Campnig in the wet

Hi Stef and Sal,
We always rake the area where we're going to erect the tent to get rid of twigs, stones, etc. We also put some purpose cut shade cloth down and erect the tent over it. It helps draw the water away.
You can also create a small trench around the tent to try and divert rainwater away.
Lou

Go the "Jayco" and scrap any ideas of tents, a lot of people will disagree but yes it is fun for a short time, well very short time and then it gets to the "hell" stage very quick and when stuff gets wet and if it is raining and not letting up you just get wetter and wetter and if it is up off the ground then at least you have a bit of a chance of keeping drier .... with a step you have the chance to get mud off your boots and shed some wet cloths before getting in...
You also have a chance if the ground is not level for the water to flow under and out rather than bank up and flood in as has happened to us ...
The best camper for really wet weather has twin rooms, big double bed, room service and a bar and bottle shop in the same complex, and offers babysitting ........

Hi,

Get a Hard floor, then you are up off the ground and the water can flow by under the camper.

Ray

While you have young children and if you intend to camp anywhere you could get wet, a caravan would be the best solution.Camping out is great in fine weather if you can travel and judge the seasons.

Motherhen

I have two children & have done the tent thing (sometimes still do but not when it's wet) then we graduated to a soft floor c/trailer...had some great times but not when it's wet. We now have a Jayco outback & boy what a difference being off the ground. The secret to a happy camping holiday, if the kids are happy, the wife is happy & happy wife happy life. Life however sometimes revolves around money (oh really!!!) if you can afford it a nice van. A hard floor C/trailer is also good value but in your situation I would look seriously at a van. It's nice to sit back & relax w/out worrying about sagging,water filled canvas. Packing up time is the best,close the door of the van wind up the legs & away you go. With our Jayco I still have to worry a bit about wet canvas BUT we do have bed end flies to protect the canvas. There is a bit of pushing and pulling in setting up & down but that's all I could afford at the time.Camping is a relaxing time or is suppose to be so the last thing you need is a grumpy minister for war & finance!!!

Hi Sef

We have always avoided towing anything , but its no doubt easier in constant rain with that Jaco , until of course the time when you don't quite get out, which is much more likely with it.

We sleep in the car mostly , its stronger and quieter than a van but obviously more crowded. We then have a easy to erect tarp setup and overflow small tent. Even in the worst rain there has been some period throughout a day in which the tarp could be erected and the back of the car backed under it.
The instant a tarp is up everyone has a lot more room to operate in.

Recently in the big wet that came over the canning towards the end of our trip we camped in rain.
Travelling with 3 other vehicles and no one had a van - or a tent.
One was a troppy with a pop-up top and even provision for a porta potty inside.
Second was a tray ute with one of those hinged push up sleeping quarters on it and the third used a rooftop tent with an awning.

Its always good to have a fire as well but sometimes you can't, in this case it was hard to get a fire going but our portable gas heater kept everyones spirits up.

It is a question that is pondered many times, frequently around a camp-fire with drink in hand! And usually there is a multitude of opinion, most of it all valid.

The reality is that there is no one answer or solution to fit all situations. The freedom of a tent or swag in good weather in a remote and barely accessible spot is an experience not to be missed. The comfort of a camper-trailer or van when on the ‘road’ touring or when it rains is a god-send.

For a family situation ‘on tour’ I think if you can go the comfort option of a van/camper-trailer than that is a reasonable way to go. At least it can eliminate some unnecessary stress.

Good luck either way...The Landy

Hi guys,

We have enjoyed our camping over the years in a tent with a large tarp, however we usually camp on grass or sand. Don't know that I would enjoy the amount of rain they had in the Birdsville dust though.

We've decided to upgrade to a hardfloor camper, in this one the bed folds out over the drawbar raising the tent with it, the trailer then becomes the lounge/spare bed room so you can sit inside out of the elements.

The kitchen, fridge and pantry are slide or swing out affairs housed in the ennexe. It's about 1000 kg which is as much as I want to tow.

Regards
Geoff

Cant "support" your cause not to have a camper ... as I reckon for rocky or uneven ground a trailer mounted bed & kitchen is excellent.

In other areas where I just use tent and tarps ....

Shadecloth under the tent helps a bit .... and while your in bunnings getting shadecloth ..... grab yourself a roll of plastic garden edging & pegs ... beats the hell out of digging trenches when it rains.

Hi Stefandsal
I have to say that from my experience with having 3 children and going camping, all with them from 1mth old the camper trailer was it. I couldn't imagine camping with babies in a tent - we had a hard floor camper and made life so much easier once crawling you can keep them 'restrained' in the camper after bath time till sleep time. Now that they're all older we're back to tent camping and have an rv4 Oztent with the extra walls and although it's comfortable and quick it's nothing like having everything ready including kitchen in a few mins. We'd love nothing more but a new hard floor camper but we can't have all the kids in there no floor space but once they're just a little older they can go into their own tent! And yes the weight of dragging something heavy - but kids and setting up camp every night when touring with tent etc is not a good time!

I've been bushwalking/camping for close to 40 years.
I was caught at Windorah (Qld) & gain in Marree (SA) in July this year with heavy rain that closed the roads. Many found themselves 'floating' and washed out.
It may take a bit of time, I always look for 'high ground' with possible drainage channels, etc and have never had a problem, even in very heavy cloud bursts. It pays to have a very good waterproof floor (eg Oztent)and in extreme cases use a very large sheet of black builders plastic to cover the floor and extend it up the wall a few cm.
Enjoy the experience.

Everything in camping is a trade off or sacrifice, If you want all the "creature" comforts of a Jayco style wind up campervan (or Goldstream Storm like ours) you sacrifice a lot of money and a heap of fuel economy, and also the ability to get to certain destinations, if you go the more traditional campervan soft floor or hard you get better fuel economy, they cost less (well most of them do) but you sacrifice a little on comfort and living space, then if you just go the tent or swag, your a mile in front as far as money goes and ability to go anywhere your vehicle can take you and fuel economy, but then your really open to some of the issues you mentioned, I still really enjoy and rate my oztent rv3 when going away with mates fishing etc, but at the moment the wife, 8 year old son and my self are 3 weeks into our shake down trip in our new storm, and absolutely love it also, but fuel economy is taking a battering and because of the extra room we've found we're filling every available space with "something" witch just adds to the weight issue......ahh well each to there own!

Cheers........Browny

I am the wife but I'm also of the same opinion as you, would really love to be able to go travelling / camping and not have to tow a trailer. But with two kids and the gear we take, plus a Husband who won't carry stuff on a roof rack well you just have to come to terms with reality. For us the reality is that we'd probably have to tow something on longer trips regardless.

I guess sometimes what's ideal and what's actually best for traveling are two different things. Depends on each situation and the gear you like to take.

Camper vs Caravan is a hard one though. I've certainly read a lot of threads about how happy people are with the likes of their Jayco Hawks et, so much so reading that sort of stuff makes me want to buy one!
We've had a few different camper trailers, but I think we're going back to a trailer and a tent type set up for now (don't have a camper at the moment). However for spending any extended amount of time touring around the country I reckon I would choose a caravan (smaller offroad one or something if money allowed), especially if you're literally living out of it and have kids.

Really towing isn't that bad, just think about the fact that you can leave the trailer at base camp and go our exploring the harder tracks for day trips?
Otherwise if you can fit everything in your vehicle then a touring type tent is probably the go.
You could also consider towing a small dedicated off road trailer (if you carry too much gear for the car) and still sleep in a touring tent.

I think sometimes we like to think we're more extreme than we really are. So just consider the places you want to go and see and if towing a trailer or van is really going to be that much of a set back for you. You might decide that some sort of camper trailer is a compromise between towing a van and towing nothing at all.