Family Expedition Tent

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Shahram

I ain't got herpes no more.
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I am currently searching for a durable family-size tent to camp with. I have fairly specific parameters:

--Must be big enough to sleep 5 or more (or me, wife, baby in crib, gear)
--Tall enough to stand in
--Free-standing (does not require guy lines or stakes, even on rain fly)
--Aluminum poles (Must endure heavy wind)
--Full-coverage rain fly (May see some weather)
--Fairly easy to set up
--Must have zip-up windows, good ventilation
--Must be durable (esp. floor material, zippers)
--Must not break the bank (under $250)

I've been looking around, but cannot find reliable reviews. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
I bought a 10'x10' tent some time ago from Meijers (midwest chain only?). It was about 6' tall in the middle and we had two cots on either side with two dogs in the middle. The great thing about this unit was that it had collapsible shock cord thing. You simply pull it up from the center and the joints lock themselves up. We don't have to feed the support rods through the holes like traditional tents. I'd say it's about a 1.5 min setup time but I'm not sure if they still exist though! Rain fly was separate and the pirce was definitely less than a $100.

We don't do REI or Yuppie brands!

Good luck with your search!
 
The under $250 will be hard, but the Alaskan Guide tents from Cabelas are hard to beat. They are super sturdy, waterproof and large. They are by far the best car camping tents for the $$ that I have seen. They are heavy-our 4 person weighs 25 pounds or so, but the weight is in the right places-good floor, good fly and strong poles.

For 5, the 6 man tent would work great, and leave you lots of room for gear. Highly reccomended.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...arentType=index&parentId=cat550002&id=0006263
 
I've seen Cruiserdrew's in operation. A very nice tent.
 
Yeh, the Cabela's tents are nice, but the aluminum models are spendilicious. If I spent $500 on a tent, my wife would kick me in the ding-dong. Something to think about, though.
 
You would actually think about getting kicked in the ding-dong?? I would not even consider it, much less spend time thinking about it....

We used a crib in various tents over the years, and I found it useful to make 4 little discs of plastic to keep the crib legs from fraying a hole in the floor. I cut mine out of some thick plastic sheet like an old mudflap. Toss them into the crib's storage bag and hopefully that way they'll never get lost.

A cheap battery powered fan is also a good idea for warm days when the crib is occupied with a napper. We used to move the pop up sun shelter over the tent as well to keep sun from overheating the tent.

Since you're car camping, you should be able to find what you're looking for. When weight is not a problem, cost won't be. It's the backpackable large tents that are unbelievably expensive, but heavy car camping tents are not so bad.

DougM
 
if it is big enough i can recommend the storm haven tent linked here. it will just fit a coleman double and twin air mattress across with no side room to spare and maybe 18" at the ends. you cannot stand inside but it is a decent height. i own one and it is a serious tent. it will pitch with no tie downs at all or you can batten it down to withstand a blizzard. you will never worry about rain or wind ;) it is fairly heavy as a backpack tent but excellent for boat or truck camping.

taiga is a local vancouver wholsesale tent/outerwear factory for the past 20+ years. they sell everything out of their storefront. those are canuck dollars. i can pick it up for you and ship it from stateside if you have any problems with shipping.

http://www.taigaworks.ca/tents/index.html
 
Shahram-If she gets wet because you bought a crappy tent at Costco, she's going to do more than kick you in the privates. The aluminum poles are lighter but unneeded. I'll carry the extra 5 pounds and save the $$. The Alaskan Guide tents really do live up to their name without being crazy expensive like some mountaineering tents.
 
I have, among other tents, a Eureke Titan. I think you will find that it qualifies. Huge tent, not too much money, pretty much free standing, but should be staked down.

M
 
Mike S said:
I have, among other tents, a Eureke Titan. I think you will find that it qualifies. Huge tent, not too much money, pretty much free standing, but should be staked down.

M
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Bought the Titan this summer...have used it several times including twice at Coyote Flats and SnT (wind tested there ;) ). Found a great deal on it at $319...
 
It's not what you're looking for, but it's big :D

I used this Wenger for a season and a half (set up full time on a platform); served me well. It's got steel and fiberglass poles, and has a fly, though I always used a tarp over it as well 'cus I had it up so long (more for UV-light protection than for rain though). It looks kinda like the pic below, but the front entrance is more like a screen porch/vestibule, and it's a 4-room tent. It measures like 18 x 16 foot IIRC. Not real heavy duty, and a couple of the corners are pulling out a tad, but you can have it for the shipping if you want it. (it's no featherweight either).

I would definitely stake any tent you plan to have in weather...
largeWG31231.webp
 
I recall seeing a larg(ish) Woods tent in a sale flyer one day. It was a pop up model (just sort of pull it up, and bingo..done). It also had solar charge lights inside, gimmicky but I thought was a neat idea.

Doing a quick search..how about this :
http://www.tents-tents-now.com/tent-kingwood.htm
 
We use a Kelty Green River 4 person tent. We have done two seperate 2wk.+ camping trips with it. First trip we had a queen size air mattress for us and the pack n play for my son and all our gear. Did well and held up real good in the wind and one good thunderstorm. The screen vestibule was nice also. This last summer we had the queen size and a little blow up mattress for my son, all our gear, plus our dog slept inside when it got cold. Floor held up great to the crib, plus I forgot we had one of our camp chairs in there the first time because my son was only 6 mos. old and still wasn't sleeping through the night. The fly has to be staked out because of the vestibule but the screen porch is worth it. OUr dog would hang out in it when the bugs were bad in MN. Not exactly what you are looking for but it has held up well and didn't break the bank.http://www.kelty.com/kelty/index.cfm?cid=412&fuseaction=Tents.ShowProduct&type=tents&ID=80
IMG_3514.jpg


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It also has tons of inside pockets and an overhead storage net which is nice.
 
I second the OZTENT. RV-4

$1000 or more though. Best tent ever. 15 second setup, 30 second tear down.

PM Alf for info.

Again, worth the extra money. It is a lifetime tent and no tent poles for the rest of your life!
 
Again, I recommend the Eureka Equinox 6. It sleeps six, suposedly is GREAT in high winds, has a smaller footprint due to its hexagonal shape, and Amazon.com is selling them for $100 less than anywhere else I've seen, and offers free shipping.

I just bought one 5 min. ago after looking at this tent for over one year. $229 from their door to mine.
 
Shahram said:
Is there an Oztent big enough to stand up in?
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MI-8.....it's a monster. It's all relative, but at 6'2" I've got headroom. Picked it up from Alf on this board. Check with him, but I think they've discontinued the MI series.

-db-
 
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