops straight up with the release of 4 latches. It takes about 1 minute to set up and does not require any fiddling with poles, rain flys, air mattresses, etc.

Also, the tent has the bedding (Queen sized 3in memory foam mattress, blankets/sleeping bags, full size pillows, LED lights) stored up in the tent. This means that once you unlatch and add the ladder, everything is in place and ready to go - it also gives you a lot more storage space in the Jeep since all of the bedding is stored up in the tent and isn't taking up space in the Jeep itself.

The "take-down" is a little longer - usually between 3-5 minutes. I make sure the bedding is arranged so as not to be pinched in the pistons that help raise the tent when they close back down and then pull down the back and then the front ends of the tent...then secure the latches. It's about as easy as you can get and the ease combined with the space savings and comfort makes the setup pretty hard to beat.

I spend a lot of time camping here in Colorado, often in connection with climbing 14ers. This usually involves rolling up to camp later in the evening and getting up before dawn when its dark and cold. I used a ground tent for years until one of my friends got a hardshell pop-up rooftop tent. For about a year I looked over at him chilling with his coffee while I struggled with my freezing cold tent poles and tightly stretched tent. I have some pretty nice tents that are easy to put up and take down, but the RTT puts them to shame on every level. I got my RTT after seeing first hand the benefits and convenience that they can offer if you buy the right models. I now use the RTT for many of our trips and save our pricey lightweight tents for backpacking which is what they were intended for anyways!

I would say the downsides are that you need a somewhat level space to park (the Jeep's level indicators found in the Off Road Pages are AWESOME for this) and the fact that you need to put your tent away if you want to drive anywhere. We usually bring an awning to leave at our campsite while we are away to at least keep the spot reserved when using BLM sites. I am also considering a small off-road trailer that we can mount the tent to for trips where we want to leave the tent behind and drive the Jeep away from camp.

Anyways, I have found the hardshell tents to be a huge benefit on many levels. I could see the soft shell fold out tents being a little less of a value add because they can take a little longer to put up and some of them still require quite a few poles and stuff to get them set up properly...to me that defeats some of the purpose...but even still, there is just something really fun about sleeping up on the roof. It's like a portable tree house!

 

[Dmc]

Thanks for the suggestions, I’m leaning towards the gazelle tent, not sure if T4 or T8. Definatly will use cots, will two fit in the T4? And I have a battery operated fan, and I forgot about the ice chest cooler thing I use to use in the plane, i dont think it would cool a tent though.

im not sure if I want a rack, but I will probably have to figure out how to strap some items on the cover. Maybe keep them toward the front to still allow the back half to be opened. I have a old bike trailer hitch mount I could use for the bikes.

 

[MTB_365]

[/QUOTE]

This is an awesome setup! Great base camp for mountain biking or hiking.

 

[Forum Crawler]

I mean for the price of that I would just hire an architect, have him draft me up some plans for a tiny home then hire the contractors to build it, Or just buy a shiftpod...

Sure could. Then we could all laugh at the dipshit pulling a tiny home around behind a Gladiator off road…

 

[guarnibl]

The rooftop tent question depends in part on what kind of RTT you have. I have a hardshell tent that pops straight up with the release of 4 latches. It takes about 1 minute to set up and does not require any fiddling with poles, rain flys, air mattresses, etc.

Also, the tent has the bedding (Queen sized 3in memory foam mattress, blankets/sleeping bags, full size pillows, LED lights) stored up in the tent. This means that once you unlatch and add the ladder, everything is in place and ready to go - it also gives you a lot more storage space in the Jeep since all of the bedding is stored up in the tent and isn't taking up space in the Jeep itself.

The "take-down" is a little longer - usually between 3-5 minutes. I make sure the bedding is arranged so as not to be pinched in the pistons that help raise the tent when they close back down and then pull down the back and then the front ends of the tent...then secure the latches. It's about as easy as you can get and the ease combined with the space savings and comfort makes the setup pretty hard to beat.

I spend a lot of time camping here in Colorado, often in connection with climbing 14ers. This usually involves rolling up to camp later in the evening and getting up before dawn when its dark and cold. I used a ground tent for years until one of my friends got a hardshell pop-up rooftop tent. For about a year I looked over at him chilling with his coffee while I struggled with my freezing cold tent poles and tightly stretched tent. I have some pretty nice tents that are easy to put up and take down, but the RTT puts them to shame on every level. I got my RTT after seeing first hand the benefits and convenience that they can offer if you buy the right models. I now use the RTT for many of our trips and save our pricey lightweight tents for backpacking which is what they were intended for anyways!

I would say the downsides are that you need a somewhat level space to park (the Jeep's level indicators found in the Off Road Pages are AWESOME for this) and the fact that you need to put your tent away if you want to drive anywhere. We usually bring an awning to leave at our campsite while we are away to at least keep the spot reserved when using BLM sites. I am also considering a small off-road trailer that we can mount the tent to for trips where we want to leave the tent behind and drive the Jeep away from camp.

Anyways, I have found the hardshell tents to be a huge benefit on many levels. I could see the soft shell fold out tents being a little less of a value add because they can take a little longer to put up and some of them still require quite a few poles and stuff to get them set up properly...to me that defeats some of the purpose...but even still, there is just something really fun about sleeping up on the roof. It's like a portable tree house!

Also sporting a roofnest. Love mine. Only downside is my Jeep is taller than 7 feet with the tent can’t fit in garage and I refuse to park outside here as it’s 120 in summer. In fairness most parking garages around here are also 7 feet clearance.

trying to find other solutions. May sell my falcon (4” height) and buy the taller (12” height) but shorter foot print and mount it on horizontal bars that keep it just below or at the height of the cab. The falcon is really long so it has to go over the cab. Jeep sits around 3” shy of 7 feet. Bed rack plus tent puts me over by 2” or so.

 

[PhantomChameleon]

Also sporting a roofnest. Love mine. Only downside is my Jeep is taller than 7 feet with the tent can’t fit in garage and I refuse to park outside here as it’s 120 in summer. In fairness most parking garages around here are also 7 feet clearance.

trying to find other solutions. May sell my falcon (4” height) and buy the taller (12” height) but shorter foot print and mount it on horizontal bars that keep it just below or at the height of the cab. The falcon is really long so it has to go over the cab. Jeep sits around 3” shy of 7 feet. Bed rack plus tent puts me over by 2” or so.

Mine is too tall to fit in my garage with the tent on it as well...I have the Mopar 2" lift and the RSI Smartcap that I mount the tent on. I have a hoist that lifts the tent into the roof of the garage, so I just get another person and lift the tent off the Jeep and set it on 1 set of saw horses next to the Jeep. Then, we lift it again and carry it inside the garage and set it on a second set of saw horses. Then I attach the straps for the hoist and lift the tent up into the roof for storage.

I am working on a method that will allow one person to get the tent onto the Jeep; I am thinking maybe a couple boards that can be attached to the top of the Jeep from the side and go down to the ground at an angle like a ramp. I could cover them in some thin carpet and then slide the tent up...something like that, still thinking about it! To get the tent over to the Jeep I would just lower it onto a dolly of some sort and roll it over next to the Jeep so that I could slide it up the ramp.

I will make a post about it if I figure anything out...or, I could just move to a house with a taller garage! haha.

 

[guarnibl]

Mine is too tall to fit in my garage with the tent on it as well...I have the Mopar 2" lift and the RSI Smartcap that I mount the tent on. I have a hoist that lifts the tent into the roof of the garage, so I just get another person and lift the tent off the Jeep and set it on 1 set of saw horses next to the Jeep. Then, we lift it again and carry it inside the garage and set it on a second set of saw horses. Then I attach the straps for the hoist and lift the tent up into the roof for storage.

I am working on a method that will allow one person to get the tent onto the Jeep; I am thinking maybe a couple boards that can be attached to the top of the Jeep from the side and go down to the ground at an angle like a ramp. I could cover them in some thin carpet and then slide the tent up...something like that, still thinking about it! To get the tent over to the Jeep I would just lower it onto a dolly of some sort and roll it over next to the Jeep so that I could slide it up the ramp.

I will make a post about it if I figure anything out...or, I could just move to a house with a taller garage! haha.

Not bad ! Yeah the taller garage option would be great, but not at these prices.

Sponsored