I am in similar circumstances, with a husband with disabilities which means that I have to be able to manage a tent solo. I am a seasoned camper though with 30 years of experience, and I would say that one of the things I learned is to check the overall weight of a tent, because there is a limit to what I can lift in and out of the car. I am a reasonably fit and strong woman of 5'6", and can do this with tents up to about 20kg. Above that weight I have to split it into two bags. That is what has put me off air tents, they are bulky and cannot be separated out into smaller packs.
I agree with the early recommendation that a tunnel tent could be your best bet for a tent within your budget. It is the shape that gives you the maximum space for it's weight, though it is less stable than other designs and is not free-standing; it does rely on being properly guyed out for maximum stability and weather resistance. I have found a tunnel shape fairly easy to learn to manage, and with practice and top tips ( like the video from Gary Cross) you will be able to manage one. .
I would advise against buying a manmade tent second hand. The fabric degrades in sunlight and only has a lifetime of 20 weeks exposure. Therefore a second hand tent may have little or no useable life left; and the poles could be weak and cracked, depending on how it has been cared for and what weather it has experienced. A second hand tent may be a bargain, but it can also be a gamble.
So, with those points in mind I think you need to be looking for a new 6 berth tunnel tent. I did some searching in order to give my nephew some advice recently and saw the Gelert Horizon 6 ( on Amazon at £225). It has good reviews on here ( scoring 9 out of 10) and it's a reputable make.
And I utterly understand what you mean about your husband still needing to be useful. I have learned that it is best for us to have practice runs and work out who does what. There are lots of bits where he can help, but having a good routine you have developed together will take out the potential stress points.
Good luck with your search...
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Quote: Originally posted by foggers on 22/1/2016I would advise against buying a manmade tent second hand. The fabric degrades in sunlight and only has a lifetime of 20 weeks exposure. Therefore a second hand tent may have little or no useable life left; and the poles could be weak and cracked, depending on how it has been cared for and what weather it has experienced. A second hand tent may be a
Venustc I hope you don't mind me jumping in here (don't want to hijack the thread or anything), but foggers is this true? Anything man made only last 20 weeks, that has to be wrong.
Quote: Originally posted by Alloneword on 22/1/2016
Quote: Originally posted by foggers on 22/1/2016I would advise against buying a manmade tent second hand. The fabric degrades in sunlight and only has a lifetime of 20 weeks exposure. Therefore a second hand tent may have little or no useable life left; and the poles could be weak and cracked, depending on how it has been cared for and what weather it has experienced. A second hand tent may be a
Venustc I hope you don't mind me jumping in here (don't want to hijack the thread or anything), but foggers is this true? Anything man made only last 20 weeks, that has to be wrong.
All1
Hi there. Manmade fabric is made water resistant by giving it a PU coating on the inside. The bond between the two layers degrades in UV light, so exposure to sunlight slows causes the tent to lose the proofing, and the silicone reproofing you can apply on the outside does not address that problem. The strength of sunlight has an effect on the speed of degradation. So the more feeble UK sunlight means you can use a tent every year for about three weeks ( e.g. A fortnight holiday and a few weekends away) and the tent should be good for 6-7 years. But if you are heading off to the Med, the tent will not last as long.
There are old threads on here about the subject here
I would have said you were crazy making that statement, but you and others on here know WAY more then me, seems i may have to rethink my own budget, oh well thanks for the info foggers and sorry for taking over a wee bit Venustc.
All1
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Quote: Originally posted by Alloneword on 22/1/2016
I would have said you were crazy making that statement, but you and others on here know WAY more then me, seems i may have to rethink my own budget, oh well thanks for the info foggers and sorry for taking over a wee bit Venustc.
All1
Oh I AM quite crazy....... but I still know me stuff when it comes to tents!!!!
I'm currently looking for a cheap air tent but big enough for a family, I am thinking of the vango solaris 6 from Winfield as its £399 but they currently have a deal on for £5 back for every £50 spent so more towards 350 plus 0 % finance for 10 months. Also I read the canopy will just fold back easily if you dont want to put it up so can be done the next day or after a few hours rest.
Quote: Originally posted by DonzyB on 23/1/2016
I'm currently looking for a cheap air tent but big enough for a family, I am thinking of the vango solaris 6 from Winfield as its £399 but they currently have a deal on for £5 back for every £50 spent so more towards 350 plus 0 % finance for 10 months. Also I read the canopy will just fold back easily if you dont want to put it up so can be done the next day or after a few hours rest.
Ha! We have JUST bought this ourselves (but from a different site! Same price though!). :)
------------- Clare
July 16 - Teifi Meadows, Lampeter
July 16 - Mid Wales Bunkhouse, Rhayader
---------
August 14 - Private location
August 14 - Ton Uchaf Farm, Abergavenny
July 14 - Hillfort Tipis, Goodwick
April 14 - Mid Wales Bunkhouse, Rhayader
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Hi Clare
What do you think of it? I'm going to see it this weekend, we also have a frontier 6 which I love but it's too heavy for me to put up on my own. I'm looking for something slightly smaller but still comfortable with space and quicker to put up as a weekend tent!
Donna
Quote: Originally posted by DonzyB on 25/1/2016
Hi Clare
What do you think of it? I'm going to see it this weekend, we also have a frontier 6 which I love but it's too heavy for me to put up on my own. I'm looking for something slightly smaller but still comfortable with space and quicker to put up as a weekend tent!
Donna
Can't really give a review yet! It's not even arrived and it's unlikely we'll pitch it before June! lol But that's why we bought it - so I could put it up on my own! We've been spoilt with the Kalahari 10 from GoOutdoors, so space was an issue for us, and for this size tent, the space seems pretty good. Plus it has the benefit of the built in shelter at the front......
------------- Clare
July 16 - Teifi Meadows, Lampeter
July 16 - Mid Wales Bunkhouse, Rhayader
---------
August 14 - Private location
August 14 - Ton Uchaf Farm, Abergavenny
July 14 - Hillfort Tipis, Goodwick
April 14 - Mid Wales Bunkhouse, Rhayader
Also check out camping world the have the kampa brean 6 at a bargin price off £150 its has 2 large bedrooms and the are also offering the matching carpet for £24. The tent only has 3 poles plus one for the canapony so should be to hard to put up.
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
I would also recommend the Brean 6 especially at that price.
About UV degradation there is a brush on product from fabsil that is a proofer but also has a UV absorber that can protect the fabric from the sun.
Another thing to consider with UV degradation is the denier of the polyester i.e 75D or 150D etc as this will make a difference also.
i have a 5 man vango icarus 500. its got 2 bedrooms, living area. its a tunnel tent, stand up height. i`m a diddly 5ft 2 and i had a mild TBI (brain injury) too, so i can see where your hubby`s coming from! (mines healed mostly though). BUT when i was still a bit "dippy" i could put this up by myself. tunnel tents all go up the same really, so the gary cross video is a good one to follow. i think a simple tunnel tent would be easiest if airbeams are over budget. it doesn`t have to be as tall as the icarus to make it even easier! something like the vango omega.....? we had a gamma 450 which is the old version of this and it was simple one to put up?
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Topic: Tent advice needed to save my sanity!
