More space needed

[soulstyledevon]

Now we have a new arrival (4 months old) and all the extra stuff needed to look after our little baby. We need some extra space when camping. Going forward over the next couple of years we have extra things such as push chairs and car seats etc which will take away valuable space in our van.

So we are wondering about getting a shelter such as the Queshua or maybe looking at buying a new tent as I only currently own a small 2 man.

Any pros cons which other family campers have found...???
Are these new inflateable tents reliable ? The support videos make them look very impressive and easy to pitch.

Can't decide if a shelter will be enough or should I start using a bigger tent...???

 

[marshian70]

We have an inflatable Quechua MSH. You can use just as a shelter or zip bedroom pods on as needed (our teenage kids use them on longer breaks). We think its great but Decathlon have decided not to make them anymore. This is our second inflatable, the first was a driveway awning that we got rid of. The driveway had to have a new valve under warranty but the Quechua has been fine so far.

 

[soulstyledevon]

I did contemplate a drive away awning, but I think attaching and re-attaching would drive me mad.

Plus, it takes away the use of the wind out awning?
Thanks, might drive over to Decathlon and have a look at the Quechua. The extra bedroom pods sound a good idea.

 

[marshian70]

I did contemplate a drive away awning, but I think attaching and re-attaching would drive me mad.

Plus, it takes away the use of the wind out awning?
Thanks, might drive over to Decathlon and have a look at the Quechua. The extra bedroom pods sound a good idea.

Agree, thats why we got rid of our driveway. Note Decathlon do not make the MSH that we have anymore. They have replaced it with a different version - not sure about bedroom pod options with that so you may want to check the website before travelling

 

[cleve]

we have 3 children and use a quechua pop up beach tent with door to store car seats in on short trips or when the forecast is good. For longer stays or if the forecast is really bad we use a quechua base seconds with the idea that is is somewhere dry to eat outside the van and for the children to play but to be honest it ends up just being full of stuff which we then have to pack back into the van! We had an awning but couldn't see why we would bother to have the ease of a campervan and effectively pitch a massive tent everytime. It also obstructed our view if we wanted to sit in the van but still watch the children playing.

One of the best things we bought was an mft euro select box which is like a roof box but clamps onto the towbar. It fits under the bike rack and is great to store muddy boots, toys, pushchair, beach stuff and leaves us more space in the vehicle. It can be tilted enough to open the tailgate.

Personally I'd take the little tent you have to throw odd things like car seats in on site and see how you get on.

 

[Oliver]

Hi, we bought our Cali when our first child was 9 months and traveled extensively. We opted for a Comfortz Awning (see below link) due to ease of use and small stow away space. We looked into drive away awnings but too bulky and too much faff putting them up.Then we have a little Quechua 2 person pop up tent. Takes 10 sec to put up and acts as storage for our baby seat, buggy, etc when at campsite. The best thing we bough though was the Koo-Baby travel cot. Folds small and fits perfectly on the parcel shelf. He slept in there for 2 seasons. Boot shut and peace of mind. Plus, you have full use of the cabin and can just reach over to check on him.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004O30PAY/?tag=eliteelect-21


http://www.comfortzleisure.co.uk/vw-california-awning-set/4575231836




We just had our second son born and now the only addition is a roof box.

Hope this helps.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Hi, we bought our Cali when our first child was 9 months and traveled extensively. We opted for a Comfortz Awning (see below link) due to ease of use and small stow away space. We looked into drive away awnings but too bulky and too much faff putting them up.Then we have a little Quechua 2 person pop up tent. Takes 10 sec to put up and acts as storage for our baby seat, buggy, etc when at campsite. The best thing we bough though was the Koo-Baby travel cot. Folds small and fits perfectly on the parcel shelf. He slept in there for 2 seasons. Boot shut and peace of mind. Plus, you have full use of the cabin and can just reach over to check on him.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004O30PAY/
http://www.comfortzleisure.co.uk/vw-california-awning-set/4575231836


View attachment 14110

We just had our second son born and now the only addition is a roof box.

Hope this helps.

We invested in a new tent in the end. BIG MISTAKE...!!!
Forgot what a ball-ache tents were to erect and take down. Took us 2.5 hrs to pitch it all properly, big tent. Then it was time to put baby to bed. Baby did not sleep well at all. He became to cold at night and any slight noise, baby woke up because he was too cold.
Then we had the drama of packing it down, nightmare. Reminds me of why we bought a camper van in the first place.

Tent now sold...!!!

So its back in the van for all of us. I think we will invest in a Koo travel cot and sleep him downstairs with mum where he can keep warm with the diesel heater and i will sleep in the roof bed.
Next up, will definitely be a quick pitch shelter.
Thanks for the replies

 

[larrylamb]

We just had our second son born and now the only addition is a roof box.

What!, he can't sleep there.

 

[Oliver]

What!, he can't sleep there.

...some roof boxes even sleep two toddlers.....

 

[Teejay]

...some roof boxes even sleep two toddlers.....

More if you fold them correctly (PS: I have no kids)

 

[Roger Boeken]

recently discovered a rather newbie on the market of inflatable awning tents :
http://gentletent.com/?lang=en

several pictures shown in combintation with cali . I like the weight and packing volume but not the price..


Still they have an interesting item : an inflatable tube to close the gap between bottom of car and ground.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Well I have just been out this morning at bought the Quechua seconds base. Pops out in seconds and took about 5 minutes to fold away.

Brilliant bit of kit. I shall re-try camping again this week and see how we get on

 

[TigerSki]

Although we are past the travel cot and pushchair stage (our children are 10 and 8) we use a Decathlon pop up tent (http://www.decathlon.co.uk/2-seconds-easy-ii-pop-up-tent-2-man-blue-id_8347885.html) to store two high back booster seats and clothes bags. It just pops up and is very easy to fold away. We opted not to have a roofbox and got a Thule EasyBase and box to fit on the towbar which provides ample storage space. It fits neatly under the bikes and is great for shoes, bats, balls etc especially wet gear. This arrangement seems to be working for now.

http://www.thule.com/en/gb/cargo-carrier/towbar-cargo-carriers/thule-easybase-949-_-949000
http://www.thule.com/en/gb/cargo-carrier/towbar-cargo-carriers/thule-backup-900-_-900000

 

[Oliver]

Well I have just been out this morning at bought the Quechua seconds base. Pops out in seconds and took about 5 minutes to fold away.

Brilliant bit of kit. I shall re-try camping again this week and see how we get on

Great choice. Just the folding it up takes a bit of practice but my wife can do it in a minute.

 

[Oliver]

Although we are past the travel cot and pushchair stage (our children are 10 and 8) we use a Decathlon pop up tent (http://www.decathlon.co.uk/2-seconds-easy-ii-pop-up-tent-2-man-blue-id_8347885.html) to store two high back booster seats and clothes bags. It just pops up and is very easy to fold away. We opted not to have a roofbox and got a Thule EasyBase and box to fit on the towbar which provides ample storage space. It fits neatly under the bikes and is great for shoes, bats, balls etc especially wet gear. This arrangement seems to be working for now.

http://www.thule.com/en/gb/cargo-carrier/towbar-cargo-carriers/thule-easybase-949-_-949000
http://www.thule.com/en/gb/cargo-carrier/towbar-cargo-carriers/thule-backup-900-_-900000

Do you have a picture how it looks with the bikes on?

 

[soulstyledevon]

Great choice. Just the folding it up takes a bit of practice but my wife can do it in a minute.

I watch a YouTube video and it honestly worked first time. I thought it was really easy
I think the trick, is don't be too worried about breaking the poles.

 

[TigerSki]

Do you have a picture how it looks with the bikes on?

Really sorry but I don't, only have pictures of our van from the front! Not due to go away fully loaded until July so will take a picture then although appreciate this is a while for you. We have the VW T5 bike rack with the Thule base. There was a blue T5 for sale on here a while ago that had a picture of bikes and the base together but with a quick glance I couldn't find it. Will have a search later when I have time to look properly. Sorry cannot be more help at the moment!

 

[Oliver]

Really sorry but I don't, only have pictures of our van from the front! Not due to go away fully loaded until July so will take a picture then although appreciate this is a while for you. We have the VW T5 bike rack with the Thule base. There was a blue T5 for sale on here a while ago that had a picture of bikes and the base together but with a quick glance I couldn't find it. Will have a search later when I have time to look properly. Sorry cannot be more help at the moment!

Thanks TigerSki. The Thule box just looks so big and I wouldn't have expected that the T5 bike rack actually fits above it. It's a much better solution than the roof box and I'd even consider fitting a tow bar for that purpose.

 

[TigerSki]

Thanks TigerSki. The Thule box just looks so big and I wouldn't have expected that the T5 bike rack actually fits above it. It's a much better solution than the roof box and I'd even consider fitting a tow bar for that purpose.

It doesn't, so sorry Oliver, I got it wrong. We used the EasyBase on our previous car but after talking to my husband last night he borrowed a friends towbar rack which didn't have the supporting arm going up towards the bike carrier (as the Easybase does). Shows how much attention I pay to the loading.......the Thule box fitted with a different base, sorry for the confusion!

 

[Oliver]

It doesn't, so sorry Oliver, I got it wrong. We used the EasyBase on our previous car but after talking to my husband last night he borrowed a friends towbar rack which didn't have the supporting arm going up towards the bike carrier (as the Easybase does). Shows how much attention I pay to the loading.......the Thule box fitted with a different base, sorry for the confusion!

Thanks for clarifying this TigerSki. Don't worry, we all got our roles divisions when it comes to efficient camping...

 

[cleve]

Sounds like you really need one of these......

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/rear-tilting-tow-bar-mounted-storage-box-tailgate-access.6959/

This is a video of the first time we used ours

It is so easy to fit as it just clips into the base. We often now remove it when on site so we don't have to lower it every time the children want something out of the tailgate but it also gives the children a great toy box! All the sandy items, muddy boots etc can get thrown in and leave the inside of the vehicle much cleaner and clutter free.

 

[Dom Walsh]

Hey Cleve

Does the 'Back Carrier' part attached to a towbar or bolt straight onto the van?

Thanks