Is there any tent users left?

Yes, we still exist. I have an RV4 with all the extras (incl the OzPod). It's horses for courses with us as we also have a TVan. We can get setup with the Oztent more quickly than we can with the TVan.

If we are camping with friends who have a camper trailer we will run the Tvan, but with our tent friends we take the Oztent.

Tvan is comfortable and we can take a bit more stuff, but I do like tenting, as it is more 'back to basics' and we are a bit more selective about what we will carry.

Jack

Hate performance compromise and hence towing so we always take a small tent or just sleep inside our Patrol.

It depends on what i'm doing at the time. Lately I've been using the camper, but if i'm going by bike I will take the tent. From a two man, to the family size. Sometimes just a tarp will do.
Thinking about getting a camper to tow behind the bike, but trying to justify the cost/benefits to myself.

We love teh Jayco Swan, but also loev the swag and have a couple pf dome tents, its horses for courses, also have the rooftop tent that I have to try out

Yes we still use our tent from time to time, mainly use it where we can't take the caravan (Bendethera). We also have an Oztrail Mitchell double swag.

Hi Trev,

Ive got a Cub camper when i'm travelling with the bride and not roughing it. Ive got an RV5 for when the bride is tagging along and we are roughing it, and a swag when its just the blokes.

Cheers Wilko

Always sleep in a tent - Great Outdoors "Drysdale" canvas touring tent - it is fantastic - 4 pegs and 2 poles and it is up (well sort of - there are another 3 poles for the awning).
If I'm without the family - it is in a sandfly-proof dome tent and swag.
Whenever i go camping the boat is in tow, so it is a bit hard to do anything other than tent it.....

Drew

Hi Trev

People ask quite often here on the forum about tents, so you are not alone. I am very bias when it comes to tents, having owned my fair share over the years. Ours was just put into good use just 2 weeks ago when we spent 9 great days camping over on Kangaroo Island. It has been put through its various test over the few years that we have had this tent, but this time was the ultimate test that any tent could go through.

The test involved receiving 110mm of rain in just one night in Kingscote, and as you would expect from a tent of this quality, it did not leak one drop of rain....

For the record, I will say what I have always said about this tent whenever anyone asks, it is the best tent that we ever owned and there are many well known brands that would not have passed this latest test.

By now you are wondering what the type of tent it and it is nothing but the very best.......Oztent RV4 + double swag. And for the record, I am a private person and not employed by Oztent.

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Cheers


Stephen

Tents all the way. My 1st was a Freedom family tourer, one of the earliest made back in the 80's. A bit worn after 26 years of regular use but still servicable. Upgraded & currently using a Freedom Northern Tourer. Hard to beat for a quality easy to errect tent that has excellent ventilation & features. For snow camping, hiking & canoing I have a Macpac Olympus 2 man tunnel tent. 20 years old, the design so good they still make the same tent today.
Quality tents are definately worth the cost in the long run.
Cheers Craig...........

Howdy Trev

My husband and I are leaving in about 4 weeks for a three month trip up the centre of Australia, across to Broome, then down the West Coast and home to Melbourne. We have a touring tent which we purchased from Anaconda. It is a canvas tent that is supposed to sleep 6. It sleeps two people comfortable and plenty of room to bring in a table and chairs if need be. We will be travelling with minimal equipment, fridge, table, chairs, small stove and that is about it. Hopefully we will cook in camp kitchens or eat out at the local pubs. I hope this tent is waterproof, withstands the wind and keeps us safe, otherwise it will become an expensive holiday staying in cabins every night. We will put the towbar on the back of the car, and if we really get into trouble, we will buy a camper trailer or a small caravan. I am looking forward to camping out, it is a real adventure. Our tent was not expensive, it was on sale at Anaconda at their January Sale. If it lasts 3 months, it will have paid for itself. We have had 2 trial camping trips and both were great fun, with no problems. It takes 10 minutes to fully erect and all gear in the tent. It takes 6 minutes to take down. It is not a race, but I would not want to be spending a hour putting up a tent every few days.

Trev6,

I have an Oztent RV2 and a swag. If I am on my own I take the tent but if with mates I just take the swag. I bought the front panel and sides but have only put them up once. I have spent five months over the last two years in my tent. As Stephen testified, rain and wind don't bother it too much. I spent a very wet and windy night in Winton last year and woke in the morning to watch people brooming the water out of their camper trailers. The woman in the next site was so annoyed that she falsely accused me of snoring.

Regards,
Bob

Hi

I've got 4 tents and just about to purchase my 5th
I'm going for the Coleman Bigfoot which is suppose to be one of the strongest
heavy duty dome tents with 210d fly.
Of course this is only polyester and not canvas like the Campmoor dome
but at less then half the price I'm hoping I will see a few good years out of it.

I started with a K-Mart special and then moved to a cabin tent (Holiday Cabin), after that a small hiking tent (Coleman), then a bigger 4 man dome (Weekender GEO 4)
which is actually a fantastic tent, last year I bought one of those 3 second pop up tents (Malamoo) nice size for 2 for an overnight stop and now onto the Coleman Bigfoot.
Not heard much about the Coleman bigfoot - HAS ANYONE GOT ONE?

I will be parting with the Cabin Tent which is a fantastic tent but unfortunately wifey is not too keen on camping so our trips are not as long as I would like anymore.
If I was single I would be keeping it!

Some friends have made the transition to A Vans and Caravans, the only thing I may consider is a pod trailer but other then that it's a tent all the way

Cheers

David

Tents only, the only trailer I tow has a boat on it.
whne 4wding, towing trailer = towing trouble.

My hubby and i have been camping since we got together 25 years ago. We slept in swags until 4 years ago! That is with having 4 kids as well. The kids loved it and now they are grown up they say they had the best upbringing. Which was the point I guess. Now we own a Blackwolf turbo tent. fantastic, absolutely love it. My hubby doesn't want a camper as he thinks that they would be annoying! We may eventually move to a biggy back camper but at the moment we love the tent. :-)

Hi,

We've got 4 tents. Don't have the money for a camper/caravan/motorhome. So we just load the patrol up with the fridge, tents, and camping gear and recovery gear.

We typically take 2 tents on trips we go on. One big (black wolf that fits 6) that we use when set up for a couple of days. The dome part is the sleeping quarters and the annex bit is for the camping gear to store when we go out for the day.

The little 4 person dome tent we use for overnight stops when we get in late somewhere and just want to sleep. Typically on the long haul trips before we get to the final destination. While it's 4 man, it just fits a double blow up mattress in it and a small area off tot he side to put some clothes etc in.

We've got a backup medium tent and a light weight 2 man one used when hiking etc.

We typically stay in parks mostly as the misses prefers the toilet blocks.

If we're on a long trip and over a holiday period such as christmas we might use a cabin along the way somewhere in a park, or is something happens to a tent or we get a run of extreme weather.

When we do travel even if it's a cabin only trip (very rare) then we still take it all as a backup including cooking equipment. Was a god thing too once as we went on a trip off peak and the park was renovating their camp kitchen/bbq area so we had to use our own.

So in answer to your question, yep tents for us all round.

yep we have a Blackwolf 240 plus. Love not having to tow anything considering the trips we do and one less thing to break or worry about.

We will go the camper trailer way when we get older but at the moment having a tent inside the car and nothing hanging out the back is perfect for us.

I have two Blackwolf tents 210 for a quick over night & 300 for longer stays, I carry them in a custom made off road box trailer with the rest of the camping gear.

Blackwolf Turbo 240 plus for touring and a Coleman Northstar 8 if we are planning to just stop in one place

It's very interesting to read everyone's replies although sadly it's hard to work out if travelling as couples, or with kids, alone (some people specified if the missus was along or not!).

We're with a Trak Shak at the moment but debating going to the Oztent RV5 + RV2. Our priorities have changed to being able to cook and cater more easily and cope with with easy overnight stops.

The question comes down to space for us.

We're a family of four and without towing how does anyone manage the stove, fridge, food, chairs, bedding, clothes etc. We aim to be self sufficient for up to 7 days at a time so that also brings in fuel and water.

We're running a Landcruiser 200 series if that's any help.

My family has always had tents, and my first birthday was up in the Flinders Ranges in an old (then new) Andre Jamet, with the separate sleeping compartments and enough room to swing a whole herd of cats. It's always a tent for us too. We've got 3 that are trip candidates, and a 4th that has been retired. The primary tent is a largish dome tent with the geodesic poles and a nice sized 'living space' in the front. The floor is 9x9 so is probably supposed to sleep 30 - 40 adults, but the two of us find it really comfy with our queen size air mattress. Another tent is a Stockade 3-man hiking tent, which in reality is good for two adults on a double air mattress. Our newest test (purchased for our CSR trip later this year) is one of those 3-second speedy tents. Also classed as a 3-man, but appears to comfortably fit the two of us on the double air mattress again. We may consider a camper trailer when we deem it too hard to get down to and up from the floor.

G'day Trev6

I'm a tenter. Oztent - absolutely love it. Can set up fast, on my own with no worries about where I'm going. Towing stuff is restrictive - none for me.
Marilyn

We're a late 20s/early 30s couple with no kids and we have a Black Wolf Turbo Plus 240, but 90% of the time we sleep in a double swag.

We're not planning to tow anything if we can help it!

Thanks all for the replies, the response was much more than expected. It's great to see a lot of you still enjoy the tenting side of camping.

enjoy your easter break , if you get one that is.

regards
Trev6

Trev6,

Lifelong tenters, never owned a camper or caravan.Family of 5.



My wife has something about buying tents.

I have just added up all the tents we own and have come to seven, she buys but never sells.

We have a one man hiking tent, a 2 man and a 3 man cold weather dome tents, two canvas tourer tents, an extended tourer tent, a small cabin tent and a large Sunshine cabin tent. This Sunshine tent now over 20 years old was the "Taj Mahal" of tents. From memory it is 24 ft x 14 ft and needs the largest of tent sites. Never tarped and been through a cyclone and heavy tropical rain and the only time we have had water in the tent was in a heavy downpour when the ground was covered in 75 mm of water and a little came in through the door zip.

Had always tented till himself had his first hip replacement a few months before we were to leave on an extended trip of a few years. Bought caravan for that because it was going to be a year or two before the new hip would stand up to all the constant lifting and carrying of gear. But we still took tents for places we didn't want to tow van, or couldn't - like Bungles. We have two Australian Canvas Company tents: large one we can comfortably live in, if weather poor etc. The smaller dome one is for when staying just one or two nights somewhere - a bit quicker to put up and take down. Big one is 18 years old now; dome is 10 years old. Both are brilliant tents - never leak, simple pole systems, very sturdy. We have spent over a year's worth of nights in the big one, over time, so it was well worth the investment.