Ground Tent camping on overland trips

[Tom Cole]

Gazelle Tent, I'm a true believer. Best tent I've every owned. Easy setup, weights a ton less than a RTT, cost a ton less than a RTT, spacious, ability to stand up, durable, and just cool looking.

 

[Advtres]

Agreed, that is a lot of space. Which tent is that? @Advtres

It seems like a ton of space though I like to think it is just enough.

It has room for the air mattress, storage for all our boxes, chairs and a couple tables to organize gear and cook if the weather is iffy. Plus drop down a outdoor carpet in the vestibule and you have a little nomad shelter! When I am camping with the Hubby for more then 2 - 3 days it is the tent we take and set up a basecamp. It is the Marmot 4P Orbit

solo I use a 4 season mountain hardware Trango just in case there is snow or rain so I have no excuse not to go :P

 

[Elzevir]

@Advtres That tent is huge, but I use a Kelty Grand Mesa 2 and most anything is large compared to it. I love the vestibule size, and for use with vehicles, or even with canoe trips I imagine it is phenomenal to have.

For snow camping I've exclusively used tarp and sleeping bag or a quinzee.

 

[AdventureWithDanan]

Hello everyone, I was just looking for ideas on how you guys that use a ground when doing trips. I know I will probably get a Gazelle tent, but just looking for any tips or how you all set up. Thank you and look forward to your advice and help!

Having a tarp under the tent is a huge help when it's time to put your tent away. It keeps all the muck off when rolling it up and you can just shake the tarp out. I've now been sleeping in my vehicle the last year, but I was thinking about getting one of those outdoor floor mats and putting that under the tent to allow moisture to escape. Dunno if that would work in your favor or not though... I've not tested it.

 

[obchristo]

I was just in UT and used my 6moons tent on a doubled up tarp; f’ing love that thing! Was 25 at night and very cozy, a bit frosty on the outside in the am. Great times!

Is your Skyscape the Scout (regular Poly) or the Trekker (Silpoly)? How is the condensation when it's buttoned up? Deciding between a Trekker or a Durston for a 1P Backpacking tent. Thanks!

 

[obchristo]

When I go solo I crash in the back of my Sequoia. With family, just replaced our old Sierra Desogns Bedoin 6 with a Marmot Halo 6. Looked long and hard at the Gazelle T4 Plus but packed size and weight is to big for my likes.

 

[KAIONE]

I was just in UT and used my 6moons tent on a doubled up tarp; f’ing love that thing! Was 25 at night and very cozy, a bit frosty on the outside in the am. Great times!

Is your Skyscape the Scout (regular Poly) or the Trekker (Silpoly)? How is the condensation when it's buttoned up? Deciding between a Trekker or a Durston for a 1P Backpacking tent. Thanks!

I have the Scout. And I’m the wrong person to ask about condensation build up. I’m 6’5”, 330lbs and breath like a grizzly. So I can build condensation in a 8 person tent solo, lol. So it does build condensation, BUT it doesn’t drip directly down on me or my bag, the tent design does a good job at somehow letting it run down the side and drip on the edges only. So the side of my mat takes the brunt of the moisture. I have no fear in using down bags in this tent. On this trip I didn’t have any ice build up inside, only on the outside. Hope that helps! Happy new year!

 

[obchristo]

I have the Scout. And I’m the wrong person to ask about condensation build up. I’m 6’5”, 330lbs and breath like a grizzly. So I can build condensation in a 8 person tent solo, lol. So it does build condensation, BUT it doesn’t drip directly down on me or my bag, the tent design does a good job at somehow letting it run down the side and drip on the edges only. So the side of my mat takes the brunt of the moisture. I have no fear in using down bags in this tent. On this trip I didn’t have any ice build up inside, only on the outside. Hope that helps! Happy new year!

Thanks for the consise reply. Happy Noew Year to you too!

 

[KAIONE]

When I go solo I crash in the back of my Sequoia. With family, just replaced our old Sierra Desogns Bedoin 6 with a Marmot Halo 6. Looked long and hard at the Gazelle T4 Plus but packed size and weight is to big for my likes.

I got a Seek 8 person tipi for my family. No liners, no basket, with the stove and cf pole. Thing is awesome! Need some flat ground but can do with a bit of incline with all the guyout points.

 

[TheFatMexican]

The Gazelle is awesome. It takes longer to take it out of the bag then it does to setup. I have a MegaMat sleeping pad as well. If I don't end up setting up the T4 I just sleep in the back of the truck.

 

[socal geek guy]

got to love those black and yellow totes, great for setting outside when camping and still keeping your stuff dry.

 

[Shayhan27]

If I'm solo I either hammock or use a small tent.
I use a thermorest sleep pad in both with a decent sleeping bag and inflatable pillow ( all basically backpacking gear).
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Or if I have the family I my wife likes to find the biggest tent she can to drag along. My wife likes a heavy sleeping bag and our pillows from home on an air mattress for these kinds of trips.View attachment 214193

My wife does the same , apparently condense is the one word in the English language she does not understand (she's an English teacher).

 

[Aj_white]

We have a large generic 6 person dome tent for when we go as a family otherwise we use Swags for the adults and a small pup/hike tent for the kids as pictured below.

 

[Ironside Overland]

Honestly, I’ve found nothing but good things from our ground tent. I use the 23 Zero 1550 swag and it’s been amazing for us so far! We use a fan to move some air for circulation because the thick canvas does get hot but if weather is nice all the doors open and have mesh and is absolutely the best tent we have had yet.

 

[PCO6]

I picked up an old SUV tent in a trade with a friend for a vehicle awning. I've only used it once and it was on a weekend when I knew the weather would be bad. I usually sleep in the back of my Jeep XJ when I camp alone and this made it a bit better. No pics (the weather was that bad) but here it is in my back yard and without the rain fly and front awning. There's a lot of room inside! Easily enough for 2 cots with room to spare and of course access to the back of my Jeep.

 

[adv.fam.4]

With ground tents, you get what you pay for however there is a point where some features will be overkill. I've had very good luck with MSR with both rain, wind, and durability. I don't own a Gazelle but it does look intriguing since you can stand up inside. However it doesn't pack down nearly as small as my MSR Huba 4 man (I think it's called the Habitude now). Depending on where you live I would also get concerned about how tall the Gazelle is and how it would do in really wet or really windy weather. Maybe someone here can prove me otherwise...

 

[Moebius01]

With ground tents, you get what you pay for however there is a point where some features will be overkill. I've had very good luck with MSR with both rain, wind, and durability. I don't own a Gazelle but it does look intriguing since you can stand up inside. However it doesn't pack down nearly as small as my MSR Huba 4 man (I think it's called the Habitude now). Depending on where you live I would also get concerned about how tall the Gazelle is and how it would do in really wet or really windy weather. Maybe someone here can prove me otherwise...

A few months back, we did a night in a Gazelle T4+ with steady 20 mph+ winds and some gusts approaching 40 all night long and the Gazelle held up like a champ. I had it faced with the entrance head on to the wind and didn't even need to stake down the hubs. Though I'd imagine the square T4 I would have needed to.

 

[adv.fam.4]

A few months back, we did a night in a Gazelle T4+ with steady 20 mph+ winds and some gusts approaching 40 all night long and the Gazelle held up like a champ. I had it faced with the entrance head on to the wind and didn't even need to stake down the hubs. Though I'd imagine the square T4 I would have needed to.

Great news. Thanks!

 

[Billiebob]

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I was thinking ground tents are about low budget and light weight sleeping accomodations.... But post 2 makes me revisit that idea. Ground tents can also be about exponential space without a massive rig or budget. And often the best packpacker, mountaineering tents are anything but low budget. Me, I always was on a skinny budget when tenting even mountaineering. Today at 66 on a "fixed income" I can't do the sleep on the ground thing so I built a simple Square Drop on a tight budget.

This was my go to 40 years ago.

 

[Speric]

I use a gazelle. I had been using an old backing packing, then a slightly larger tent, but I'm getting too old to crawl and stoop in and out. lol
I love being able to stand and get dressed. My back loves it even more.
I also put in a cot with foam pad and sleeping bag. And a small folding table for my buddy heater, water, etc.