Sleep inside or outside ?

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154
Texas
Looking for reasons someone would choose a tent over sleeping inside a trailer. Cost? Preferences? Fun? Tow vehicle limitations? Towing tight places? It just seems like an easy decision to me but I've never slept in a roof top tent. Seems like inside is the obvious choice. Thoughts?
 

TerryD

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Covington, Virginia, USA
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Terry
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There's a lot of factors. We have a 10 man tent for our family of 5. A camper big enough to fit us all would cost as much as my house and I'm not doing that until I convince the wife we don't need a house. :grinning:

I have a hammock and tarp setup to use when I'm solo and a 4 man tent when there's just a couple of us.

I got both tents and my hammock rig for less than a camper that's ready to use and I don't have to buy tires, tags, inspection or insurance on them!

Maybe a camper in the future, but not at this time.
 

Jeff Graham

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I'm a ground tent person. I like to keep my load light, for mobility. I don't carry as much stuff as most. I think that it comes from my Military or Backpacking background. Now that I do more Overlanding, I still keep my load light. Since I have a Jeep JK Unlimited, with a notoriously low GVWR, this works out just fine. I'm perfectly happy with my ultralight Overlanding camp setup. A comfortable camp is always relative. I have a lot more comfort items, compared to when I carried everything on my back. This approach has the side benefit of reduces breakage on the vehicle, by not exceeding loads the vehicles was designed to handle.
 
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ohiowrangler

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Newark, Oh
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Ron
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As I'm getting older(60+) I can sleep on the ground, but it takes longer to recover. I prefer to sleep in a tent on a cot, or in the back of my truck on a raised platform. old age sucks, I won't quit, Ron
 

Rubiconcruiser

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So Georgia
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BEARS. The number one reason you sleep in an RTT vs a ground tent vs inside a trailer. Inside a trailer you are trapped. You've got foodstuff there not good . In an RTT you've got a revenge platform if necessary. Back to the rig. Ok keep the food out. Think about these things. My trailer is essentially bear proof as are a lot of them. I've been visited by the Calif brown bear on several trips. And they manage to leave me alone. So I consider myself fortunate.


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Jean Klaude The Jeep

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Lexington, Henderson County, Tennessee, United States
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Jason
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Shelby
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For the camping trips we do now as a family I camp in a ground tent with a cot, me and the wife are planning on June-July overland trips just the two of us in the near future as the kids get older. We are trying to decide between RTT and a trailer? Both have their Pros and Cons, good thing we got a little time to decide.


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2infinity&beyond

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Advocate III

1,346
Livermore, CA
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I currently am rocking an RTT on my truck. I love it and so does the wife. But we both have qualms with it and that once you are setup, you are semi-stuck. This is great if you aren't needing the truck for a trail run or go somewhere. But I want to be able to set up camp and leave it while I go do trail runs. Plus I too am not getting younger and the idea of sleeping in an inclosed space sounds nice, especially in snowy conditions. Plus I like the idea of having the trailer (if I do get one it will be a teardrop) all loaded up and ready to go at the drop of a dime, just add food.

I know that sounds confusing.

Top contenders for me right now are the Recon from TeardropsNW, a Moby1 XTR, or Inka Outdoor Venture OHV.