Camping is fun. Without a doubt it's one of the best activities to do especially around the great company of friends that enjoy it with you. The inherent downside in camping is setting up the friggin tents. I have been fortunate that my sig other doesn't mind helping me setting up/down the tent but it is regardless a chore. So I'm lazy but you do understanding that sometimes you just want to stop and just sleep right away. Setting up a tent really defeats the purpose of the quick in and out concept. Of course it doesn't take a lot of time setting it up or down but it does take a bit of surveying the location for a flat spot as well as shelter from the elements (sun/wind/etc).
So over the last few trips especially my last trip, we encountered quite a few trailers either in a rtt (roof top tent) fashion or your run of the mill tent trailer (pop up, a frame, 5th wheel... you name it) and that got us thinking. Actually we've been talking about something like this for some time now... well just Bob to be specific. We both enjoy camping but when you have to bring additional loved ones it really does make it a bit more challenging as you really want to provide the best quality in the outdoors adventure as well as accommodate for your little/big 4 legged buddies.
With this in mind I've been openly considering a trailer (pref a Kimberly Kamper!). Right now is probably not the best time to be investing in a travel tent trailer but some of the deals and steals I've found on CL (craigslist) has definitely been attractive.
Here's my open requirement on what I'd like to see:
Tent trailer (no rtt cuz it makes it hard to get the dogs in and out which pretty much rules out Adventure Trailers, Military trailers and such)
Pref Offroad version such as the Kimberly Kampers (those things are awesome!!)
Off the ground tent so everyone can sleep well
Easy configuration (i.e. max setup time of 2 min at most)
cheap (haha Had to throw this in here for kicks)
Sleeps min 4 and a dog or two (more the better)
Kitchen and Toiletry stuff is not required
Ability to stand tall and change instead of the bent over position that really does a number of my back. This is a really big importance because Jenn and Justin (JnJ) brough their RV to the 2007 Pismo event and man was it really nice to just walk inside and sit and relax away from the outside elements!
... sounds like I should pick up an old Fleetwood Evolution Cobalt or something similar? Anyone got one for sale for dirt cheap (say free?). I know that all of the cabinetry inside would have to be rebuilt or removed cuz they're worthless once you hit the dirt as they all fall apart (based on my readings on other camping forums).
I know a number of you have these similar tent trailers and want to get your feed back on these suckers. If you don't have this specific one but maybe a mil trailer that's fine too! I understand that the Coleman and other tent trailers are not suited for the hardcore offroading stuff but in all honesty I just don't see myself taking a trailer to places like this so it really doesn't matter. The trailer would be used primarily for base camping while I'll keep my existing camping stuff for the real outback camping stuff.
Some sample photos of current model tent trailers
Fleetwood Evolution Series
Kimberly Kampers
OZ Tent (threw this in as an alternative cuz apparently you can set this up in a minute or so)