For many a year the family and myself have been sleeping under synthetic fabric in the form of a tent on our camping holidays/ weekends.
Now the good lady of the family has decided she would like a trailer tent.
We are planning a visit to Camperlands at the weekend for a quick shifty round, I have done some homework using the tinterweb but can I ask you educated lot on here for the in's and out's of a trailer tent.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of them.
Thanks
Don't know how much you have to spend but Cabanon and Sunncamp have a few tt's with Zip in groundsheets. You might be able to get a secondhand cabanon but i think the zig on the Sunncamp are new this year.
If you aren't bothered by not having a sig then Conway are a popular make of tt. Just make sure the canvas is in good condition, check the pressure points and make sure the trailer is in good condition. For safety just make sure you get the tyre's changed. A braked trailer is better than one without :)
For me the draughts from the gaps meant i didn't take to our tt. Maybe with a zig i'd have liked it better. The beds off the ground were lovely :)
Went to Camperlands last weekend, there are about a dozen secondhand trailers on display, but plenty more in stock. There are numerous makes on display for you to look around too. The staff are very knowledgeable and will advise you if you tell them what you want the trailer for.
A Zip in gound shet is a bonus for keeping out the bugs and the worst of the wet and windy weather, but can be a trip hazard.
If there is not much storage space in the tent when folded (they say there is loads in the Camp-let, but there isn't) make sure you have got either a luggage rack on the trailer or a top box on your car to take all the other stuff.
Check the beds as some are very hard and not as comfy as an airbed, we buy slats from Ikea to put under our matress for extra comfort.
Ask about ease of set up and time as some TT's can take hours before you are sitting down with a drink from unhooking the TT on your pitch.
As above is buying second hand don't buy anything that smells even the slightest musty as there could be mould somewhere on the canvas, also check if it has windows that there is some kind of curtain didn't do this with our first one.
Kitchens, some come with a kitchen that hooks on to the trailer and some have no kitchen you just need to ensure that if you have to set up a seperate kitchen again that you have plenty of space to transport it.
Check for bed ventilation as if there is little bed ventilation the mattresses can get quite damp in the night and with the british weather can take ages to dry off.
Ensure that the living area is big enough for you what you need it for so think about a really miserable evening when you will all have to huddle inside, will you all fit in there comfortably with all of the other camping stuff
Having camped for several years using our trusty sunncamp 350SE we eventually moved on to a Pennine FC. The advantages of the trailer tent are the kitchen unit, & the generous off ground double beds we also fully enjoyed the large awning which with the sunncamp made for a very cosy retreat in the cooler evenings. Towing was a doddle and of course storage in a garage easy. We used to worry about having to pack away when wet but when this did happen on one occassion we found it no problem to get all that canvas dry as long as ytou can find good weather on arrival home or find somewhere covered to open it all out to dry.
Disadvantages for us was the length of time it would take to set it all up. Which if you are not fit and young can be quite a chore. There is a lot of pegging out & the kitchen units and awning poles are heavy. You could just set up the cabin section for short or overnight stays but with ours we had to store the awning down the center so this wasnt ideal
Despit that I still have fond memories of our TT days
Some good tips there. I figured on the musty smells etc and iffy windows and of course the trailer bit, the draughts I had not given a thought. In a way you are giving me second thoughts although having spoken to owners last week they all loved them, I am weighing up the expense (no budget so far) against what we have already etc etc etc.
Thanks for your valued replies.
Saw the Camperlands advert on the Caravan Channel on Sunday and it said they are having an end of season sale, but you probably know that anyway if you're going there.
We got our Camplet Royal from Camperland in February and love it.Yes it was expensive but ,I am able to put it up myself in less than half an hour and that includes pegging out on hardstanding!the kitchen is attatched to the trailer and swings out into position so nothing heavy to lift, the beds are really comfy,the tent itself has well enough room for 4.The anex is great as we use this for storage and put the toilet in there for the kids,or you can use it as another double bedroom[with airbeds].We have been in torrential rain and sleet and its never let us down with leaks.It also looks good!
Having seen a few Sunncamp trailers which look very dark and dated and a Cabanon which looked on the verge of colapse on our hols last week Im even more sure we made the best decision to spend the extra on the Camplet.
We bought our Cabanon Stratos from there last year at app. £4000, it has a zip in groundsheet, but no kitchen (we have all that already).
The good points - 1/ You can store all of your equipment in it , and a storage box on the front makes it even roomier for storage. 2/ Hook up and off you go, and towing isn't an issue. 3/ Beds off the ground (memory foam mattress recommended)4/ Main trailer is up in 15 mins. 5/ Massive amounts of space. 5/ No worries in stormy conditions, solid as a rock. 6/ You can just use the trailer if you go away for a long weekend and take a utility tent. This way you can book a hardstanding if raining and boggy.
The bad points - 1/ Drying the thing if it's wet, when you get home !!
I'm heading off to Camperlands sometime this week. Been to JR Leisure today at Don Amott in Hilton and children were liking the Pennine and Conway folding campers but they didn't have any TTs on display. I did expect folding campers to have more comfortable beds as I've been doing homework about TTs and most of the new ones seem to have slatted beds these days. I'm thinking of probably a Trigano Olympe at the moment but till I've seen more in the flesh i've got an open mind. Don't know if it's best to be thinking of buying now or waiting till next years models come on the market as we won't be needing it till next Easter as we're booked in with the tent for the rest of this year's hols.
If you buy now you can get the end of season bargains. New stock usually comes out about October time, so at the moment the dealers are trying to make room for the new stock.
If you buy now you can get the end of season bargains. New stock usually comes out about October time, so at the moment the dealers are trying to make room for the new stock.
If you buy now you can get the end of season bargains. New stock usually comes out about October time, so at the moment the dealers are trying to make room for the new stock.
Had a tt - easy to tow and store but lots of work to put up and a nightmare for me to dry out if packed away wet (i was unlucky and it went away wet more often than not), as i have nowhere to set it up to dry at home due it its amazing size (a bonus on site but a pain when you need to dry it out). Swapped it for a fc - much easier to put up but much more cramped but could camp without awning if it was not needed. Loads more equipment and warmer/less 'damp air' when camping in the usual rain! Again drying out was a pain so we swapped for a big 6 birht caravan! This is still a little cramped compared to the tt, but has more space than the fc. Plus it does not matter if it rains, central heating, double glazing, oven, hob, fridge/freezer, tv aerial, loadsa storage, loo and shower, gas or electric for hot water and fridge and heating makes this the perfect unit for me. But it is not so much fun to tow - with every good point comes a bad point lol. None of these campers were better or worse just different - make a decision and give it a try - if you dislike trade in and get another one that you will enjoy more! Maybe even consider a proper tent - cheap, easy to store and care for but less easy to put up but really big if you want... Decisions decisions lol
------------- Why am i doing this instead of camping??!!
We bought a conway cruiser folding camper last year, best thing we ever did! Fully fitted kitchen with cooker, grill, sink and fridge. Electrically pumped cold water and main cabin is set up by one person in 15mins! any my wife is only 5ft 4.
Whilst the missus sorts out the inside and gets the kettle on i can get the awning which doubles the living space) up in 40mins.
As for zip in groundsheets, not sure it they are breathable, these days most sites require you to have a breathable groundsheet to proctect the grass.
FC's ... in my opinion, are far better than TT where you have to put up the kitchen area separate and better than caravan as you have far less trouble towing.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Advice and opinions please on TT`s
