RE: I am buying a tent !!!

[mike4947]

 birol
A few mistakes that I ve learned from on tenting. Those 3-4 room tents; check the size of the rooms carefully a lot are only good for storage or a 4 year old.
 The roof height; nothing worse than having a huge tent and still have to crawl around inside and it s a real pain trying to put on jeans in a crouching position.
 Like the others mentioned watch out for a floor seam thats on the floor; bring a shovel; a little ditch around the tent can prevent streams through the tent.
 Things like poles that are strung with bungee cord can make the " which piece goes here?"  and the " where does that piece go?"  disappear.
 Coleman makes a very nice queen size air mattress w/battery pump, around $30 at BJ s. For around $50 they had one with legs that looked like a tinker toy arangement, but was comfortable and easier to enter/exit than one on the ground.
 Don t forget a good dining fly, or even several. It get s mighty close on the third day of rain and cooking indoors in a tent can be a disaster.

[birol]

 birol
They cost around 600 Cdn or so for a week, that is too much money for me to spend for rental. I thought about it though, I don t think it is wise for us to rent and fall in love with us yet.
 
 Just spoke with babette again, she is all gung ho for the tent (this from a woman who didn t want a PU because it did not have solid walls or proper shower/porry, go figure). I think it is a good decision to get a tent first, enjoy it till I find a job and then upgrade to something better.
 
 I am so excited and at the same time so scared. What if we don t like it ? I am sure I will, but the anxiety is there .....
 
 

[NightOwl]

 birol

ORIGINAL:  birol
 
 They cost around 600 Cdn or so for a week, that is too much money for me to spend for rental. I thought about it though, I don t think it is wise for us to rent and fall in love with us yet.
 

 yes!  you are so right!  after renting one of these for a week or so, most people could have paid for a decent used popup
 
 
 

I am so excited and at the same time so scared. What if we don t like it ? I am sure I will, but the anxiety is there .....

 yes, this is another wise reason not to sink much money into a lot of equipment.   And remember, just like with popups, all will not go smoothly, but dont be discouraged if you run into difficulties and  little disasters.  be patient with yourself and with your supplies and give it a chance.
 
 All you need is ONE beautiful sunrise or sunset by a lake or a night full of stars and your doubts will fade.
 
 
 
 

[MtnCamper]

 birol
Birol, Could you please edit your post to this:
 
 [link=http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/prod_Detail.asp?Product_id=9270B133&CategoryID=11020&SourcePage=PROD_CATEGORY_MAIN.ASP&SubmittingPage=Prod_subcategory.asp]The tent.[/link]
 
 It does the same thing, but stops the arrowing right and left.
 
 By the way, I got an old Camp Kitchen, homemade, rather nice. It has a 2 burner stove (mounted on top) removeable door on the front, inside (compartments) for coffee pot, pots and pans, dishpan, dishes, drawers for silverware, and salt and pepper etc. The whole thing sets up on 4 screw in legs, so it a comfortable cooking height. The lid goes on the back on a bracket, and doubles as a work surface.  If you come get it I ll make you a deal on it.[] Great for tent camping!

[birol]

 MtnCamper
I changed the subject to " the tent" , was that what you meant ? WHat did you mean with arrowing right and left ?
 
 I would come and pick that stove but, you are in Colorado [&:], twith the current gas prices, it would cost me a PU money to come and get it []
 
 Thanks a lot for the offer though ....

[MtnCamper]

 birol
Much better, Now I don t have to arrow right and read, then back left and read.[] My old fingers are getting tired. Now that s ambitious, huh?
 
 I noticed your link was edited by popupx2, who is that masked man (woman)?
 
 

< Message edited by popupx2 -- 2/25/2003 10:39:07 PM >

 Tell, ya what, If I ever get up to that neck of the woods, I ll bring it along. It s actually a great piece of work. DW s old boss made it for the back end of a jeep. Everything fits into it, He used it for a couple years, then quit jeeping, and sold it to us for $50. Stocked up, Lantern and stove included. We used it in the jeep for 10 years or so. Wonderful idea.

[Ab Diver]

 birol
birol, old buddy, you ve come a long way. No, I m serious. Do you realize just how much you have soaked up in the many months you ve been hanging out with us? You are actually better prepared  to make this step than most of us ever thought of being when we first started out. I can understand you being a little anxious, but never fear, you ll do fine.
 
 That said, maybe you could give us a list of what you *do* have. And remember, if you have four people, get a tent big enough to sleep four people AND have enough room left over for whatever gear they ll keep in the tent.  Nothing is worse that trying to move around, over, and past other people, duffle bags, piles of stuff, dirty laundry bags, etc, etc, etc.
 
 I m happy for you, man. You re gunna love it. And give your other half a hug from all of us-- she s earned it.

[wssfetch]

 MtnCamper
Birol,
 
 What a wonderful idea!!!  You might try a trip to Target to get your tent.  They carry Greatland (their own store brand), Coleman and Eddie Bauer tents.  Plus all the gear you will need.  And a lot of that gear will be useful when you get a pop-up.
 
 You are going to be out there camping with the rest of us soon!

[birol]

 MtnCamper
Mtncamper If you are ever nearby, let me know and I will come and grab it !  We will celebrate it with a multiple of six packs ! If you do not do six packs, we will substitute your favorite poison
 
 Popupx2 must be one of the moderators, I had a very long coleman link and he fixed it up for me, now it is a short link and works too, Thanks popupx2 []
 
  AB Diver I HAVE learned a lot by hanging out with the crowd, I intend to thank you guys one by one as we meet ! You can only imagine what the " thank"  will be []
 
 What do we have, hmmm, we have one sleeping bag for the DD, and that s about it to be honest. I am thinking that we will get a tent which sleeps 7 or 8 people, three rooms at least. They are around 250 Cdn, so it is not that bad.
 I don t think I want anything  smaller. We had a picnic table, portable, a great thing but one leg is broken, maybe I should fix it, it was great when we were younger, It folds into nothing flat in no time.
 
 
 I am so excited you won t believe it, this might work out for real !!!
 
 Thanks for all the suggestions so far, tomorrow I will print these and start putting stuff into an excel spreadsheet !
 
 As for hugging the wife, Iwill do [][][][]
 

[cyclone]

 birol
Some of us are still in a tent.  Mine is a cheapie (under $100, US), 10 x 12, has a rain flap and shock-corded poles.  Bought it at Academy Sports.  It s easy to set up; especially with two people.  A couple of things not to forget: and small throw rug for just inside the door and a small broom.  I would not go without an air mattress (the good kind).  I would definitely get a big tarp to put up over the picnic table area (in my case, it s a screen house now).  The extra " dry"  will really be appreciated if it rains.  Don t forget a hammer or mallet to pound stakes in.  Also, a first aid kit.  And, do not ever leave your campsite without putting your chairs away in whatever dry space you have (under the tarp, in the car, etc) even if it s bright and sunny when you leave.  Trust me on this....those canvas chairs take a while to dry out.  We have Coleman stove, lantern, flashlights, camp kitchen, and a zillion camping gadgets.  Keep it simple at first; you can always buy more stuff and you will recognize what will also be usable in a pu.  Have fun!

[stoichie]

 NightOwl
If you have access to a Costco in the states they have some good deals on tents.  I just saw a huge one with a front screen room for $80 US.  I don t know if they list these online, but it is worth a try //www.costco.com.  I have a card & am willing to share, but I m in AZ.

[Miller Tyme]

 MtnCamper
Mackinac Island is an excellent choice. I was there long ago, when I first learned how to drive. My first trip-across the bridge[:@]
 Don t know too much about campgrounds there-maybe our northern Michigan or southern Canadian friends can help out.[8D]
 BTW-What s with the bent hinge on the Windstar?[]

[Tentcamp]

 MtnCamper
Our first tent was a Hiliary from Sears that we purchased in Canada, (when we couldn t afford Motels there) it was a great tent it never leaked and we camped in it for years before we wore it out.  We loved our Eureka! tent, it was a dome with a fly and vestabule, it never leaked and was very easy to put up.  We tried a K-Mart cheapie (one of those room things) after the Eureka! wore out and we couldn t afford a new big one, which we spent a miserable week in the rain in.  We went out every day and purchased more and more seam sealer until we had over $20 worth on it before we got it to stop leaking, (we did come home with a new supply of towels!), then moved to a different campground where a bear broke the pole on one side and ripped it (while we were in it of course).  The next year it was pop-up time for us.  The bathtub walls are a must have, height is nice, the vestibule was wonderful (nice place to put your shoes making the tent cleaner, but rodents have been known to eat your shoestrings so shake out the shoes in the morning), a large fly is nice too.  Bigger is better, if you have 4 people go for a six person.  You get what you pay for.  If you live in Pennsylvania where it rains every time you go camping it is worth the money for a better tent.  However if you aren t sure you will like tentcamping cheap might be better, just go when it isn t supposed to rain.  We have many wonderful memories of our adventures while tentcamping and I m sure you will too.[]

[Popupnut]

 MtnCamper
Birol
 
 Check out this site http://home.gwi.net/~spectrum/camping.html
 
 This guy has all the answers to any question you can ask on tent camping - he is one of my first sites I ever visited on the web when I was trying to figure out what I needed and how to do it successfully.
 He also has a great sense of humor - lot s and lots of advice - really great advice!!
 
 Good luck!
 
 

[birol]

 MtnCamper
Thanks a lot for all the advise and links. I will go thru them today and start making a list of what to get, what to avoid and the type of tent we should be after !
 
 Did anybody buy a tent on eBay ? any good/bad experiences ? They don t seem to be too cheap on eBay though .....
 
 BIrol