Pop up tent

[VonUK]

I am thinking about getting a cheap pop up tent as somewhere to throw our table and chairs, dog bed etc and leave on our pitch when we go off site. Thought it might be handy for the same reason under the Fiamma awning if it was raining, or even not under the awning
I'm not sure what site regs might affect this, any comments from folks would be gratefully received, including whether it!s a good idea or not in the first place

[gadgetman]

Pop up tent

Hi Von, wow sure is a lot of stuff to throw in a pop up tent, and I don't think under the Fiamma awning would work, personlly I think the small movelite drive away awning would suit your needs perfectly, best of luck whatever you choose.

[glenw]

We had a small pop up tent when we had the Roma and didn't want to put the movelite up, it worked well. Most club sites allow a pup tent, but us always best to check first.
It was surprising how much stuff we got in, 2 bikes and panniers etc, folding table and chairs, small dog crate, shoes and boots,etc all went in with some careful packing. Ours was decathlons own, their smallest at the time. Was obviously easy to put up and when you've got the knack, easy to put away.

[jayjay]

I had a gelert pop-up tent, which I bought for the very same reason when I had a campervan. However, Son#2 borrowed it for a few nights wild camping... it has no sewn-in groundsheet so you need to put it on top of a groundsheet then peg it down. And very flimsy material which will soon fray and wear out.

They are handy just to chuck things in though, will reserve your pitch so it's still there when you return - although the movelite is much better! They sometimes charge a nominal fee for what they call a 'pup tent' on some sites, and more for an awning. The C&CC don't charge for either. To my mind, a proper drive-away awning is a better option - a lot more expensive though!

It all depends on what you want to use it for. The double toilet tent is another option, although that's not a pop-up. There is also a handy tent/ outhouse tent/utility tent, which are useful and a lot cheaper (take a look at the Handy Tent through the Amazon accessories link on this site), also not pop up. I think they are easier to take down rather than wrestle a pop up back into it's bag! You do get the hang of those after a bit of practice though.

Having said that, the Quechua pop up base tent is used by a lot of MHomers and that would serve your needs admirably as well.

[VonUK]

What a helpful lot you are - thanks very much. It may be that we will invest in a bigger driveway awning later, (we have a small one that fitted the R 20) but at the moment we want to see how we get on without one at all. we intend touring with a lot of one nighters and want to avoid constantly putting the awning up and down. We had a Fiamma awning fitted to the R25 to give us shade when we need it, and a little bit of shelter in light rain and we are hoping that the bigger van will give us enough space for 2 adults and the dog to retire to if the weather is really bad.

Jayjay, thanks for the comment about the Quechua, I had spotted it when I did a google search, and thought it might be a possibility. I hope your shoulder is improving, I expect you've already tried a chiropractor, but if you haven't there is a very good chiropractor practice in Ashton, which uses Australian techniques, which seem to be different from the usual uk. I had severe chronic back and neck problems, which are mild to non existent now after a course of treatment at the centre some years ago, almost weekly migraines reduced to a few a year, and these usually brought on when I've been carrying heavy boxes and bags, so actually avoidable!

[Southpaw]

Hi VonUk

If you are not in a rush and do got the Roma Rally, I could take my Quechua pop up tent for you to try out before you make any decisions / purchases. It is very good but I have found that as it is only me in the Dimension I don't really need any extra storage unless away for a couple of weeks. It goes up easily, and is ok to put down once you have mastered the act.

Theresa

[VonUK]

Hi VonUk

If you are not in a rush and do got the Roma Rally, I could take my Quechua pop up tent for you to try out before you make any decisions / purchases. It is very good but I have found that as it is only me in the Dimension I don't really need any extra storage unless away for a couple of weeks. It goes up easily, and is ok to put down once you have mastered the act.

Theresa

That's really generous of you, Theresa, thankyou very much for the offer. We would definitely have taken it up, but we actually need something before the Roma Rally. The van has to have the rear door adjusted plus a couple of other small problems sorted out and it is booked in at Freeborn on April 18th. We are driving down the day before and staying at Morn Hill so that we only have a very short journey to Southampton the next morning. As the van needs to be clear of as much stuff as possible so that it can be worked on, we thought the simplest solution would be a small tent that we could leave on the site with our gear left in it for the day. Then we can take the van to Southampton early in the morning and return to Morn Hill with it in the evening, pick up our gear and stay the night before driving back to Greater Manchester.

This afternoon a friend was going to Go Outdoors, so we went too and I got a relatively cheap Hi Gear pop up (£29.99) which I think is similar to the Quechua, we were shown how to fold it up again, and had a couple of goes, it was pretty straightforward, and I think we'll find it useful generally. It's certainly a doodle to erect!! Thanks again for your kind offer, and hopefully we'll see you at Stourport. We'll be the two disorganised ones with a small dog 'helping'

[Tentpeg]

Be careful of the cheaper versions they are not so good..... tried it and LEARNT. Dequecha are excellent, it is my current tent.

[VonUK]

'Cheap' was definitely a risk, but it had been reduced from £49.99. I'm not sure how long it will last but hopefully long enough to justify the outlay whilst we find out whether or not it meets our needs. We only want to store stuff in it overnight or when we're off site, and a popup seems the ideal solution because we can move it onto the MH pitch when we go off site. Whether this particular pop up is up to the job is another matter, we'll no doubt find out in when it's subjected to high winds and torrential rain

[di allen]

If you experience the winds and rain as we did in Northumberland - remember- 9 continuous days and nights- then I reckon you and Jenna will be chasing the pop-up across the road and on to the beach as the wind launches it on to the high seas. You did say you wanted something which would transform in to a boat didn't you?

[jayjay]

'Cheap' was definitely a risk, but it had been reduced from £49.99. I'm not sure how long it will last but hopefully long enough to justify the outlay whilst we find out whether or not it meets our needs. We only want to store stuff in it overnight or when we're off site, and a popup seems the ideal solution because we can move it onto the MH pitch when we go off site. Whether this particular pop up is up to the job is another matter, we'll no doubt find out in when it's subjected to high winds and torrential rain

Sounds like you got a bargain and it's worth a try - I can see why you don't want anything big with a one-nighter stay. Pitch it out of the wind, either at the back or the sides of your MH depending on the wind direction and it should be fine! You could always get a separate storm strap or two! Don't know about the pegs which come with that make, but the gelert ones were tiny and no use at all... get some proper tent pegs if you haven't got any, they aren't very expensive.

Always take your EHU lead with you Von, I've heard of several going missing in this way!

[VonUK]

Sounds like you got a bargain and it's worth a try - I can see why you don't want anything big with a one-nighter stay. Pitch it out of the wind, either at the back or the sides of your MH depending on the wind direction and it should be fine! You could always get a separate storm strap or two! Don't know about the pegs which come with that make, but the gelert ones were tiny and no use at all... get some proper tent pegs if you haven't got any, they aren't very expensive.

Always take your EHU lead with you Von, I've heard of several going missing in this way!

Thanks for the good advice Jayjay, I'll dig out some tent pegs, we have loads from various tents from our tenting days.

Will definitely take your advice re the ehu. We've been lucky so far as I've often left it when we've gone off site, wrapped in a tarpaulin with the table and chairs. Not very sensible really.