tents vs campers

[br8kitoff]

I done both.  I switched back and forth...If I'm hunting late with my dad(70), I pull the 5th wheel over the last few years and drive a little further in the am.  Other than that it's tent...I can and have taken it anywhere a quad will reach, where you can.

[winston2789]

aww man....who started this topic???  So close to getting my wall tent.......now i'm not sure again which way I wanna go      ,

[br8kitoff]

oh yea,  http://www.kwikkamp.com/ american made great product out of oregon.  I have one 14x20 with porch and a 14x20 that we cook out of.  both have stoves.

[Bscman]

Lately, it's just been a tarp strung over the headack rack and down to the tailgate of the pickup.   

$6 tarp and $4 worth of cheap bungee cords turns my pickup into a camper.
I'm high enough off the ground (6" lift and '35s on a fullsize chevy) to avoid the damp ground and *most* of the forests critters...and I'm sealed off from the rain/snow/wind.

When the weather gets really nasty, I cinch that tarp down TIGHT...and we crawl over the bench seat and through the slider to get to the sleeping bags. If it gets really bad we can fire up the truck, open the slider back up, and turn the heat on high. 

It's probably look pretty goofy at a formal "campground" but 20miles back in the sticks it's pretty sweet...

[coachcw]

tent trailers are a good cost effective option and work well with two hunters . you each get a side . off loading a camper in the mountains can be a bitch . I had a jack blow in my driveway and dumped one . electric jacks are the only way to go on a camper.

[dad98684]

last year i went from a 10' camper to a 10'X12' tent. my only regret is i did not do it sooner. i camp alone and this is a good tent for one, and it has much more room then the camper.

[ICEMAN]

Huntinhick, here are two threads on tent camping on snow.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,20877.0.html

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,20844.0.html

I recommend tent camping until you are too old to do it!    Then you can wuss out and get the camper.

[huntinhick]

ICEMAN,

     I have been leaning that way.  I have a bivy bag and nice sleeping bag that I have used several time, however I am gearing up to bring my boys with me soon so I think I am going with a tent be it a wall tent or one of the cabelas tents.  I am thinking a couple tent cots will work for the quicky hunts (one to two days) in the bad weather,  will not have to clear alot of snow just set them up maybe throw and extra tarp over them and climb in a heavy bag.  I do those type of hunts alot, take off after work on friday drive 1/2 the night hunt/fish saturday and sunday morning then head home.  less to set up the better.  plus I like the 30+ miles a gallon that I get out of my wee SUV so tents it is!  btw, dad98684 I almost printed that pic out to hang next to my bunk here,  it makes me smell wood smoke and dream of late camping!!!   thanks for all the inputs guys!!

carl

[ICEMAN]

Only problem with snow is that you cant set chairs or anything with legs on the tent floor for risk of punching thru...

At my elk and deer camps, we usually do not have much snow so we set up on soil. If a bit of snow, I clear it to set the tent...

[huntinhick]

pretty much what I thought also,  almost all of the big game hunts should be okay for tents or at least not alot of snow.  what i was worried about were late season varmit trips over to the east side, last time I did that I ended up sleeping in the back of my suzuki let me tell you small is an understatement!!  my buddy picked up a tent cot and used it last season and loved it.  I could see it for a day or two but more than that would be rough.  I like those eureka tents you have iceman, I have checked them out many times, love the heavy duty frames.  Might just give up and get a large wall tent for all camping something big enough for my whole litter!!

[ICEMAN]

I hear ya' on the wall tent. I have been toying with the idea too. So far I have been able to pull it off with this tent. For a one or two hunter trip, the equinox is great, enought room for a few chairs, sleep pads, whatever.... Now that my two kids hunt with me, with the three of us, it was getting crowded and I had to do something different...  I have had my first equinox for many many years and it is getting a bit beat up so I bought another. I use the beater for chairs and hanging out in, the new tent for sleeping in. This method works great for us. The tents set up in minutes. I finish tearing down my setup at deer camp by enough time to help my buddies with their tents....

[huntinhick]

sounds like you have it down!  I was just checking the 12x12 alanak thinking 2 double cots for the 4 kids and a pair of singles for the wife and I.  sounds like that might be a good all around tent.  however I still have my eye on that outback too.  and I see that campmor has a good price an the equinox!  good thing I dont have to buy today!  The wife is leaning towards a wall tent I might just this once just agree with her and go for it!   don't anyone let her know I don't want her to start expecting it or anything

[dawei]

Huntinhick, here are two threads on tent camping on snow.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,20877.0.html

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,20844.0.html

I recommend tent camping until you are too old to do it!    Then you can wuss out and get the camper.

I guess that I'm an old (60) wuss then. I tow my 28 ft travel trailer to deer and elk camp every fall. I had enough of sleeping on the ground during my 22 years in the Army. When I deer hunt I camp in Rainbow Falls State Park & drive 4 miles to my hunting area. Elk Season usually finds me camping at Ike Kinswa or Seaquest State Parks. I can be out in the rain and wind all day hunting, but come nightfall I want to get warm, dry, and clean. Usually there are four of us in camp.

[ICEMAN]

Wuss is what all us tent campers call you guys with the heaters and insulated walls.... (I have a camper in the yard... I am a wuss at times...) 

[br8kitoff]

I never said before, I bring 2 bales of straw for the floor then put down a roll of outdoor carpet ontop of that.  I can say that I've never had to set it up with snow on the ground.  That usually comes a day or two after we get set up

This trip I did without the wife and my 16 y/o boy helped me put it up in about 20 minutes