What's the largest tent you would tour with?

This is something I have been pondering for awhile. I am 6'4 250 ride a KLR but want a much larger tent. Right now I am using a Eureka Apex 3man tent. While it packs small it's also a PITA for me to move around in. And when I take my wife or one of my kids with me overnight it's way to small..

I would love to find something decent without breaking the bank that I could actually move around it but is still Motorcycle friendly. It can sit across my seat or on my side cases so it can be a bigger tent. I really want something that I can come close to standing up in. That would be perfect. I realize that most companies don't make a tent that is 6'5 tall in the ceiling unless they are more the car camping type family tents. Is there something that I can consider for motorcycle tourning that will get me what I want? 3 Season would be nice. Not interested in the Teepee type Kirafu or whatever they are, just a normal pole style tent. Also I don't need a parking garage for my bike. I know it's cool but not necessary for me and I am wanting to keep my price down to a KLR budget. lol...

So what's out there? I need on this coming weekend for a camping trip with my boys.

I like the inflatable tent by Nemo but solve the space issue with a tarp. These catenary cut tarps pack to about the size of half a loaf of bread.

I like the tarp idea but in the desert where the wind blows they are useless. For me at least. I don't want to wake up with sand in my sleeping bag and ears if I don't have to.

The Nemo tent is smaller than my current setup. I am looking for a larger tent. Possibly a 4-6 person tent with tall ceiling. That's what I am wondering about...

You might do good with two small tents rather than one big one. THese teepee type tents have good standing room and weigh less than 3#.

I like the idea of the Teepee style tents but I prefer a free standing. Problem with the tents that require all the stakes is that it seems wherever I camp the ground is either to soft that the stakes pull right out or the ground is to hard to get anything into it. I'm looking for freestanding.. And something with a floor.

I'm only 6' tall, but it seems to me that most tents (and high end camping equipment in general) are built around people of fairly small builds.

For what you're asking for (space), get a 4-man tent like the bigger REI domes, Kelty or North Face domes, things like the Eureka Timberline4. The GoLite Shangri-la 5 picture above is massive, and I'd love to own one again, but I too find freestanding designs to be of importance. I currently make do with a walmart Ozark Trail 7x7 tent and sleep diagonally, they make a 9x7 version for a few dollars more that might fit your bill. Or learn to carry less stuff and make do with a smaller tent.

The largest tent I would tour solo with is what I have now. Easy to set up quickly, cheap to replace, and durable. Plenty of room for me and my gear, and could probably easily fit me and my girlfriend if we were ever to ride on a trip together. More isn't always more though, and it depends on what you mean by 'tour'. Going from campground to campground, state forest or the like, week after week, I'd keep what I have. Moving more off-road and remote, I'd move towards a bivy and tarp particularly if solo. Moving towards having a base camp and exploration, I'd move bigger... to a cabin tent and or an RV.

How about the Motorcycle tent by Redverz Gear. Seems pretty spacious... http://www.redverz.com/

The Browning Greystone is a very nice 4 man free standing clip style crossed pole tent.

Made very well with oversize zippers and quality fabric, but all this does add up to 10# 4 oz. At about $150.00 off amazon I really like this tent, and do carry it on my KLR 650 as well as in my car for week long trips.

My hips no longer tolerate sleeping on a foam pad. Picked up a REI 1/4 Dome T3 for cheep at their garage sale 5# 7oz. Saved enough weight to carry an air mattress, although the tent is a little short. A better size is the REI 1/4 3T Plus, BUT at 400.00 a might pricey.

Browning is 52 inches tall and REI is 44 inches.

I have two tents. One for backpacking and me carrying the load, the other and my main go-to motorcycle tent is the Redverz. I am your size, so like you I get tired of crawling around in a small tent when I am on the road with full gear. Don't get sucked into the whole "I don't want my bike falling on my at night" argument that comes up. Rarely do I park the GS inside--but if the weather really sucks or I don't like the surroundings it is sure nice to have everything out of sight. That big vestibule is great for storing gear or just hanging out.

It is a great tent but it is also big and heavy. I carry it along with the stakes and poles in a large Ortlib dry bag. I can also stuff most of my other sleeping gear in there as well (as long as things are dry going in). On the GS it works fine...not sure on a KLR.

All I know is that after a long day on the road when I am tired and beat up, it is sure nice to have a place to stretch out and be comfortable. To me the Redverz is more than worth the trouble.

When I camp, I sleep in my tent. Everything else is done outside
My concern with big tents isn't the size on the bike but the hassle setting them up and packing back up every day.
I suppose if I used it as a base camp, it might be different.

Remember that if you go with a big tent and don't stake it down, it might not be there when you come back :eek1 I've watched a few fly away in heavy winds. Even when they don't fly away, they tend to get damaged poles in high wind.

at 6'2 and ~300lbs, I fit well in a "2 man" but nobody else but my 3 year old daughter can join me.

I think you may like this tent a lot

There is a ton of room in that tent, and although heavier than many tents used on bikes, it is not the heaviest and packs surprisingly small IMO.

I looked at several tents with large vestibules and the Expedition II made most sense to me.

BTW, the built quality is outstanding

Cheers,

you've already got the ideal tent layout (free standing, high ceiling, easy setup, stable, etc).. but following the rule of going down one person. your 3 man tent is really sized for two.

you'd probably be happy with same tent in a 4 person size. which is really sized for 3 ... make sure you get aluminum poles. quite a difference in weight/strength... note tent below has fiberglass poles. you want the aluminum pole version.

huge internal volume difference between a 3 man dome vs 4 man dome tents.

Eureka Tetragon 4 Tent: 4-Person 3-Season $134.95

Check out the extended length REI tents . Once in a while there is a bargin in the outlet . I have an extra long 3 person tent that works well for me. And it is with in a pound of a lot of one person tents .

I am taking a Nemo Asashi 4 person tent with me to the overland expo next week. I have a Morpho 1p that I used when going to Alaska. But, since I will be there for a few days I thought I would try the bigger tent. That would give me room to stand up and move around a little.

Think its overkill?

My rally tent:



It is a 12 man tent. Very nice to have all that room, and it packs pretty small.

I don't tent when on multi-day rides, too hard to set-up and break down every day, and too much wasted time I could be riding.

Jim

Being a firefighter, you should already be aware of the Catoma firefighter tents. I use a Falcon, which would probably be a little tight for you but a friend has another model that is larger & he can stand up in it. You might be close,but still better than most tents that you can carry on a bike.

Take a look at those....

Regarding tents for "taller people" - most tent makers think that a tent for the average person only needs to be 200cm long or just slightly longer. This is completely ridiculous as most tents have sloped walls, that leave you only 180cm (6') or so to work with unless you want to hit the tent wall all the time.

We have a MSR HubbaHubba which is fairly okay for motorcycle trips for one person. For two it's even tight when backpacking - it's absolutely frigging ridiculous to say that this is a two person tent. It's a 1.5 person tent for good weather.

We also have a Hilleberg Keron 3 for two person bike camping, which is an absolutely awesome tent with only two downsides: super expensive and not free standing. But 4 tent pegs is all that's needed to set it up for normal weather, like this (inside is full height over 86 inches inside length and 63 inches width):



You can use 18 pegs if the shit hits the fan - or a storm the campground. I have waited out thunderstorms with REALLY high winds in that thing. Unfortunately often with additional people inside because their POS "6 person free standing full height tent" was ripped apart within about 2 minutes of real wind coming up. The Keron held up without even blinking. When looking at the forecast we had put all tent stakes in and strapped it down tight, wasn't even thinking about it during the storm - we were cozy and dry inside.

I have done camping with people in those "house replacement tents", the large ones for people who can't put their pants on while sitting on the ground ... But have seen too many bad experiences from friends seeking shelter in my tent after being hit by bad weather.

My recommendation would be a MSR MothaHubba or something of that size. Forget the standing up thing - get a motel room if you need that. Standing room in a tent compromises the stability a lot because you create large "sails" for the wind to attack you, long poles bend and break much easier, it's not fun anymore.

The best compromise is a tent that comfortably sleeps the number of people you're planning for (# of people x ~27 inches width and calculate the length based on how vertical the walls are - plan for 85 inches or more) + a nice and large tarp that you can take down easily when high wind comes up but gives all the standing and moving around room anybody needs. Get dressed there. The world will survive seeing you (I hope ... )

I have had the Eureka Timberline 2 man and 4 man tents. I liked them both. Too heavy for backpacking, but fine for motorcycle camping. Once you get the sequence right, they are super easy to set up and take down. Also easy to pick up and move around. The 4 man is pretty spacious.

Here ya go.

REI Half Dome 2 Plus works for me (6'3"), my wife (5'8") and two 40 lb cattle dogs when we go backpacking. Since the walls are so vertical, you can seat an adult in each corner for a game of cards. It will be snug, but doable. Probably not the best tent ever, but it is about 1/5 the cost of a Hilleberg! KLR budget, after all. Wait for an REI sale or coupon and they can be had for under $150 IIRC. Maybe soon?

If you can ride motorcycle, you can learn to put your pants on while sitting down. Maybe try the half dome 3 for you & the boys?