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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: BMPatriot on February 19, 2015, 06:46:05 PM
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Ok...
So I feel like we are cursed. Every time I have been camping with the other half and the kids it has rained. Prior to having camper and every time I've had the new camper out it's rained
I was going to camp tonight but it poured again during the day while I was out with the camper and the awning out at the property I was going to setup at. Decided not to stay cos I didn't want a wet tent that I had to dry out just for the sake of one night!
So my question is, what suggestions do people have for camping in the wet?
Any special camp/tent setups?
Do you have a seperate tent just to use as a lounge type area or play area for the kids?
We are going to get the canvas walls that enclose the fox wing awning area but until I can come up with the $2500 im trying to think of other ways to setup quickly but still have some shelter!! I just picked up a new drop sheet/ground cover that will cover the entire camp site area for the camper!
Any ideas? Pics? Suggestions?
This whole scenario makes me want to sell my camper and get a caravan.
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When it is going to rain ( all the time during summer in tropical QLD) I put the annex walls on the main tent and have a 3m x 4.5m gazebo which i leave the sides open for extra shelter from the rain and so we can sit "outside" of the tent. If it is raining that hard we just go inside the annex area.
In this pic I had the car awning out the front of the tent too.
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come and live in WA ;D
Seriously though we take an Oztrail Gazebo with us and about the only time we ever use it is if it's raining, We have walls as well and it just gives us a little more room under cover next to the camper trailer
We have an Adventure camper, and the 2.4 m gazebo fits perfectly next to the awning. They also make a bigger 3 m model.
They are a little heavy but easy to set up and pack away.
A lot cheaper than walls to your foxwing too !
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Rotten bad luck, BMP ... :(.
You're not a reincarnated rain god, by any chance?
Seriously though, it doesn't hurt canvas to get wet - quite the contrary in fact. What hurts canvas and other bits is to leave the wet gear packed away for any length of time.
I'm sure that your luck has to improve in the driest inhabited continent in the world!
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Yep oztrail gazebo is good for some extra cover. When it gets too bad we go inside. Although we don't have kids to worry about.
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Cheers guys.
I think the gazebo is a great idea I'll be looking into this ASAP.
Yea I know it's ok for canvas to get wet Its the open up and clean up process at home that doesn't seem worth it for one night away.
My wife said if there's ever a drought we would be happy to go camping there to bring the rain !!
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You could always make up a few sets of these poly tube joiners and just clip a couple of cheap poly tarps around the edge of your Ct awning ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq9svSKaB9c (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq9svSKaB9c)
irrigation / tubing section of Bumblings and a bit of time with a 4" grinder and a thin 1mm blade ..presto tarp joiners
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Cheers guys.
I think the gazebo is a great idea I'll be looking into this ASAP.
Yea I know it's ok for canvas to get wet Its the open up and clean up process at home that doesn't seem worth it for one night away.
My wife said if there's ever a drought we would be happy to go camping there to bring the rain !!
X2. One of my friends rang us up and wanted us to go camping on his farm,
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Get out there & if you must get wet canvas , but get out there . Enjoy . We do :cheers:
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Get out there & if you must get wet canvas , but get out there . Enjoy . We do :cheers:
I do also realise I sound a bit soft.
Just been thinking of ideas to have more protected space I guess :)
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Get out there & if you must get wet canvas , but get out there . Enjoy . We do :cheers:
X2
Love the sound of rain on canvas, I sleep like a dead man. :cheers:
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I had that problem so I upgraded the Kimberley Kamper to a Karavan. No issues now!
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I had that problem so I upgraded the Kimberley Kamper to a Karavan. No issues now!
On the way home today with camper in tow the wife and I agreed the only choice of caravan would be a Kimberley karavan but unfortunately no matter what I sacrificed I wouldn't be able to afford one :( maybe one day... But in all honesty I few small things for the camper I have now and we'll be all set!
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We have wanted one for a few years and it was always going to be the post kids purchase (we are still in our mid 30s).
Things such as this along with all its other benefits pushed us to upgrade now with a genuine view to a long term ownership proposition. Are couple of bugs are still being ironed out but have spent about 40 nights in it so far and I absolutely love it. So easy to live with.
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Mate, its a fact of life that camping in the wet with little ones is challenging. As an intelligent man you know that this isn't the norm, particularly if you plan your trips and check forecasts.... But, as have been said, some really great trips have been had when the water comes down....
A mate of mine bought a Patriot a few months ago, we used it as a base for a heap of guys last November. Got some nice bits and has been the inspiration for much of my new build. I admit it, Im an idea thief..... 8)
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We have several sizes of tarps (giant for longer stays down to medium for touring) that we set up over the camper extending out the back and over the kitchen which gives us a good sized dry area for table and chairs etc...
It's quicker and easier to put up than the whole annexe, but then again our annexe is ginormous and quite heavy (from back in the day of 15ounce canvas, when heavier was better).
The tarp in the picture isn't our biggest, so if you go huge, the kids will have loads of room. Maybe gazebos come in huge as well?
Anyway, I thought the first few years of camping always had to be spent in the rain so that Mother Nature weeds out those not suited to the camping lifestyle, leaving more campsites for those of us who passed the test >:D ;D
Good luck and happy camping :cup:
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Camping in the rain for days with kids is THE WORST.... no doubt..
Gazebo's etc are all fine but its more and more and more Shit to take. Many trailers and cars are way overweight before you pack for 4 types of weather. :(
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For us with 8,6 and 4 yo. It helps to have
- uno
- sleeping queens card game
- some crafting supplies
- chess
- books
- audio books
- rain coats and wetsuits to go to beach even through wet.
And if it looks like days of rain, then walls go up on awning,
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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All really great feedback cheers everyone.
I'm gojng to start looking into all of these options. At the same time as said above you end up just carrying more and more and can easily get to the overload point. It's harder now as well as my current fridge does not fit in the camper and my little one needs the bassinet in the pram so space is taken up very quickly.
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Ok...
So I feel like we are cursed. Every time I have been camping with the other half and the kids it has rained. Prior to having camper and every time I've had the new camper out it's rained
You're not camping in QLD at the moment are you?
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Big tarp is definitely the go, but sometimes it's just not enough.
http://youtu.be/cceR3XBuBAE (http://youtu.be/cceR3XBuBAE)
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Million dollar unbeatable piece of real estate there Shane !! Absolute water front veiws ;D
Fraser trip July 2012 started like this .
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Million dollar unbeatable piece of real estate there Shane !! Absolute water front veiws ;D
It was great, loved every minute of it...........
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Holy ****e Shane!!! That looks like 'wet' rain to me.....
Many years ago when eldest daughter lived in Townsville, at an open air restaurant watching HUGE rain drops hitting the road and bouncing back up a couple of inches.... was an eye opener for a 'southern' boy.... :-\
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Big big tarp and make sure you dig trenches around the perimeter and then sit back and get smashed. (drunk that is) :angel:
Foo
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Big big tarp and make sure you dig trenches around the perimeter and then sit back and get smashed. (drunk that is) :angel:
Foo
Trench is a top idea, but do it as the next step after setting up the trailer... not 0
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I do also realise I sound a bit soft.
Mate soft has nothing to do with it.
Getting out camping is supposed to be enjoyable, not stressful, & as other have alluded to you cant pick the weather & $hit happens.
But I too have had "the every time we go out it rains" & no matter what happens if swmbo cant enjoy herself then there's no such thing as a happy camper.
I'd happily go by myself but she cracks the $hits at that proposition as well
The biggest gripe swmbo had was if the bedding got wet/damp, which i think theres a minor design flaw wiyh my camper that just doesnt lend itself to wet weather camping, however to overcome that i recently bought a tarp to throw over the main camper, with a little bit more for living area & i'm hoping that will appease the goddess. (i MUST add she likes going camping but must be comfortable when sleeping)
I might add in the example of Shanes.......no....no...no.... nothing you can do about that (but my big tarp means at least the love nest 8) is dry)
The other thing is try camping in central Australia rather than coastal areas.
That and also its gotta be a numbers game, the more you go the more likely you are to hit that perfect trip ;D
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That and also its gotta be a numbers game, the more you go the more likely you are to hit that perfect trip ;D
reckon you are onto something there....when we first started out camping many many years ago, our neighbour would say to let him know when we are going away so he could fertilise his lawn...it rained most times we went somewhere...lol. These days we seem to look at the forecast more before deciding to go somewhere, i don't like wet weather camping so avoid going away if the forecast looks very average, would rather the kids were playing at home inside rather then being couped up at a campsite somewhere. For me camping is about going somewhere and relaxing, not setting up tarps and the like to try and stay dry.
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And the worst of all is the hassle of having to try and dry it out afterwards when you do get back home........ no space to erect the camper in the driveway, it is not secure - and no time either- how the heck are you meant to do it and be at work anyway ??!! - after all, you have had your time off, and once home, it's back to work to pay the piper!!!
Yes, it's good to get away, and I don't mind a light shower or two...... but if we have to pack up wet - oh my!!!
Having said that, our first trip away in our Trackie, was the proverbial baptism of fire- ahem, shall we say, - wind and rain!!! Most around us, packed up and went home- we stayed!!
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reckon you are onto something there....when we first started out camping many many years ago, our neighbour would say to let him know when we are going away so he could fertilise his lawn...it rained most times we went somewhere...lol. These days we seem to look at the forecast more before deciding to go somewhere, i don't like wet weather camping so avoid going away if the forecast looks very average, would rather the kids were playing at home inside rather then being couped up at a campsite somewhere. For me camping is about going somewhere and relaxing, not setting up tarps and the like to try and stay dry.
Yea thats it mate i just want to be enjoying myself and i want the other half and the kids to be doing the same thing. My wife suggested we have a spare set of clothes for me in the car each time we go so when i setup/packup in the rain i have dry clothes. I say we just wait till its sunny again haha
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Camping with kids in the rain can be fun for them if they have the right gear and you can just let them loose. I recall an Easter camped by Lake Eilden (Vic) that rained every day. The kids had a ball digging trenches, making dams and general civil engineering work.
A big tarp gives extra dry space. An ozpig would be great for the colder climes
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Yea thats it mate i just want to be enjoying myself and i want the other half and the kids to be doing the same thing. My wife suggested we have a spare set of clothes for me in the car each time we go so when i setup/packup in the rain i have dry clothes. I say we just wait till its sunny again haha
z
I understand how you feel, but don't let the rain hold you back, unless it's a cyclone ;D. We have hooked the trailer on and left plenty of times in the rain, get to a site set up in the rain, go to bed and wake up to a beautiful sunny day and for the rest of the weekend. The best thing is you will many times have the place to yourself, as most people chicken out and stay home cause it was raining. ;D
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the very thought of getting rained on whilst camping simply freaks me out.
I avoid it at all costs - eg: "wont go"....
Apart from the penned-in, claustrophobic and dank misery; its the thought of all my lovely camping gear getting wrecked; not having anywhere homeside I can deploy and dry gear; (we live in an inner city townhouse complex).
My ultimate hope/dream is in being a self funded retiree in a few years; having the (yet to be purchased) KKaravan on permanent standby; then doggedly monitoring BOM....
Thus whatever tomorrow is; (a Saturday, or a Tuesday, etc) - when BOM predicts there will be a 80%+ chance a glorious weather - we will activate the Launch Sequence - and then we're off; spontaneously, the very next morning!!!!
80%+ chance a glorious weather for us is defined as magic mild blocks of 4 - 8 consecutive sunny days; capped to the months of approx Mar - Sep.... with a KK as the abode....
that's glamping(lifestyle living) :)
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t
My ultimate hope/dream is in being a self funded retiree in a few years; having the (yet to be purchased) KKaravan on permanent standby; then doggedly monitoring BOM....
Thus whatever tomorrow is; (a Saturday, or a Tuesday, etc) - when BOM predicts there will be a 80%+ chance a glorious weather - we will activate the Launch Sequence - and then we're off; spontaneously, the very next morning!!!!
:)
Sounds a lot like what my inlaws do now they are retirees
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Mate, if I knew the secret to successfully camping in the rain with kids I'd be a squillionaire.
Gazebos are great (but not waterproof) tarps are awesome but bulky and take about a week to get perfect (but that will give you and the kids something to do when it's raining)
The number of times we've come home from holidays a couple of days early because of the weather is ridiculous
I look at it as the law of averages: eventually the sunny days will outnumber the rainy ones... won't they?
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Hmmmm if I'm going away , and I know it will rain , I'm still going , with the minions , they don't care if they get wet,as long as there is something dry at night
As a mate of mine dads used to say the weather is beautiful
Beautiful and wet
Beautiful and dry
Beautiful and windy
Need I go on , mind you we are only talking about inclement weather/rain , not major weather events
Cheers
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Adapting to the conditions helps.
When it is raining it is usually cooler and quite pleasant to stay in the tent for some R&R or QT with the better half. When the kids get restless let them go out and play and just hose them off afterwards :D
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I think some of it comes down to we just got our new camper and want to be out enjoying the thing not feeling like we are just battling the rain the whole time.
I'm planning another trip for next week hopefully so we'll see how the weather goes!
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You need to have a few horror stories of camping in bad weather up your sleeve so in years to come, the family can all have a laugh together. It may not be fun at the time, but it is something you'll bond over.
It also makes all of the future fine weather camping more enjoyable ;D
Here's hoping for fine weather for you :cheers:
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Shouldn't take too much preparation - you'll have a hat anyway, bring a long coat and good boots - all done. Now you're not cooped up and can go anywhere you want and get the choice spots because everyone else took the soft option and stayed home.
How good is that?