Tent Cot

D

D Chapman

Guest
AlaskaBound said:
What happened to the days of getting a normal tent and and nice therma rest? Packs in nice and you can use it if you ever go backpacking too...

It rains too much at MAR, lol. Hell, not just at MAR, but anytime I go camping it rains.
 

HunterAK

Well-known member
May 19, 2005
1,721
0
Anchorage Alaska
I've talked in depth to a couple of old timers out here in AK and they don't even understand normal tent set ups. All they used was a tarp. Strung it up in between a nice cluster of trees to make a canopy that would hold off some pretty harsh rains. These are the same guys though that a National Geographic Documentary was made off of their 6 month trip into the backcountry. They cut down trees and made rafts to get down the rivers then pulled the raft on shore, broke it down and made a cabin out of it. When they were ready to keep going, they'd repeat the process. They'd carve their info in a tree by the bank to document their location in case something ever happened to them. When they finally made it back to civilization for the first time, they went to a bar and said they stood in the corner and felt so clostrophobic and boxed in that it almost made them go crazy... 6 months of subsistence living and no contact with humans is crazy. Hard core. A lot of wiskey, card playing, and fishing was going on...

Those days are gone I realize, but it makes you wonder what you actually need anymore...
 
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D

D Chapman

Guest
Mine came with a broken pole. But, Tent-Cot had a pretty good customer service policy, and I received two new poles via UPS in 3-days.
 

Pablo Jose

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2007
77
0
Madrid, Spain
I don't think it will fit on a normal SD rack, it's right around 55 inches wide. Unless you wanted to strap it down lenghtwise, it does seem to take up a large amount of the rack.
 
D

Dauber

Guest
Asolo3j said:
Sleeping platform in the back of the D1. Sturdy, Made out of 3/4 plywood that can easily support 2 with raucus activity. Folds out to 5'6" (I'm 6'1" but still manage to put feet between the seats). Egg crate padding for comfort and plenty of space for me and the lady. Used it this weekend... had to double up on the sleeping bags because temp in the teens. Total cost approx $45 and about 2 hours to build.

Will you please post some pics of this please? That and some of that memory foam might make a good pad.

Thanks in advance.
 

Pablo Jose

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2007
77
0
Madrid, Spain

UK 4X4

Well-known member
Jul 6, 2006
704
0
Planet earth currently Oman
I looked at tentrax too before I built my own trailer........mine fully built was less than $1000

The one thing with on vehicle or in vehicle camping is every time you wish to leave camp you need to packit all down or away.

Plus having the extra weight on board.

I have a venezuelan roof tent, which after 4 years use, the material of the top is getting seethrough and I doubt will hold up to a big down pour.

Question to you guy's that have one.....with it in front of you,
can you think of anyway that you could fix just the main legs to a rack or similar and have it open the rest of the way without support.

or do the other two legs need to be supported..

To replace my rooftent, is $ 1500....which is a shame as my structure is all aluminum and has a bunch of years left on it.

Question two......is the canopy etc detachable from the frame ?
 

Pablo Jose

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2007
77
0
Madrid, Spain
Steve, you don' think that one takes up too much room? I find when I head to Baja for a week I need all of the room I have and taking up almost the entire roof does't work for me. I still need the rof for surfboards, gas, firewood, more wood and water.
 

scrover

Well-known member
Pablo Jose said:
Steve, you don' think that one takes up too much room? I find when I head to Baja for a week I need all of the room I have and taking up almost the entire roof does't work for me. I still need the rof for surfboards, gas, firewood, more wood and water.

Paul, it does take up the ENTIRE roof - but - I don't need a tent, air mattress and pump (or cots), groundsheet, tent pegs and mallet. I do have to stuff everything else in the truck and I've only used it once, but I like it so far and the kids love it.

BTW, I saw you going North on the 405 a few days ago - you wouldn't have noticed me - Civic Hybrid in the car pool lane going south :cool:
 
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kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Seems silly to me.

I carry a Mountain Hardware PCT 1. It's a single man backpacker's tent. It sets up in about a minute if you are quick. I'll sleep in that on the beach, or when the weather isn't too friendly. It's nice to hear the rain fall on then tent. Naturally, I use it as well when hiking. Otherwise, I sleep in the Rover with the windows down and the sunroofs up. A bit daft to bother with all that setting up of equipment when you have a nice warm vehicle to crash in.

What's the cot for? Keeping you from getting wet or losing heat through the ground? I've found the Thermarest pads are pretty good for that, though I think even I will be moving to a regular roll out pad. Bugger that self inflatable crap, I don't like it. Most of the time I just end up thatching some grass under the tent anyway.

I'd be too worried about a strong wind flipping it over, personally. And I like to be able to quickly stow items and get mobile fast if conditions warrant it.

People swear by those tent cot things though. Not my cup of tea, really.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

scrover

Well-known member
kennith said:
Seems silly to me.

I carry a Mountain Hardware PCT 1. It's a single man backpacker's tent. It sets up in about a minute if you are quick. I'll sleep in that on the beach, or when the weather isn't too friendly. It's nice to hear the rain fall on then tent. Naturally, I use it as well when hiking. Otherwise, I sleep in the Rover with the windows down and the sunroofs up. A bit daft to bother with all that setting up of equipment when you have a nice warm vehicle to crash in.

What's the cot for? Keeping you from getting wet or losing heat through the ground? I've found the Thermarest pads are pretty good for that, though I think even I will be moving to a regular roll out pad. Bugger that self inflatable crap, I don't like it. Most of the time I just end up thatching some grass under the tent anyway.

I'd be too worried about a strong wind flipping it over, personally. And I like to be able to quickly stow items and get mobile fast if conditions warrant it.

People swear by those tent cot things though. Not my cup of tea, really.

Cheers,

Kennith

You missed the "kids" part - ultimately it's all for them - and we're in So.Cal - the only thing I get mobile for in a hurry is Starbucks :cool:
 
D

D Chapman

Guest
The tent cot is fucking huge. It does take up a ton of room. But, I dig it. Pull it out of the bag, fold it out, and BAM! done. If it rains, you're out of the water, and thats the biggest reason I got it.

What does suck, though, is not having the room. You have nowhere for your clothes bag, or even a corner for your muddy shoes.

I got the double, but it's almost a waste to get a double. That damn bar that runs down the center is totally in the way. You cannot spread out and be comfortable. And, if you have a woman in the tent, it's hard to even cuddle or fuck.

If you're planning on taking the family, I would just get one of those disposable jungle gym tents from Costco that is bigger than the Astrodome. But if space is not a real concern and you want something built nice thats easy, the Tentcot is nice.
 

Pablo Jose

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2007
77
0
Madrid, Spain
I'll have to agree with you on the support down the middle but check out Cabelas double sleeping pad. It makes it almost go away and without it you lose a lot of heat. Camping in the high desert this past winter at 20 degrees gets a little chilly with the wind ripping under the tent stealing all of the heat.

One of these days I'll get the Technitop I really want but for the time being the Tent Cot works.

Could be worse, last summer we made it 700 miles south in to Baja the first day only to realize we left the poles on the floor of the garage. Some of the beaches in Baja Sur look like a scene out of Indiana Jones when the sun goes down. "Crunch" with every step, sleeping on the ground at that point really blows.

Later, Paul
 
H

hayzeus

Guest
Hey Paul - long time no talk! This is Jose btw. Let me know what those organizers price in at...

Cheers!
 

Pablo Jose

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2007
77
0
Madrid, Spain
Jose, how the hell have you been? When are you coming back to Cali for a trip? Looks like we already got Reyes back LOL. He just left for Baja this am with Apollo, I ahve to move this weekend so it turned into a no go for me. I'll let you know when I here back.

Later, Paul
 

scrover

Well-known member
Pablo Jose said:
Steve, check out these cargo area organizers Keith found. The 44 inch wide would work perfect for the Classics and I think an Engle would fit in there too.

http://www.odysseyauto.com/cabinets/cabinet_index.html

Just waiting for the price quote to come back, but probably cheaper than the ones from Au.

Looks cool but I don't think I could fit it in now:
 

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