The Camping Forum

[pogue]

we have looked at the montana 6 and if we do have one i need some advice.it seems its made from the same material as an awning i had for the caravan which had droplets of water on the inside of the roof,does this happen in tents?
im a bit worried about security,whith the caravan we could lock it up and go out,i guess with a tent you cannot do this so is it safe to leave a tent with a telly in etc? where would you place a tv ariel? just a few questions for now as im sure there will be more to follow.

[Andy]

we have looked at the montana 6 and if we do have one i need some advice.it seems its made from the same material as an awning i had for the caravan which had droplets of water on the inside of the roof,does this happen in tents?
im a bit worried about security,whith the caravan we could lock it up and go out,i guess with a tent you cannot do this so is it safe to leave a tent with a telly in etc? where would you place a tv ariel? just a few questions for now as im sure there will be more to follow.

Its not unusual for peoples first outings in nylon tents to think during the night/morning that the tent is leaking. This usually is just simply condensation caused by the cooler outside and the warmer air inside. The warmer air being warmed from the everyday action that is breathing.

Its more common in smaller tents when you have less air flow. Saying that we had a 12 person cheapo from ebay and that was pretty bad for it but it did not have very much ventalation. Usually this condensation will have dried very quickly and opening the doors up first thing can really help to speed the process.

On the cottons or polly cottons its not so much an issue however condensation can still form on the windows.

So not really anything to worry about

Touch wood we have never had any one enter our tent whilst we have been out. Having said that we dont take a TV. Laptop normally which when we go out I place in the car.

A quick easy solution to securing the tent if you are worried is to purchase those small audio rape alarms (one for each door) the kind that have the small plastic peg on a cord that when pulled out sounds an alarm. these can be attached to the inside zip with cable tie and the alarm unit pegged into the ground. so when zip is opened peg is pulled. You must remember tho when returning they are in place especially if you return to the tent late lol.. you could have some grumpy neighbours in the morning. Obviously will not prevent someone from cutting a hole in the canvas and entering the tent but to be fair chances of that happening on a busy site during the day is very slim. That said I dont think its that often thefts occure on site. Festivals maybe.. but not on site.

Keep the questions flowing

[pogue]

i thought there well maybe a code of conduct with tenters as regards theft? ive been on sites and observed that there is more craic with tenters than caravanners,is this true? do campers tend to 'rough it' and prefer not to use ehu? or is camping wanting to get back as close to nature as possible?

[in-a-tent]

there is a real mix, some rough it in a tiny tent on the side of a mountain, some live in palatial luxury with ehu and all mod cons.

the beautiful is that you can do what you want. we don't use ehu but we do have an enormous tent with a carpet and we take nintendos, netbooks and 3G phones.

not many campers take TVs (from my experience) but then not many take laptops, not many do the bare essentials ... in fact you'd be hard pressed to pick something that a majority of campers do beyond sleeping in a tent.

as far as thefts go campers tend to look out for each other on a campsite (festivals are another thing altogether obviously) the chances of having something stolen are I feel pretty minimal, but it's best to take precautions with expensive easily swiped stuff like phones, cameras etc not leaving them on view and so on - lock them in the car if you're worried.

as far as where do you put an aerial perhaps this might be what you need

http://www.in-a-tent.co.uk/products/114 ... 20EASYFIND

[pogue]

yup i know about the dishes.one thing that really is nagging me is this dripping condentation,i thought they may have sorted this out?

[in-a-tent]

they have. we get a small amount of condensation inside our tent but it's just a film on the inside of the windows and clears as soon as we're up.

we have a poly tent (like the montana) not a polycotton one and we don't get dripping of any sort, we're warm and dry inside the tent.

[pogue]

thats better news thank you.any info on the accesories please.cooker,fridge,air matress,and other must haves?

[in-a-tent]

sleeping equipment is the most important to get right, if you're going to be put off then a bad night's sleep will be the prime culprit.

we have fat airics - http://www.in-a-tent.co.uk/blogs/2/18/T ... ing%20mats.

we love them but it's a case of finding something that meets your needs, some people prefer aerobeds or camp beds, prob. best to avoid cheap airbeds from argos though (they go down, and aren't very insulating).

you need some warm sleeping bags or duvets too - remember that unlike in caravan you're on the ground so you lose heat downwards so a sheet on an airbed will be quite cold.

the other essential bit of sleeping kit we take are ear plugs - not needed most of the time but can be a real life saver if the neighbours are a bit rowdy, tents are not sound proof.

[merlin1973]

We have the Hartford XXL tent and we get verry little or no condensation.
We have the Glamping works, fitted carpet, mains lights for when we have EHU available, battery for when it is not.
Powered cool box, Campinggaz cooker with grill etc etc.
We do use Coleman air beds which are exellent and we have now made little carpets for the bedroom pods out of the silver backed laminate floor underlay which stops any cold coming through.
We dont take a tv becouse we always end up sitting out chatting and drinking with someone.
When we first started camping a couple of years ago we were worried about theft but have to admit we have never had or have never heard of anything ever going missing, not even the kids bikes that are usually just pushed under the canopy when we go out.

[pogue]

all sounding very good and as dispeled some fears i had. thanks for your prompt and in depth answers.i guess most folk go from a tent to a van ,we always do things different im self employed and works tight so selling the van would give us cash and money over to set ourselves up with a tent package instead of calling it a day.we love kayaking so going away weekends are important to us.it would save 300 quid a year in storage and diesel costs for towing.if you guys have any more info please post.thank you.