Not gonna lie. I REALLY want to finish up my camper shell build, but due to my wife I have to have a king bed, so I have to build a custom wide shell...
What, other than budget, is keeping me from going full tilt into the build is my ground tent / camping gear.
My requirements for camping are pretty straightforward, and honestly based somewhat on limitations imposed on me by some spinal issues. Thus...
#1. Standing height when out of bed is required. I am not as tall as I used to be, but a minimum of 6' is needed.
#2. As limited stooping as possible. So permanent setup, or instant setup / pop up without stoooping and threading poles through sleeves etc...
#3. Suitable to a variety of weather situations. So anything prone to blowing away for example MUST be anchored down. More on that later.
#4. Good internal temp control by being able to fit an AC, and open / close vents off.
This lead me to oddly enough, an Ozark Trail tent. I have avoided them like the plague for years but found the Dark Rest 10 person checks most, but not all of my absolute must haves. Honestly NO tent met all of my requirements out of the box.
#1. Minima stooping. Check.
#2. Standing height. Check.
#3. Suitable guy out points, secure points. Check.
#4. Good internal temp control options. Check.
#5. Weather resistant. Not entirely. Some modding needed.
Simply put, there wasn't even a token attempt at seam sealing / waterproofing this thing.
Out of the box, the first thing done was fully inspect the tent, seam seal it, and coat it with silicone waterproofer.
The big issues I have with it are higher winds, however securely anchoring it down seems to make the tent tolerate at least 35mph gusts in a fairly nasty rainstorm so I am comfortable with it.
I can set it up with the exception of staking it down and guying it out without stooping. Simply unfold, pop the legs out and extend.
Footprint is bigger than I was wanting, but I REALLY wanted the blackout interior, and did NOT like the Coleman versions, the 6 person 10x10 did not have enough interior height, so I was kind of forced into the 10x14 size. Not a bad thing, but big...
Anyway, point being, you don't HAVE to build a fancy basically tiny off road motorhome to get out there. And honestly, depending on where, and how you go, you may end up with a better setup for your needs.
What, other than budget, is keeping me from going full tilt into the build is my ground tent / camping gear.
My requirements for camping are pretty straightforward, and honestly based somewhat on limitations imposed on me by some spinal issues. Thus...
#1. Standing height when out of bed is required. I am not as tall as I used to be, but a minimum of 6' is needed.
#2. As limited stooping as possible. So permanent setup, or instant setup / pop up without stoooping and threading poles through sleeves etc...
#3. Suitable to a variety of weather situations. So anything prone to blowing away for example MUST be anchored down. More on that later.
#4. Good internal temp control by being able to fit an AC, and open / close vents off.
This lead me to oddly enough, an Ozark Trail tent. I have avoided them like the plague for years but found the Dark Rest 10 person checks most, but not all of my absolute must haves. Honestly NO tent met all of my requirements out of the box.
#1. Minima stooping. Check.
#2. Standing height. Check.
#3. Suitable guy out points, secure points. Check.
#4. Good internal temp control options. Check.
#5. Weather resistant. Not entirely. Some modding needed.
Simply put, there wasn't even a token attempt at seam sealing / waterproofing this thing.
Out of the box, the first thing done was fully inspect the tent, seam seal it, and coat it with silicone waterproofer.
The big issues I have with it are higher winds, however securely anchoring it down seems to make the tent tolerate at least 35mph gusts in a fairly nasty rainstorm so I am comfortable with it.
I can set it up with the exception of staking it down and guying it out without stooping. Simply unfold, pop the legs out and extend.
Footprint is bigger than I was wanting, but I REALLY wanted the blackout interior, and did NOT like the Coleman versions, the 6 person 10x10 did not have enough interior height, so I was kind of forced into the 10x14 size. Not a bad thing, but big...
Anyway, point being, you don't HAVE to build a fancy basically tiny off road motorhome to get out there. And honestly, depending on where, and how you go, you may end up with a better setup for your needs.
