We have a 5m bell tent. We've not had it long so we're still working out the best arrangement but here's a summary:
On the left side of the tent inside the door we have a low table with dog crate and small dog underneath and a box of non-perishable food. Clockwise from that we have the wood stove, then a trug of wood, then my box of clothes (each person has a 35l box for clothes). Beside that we have a big family bed made of SIM's and duvets, then DH and kid's boxes of clothes. Beside those is a changing mat on the floor with nappies, wipes etc behind it, then a rubbish bin, then another trug to the right of the door for shoes. We have a clothes line from the ring on the pole to the top of the a-frame for drying any wet clothes. We have thick woollen Belgian and Dutch army blankets on the floor and a reindeer skin and two sheepskins on top of those in the main 'sitting area' at the foot of the bed.
I'll try to put a picture in:
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Thanks so much for the ideas and the pics, it is really useful to see how other people lay out their stuff. Camp beds must be really handy for hiding stuff under! And those rugs and blankets look so cosy.
Wow- lovely tent set ups's.
Shigella- your baby looks well chilled on that bed.
Armchair camper, are those S.I.M's on your campbeds or blankets, where did you buy those from, theyre lovely.
I dont think ill be camping in the rain, as i dont fancy getting my new canvas wet and dirty- might wait till we get some better weather- whenever that might be.
Quote: Originally posted by whippetlover22 on 11/6/2012
Wow- lovely tent set ups's. Shigella- your baby looks well chilled on that bed.
Armchair camper, are those S.I.M's on your campbeds or blankets, where did you buy those from, theyre lovely.
I dont think ill be camping in the rain, as i dont fancy getting my new canvas wet and dirty- might wait till we get some better weather- whenever that might be.
Hi Whippetlover22,
We've got SIMs on the beds - a 7.5cm and a 10cm. I bought fleece blankets from Dunelm Mill and made covers which fold under at the head end and fasten with poppers, leaving the valves accessible at the corners. It's a very cosy arrangement! The sleeping bags are rolled up under the camp beds during the day and the beds double up as seating.
------------- Sarah
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Mmmm!- love it. Good idea, we currently have a double airbed. Considered a while, which may be better -airbed or single campbeds, with S.I.M's. My daughter has a S.I.M and has seen what youve done with yours- might give it a try.
Thanks- lots of good information sharing, and now pining for some half decent weather, so we can get away.
I am loving this forum
My bell tent is a 4m poly tent, however it has the same dimensions as the 4m canvas bell tents.
I have decided that the best way to keep the tent spacious is to keep everything close to the ground. That means the table and chairs are in front of the tent under the tarp, and when it is too cold we just don't use them (my ex-hubby is from Jordan where it is much more common to sit on cushions and matresses, and my mother-in-law was surprized that the Danes take folding tables and chairs with them for a picknick when a rug would suffice!).
I have made an "inner" from cheap sheets which can be folded back for the day. Not only it makes a cozy bedroom at night, but it also hides the clothes bags we store along the tent walls.
The low table is made from an old drawer and hides flat boxes with all the small things you never know where to store. The big box to the right is a very light but stable collapsible box from IKEA, I use it for kitchen stuff.
I can fit a 195cm x 150cm airbed in when I put it with the side to the pole. On the photo however there are 2 SIMs with the end to the pole.
The carpet is made from some fabric normally used for upholstery.
------------- Proud owner of a 1987 Sprite Alpine 370 EK, a cheap popup tent and a beloved retro Trio frame tent from the early seventies, called Giraffen.
We have a 4m Soulpad and the inside arrangements change according to the weather. We mostly have the bed behind the pole (as you walk in)with a large box as the headboard/bedside table at the head end of the bed. This box normally contains the inflatable airbed and bedding, small mat to cover top of box to make it look pretty. The kitchen cupboard goes on the left (quite large with 2 shelves and pockets on the sides), and on the right and centre we have enough space for a table and two chairs if the weather is bad and the shoe area on the right next to the door. Washing line goes from top of the pole with hoop at top and down to A frame above door. If weather good we have table and chairs outside!
Hope this helps.
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Ours is still a work in progress (especially the glamping side of things) and as we don't have a roof box or trailer have to be able to cram anything we take in the car!
The front half of the tent is used as a living area - to one side of the door we have a small table with storage under for food and an inflatable sofa beside that. On the other side of the door we have a cool box which doubles up as a table top and another inflatable sofa beside that. In front of the pole we have a basket, again the top doubles up as a table top, and inside we store all our plates, bowls, cups, cooking utensils, kettle, heater, spare suitcase stove, gas, first aid kit, etc. The back half of the tent has a bedroom inner - we all sleep on SIMS, kids toys are stored in a folding storage, box and all clothes and toilettries are stored in zip up beach bags from Clas Ohlson (similar to nice laundry bags you get from E-bay). Outside we have a cooking table thing (with suitcase stove on top, pots and pans under), folding crate for taking washing up to and from sinks, table and folding chairs. If its wet the folding chairs either end up back in the car or folded up behind the sofa and we take a tarp to cook under. Bags for tent, pegs, poles, sleeping bags, pump, etc all live in the car. Not sure how to add pics so added them to my gallery instead!
You all seem to be so well planned! More storage may be another answer for me. And the inner does help keep the bed area contained well....ours sort of spread over most of the tent....
We have just purchased our 1st 4m Ultimate Bell Tent and Frontier Stove from belltent.co.uk and took delivery Friday. Put it up first thing Saturday morn and slept in it overnight in what can only be described as the most entertaining and interesting of back garden camping experiences!! Lashing rain and wind hit the tent all night, testing our tent pegs and guys to the absolute limit. I knew the weather forecast wasnt great but just couldnt wait!! JUST LOVED IT! It is a completely different experience camping in one of these to any other tent I have ever owned. (My brother and I were brought up on camping in a trailer tent and fondly remember the smell of the canvas, the sound the zip makes...you know what I am talking about I think :O) So - today was 'flu' day and I can honestly say that I hit a brick wall on that one! Were to put the stove? Where to put the bed in relation to the stove? So a big thank you to everyone on these threads. I know where I want it now and how I want the interior to be! Off to make bunting (for the outside) and then cover my chairs to match!! I will be a keen follower of ALL bell tent threads so if anyone can direct me to the one I saw where the lady had made a flap cover for the hole where the flu goes through would you be kind enough to point me in the right ditrection? It was made from the same colour canvas (possibly the spare bit in the bag) and she had used velcro and toggles! Great pics but cant find the thread again :O( Happy Camping Bell Tenters!! xxx
It might have been my photos. Yes, I used the flap from the bag, and a strip from the top of the bag too by the time I'd finished.
I assembled mine slightly differently from the pictures on the Frontier website. They show the cut edges of the fabric around the inside edge of the hole, sandwiched between the sections of the flashing kit. I was afraid it might catch light with the heat from the flue so I pushed the flashing kit up through the hole from beneath, meaning that all the fabric was outside the rubbery bit, well away from the heat.
The inside. That's a piece of calico, which matched quite well. I also put in eyelets for the bolts so they didn't fray the canvas every time I took the flashing kit on and off.
------------- Sarah
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You can buy folding Ottomans, which serve as a storage box and a nice padded seat. I bought four from Buyology, http://www.buyology.co.uk/our-stores and they are £10 each for the single, which we then arrange as a table nest around the pole, but they also do double rectangular ottomans. I thought this was a good idea, so perhaps you will too.
I know this is off topic but looking to organise a meeting for bell tent enthusiasts in South Wales end of August or start of September, replies to the topic link in the meeting up section on this forum.
Gordon
------------- real men shouldn't be crying into their beer, they should be drinking whisky.
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: How do you arrange stuff in a bell tent?
