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Speedy wrote:
[quote=billb]
maybe pick up a pop-up camper used ( or rent ? ) to see if the trailer style camping both suits you with its advantages and disadvantages before investing in something bigger.
:agree:
That's not so easy. I'll have to drop $600 on a hitch. If I buy, I'll have to take out a rock wall, remove one of my wife's flower beds, remove some shrubs, the flatten the grade. Probably at least gravel the area.
I'd rent one, but the hitch still still a good sized chunk of change.
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It's worth it.
M A V I C wrote:
[quote=Speedy]
[quote=billb]
maybe pick up a pop-up camper used ( or rent ? ) to see if the trailer style camping both suits you with its advantages and disadvantages before investing in something bigger.
:agree:
That's not so easy. I'll have to drop $600 on a hitch. If I buy, I'll have to take out a rock wall, remove one of my wife's flower beds, remove some shrubs, the flatten the grade. Probably at least gravel the area.
I'd rent one, but the hitch still still a good sized chunk of change.
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$600 for that. + shipping + ball 'n stuff. At least it's prewired.
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Nicer, larger tent. Stand up variety. They make great "base camps". They are harder to assemble and pack, however - so they're not the best bet for one-two day stays. On the positive side, you can set up camp just about anywhere you can carry one of these.
Some of the pop-up trailers seem nice, but they carry their own set of limitations.
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Get the biggest and best genuine Kelty they make. You can afford it and you deserve it for your hard-earned success.
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Black wrote:
Get the biggest and best genuine Kelty they make. You can afford it and you deserve it for your hard-earned success.
Thanks, but just because money isn't as scarce as the past couple years doesn't mean I spend much of it on myself. I did buy a new visor at REI, but only because it was on clearance for $6.
We donated $1000 to help a family move to a place where there were doctors who could help with their complicated pregnancy. I'm saving up cash to buy a bunch more food for youth to hand out like I did last spring.
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I'm pretty much the only person I know personally with much experience with this, but my family has camped out of a utility trailer for years. I feel it's a pretty good compromise of cost vs. convenience. We have a Ford Ranger short box trailer with a topper on it. It's small enough to fit in our garage, and it also provides us with extra load hauling capabilities of any nature if needed. Unless I need to haul something, our camping gear stays in the trailer all the time. This actually allows us to camp more like a small scout troop than a family. We can load all of our gear, including bikes, a patrol box (the scouts out there should know what that is), our "camping box" (Rubbermaid tote with our "camping" gear, obviously), clothes box (another Rubbermaid tote), food box (collapsible plastic crate), chairs, tent, 10x20 dining fly (like I said, we camp like a small scout troop, bedding, etc... I made a platform on the tongue for the cooler so it would haul better (more tongue weight, and easy acces for long trips).
I only paid $200 for the trailer and the whole thing worked pretty well. I know you said storage of any trailer would be a concern, but mine is pretty manageable, for wha it's worth.
I wrote all of that in the present tense, but we actually upgraded to a used popup this season. Still have the trailer if I need it, but now it's stored in the country at my mother-in-law's. It's out of the garage and easily accessible for my brother-in-law to occasionally use.
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Check out the REI tents. They should have something for you that is resonably priced. Buy when they have one of the 20% off any one item coupons.
Don't get a scratch and dent tent regardless of how cheap it is. You want to be able to return it if it leaks or bends a pole. REI doesn't sell replacement parts for their tents.
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C(-)ris wrote:
Check out the REI tents. They should have something for you that is resonably priced. Buy when they have one of the 20% off any one item coupons.
Don't get a scratch and dent tent regardless of how cheap it is. You want to be able to return it if it leaks or bends a pole. REI doesn't sell replacement parts for their tents.
Huh? I have an REI CampDome 2, and they GAVE me a replacement pole, 2 tent stakes and 2 guylines last week.
On another note, we also have an REI Hobbitat with vestibule - best car camping tent we've ever had.
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smacks wrote:
[quote=C(-)ris]
Check out the REI tents. They should have something for you that is resonably priced. Buy when they have one of the 20% off any one item coupons.
Don't get a scratch and dent tent regardless of how cheap it is. You want to be able to return it if it leaks or bends a pole. REI doesn't sell replacement parts for their tents.
Huh? I have an REI CampDome 2, and they GAVE me a replacement pole, 2 tent stakes and 2 guylines last week.
On another note, we also have an REI Hobbitat with vestibule - best car camping tent we've ever had.
They probably pulled the parts from a new tent. As far as I know, I've never seen any "parts" ever available or ordered for their tents. I suppose it could be a new deal. Or that store has a stock pile of tents for parts. I see tents in the scratch and dent all the time with bent poles as the reason for return.
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