You shouldn’t be keeping food or cooking in a soft sided tent trailer in the mountain parks.
Why not? We used to keep our perishables in the fridge (which is air-tight, like a cooler), and our other stuff in cupboards. I can confirm I was never eaten by a bear.
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Originally Posted by GGG
A proper tarp and tent set up keeps you completely dry in rain
You can easily hall bikes on the back of your car
The trailer was pretty good at keeping us dry too. and it had a table to play cards at.
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Originally Posted by GGG
And in a tent I sleep on very comfy mattresses.
All the equipment fits within two bins and am fully set up in sub 30 minutes.
So once you account for having to drive slower because you are towing it is guaranteed to be faster using a tent as well.
Our tent trailer was 1200 lbs dry. It wasn't even noticeable to pull it. All of that stuff that takes you 30 minutes to set up is already set up in a trailer.
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Originally Posted by GGG
So faster, cheaper, weather proof, and just as comfortable. (Though comfort is a perception thing.
it is neither of those things, but I'm glad you are enjoying your tent. I'm not crapping on tent camping, I like doing that too. But it is impossible to argue that a tent trailer isn't objective more comfortable and useful than a tent. The only benefit to a tent over a tent trailer is being to able to backcountry camping.
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Originally Posted by GGG
Note I’m not saying trailers in general. I understand the desire for a hard sided trailer. The tent trailer has all of the trailer downsides and only a fraction of the benefits.
It has almost all of the benefits. If my wife wasn't a sissy, I'd have a tent trailer instead of a hardsided one.
I think the roof tent was initially intended to be used in the back country. It fills that niche where you want to drive your 4x4 out in the wilderness, can't tow a trailer and a tent may not work because you don't have the nice flat pad. I've had a trailer and it's limited to where you take it.
Really, that's the only place I can see them being prefered.
However, if you get a topper, you can build a raised sleeping pad in that, with storage underneath, which imo, is a better option.
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Why not? We used to keep our perishables in the fridge (which is air-tight, like a cooler), and our other stuff in cupboards. I can confirm I was never eaten by a bear.
...
I don't believe you. I think you were eaten by a bear who's hijacked your CP account.
__________________
...Rob
The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs;
it's Don't Tread On Me.
Why not? We used to keep our perishables in the fridge (which is air-tight, like a cooler), and our other stuff in cupboards. I can confirm I was never eaten by a bear.
It is neither of those things, but I'm glad you are enjoying your tent. I'm not crapping on tent camping, I like doing that too. But it is impossible to argue that a tent trailer isn't objective more comfortable and useful than a tent. The only benefit to a tent over a tent trailer is being to able to backcountry camping.
Adding food smells to your soft sided sleeping area is not good bear hygiene. A cupboard is not going to stop bears from smelling and eating your food in a unattended campsite.
From your like a cooler comment do you believe a cooler provides any protection against bears gettin access to foods?
Something can’t be objectively more comfortable. Also more useful is just wrong, both provide shelter and place to sleep in inclement weather. Which is their function.
Anyway sounds like the advantages over a regular trailer that people see is smaller vehicle and easier towing.
Adding food smells to your soft sided sleeping area is not good bear hygiene. A cupboard is not going to stop bears from smelling and eating your food in a unattended campsite.
From your like a cooler comment do you believe a cooler provides any protection against bears gettin access to foods?
Something can’t be objectively more comfortable. Also more useful is just wrong, both provide shelter and place to sleep in inclement weather. Which is their function.
Anyway sounds like the advantages over a regular trailer that people see is smaller vehicle and easier towing.
What, really? So half standing bent over in a tent is not objectively worse than standing upright? And the function of a tent may be to provide shelter and place to sleep in inclement weather. But a tent trailer does it better by giving you more space, room to cook, sit at a table and play cards, some have furnace, etc...Yes, they can both provide shelter. But the tent trailer can do many other things. Obviously it isn't ideal in ALL camping situations, but they are great it many.
Given the increase in number of campers, spaces are getting tight. We are running out of wilderness. The only solution is to build up, not out. These are the campers of the future.
Maybe the real solution is to put a cap on campers instead of making it easier for increasing numbers of campers?
I feel like those things are pretty useful for road trips. You can camp in a parking lot, or not worry if a campsite wasn't available or muddy after a downpour or just straight up uneven terrain...
That being said, I kinda get where Sliver is coming from. No one generally buys one of these things for these special environmental considerations. They get it because it's some weird luxury that's cool and unique because no one else can ever justify pouring money into one of these things.
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Maybe the real solution is to put a cap on campers instead of making it easier for increasing numbers of campers?
Fata that. We need to develop the rockies even more. There needs to be another campground there ASAP, as well as another town. Maybe allow a campground as well as some condo developments at the base of Lake Louise as an easy place to start.
The mountains are beautiful and should be enjoyed, not rationed out to a limited number of people. Let's get another town going between Louise and Banff and market it around the world as a destination. Expanding tourism by using an additional 0.00001% of our available mountain real estate is a no brainer. I'm sure glad the people/government in the 1900s had the foresight to plan all there is in the mountains now so we can enjoy it, but we're sure dropping the ball for the generations that will follow us. All roof top tents will be banned in Mount Sliver.
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I know a few folks who have them on there jeep, great for hunting and clears up space inside the cab. Especially leaving with a quartered animal having to find a space up front can be a pain. Setup and take down are simple,but i opted for a tipi tent that with stove is under 6# and fits in the pack as i can take it up the mountain as well. If i already had the tipi id definitely consider the roof tent
Chevy Avalanche bed tents are cool because you can open the midgate. But I agree the rest are dumb
Yup, had an OEM one back in 2004 to 2006. Turn on the truck at night if get a bit chilly, and basically have 8 ft by 4.5ft of floor space. A breeze to set up and tear down with all the attaching to the box done with some custom fasteners.
I know why it was cancelled when GM upgraded that platform in 2015(sales), but if they ever brought it back, keeping the same dimensions, and made the rear of the cab a bit more spacious (which means a shorter box with midgate up, but all equals out when flip the midgate down), I’d be all over it.
From the step in the bumper, which only in the last Gen of GM trucks did they adopt, to the side cargo bins which RAM took over, and removeable back glass and sectional tonneau cover, it was a very unique vehicle.
