Family trip sleeping solution???

[cmcmill01]

Folks, looking for some advice, hoping to go to Iceland this summer for a couple of weeks touring around with the family 2 adults and 3 kids and am looking at tent options.
Ideas I have at the moment are:
Jet Tent F25x
Tentipi Safir 9
Howling Moon 2.4m roof tent with annex
2 x 1.4m roof Tents, 1 over the front and other over the side so I can still use my awning.
2x double Swag!!

Will be mostly 1 night per campsite so need a easy solution.

Like the idea of the Tentipi with the stove but doesn't look that quick to put up or take down.
Also like the 2.4m roof tent but not sure how often we would use it after and limited amount of room to sit around if the weather is rubbish.

Used the 8 person Vango Airbeam on a trip like this before (Spain not Iceland) but was tough work!!

Anyway anybody have some good advice on the matter or experience of the tents above???
Thanks
Craig

 

[GeekOKent]

What sort of weather are you expecting overnight?

 

[cmcmill01]

Expecting windy, wet and cold.

 

[StarCruiser]

I've only just got a Howling Moon roof tent with annexe this year. There's a surprising amount of room in the annexe for the two of us but depending on kids sizes it may be a tad tight. The annexe tapers so the floor area is bigger. From memory it's 1.2 x 1.4 folded so probably what you've been looking at. The bed area is king size and pretty comfy though we may look for a mattress topper just to give extra padding. With electric hook up on the camp sites a small fan heater in the annexe should warm the whole tent. The base unzips from the awning sides.

Downsides,
1, when it's up you can't move the truck.
2, noisy in the wind
3, the awning adds considerably to the setup and pack away time. This said, with a suitable assistant this could be done in as little as 20 minutes.
4, zips I'm told can be a pain though I have not yet found this.

 

[cmcmill01]

This is the one I was think about, 2,4 by 2.4 so bigger that a supper King, the kids are 2 boys 13 and 11 and my daughter who is 7, we all lay on the floor with a tape measure and 2.4m is a pretty big sleeping area, even if we didn't use the annex.
For places where we stop more than 1 night we could use the annex, or if we get the hang of it.

@AndyCook and @SteveS Think you have both been to Iceland on a trip and have experienced the Tentipi, do you think this would be a good option compared to say a Oztent/Jettent, Thanks for any info. Also if you have a Stove to keep the Tipi warm at night is it easy to pack away in the morning?? Into the Box?

 

[cmcmill01]

I've only just got a Howling Moon roof tent with annexe this year. There's a surprising amount of room in the annexe for the two of us but depending on kids sizes it may be a tad tight. The annexe tapers so the floor area is bigger. From memory it's 1.2 x 1.4 folded so probably what you've been looking at. The bed area is king size and pretty comfy though we may look for a mattress topper just to give extra padding. With electric hook up on the camp sites a small fan heater in the annexe should warm the whole tent. The base unzips from the awning sides.

Downsides,
1, when it's up you can't move the truck.
2, noisy in the wind
3, the awning adds considerably to the setup and pack away time. This said, with a suitable assistant this could be done in as little as 20 minutes.
4, zips I'm told can be a pain though I have not yet found this.

View attachment 111752

That does look good, useful thoughts on the downsides as well.

 

[StarCruiser]

2.4 wide is seriously big. That's a triple bed with plenty of room as ours is 1.6 wide and is plenty big enough for me and the quilt hog!

As for the Downsides, I figured everything has downsides, even a mansion on wheels.

The HM tent is good and thick, virtually black out material. We're very pleased with ours and buying second hand means we should get most of our money back if and when we sell it.

 

[AndyCook]

Hi

I wouldn't take my Tentipi to Iceland on a travelling trip, moving most days.
2 reasons,
1) the tent and stove would take took long to packup everyday if on the move, you have to wait for stove too cool down for example, emptying out ash speeds it up. When using Tentipi we tend to stay at one place 2-3 nights minimum. Last year in Ireland we did had a one night stop and didn't use stove to save time in morning.
I would reckon at least an hour to pack up and dismantle, get tent up initially can take 10 mins, but it takes longer to get all the guys deployed, ground sheet put in, and tarp to protect ground sheet, and all kit put inside and stove.


2) the wind, we had some pretty windy nights in Iceland, not just in highlands but also on coast. I think it would have been too much for the Tentipi and certainly wouldn't have used stove in the wind, in case tent collapsed, a collapsing tent with wood burning stove inside it would not be a good place to be!

I definitely think you need some form of shelter to cook in and sit around in during evenings, although most campsites have some form of cabin, not all do.
We were very glad we had a carnanex on back to use, it was way to windy for foxwing at some camps.
We had temperatures of 2-6 degreees most evenings, but it was an usually cold summer in 2015.

Saying all that the Tentipi is great when weather not wild and you are staying in same camp for a couple nights or more

 

[Werneroeder]

Folks, looking for some advice, hoping to go to Iceland this summer for a couple of weeks touring around with the family 2 adults and 3 kids and am looking at tent options.
Ideas I have at the moment are:
Jet Tent F25x
Tentipi Safir 9
Howling Moon 2.4m roof tent with annex
2 x 1.4m roof Tents, 1 over the front and other over the side so I can still use my awning.
2x double Swag!!

Will be mostly 1 night per campsite so need a easy solution.

Like the idea of the Tentipi with the stove but doesn't look that quick to put up or take down.
Also like the 2.4m roof tent but not sure how often we would use it after and limited amount of room to sit around if the weather is rubbish.

Used the 8 person Vango Airbeam on a trip like this before (Spain not Iceland) but was tough work!!

Anyway anybody have some good advice on the matter or experience of the tents above???
Thanks
Craig

I would agree with your suggestion of 2x1.4m roof tents and the use of your awning. You can have a look at getting the sides for the awning and that would create plenty of space.

 

[GeekOKent]

Just a datapoint... we have a oztent. Have slept through quite well on extremely windy scottish cliff edges when folks in a rooftent were convinced they were flying off. Most of the noise we heard was our neighbours roof tent flapping about (a us import, smitybilt??)

Being able to use the truck as a windbreak is fantastic.

However, about 30% of our storage in the back is for sleep kit. We dont carry cots anymore, but have dual layer foam insulation for the floor ( just sleep matts, glued together). And we carry self inflating mattress, pillow and sleeping bags. Teardown and setup isnt quite 30 seconds, but its no more than 15 minutes.

The most painful part is getting self inflating mattress back into its bag. I would say a 20 min teardown. With 1 person.

Oztent on roof has its own storage challenges (solved here by a £10 ski roofbox).

So for the wind bit and cold bit, being on the ground has its advantages.

If its also very very wet, not much fun being on the ground in a flood. So if you stay on the ground, a few inches worth of a tub on the tent is a must. Anything more than a few inches.. its prolly.time to get up anyway

 

[GeekOKent]

This is for 4 of us... and i meant 15 min setup, and 20 min teardown.

 

[Chris]

This sounds like just the excuse you need to need to get ........

Worked for me! Working as a crew we could set up and pack away in under 20 minutes I'd say. That is, stop, set up both tents and Foxwing, open a beer then pack it all away again in 20 mins. I appreciate it's probably not going to be a realistic option for you but you can hire them. I think the minute you start adding ground tents, the effort and time really start biting.


The problem with pram hood tents like the HM is that they're so flippin' high off the ground. It's that which makes them harder to put away. The hardshell tents are much quicker and take only seconds to deploy and my 16 year old daughter was able to put it away on her own. The pram hood tent being on the trailer, genuinely takes less than 5 mins if you get a wiggle on and are coordinated. I kind wish I'd set up a GoPro to record us doing this. We got pretty slick. We had a couple of different set ups, which we rehearsed in the car before we got to the camp sites. Dry weather set up (like above) slightly damp set up, wet set up and Holy Crap Monsoon set up. Each had different arrangements like using the awning, awning room, Foxwing, Foxwing plus sides and so on.

It also means you can have an empty car and go off leaving the trailer behind all secure and set up during the day.

Go on go on go on go on......

 

[cmcmill01]

Hi

I wouldn't take my Tentipi to Iceland on a travelling trip, moving most days.
2 reasons,
1) the tent and stove would take took long to packup everyday if on the move, you have to wait for stove too cool down for example, emptying out ash speeds it up. When using Tentipi we tend to stay at one place 2-3 nights minimum. Last year in Ireland we did had a one night stop and didn't use stove to save time in morning.
I would reckon at least an hour to pack up and dismantle, get tent up initially can take 10 mins, but it takes longer to get all the guys deployed, ground sheet put in, and tarp to protect ground sheet, and all kit put inside and stove.


2) the wind, we had some pretty windy nights in Iceland, not just in highlands but also on coast. I think it would have been too much for the Tentipi and certainly wouldn't have used stove in the wind, in case tent collapsed, a collapsing tent with wood burning stove inside it would not be a good place to be!

I definitely think you need some form of shelter to cook in and sit around in during evenings, although most campsites have some form of cabin, not all do.
We were very glad we had a carnanex on back to use, it was way to windy for foxwing at some camps.
We had temperatures of 2-6 degreees most evenings, but it was an usually cold summer in 2015.

Saying all that the Tentipi is great when weather not wild and you are staying in same camp for a couple nights or more

Thanks Andy, very useful info, looks like the Tentipi is out of the running for this trip anyway. Also interesting about the awning and the wind.

Looks like the Jet Tent F25X or the roof tents might be an option.
Like the idea of a Rooftent and a Webasto heater plumped into it!!

 

[Chris]

http://freedomtrailers.co.uk/

 

[Andy]

I can certainly recommend the webasto solution, in bother the car & piped into the roof tent.......or even piped into a ground tent

 

[GeekOKent]

I can certainly recommend the webasto solution, in bother the car & piped into the roof tent.......or even piped into a ground tent

I need to look at this down the road. Maybe end of the year timeframe.

 

[karl webster]

I bought a new eberspacher d2 air heater.
Same as the webasto. Great for keeping the dogs warm whilst I'm working

 

[cmcmill01]

This sounds like just the excuse you need to need to get ........



View attachment 111757

View attachment 111758

Worked for me! Working as a crew we could set up and pack away in under 20 minutes I'd say. That is, stop, set up both tents and Foxwing, open a beer then pack it all away again in 20 mins. I appreciate it's probably not going to be a realistic option for you but you can hire them. I think the minute you start adding ground tents, the effort and time really start biting.


The problem with pram hood tents like the HM is that they're so flippin' high off the ground. It's that which makes them harder to put away. The hardshell tents are much quicker and take only seconds to deploy and my 16 year old daughter was able to put it away on her own. The pram hood tent being on the trailer, genuinely takes less than 5 mins if you get a wiggle on and are coordinated. I kind wish I'd set up a GoPro to record us doing this. We got pretty slick. We had a couple of different set ups, which we rehearsed in the car before we got to the camp sites. Dry weather set up (like above) slightly damp set up, wet set up and Holy Crap Monsoon set up. Each had different arrangements like using the awning, awning room, Foxwing, Foxwing plus sides and so on.

It also means you can have an empty car and go off leaving the trailer behind all secure and set up during the day.

Go on go on go on go on......

Looks like a great setup, but serious £££, do love the idea of a trailer but not sure on how they would handle the rivers of Iceland!!

There are some nice trailers on that website although I dont see any prices for a week.

 

[Chris]

I think you need to call them for prices.

They are off road trailers so they'll handle the rivers of Iceland as well as the vehicle. I did 4500 miles around the Baltic with mine and not a problem. It poured down and we hit some pretty rough stuff on the Russian border. Never leaked and worst that happened was I broke an indicator wire in the trailer plug.

You may wish to buy all that lot for your vehicle of course, but I'd want to see just how much it would be to rent a trailer first. Even better if you could rent one up there.

 

[SteveS]

Sorry - been off grid for a while.....anyway my thoughts on this. The Tentipi is more than capable of putting up with storm force winds and it has something like 12 ground fixing points including some that are half way up the sides. If you are really worried you can tether to your truck. In Norway we positioned the truck to act like a massive wind-break too. A tentipi also doesn't have a flat side to face the wind if the wind changes direction. You can also 'dig-in' the skirt or place rocks around it. Versus a high roof tent and high winds I would go Tentipi every time. We experienced 60MPH winds in Mexico in our roof tent and I had to open the sides so the wind could go straight through rather than break a ridge pole - luckily it was 30C and a dry storm which you wont get in Iceland. We wished we had taken the under-room on our Hannibal to Iceland (to keep the wind and rain out) but did so to arctic Canada and US - you can position the car to keep the wind off it. Re camping in Iceland the one thing positive for a roof tent is that the ground may be horrible pointy bits of lava - but most camp grounds were not too bad - many take roof tents just for this reason. In terms of up/down times I find that there is not much in it between the Hannibal and the Tentipi - practice many times before you go to iron out the little things. I find that I do need to get on the roof of the truck for my Hannibal (even though it can be put away with feet on the ground it is just easier) and this can be a bit 'exciting' in high winds and rain. Putting a roof tent down in high winds can be very difficult especially if the wind catches it.....I see you're going in the summer but again putting a roof tent up in freezing conditions, ice, gloved hands etc can be tricky. Our emergency sleeping arrangements allow us to sleep in the truck and I have a 2m flat surface that we can sleep on if it is howling outside.