Tents and backyard camping?

[KittySlayer]

So you have no experience and want to "camp" in your backyard. While you have gotten some good advice I would recommend going as cheap as possible, perhaps less than $100, based on the following assumptions:

• You will plan to camp in good weather and cancel plans based on the forecast.
• If the weather gets bad, the tent leaks, it gets cold, you will bail and go into the house.
• Your son(s) are young so it is more about the experience of hanging out with dad than camping.
• Sounds like a Dad idea with future plans to try and rope your wife into your new found hobby.

Buy cheap now knowing that if you enjoy this and want to venture beyond the backyard you will be buying again and paying for better quality using advice in this thread. The cheap tent you buy today can become a play tent for the boys endless summer adventures in the backyard. IF your backyard adventures go well and you move on to car camping at state parks you will know what you like and what you don't like. You will also have a better idea of what size and features you want and if standing up is important to you.

If going with just blankets get yourself a couple of roll out sleeping pads. The pads real purpose is insulation from the heat sucking ground and comfort is a secondary benefit.

HAVE FUN! I had endless adventures in my backyard growing up while "camping" in a 1960's canvas pup tent made from two canvas halves. My son grew up sleeping in a tent on our summer vacations and my wife and I still sleep in a tent when we go on our adventures. We currently have an REI Half Dome that works great for the two of us although when I go solo I like to cowboy camp in a bivy bag.

If you and your boy(s) enjoy this and you really get into camping you will have some great bonding experiences and give your son some great memories and life experiences.

Get a tent that is rated for twice the number of persons that will occupy it.

^^^This^^^
When you are ready to make the plunge for the whole family this will be important, although I recommend two tents (parent's tent and kids' tent)



VVV this thread VVV has a bunch of advice too:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/great-outdoors/384380-family-tent-help.html

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

One of the "hazards" of backyard camping with little kids: I was doing Cubscouts with my young nephews while my brother was doing a tour in Iraq. We were getting ready for a big camp out with their troop coming up, and I got the tent out and set it up one Saturday. Since the tent was up in the back yard, the boys talked me into doing a test-run and sleeping in it that night.

All was going really well until our cat and the neighbor's cat decided to get into a loud, crazy fight right next to the tent after midnight. You know how, when you wake up in a strange place, and it takes a second to remember where you are? Try to do that with two cats screaming three feet away from you. Anyway, I collected myself and told the boys it was just the cats fighting, but they weren't going to be OK until we went out with the flashlight so they could actually see the cats. By that time, both cats were gone. It took me awhile to get them back to sleep.

 

[indygunguy]

I just want to applaud you for doing this with your kids. Some of my very best childhood memories are from backyard camping with my Dad, friends, or just the dog. Good stuff.

 

[KittySlayer]

Just a heads up, if you’re an REI member, this Saturday from 0800-1000 is their garage sale, you make pick up a lightly used very high quality tent for pennies?

Is the REI Garage Sale worth the 100 mile trip from Fort Wayne? We don't have anything specific we are shopping for but don't want to pass up a great bargain either. If they have some good deals and aren't just clearing out crap that won't sell we may come. If it is slim pickings and limited selection we may skip. Of course the trip will be a good chance to dine and drink at the Taxman Brewery in Fortville.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I just want to applaud you for doing this with your kids. Some of my very best childhood memories are from backyard camping with my Dad, friends, or just the dog. Good stuff.

Me too. I think camping, even in the back yard, is an excellent way for kids to express their independence and their confidence in developing skills. I still remember when my son thought he was old enough for he and his buddy to sleep in the tent in the yard, and it rained hard. I had to keep my wife from going out to check on them, and they came in early the next morning laughing about how wet they got. They camped a lot that summer, learning to put a tarp over the tent for more protection, and learning to build a fire, cooking hotdogs, stuff like that. I was proud to see them figuring things out for themselves.

 

[SmileDocHill]

Camping gear is like exercise equipment. People are always guying nice stuff, using it once and then trying to get rid of it. Look at Craigslist, garage sales, neighborhood sites/apps. I've bought a lot of several hundred dollar tents for $20-$50 that were used a handful of times.
If guying used make sure to smell test if for mildew. A lot of people don't understand the importance of setting up the tent when they get home from a campout to let it all dry out before storing it. Any moisture packed up in the tent will mildew and will be mild at first until you get your body heat in it and it makes all your gear smell.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

Camping gear is like exercise equipment. People are always guying nice stuff, using it once and then trying to get rid of it. Look at Craigslist, garage sales, neighborhood sites/apps. I've bought a lot of several hundred dollar tents for $20-$50 that were used a handful of times.
If guying used make sure to smell test if for mildew. A lot of people don't understand the importance of setting up the tent when they get home from a campout to let it all dry out before storing it. Any moisture packed up in the tent will mildew and will be mild at first until you get your body heat in it and it makes all your gear smell.

Also after you left it dry out at home, toss in a dryer sheet before you fold it up and pack it away.

 

[aclark]

I've been camping since I was little though out boy scouts and still today. Dome tents are the go to for scouts and I still have one today. A 4 man dome tent will be perfect for 2 people with gear. If you are backyard camping without gear it should fit 2 adults and 2 small kids, although a bit cramped. You can get a Coleman for <$100 and keep it forever as a backyard/kids tent. https://www.amazon.com/Sundome-Person-Green-color-options/dp/B01D9EQ804
This is what the wife and I were using before kids, and the kids are just about old enough to use it for themselves.

For week/weekend car camping trips we have an REI Kingdom 6 and its great. Quick and easy to set up, having only 3 fiberglass shockcord poles. I can get the footprint down, the tent up, and the rainfly on before our friends can even organize the poles on their Coleman cabin tents. It has LARGE doors at both ends so there's no climbing over people at night to get out and go to the bathroom. The rainfly provides a small vestibule at one end, and a larger "gear storage" vestibule at the other. I added the garage attachment for some extra equipment/sitting space and I love it.

Last Oct we went camping at McCormick Creek and got rained on basically the whole weekend. The tent was dry as can be, and the garage was a great place to store our chairs and sit out of the rain (albeit very muddy). It comes with its own stuff sack that has backpack straps so you can easily carry it a short distance if need be. One note is at 6'4" I can almost stand up in the tent itself, but the garage is quite a bit shorter so stepping outside I have to watch myself.

It looks like they've just updated the Kingdom model so you might be able to find a deal on the old version in store. Its a great tent and we love it.

 

[CampingJosh]

Is the REI Garage Sale worth the 100 mile trip from Fort Wayne?

Typically no. I haven't been up there for the Garage Sale this year, but I wouldn't expect it to be worth my trip (only about 40 miles).

But I guess it depends on what is on your list and if you are comfortable with online shopping. REI sales typically bring them down to about what Backcountry, etc. have things for regularly.

 

[pute62]

I started camping in pup tents with no floors in them so tents have come a long way since then. I've camped with 5 kids and a dog in tents and while fun, it's really gets old fast. Buy cheap to begin with and if it grows, buy a truck and popup camper in what you can afford. ( kids can always sleep outside in a tent )
Camping isn't cheap like it use to be ( buying firewood alone for a weekend is outrageous ) but it's fun for the first few years.

 

[thunderchicken]

As I said upthread, I have an old canvas cabin type tent. Its fantastic for a weekend camping trip with my wife and kids. We all sleep on cots or air mattresses. An old scoutmaster used to always say..."camping doesn't have to mean roughing it" even in a tent you can be comfortable.

Heck on our yearly mens camping trip, my dad, brother and I use one of those metal framed portable garages that are often advertised in Menards ads for $150-200. We put down a tarp for the floor, set up our cots and chairs inside and have plenty of room. Only takes my brother and I about 20 minutes to set up (done it many times).

Someone mentioned a pop up camper. I don't know if anything has changed or not, but many moons ago my parents had a pop up camper and were required to pay property tax on it every year. So if that is still the case it may not be worth the investment unless one plans to camp a lot.

 

[lovemachine]

I haven’t bought anything yet. But I think I will soon. I found a couple Coleman tents that sleep 8 on Dicks Sporting Goods’ website. And again, I’m only looking there because I have a gift card.

For a Coleman tent that sleeps 8, and retails for $200, on sale for $100. Is that a cheap low quality item? Would I regret that purchase?

 

[Cameramonkey]

I haven’t bought anything yet. But I think I will soon. I found a couple Coleman tents that sleep 8 on Dicks Sporting Goods’ website. And again, I’m only looking there because I have a gift card.

For a Coleman tent that sleeps 8, and retails for $200, on sale for $100. Is that a cheap low quality item? Would I regret that purchase?

Given its a gift card purchase, AND its just for backyard camping, go for it. If it leaks, you can always go in the house without ruining a campout in the park, road trip, etc.

 

[CampingJosh]

The Pine River one? That would be a fine backyard camping tent.

I would guess that the DWR will have to be redone after only a few times out in the rain, but that's just spraying it. Not hard at all.

 

[PistolBob]

We started camping with an 8 by 10 foot family "cabin" tent we bought from Zayre in about 1983. Two small children, my wife and I. It was a generic brand and I always put a tarp under it. Kids were 18 months and 3 years old. It was fine in good weather. A few years later we bought a real tent. A BIG 15 foot wide dome tent. PLUS by then we stopped sleeping on the ground and bought a queen size air bed and that made camping a WHOLE new and better experience. I also own a couple Eureka Timberline 4 tents for just me and my stuff. The Eureka brand is a fantastic value for the money spent. One of my TL4's is 20 years old, my 12 foot wide Eureka Dome is 16 or 17 years old, and they have been in rain, sleet, snow, heat, wind....you name it. Take good care of the Eureka tents and they don't leak. These days I usually camp by myself or with one of my kids and their kids. We use tents of all kinds mainly depending on the weather forecast.

My best advice I can give you....with your young family...buy a tent that can be assembled and disassembled by you alone. When it's pouring down rain, and the wife is wrangling kids, and everyone is PO'd it's best you can pack up camp and head home without them helping you. I've seen many camping weekends ruined when the dudes start yelling at the dudettes while trying to pack up camp or trying to set up camp.

 

[lovemachine]

The Pine River one? That would be a fine backyard camping tent.

I would guess that the DWR will have to be redone after only a few times out in the rain, but that's just spraying it. Not hard at all.

Yea that’s the one.

I’ll keep looking. Guess I need to decide how much I want to spend first.

 

[CampingJosh]

Yea that’s the one.

I’ll keep looking. Guess I need to decide how much I want to spend first.

Every tent will need a reapplication of DWR coating after a while (unless you find one made from Gore Tex, but I think that's only used for bivys). That shouldn't be a dealbreaker.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I don't know nothing about nothing, but there's an Eddie Bauer 3 person tent on Amazon for $50:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0767H7PWT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There's only one left at this point. Mine is supposed to arrive today. They were about $300 new at most places so I don't know if these fell off a train or what, but $50 seemed reasonable. I want to take my son to the "dark park" in Michigan this summer, a place where there are no lights and you can see the night sky without all the gray light pollution you get most places now.