I have a fairly big tent its the Vango Yukon 800, Sept last year I went to Llandow camsite in Wales because the British Drift Championship was on at the rtace track there. We had booked the pitch well in advance of going and they were advised on the size of our tent everything was hunky doory.
Well when we arrived and booked in, and when I mentioned my name the guy said " Oh your the ones with the huge tent, not sure we are going to accomodate that" or words to that effect. I replied that I informed you at the time of booking & you said everything was all booked and fine.
After a few minutes of hummin and haring, he got the guy to show us to our pitch, well I was dissgusted, there was a big hole in the middle of the pitch which was full of water, so I said to the guy, " I'm certainly not putting a tent there, you can forget it" he muttered something under his breath in response and took us to the lower part of the site which was more of a grass area. When we got down there it was completely water logged and a real quagmire. We endede up with a drainage gully running down the middle of the tent & the pitches weren't even marked out. Thankfully I was only there 2 nights, but I can assure you I will never be back.
The campsite manager had the ordassity (excuse the spelling) to moan about the size of my tent when he didn't have any pitches marked out in the first place. The cleanliness of the place was absolutely dreadful too, the loos stank of wee, and the showers looked like they hadn't been cleaned all year.
OMG that it outrageous! Sounds like a shoddy outfit all round no matter what your oufit though. Have you put up a review?
I was thinking about this as I parked my car earlier - I don't expect to pay less when I park my focus than when I park my husbands mondeo or for that matter my father in law's S max. Just a thought. I think Micras and Ka's and Smart Cars should pay extra for the tease factor - you know when you think there is a space and you start to make the turn only to find that there is a little teeny car in the way!
That has happened to me so many times as I drive a Peugeot 407 estate for all the camping gear...And as you say, you just get halfway turned to find this piddly little car sitting right tucked in.
I haven't left a review yet, but I certainly will do though
Still PMSL at The Tease Factor, maybe ITV will make a show about this ...
I've got a fiesta and i still pull it all the way back cos that is what i was used to doing with the mondeo and then when i come back i can't find it cos it's tucked right into the parking space lol
Sorry had to join in this when i read the thread. We have 3 tents, 2 x 2 man and a 5 birth Vanga Colarado and there are just 2 of us. I would like to think that site owners would look at the safety side of things, ie a very large tent on a single pitch being too close to the pitch next door. Privacy etc is another thing. For this reason, I think it is acceptable to charge for 2 pitches. I admit we enjoy any available space around our pitch but would feel agrieved if I felt I was being "pitched upon" by any size unit but especially a v large tent. Another issue on pitches where cars are allowed is where do the cars get parked if the tent takes up all/most of the pitch. So I have no issue with any size of unit but consideration to all campers is a must to ensure everyone enjoys there precious time away.
I have a large tunnel tent (pic on profile). It is supposedly a four berth, with one big bedroom and loads of living space, and it's only me using it! I do make sure that the person arranging the pitches knows how big it is, and yes do feel a little embarrased by the footprint - it could cover my car...!
However...
When camping with my friends at New Wine and Greenbelt last year my kitchen unit was used by those around with dinky tents (no point them struggling at their doorways in the rain, and a kettle full of water is just as easy to boil as a cupfull) the available seating area inside for shelter, or the canopy area for shade was shared, and I also need room to park my PowerTrike (wheelchair-scooter-thingy that looks like a little Harley).
I have never pitched on a comercial site though, but I can appreciate if the available space is limited that I might encroach on another's space.
can i just add that with 4 kids and a baby, we are now looking at a larger tent as our 9 man tent is no longer adaquate, we are not after seperate bedrooms to store the bags in, purely to store the kids in!!
i have seen smaller 3 man tents with 2-3 windbreaks, gazebo, utility tent, trailer on car, bikes scattered around.........
..........do these people get charged more for 'sprawl space'
we try not to take up any more room then the tent and car, and in fact have been on numerous occassions when our 'footprint' is a lot smaller then others!
My Lichfield is a monster and never had a problem in four years camping with it, just inform site what we have and be honest, never been refused, although occasionally pitching has been a bit "tight"
We have a sunncamp vario 600 plus for 2 of us and a large dog which does give us loads of room if there are 2 of us but is extremely useful if we go away with friends which we often do. Last August in Bristol for the ballon festival there were our 4 friends in their 5 man tent and us in our 600 plus. On 1 day it rained all day. All of us, including the dog were comfortably accomodated in our tent all day with no problem. If we had a smaller tent we would have both been sitting, cramped in our own seperate tent. We also have an evolution 400 for shorter breaks.
We have never had a problem with the size of our tent and getting a pitch but I think a sliding scale would be a good way of ensuring there is something for everyone.
Quote: Originally posted by linny2008 on 15/4/2009
Hiya All
I am getting a wee bit fed up of all this aggro surrounding large tents. I have a large tent and I wouldn't want anything smaller. We looked at tunnel tents and we decided that we didn't want one in polyester and couldn't afford one in polycotton so we have gone for a central dome design with sleeping pods attached. It felt more substantial than the tunnel tents in the same fabric, has the space we need as I don't sleep well if I am too close to the little man and it was a design we had tried and tested. It's our choice, it was done deliberately and I just feel like there are people who are either planning to exploit this or think of it as slightly greedy and not in the right camping frame of mind.
Personally, I can see the advantages to having a large tent and I can also see the disadvantages. There were definately times over Easter when I wished we had a smaller unit, likewise there were times when I was glad of the space. There was a family next to us with 2 tiny tents, 3 roll mats, 3 sleeping bags and a stove and I was in awe and wonder at their efficiency and kit but it's just not me, not us!
I don't mind being charged a little extra for the priviledge of owning a tent with a large footprint but I think double is completely excessive! I don't mind phoning round to find sites that can fit us in. But I am not going to feel guilty or made to feel like I have less right to be there because of our unit choice. I mean its only a 6 man tent fgs not a marquee and while I would love to be camping in one of the polycotton lovelies we coveted until we can afford one we are in the next best thing for us.
The good news is of the 3 campsites we have tried to book into with a large tent exactly NONE of them have taken any kind of umbridge or charged us extra.
Does anyone else with a large tent feel like this or am I completely seeing something that doesn't exist?
Linny
Where have you been charged double for your tent, Linny?
I think these extra charges originally applied when there was an expectation the tent might perhaps extend into another pitch area (as someone has already said, no-one wants someone elses guylines extending onto their pitch). Apart from anything else, it is a bit invasive and increases fire risks by cutting down the minimum requirement between units. That said, I've noticed recently at a site recently that an additional charge is made if the tent 'extends over 6m in any one direction'. That means that even our relatively compact Biscaya vis a vis falls into the 'premium size tent bracket', at 6.6m x 3.2m, and many (most?) other family tents will do, too.
I like the French system best; where you pay for your pitch and 2 adults then a supplement for any other people, rather than you choose to put on your pitch. I feel that once you have paid per person it's up to you whether you choose to use one big tent or several small ones.
The option of a standard or large pitch (at a reasonable supplement) sounds good, too, since then at least you are getting something more for your money, rather than just being penalised for having a bigger tent and having to cram onto a regular pitch.
I guess it also depends on whether the pitches are marked out, or not (and suspect, if not, then it will all even itself out anyway, since there will always be as many little tents as big tents, surely?).
As for feeling 'guilty', or that you have 'less right to be there', what is that all about? Heck, go for the tent which suits you best! I reckon that, just as with favourite types of tent, we all find the types of campsite which suit us best as well, so just avoid those ones which are a bit too keen on their pricing policy and a bit too mean with their pitch sizes and make it work for you...
We haven't stayed at sites with defined pitches so it hasn't been a problem for us (as yet!). I suggest you stay at sites where there are no set boundaries. Our tent is quite large but we try to contain our outdoor living space to compensate. Some smaller outfits set up with additional windbrakes/gazebos etc. so may take up a lot of space anyway! With regard to the marked boundary type of site, however I do think that these sites have to move with the times and if family camping is becoming more popular, and therefore large tents are too, then the traditional pitch sizes may need to be extended!
Tent size shoudlnt be an issue at all , I think pitch sizes are far too tiddly and small in general .
i dont like being too close to others tents and its un neccessary except for site owner greed .
I think that the expected norm should be far greater than even the C and C rules for pitching and I would preffer a marked box boundary pitch ( just four corners with set in flagstones in ground or something similar )
The only problem is that sites have spaces too close and im not even a fan of those monster tents either but all tents should be able to fit in a decent sized pitch with ease unless they belong to Billy Smart
i think pitch sizes haven't moved on in general, same with facilities though.
For me, camping is moving on size/equipment and styles of camping are all changing with more luxury coming into the market. Hopefully this willl be addressed. Its a long way from the old a frame crawl in tents modern camping and this needs reflecting in the pitch sizes and facilities in my opinion.
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Topic: I refuse to feel guilty about large tent!
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