Wanted Large Family Tent
I am new to camping, and I am shopping for a large family tent. I have chosen to get a tent which is about 25×15 ft, but the only way I can use it is to rent a group site at a particular national park to which I shall be going. Currently, the tent I plan to buy is either the Oberon 13-man or the Utah 10-man.
Worst case scenario, I could get smaller fall-back tents, which would probably be the Cougar Flats II 8-person tent. This tent happens to be small enough to fit on the tent pads at the national park in question, and I suspect that due to its popularity would be widely accepted at most parks, as well.
After considerable research, I feel that I shall be happy with any of these choices, but I would still prefer to get the larger tent without the hassle of park rangers chastising me for the size of the tent.
At any rate; opinions?
Thanks!
Your idea of the Cougar Flats II 8-person tent sounds like a better options given the constraints you’ve already figured out.. It’s more consistent with the simplicity underlying camping. It also allows more camping options. I like the saying "Adequate is sufficient."
On the other hand, the larger tent would be appropriate if you want to park the car inside. You might also have room for a Starbucks.
You might have answered your own question.
Even when I went camping with large groups of friends, we never brought anything larger than a six- or eight-person tent. There was always the concern about the number of cars that would inevitably be present (some parks limit you to two per site). And we always opted for multiple small sites, even if we couldn’t get them adjacent.
Still, the large group site would probably guarantee that you’d have all the cars in one place, and you’d probably get fewer complaints from neighbors about noise and such.
just get two of the smaller tents? why do you need such a large tent?
it’s better to be on the side of caution in these situations, no point in causing trouble when you don’t need to.
Camp managers lose money if one camper overflows into space designated for another.
This type of tent is often retailed under the label names such as Base Camp, Guide,
or Outfitter. The proper place for larger structures is outside the designated tent sites.
Camping within National Forest is free with no provided services such as electrical, fires,
potable water or toilets but there is ample room for giant canvass and nylon creativity.
Animal packers often carry them along with their Dutch oven, ironmongery and stoves.
But even larger tents become crowded when filled with card table, chairs, coots, etc.
Now here is the real answer, Most if not all camp sites limit the number of occupants to 8 people max. for some its even less at 6 people and for a few its 2 people. Group sites as you already know are for 8 and above. Now most sites are set up to handle a max tent size of 12×14 in recognizing a group of 8 in a tent appropriate for that number. I have seen sites that could handle a 12×50 army tent and have seen that done as well but it draws attention to yourself as having too many folks in your site and upsets the neighboring campers. Now personally I think is is none of their business what size tent I or anybody uses as long as it fits in my camp site and meets my needs. It’s no different then some mega 50ft RV pulling up next to a guy in a pup tent it’s a little intimidating but what the hay it what they got to use. I always note the campsites I go to and the next time I go I try to reserve those bigger sites to meet my needs sometimes they have the info listed as too how big a rig or tent will fit an area And you can check that for yourself. Another way to set up what you want without hassles is to camp at dispersed campgrounds where there are no limits to tent used these are usually first come first served though. any way good luck to you and
Happy campin!
How many people are you bringing? too large a tent in cool weather means youre going to be colder as body heat aint enough to heat up the tent. As long as I can stand up in the middle and my girl & me fit, thats big enough. by yourself, the 8 person is overkill but better then the 11.
I personally prefer a big tent! That’s just me though!
I can understand why you could use a bigger tent. As a parent with 6 young children I don’t want to disperse my children into separate tents for safety reasons. I want something we can all fit in without being on top of each other. I am currently looking at tents because the one we have is too small at this point.
Thanks for asking the question that others of us were wondering the answer to!!