Member - Nick (TAS) replied:

Hey Tim, we done Cape York then across to Darwin and back down the centre in 03, our boys were 3.5 and 5 at the time.
We had a tent and had a ball, the kids loved it too. We have now upgraded to a c/t and it is nice to have that bit extra luxury but absolutely fine in a tent. We are heading off for 3 months soon, kids are now 9, 11 and 3.5 months... cant wait
Enjoy your trip.

Member - Daniel M (QLD) replied:

Tim


Nothing wrong with the tent idea. We find the kids love to help set up by passing the poles and and pegs. Then they hook in and set up their beds and rooms. Ours are 2 and 3 years old so it does require quite a bit of patience. It usually means an extra ten or fifteen minutes before we can sit back with the first stubbie but its worth it :)..

Pebble replied:

We have done a fair bit of travelling with two kids and a camper trailer. Due to financial and other reasons we have gone back to tents now (two hiking tents- one for us and one for the kids). Finances haven't really allowed any decent trips yet so I can't give you a direct comparison.
Really a camper trailer will just offer you more storage space, hopefully be quick and easy to put up (but not necessarily).

So I don't see how you would be at a big disadvantage with a good tent or two (tourer type perhaps). And you could still tow a standard trailer for your gear if you need the extra room.

I know my 6yr old son really likes the idea of tents, and is super keen to help when we've put them up (to test them out for a night near our place). I know if taught how to he would take great pride in putting it up himself one day too.

I'm keen to give tenting a really good go before considering antoher trailer or maybe caravan some years down the track.

troopy 2005 replied:

We have travelled with a tent since our kids were little,now 20 ,17,15.
We generraly travel light with everything we need inside the vehicle no roof rack no trailer no CT,it always amazes us how these people who are supposed to be getting away from it all take it with them.
We dont stay in caravan parks,Get the CAMPS book and youll find some good stops.
The money you save on fuel and caravan parks you can lashout and stay somewhere nice that you will remember forever.
We have an" Entertainment book ,check the website,with discount vouchers at hotels thats pretty handy.
We have always had great trips and the kids have been to every state in Australia.We usually find Fuel is the biggest exspence.
We have a freedom family tourer which is 20 years old and its still very good ,easy to put up,10 min Max,plenty of room and solid as a rock, they may be a bit exspensive at the start but it will be the only tent youll ever buy.
Dont buy take away ,make your own meals.
Dont give the kids lollies or softdrink in the car as their energy levels go throught the roof and the journey can be very uncomfortable.
make sure they drink enough water as their fluid will disappear much quicker than in victoria.
Brush up on your first aid.
Its very rewarding.
cheers bruce

Member - Martin Z (WA) replied:

We have 4 children and we have always tented it until now. We know have a CT and trek around WA with it. Our children now are 16,14,12,9 Originally from Adelaide...we left on a trip from Adelaide to Cape York...and back...tenting it ...spent 4 months away and the kids loved it. Everything was in the back of the car ...the kids were 9,7,5 & 2..they remember it to this day (apart from our youngest) and often remember the places we saw....the best thing we ever did was take the kids away like that...they probably learnt more than they would at school. Memories that will last forever. We had a good lg esky on that trip and that was pretty good...we have got a waeco fridge now but the esky was good...Our tent was probably our biggest outlay (it had to be a big one with all of us lol) but it was a good one and it still lives (bought it in 1997) and it has been everywhere. Financial challenged when we packed up and left too...but if you do your research on the areas you are going through you will find plenty of places to pitch tent that wont cost the earth. Happy travels...