Family tent recommendation

[hidesertwheelin]

I'm looking for a good family sized tent that can hold a minimum of 4 people (2 adults, 2 children) and 4 medium sized dogs. I have a budget of around $300 and don't mind buying used. I'm leaning more toward cabin/multi room tents vs. dome tents. This will be used for car camping with the family only. Below are a few used tents i have found on craigslist. I'm a little weary of Coleman tents because every one I have owned before ended up being a POS.

Columbia Cougar Flats II - Asking $175.

Coleman 14x10 - asking $125

Eureka The Lodge - Asking $200

 

[bertsdirt]

I don't know how far it is for you to an REI, but I just scored a Kingdom-6 this past weekend at REI Encinitas Garage Sale for $96. It supposedly has seams pulling away at the zippers, but it looks fine to me. I set it up in my backyard to clean and do any repairs, but I didn't have to do any repairs. I can't wait to use it. The Kingdom has great reviews, so if an REI is somewhat convenient to you, wait for the next garage sale. BTW, they had at 2 other Kingdom-6's and plenty of other tents in the same discounted price range. You just have to be willing to gamble on having to do some repairs.

 

[rcintx]

I bought a coleman at the end of last summer. I think it may be a little small, but believe they make the same model with double the space. With me, my wife, and a 4 year old I appreciate the ease of putting it up more than anything. Can be found here.

In use:

 

[hidesertwheelin]

I don't know how far it is for you to an REI, but I just scored a Kingdom-6 this past weekend at REI Encinitas Garage Sale for $96. It supposedly has seams pulling away at the zippers, but it looks fine to me. I set it up in my backyard to clean and do any repairs, but I didn't have to do any repairs. I can't wait to use it. The Kingdom has great reviews, so if an REI is somewhat convenient to you, wait for the next garage sale. BTW, they had at 2 other Kingdom-6's and plenty of other tents in the same discounted price range. You just have to be willing to gamble on having to do some repairs.

Are the garage sales still insane? Last one I went to scared me off.

 

[nwoods]

REI Hobitat 6:

Tall, roomy, sturdy, fast to setup, lots of storage pockets inside, a large number of vestibule options, and right in your swing zone on price. Lifetime guarantee, free replacement of poles and so forth. None of these are my photos, I'm just snagging them off the internet:

Note: I personally use the REI Basecamp 6, but its a bit smaller, and probably would not hold 4 people + 4 dogs, though it is a bit more weather durable.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

I ended up buying a Browning Big Horn tent from Amazon. It's made by ALPS, and has a lifetime warranty. Almost all the reviews on Amazon said it was a great tent.

http://www.amazon.com/Browning-Camping-Horn-Family-Hunting/dp/B00BPZCIL8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427295595&sr=8-1&keywords=browning+tent

 

[AML]

REI Hobitat 6:

Tall, roomy, sturdy, fast to setup, lots of storage pockets inside, a large number of vestibule options, and right in your swing zone on price. Lifetime guarantee, free replacement of poles and so forth. None of these are my photos, I'm just snagging them off the internet:.

Unfortunately for everyone REI doesn't have the lifetime guarantee anymore. It has changed to one year. I bought one last summer and bent a pole putting it away. When I went to exchange it they gave me a little bit of a hard time. I am seriously thinking of returning it before the year is up. When they did exchange the bent pole, I asked what would have happened if I bent it after the one year mark. They scratched their heads and one guy showed me the section in the store where you repair broken poles. Not what I wanted to hear.

BTW OP congrats on the new tent!

 

[bertsdirt]

Are the garage sales still insane? Last one I went to scared me off.

It was a little crazy. I got there about 20 minutes before it opened and there were probably 100 people in front of me. Still, I was in the garage sale about 15 minutes after it opened though. People were respectful, so no problems there, just make a quick walk through to get an idea where stuff is and if there is something specific you want, go to that section right away.

I don't know if it is the new return policy, but the stuff was in better shape than it used to be. The only other garage sale I went to was a few years ago, and everything was really used. Shoes/boots that looked like they had 1000 miles of hiking in them, and just a mishmash of junk. This time, I found some North Face trail runners "Used in the sand a few times" that looked brand new for $25, and plenty of other things in good shape.

 

[iluv83vettes]

Unfortunately for everyone REI doesn't have the lifetime guarantee anymore. It has changed to one year. I bought one last summer and bent a pole putting it away. When I went to exchange it they gave me a little bit of a hard time. I am seriously thinking of returning it before the year is up. When they did exchange the bent pole, I asked what would have happened if I bent it after the one year mark. They scratched their heads and one guy showed me the section in the store where you repair broken poles. Not what I wanted to hear.

BTW OP congrats on the new tent!

For stuff like that it is supposed to still be lifetime. The one year stuff is to keep people from buying one pair of shoes and keep swapping them when they wear out or if you have something for a while and decide you don't like it.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

Well they back ordered it on me until the middle of May, so the search continues.

 

[AML]

For stuff like that it is supposed to still be lifetime. The one year stuff is to keep people from buying one pair of shoes and keep swapping them when they wear out or if you have something for a while and decide you don't like it.

I stopped by REI again yesterday and posed that question again. They confirmed my suspicion, they said if I bent the poles again I could purchase some replacements. Not exactly what I wanted to hear from them. No lifetime warranty...

 

[Rezarf <><]

Any other thoughts, I just spent 3 days with a new Eureka Silver Canyon 6 Tent in the RMNP with my family of 5. Space was fine, setup time was awesome! But we put holes in the floor the first NIGHT!... only 70D on the floor!? I am talking socks, no shoes, on a groomed tent pad site in a national park. We'll be returning it for sure but it makes me wonder if we are going to find what we need for a decent price. My kids are small 3 are all 6 and under, but we'd like to get 4-5 years out of a tent camping with it 6 times a year for 3 days at a time.

Our last tent was the first pictured by the OP, it's been AWESOME but takes me nearly a 20 minutes by myself to errect and it is BIG, takes up way too much room in the Land Cruiser.

REI's tents are nice, that Hobbitat might get the nod when we return this one, but we need a lot of space for our cold weather nights here in Colorado with sleeping bags, pads, blankets, pillows etc.

Any other suggestions would be great, thanks!

 

[AML]

I ended up returning the REI Kingdom 8 tent.

Size and features were great. I loved the awning on the garage.

Downsides were it was time consuming to set up by myself and one of my poles bent when taking it down. As I mentioned in another post REI replaced it but with their new return/guarantee policy I didn't want to chance it happening again.

I probably would just keep it if I got a great deal with it at a REI garage sale but I used the return to off set the price of an RV Oztent.

Although the cost is pretty steep, set up time is quick and so far seams that it will handle greater wind than the REI tent. My future plans when the kids get older will be to purchase a second one. I will probably go with the same one instead of a tag along tent as I really do like how fast it sets up.

Good luck in the hunt for the right one for your family...

 

[78Bronco]

We have a Eureka Outside Inn. It is a little different because your sleeping room hangs from the fly. The fly has the poles on the outside. We put down a heavy tarp. Then our foam tiles under the vestibule area, then the floor pan, then hang tent on other side. Bullet proof floor and very comfy to stand on while getting ready in the vestibule area. I put a catalytic heater to keep the Mrs warm while she changes.

Eureka makes some really nice tents. We have had ours for 6 years now. Highly recommend.

 

[Harmgrissom]

I have 5 kids and a large dog, so I understand the need for space in a tent. Honestly like anything else, its a balance of Time/Size/Value. I have 1 large 2 Room/10 Person Tent for if I'm going to be in one place any length of time. For anything less, its 2 smaller tents for me. I've got a $40 Coleman 6 person & a Hobitat 4 or 6 (I forget). I normally use the Hobitat as I like to be able to stand up. Most recently got snowed on up in Prescott in May with it, my 2 oldest boys (7 and 4) and our dog and I slept soundly with about 4 inches of snow, and very heavy wind. We used the double anchors and heavy stakes to secure it and it held up just fine. We were warm and dry. My Hobitat I bought at an REI Garage Sale for $70 with a split seam and a worn zipper. I sealed the seam and toughed it out with the zipper until I realized I REALLY like the tent and took it in for repairs at Phoenix Tent and Awning. They replaced the zipper for me and its been GTG ever since.

But above a certain size, you're going to either pay, or spend time. There's not a lot of in between.