If you check out any website that sells the tent (including the tent reviews section here) you will normally see a plan of the tent giving it's measurements.
For a campsite to ask for measurements including guy ropes is one of the most stupidest questions I have ever heard and suggests the person asking isn't very familiar with tents.
It depends how far away from the tent you peg them and that may differ according to the location, the room you have, and the slope of the pitch. If they insist just add on about 60cm all round.
I always forget how big ours are and just google them!
I'd be a bit worried about why they need to know the exact dimensions including guys?? check you're not going to be sandwiched in on all corners! It's miserable to be crammed in and not very safe! check site reviews on here that should give you a pretty good idea of how strict the site is on the spaces between tents. ( I may be talking a load of twoddle but thats what I would be concerned about!)
------------- North Wales May 2014
Wirral July 2014
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Thanks! We are going to ulwell cottage parkin swanage. Most reviews I've read are positive. We have been before but with my parents in a caravan, was a long time ago but from what I remember it was nice.
Hi. I have the montana 6p (which is more or less the same as your tent as far as I can tell). It measures about 4m wide by approx 6m long. I didnt measure dimensions with guy ropes but I would probably guess and add approx 2m to the width and 2m to the length (assuming you are pegging the guys out 1m away from the tent footprint all the way around)
Hope this helps (I too would be asking myself why the campsite are being so fussy over the tent dimensions?? Would probably call them back and ask why they want to know. Maybe they just need to allocate a bigger / appropriate sized pitch?)
That explains it. Do a Google Maps satellite view of Ulwell Cottage Caravan site and you will see that pitches are pretty tight. I stayed there once years ago and it was very busy to say the least. A couple of years ago I popped in without booking and was offered a pitch but it would have been too small for my 4 man tent so I had to go elsewhere. It is an extremely expensive site too.
I would forget about any site that wanted to know the size including guylines, they are obviously wanting to pack the tents in without a six metre fire break.
Cant see why anyone would object to giving a campsite the measurements of their tents including guy ropes surely this makes sure everything will fit on the designated pitch
Actually Ulwell is a very nice site and tents are not packed in there are only 26 tent pitches in the main tent area so hardly large but does get booked up quickly. The site is however sloping and pitches have been terraced to be level but this of course has reduced the actual level area of the pitch.
Kate 89 you will have no problems getting your tent on Pitch 60 63 66 59 or 29 as have stayed on all of these with a tent bigger than yours
Post last edited on 18/07/2014 08:08:07
------------- Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
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Quote: Originally posted by arsenaldes on 18/7/2014
Cant see why anyone would object to giving a campsite the measurements of their tents including guy ropes surely this makes sure everything will fit on the designated pitch
No objection but how many people have ever measured the distance between the tent and the guy rope peg...it probably changes every trip. It's a stupid question to ask...they could add a couple of feet on width and length for themselves if they are that concerned people's tents won't fit on their pitches. I am surprised they don't ask how wide the car is
Pretty standard been asked it a few times especially when pitches are fenced or hedged in, 1 metre all round normally covers the guy ropes. Tent manufacturers used to give pitching sizes of their tents in the instructions but non seem to bother now.
Kate89 Ive been to Ulwell a couple of times and its not crammed in some of the pitches are fenced or hedged in for privacy though and some are quite small which is why they are asking
The idea behind asking for tent dimensions is to ensure the tent WILL fit comfortably on the designated pitch and allow a sufficient fire break distance to the unit on the adjoining pitches. In our case, our pitches are of varying shapes and sizes - eg some are only 8m deep but 11m wide, some are 9m x 10m and some are 11m deep. We even have a few that are 15m deep. We have tarmac roads and hedges, it is no point putting a 7m long tent on a 8m pitch as it simply won't fit and you don't want a 7m tent on a 9m pitch as you don't want your tent that close to the roadway. Hence we ask the size for anything 6 berth or bigger. When someone arrives with a larger unit than they had stated it can mean they are unable to pitch all of their equipment (eg if annexes, porches etc) which is not a good start to their holiday. So if a campsite asks for tent dimensions it is for a good reason.
I guess the site's backsides are covered if they ask the customer for the guylines to be included, rather than guess everybody allows a meter all round, or whatever.
Put's the onus on the customer to ensure the site has the correct dims, and less chance of any comebacks.
Makes sense to me, and can fully understand why they do it.
Must admit, I've never been asked that direct question, but have been asked the general "How big" question. I usually reply "5 x 3 plus guys, so I'll need at least 7 x 5 just for the tent, plus we have a large MPV". On occasion, I may also add "We'd also like to add a kitchen tarp to the side, so ideally, we'd need 7 x 8, plus car".
Similarly, I'd like to think that's my backside covered too!
Suffice to add, we have never had a problem as such, although the tightest we've been was France last year.
Bigger tent, and guys were pretty much at the boundary. Luckily the car could be parked outside of the boundary, without affecting others. That was non booked/discussed prior to arrival on spec, so all our own risk!
EDIT:
I notice this thread is struggling to fit us in. Perhaps the mods should have asked us for the dimensions of our posts!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: tent dimensions
I've developed a suspicious mind.... we once had to camp practically on top of tents on either side..wasn't pleasant! 
