Setup Times

[Onion]

Hi All,

If you've seen my other threads, we're _still_ looking at camper trailers... I think we've decided on a second hand (maybe new, finances depending) Camel. We're liking them because they appear to be fully Oz made but still reasonable in price. If there are any other brands fully Oz made for around this money in SE QLD, please let me know.

Now the question. We're still tenting and it takes us about 1.5 - 2.0 hours to completely setup. We have done the tarp (18x24) and tent (18x12) only in about 45mins. Then there's beds, kitchen, tables, etc, etc. What I'm wondering is what are your typical setup times for a soft floor CT? One of the appealing aspects to me about a CT is the setup time, but I'm wondering if people can provide real world stats.

What CT do you have and how long does it typically take you to setup?

Are there some brands and/or models of CT that are faster to setup than others?

We'd like to do more overnight camping - but maybe not if it still takes a couple of hours to setup :-)

[xcvator]

Typical set up time for our Outback Tanami for an overnighter without unhitching was about 10 minutes, pack up about 15 minutes, deploying  the awning added another 15 minutes to the set up time 

You can have a look at it http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=45000.msg757343#msg757343

cheers Keith 

[chester ver2.0]

Most manufacturers pretty much crap on about setup times

I would say on average a full camper setup would be somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes as this includes getting onto the site detaching etc. A lot of manufacturers dont count this in their estimated times.

The biggest one that determines setup is the number of pegs that need to be driven in more pegs seems to equal longer setups

[Bird]

Most manufacturers pretty much crap on about setup times

I would say on average a full camper setup would be somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes as this includes getting onto the site detaching etc. A lot of manufacturers dont count this in their estimated times.

The biggest one that determines setup is the number of pegs that need to be driven in more pegs seems to equal longer setups

agree -0 but would add, there are too many variables to give an accurate figure.. How many people doing it, how many times you done it, what the ground is like, how big the tent is, windy, rainy, too fuggin hot, etc etc

Lifestyle had a video on their site at one stage of <1 minute to setup but the trailer was unhitched, legs down, cover unzipped, and pretty much ready to just go...

[mrdenn1s]

I have a soft floor CT

20 mins to unhitch, take 4 x bikes off the bike rack, unhook bike rack, find kids helmets and send them off, put stabiliser legs down and check it is level
5 mins to empty all of the crap out of the tub
15 mins to raise main tent, lift internal poles and peg
30 mins to make 3 x stretcher beds and bedding, inflate air mattress for main bed and put on bedding, connect 12 LED strip
10 mins to set up collapsable tables, shift eskys / fridge from car and get site as you want it.


Add 30 mins to hook up annexe roof and pole / peg properly with guy ropes for longer stays. Add 10 mins per wall if we choose to use them (zip and peg)

If I'm sitting in a camp chair with a beer in less than two hours and all is done and wife and I and not killing each other after the set up....it's a win. Having said that, after doing it so many times now, it's almost routine and the stress levels are low.

[Bird]

If I'm sitting in a camp chair with a beer in less than two hours and all is done and wife and I and not killing each other after the set up....it's a win.

man - you need more practice!!

[mrdenn1s]

man - you need more practice!!

3 kids under 10 to look after and the missus is quite anal in regards to how the camp site needs to be set up.

If its just me and 1 x kid, its 10 mins to set up the tent, 5 mins for stretchers, 1 min for the chairs and we are done.

[Bird]

3 kids under 10 to look after and the missus is quite anal in regards to how the camp site needs to be set up.

then tell her to sort the Shit out while you continue to unpack the rest, cause you'd like to sit down this year and enjoy the holiday ;P!

[mrdenn1s]

then tell her to sort the Shit out while you continue to unpack the rest, cause you'd like to sit down this year and enjoy the holiday ;P!

We only use the CT when the whole family is coming.

Else it's the 3 man tent.

[09VRXDiD]

A previous reply suggesting depends, is absolutely right!
Check out Lifestyle Campers. We bought one beleiveing it was far and away, best v alue for money and fell into the Camel category in terms of design, quality, durability, Aus made etc. http://www.lifestylecampertrailers.com.au/model/lifestyle-elite/. I'm not one for muking around with set ups, I just want to get in and get it done!

The difference in time of a soft floor CT and Tent, is predominantly in:
- The design of the camper. Does it just fold out and peg down, or does it have a multitude of adjustments, poles, pegs and ropes to keep it upright? The lifestlye is literally a fold out and peg down x4. My brother in-law has an older chinese made camper, and whilst its a copy of AUssie ones, it takes FOREVER - it needs so much adjustment and peripherals to hold it up!
- Bedding, clothes, food storage, kitchen, chairs & tables. For a properly set out CT, all of that mentioned is set up and done and should literally be a fold out our slide out, no "packing" required. For a tent, you ALWAYS have to pack and unpack those things.

If i want to do an overnight stay still hitched to the car, I can have all of the above done and dusted in under 10 minutes, on my own (need my wife to keep the kids out of my way) - beds made, kichen ready and beer open 
If I want to do a big peg down, level out, awning out, sand floor down, ropes in for high winds etc... Then 1-1.5 hours. Pictures below would show that type of set up.

[BaseCamp]

Consider hiring some CTs a few times...

Sort out who hires what.. (KK at Caboolture, and Johnnos are a couple I know of)...

Ask the hirers likely set up times...??

Hire the ones who claim to be the quickest -  (keeping in mind BS factors) - then put things to the test....

If you like Camel and LCT - give these suppliers a call and ask if anyone is hiring their CT??

I think some mob was getting into the hire of LCT last Christmas?

Then put things to the test - see if they meet your family's expectations....  remembering that once you have bought something you are more or less stuck with it. ...

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk

[Lori]

I have a Lifestyle Walkthru. We have had it 4 years and in that time have reduced the time it takes to setup dramatically. Our current setup time is half of what it used to take while we were still getting used to having a camper rather than a tent. It is almost always husband and I doing setup, we politely decline 'help', we have it down and know what each other are doing and what order we do it in.

Unhitch and level - Takes 10-20mins, depending on local terrain and wether or not we have any 'communication breakdowns'. (unhitch camper, move car, put down stabilizer legs, ensure camper is level, take off camper cover/ fold up store away.)

Put up main tent - Takes 5 mins. (main tent up, pegged out) Open tent off camper, we have a 12ft tent so we have to put in extra poles and raise end of tent. Go outside peg down tent.

Put up annex Takes 10 mins - (annex up, usually no sides, tropical roof pegged) Takes 10 mins. We keep our annex roof attached to the main tent to save on time and storage. We have all our poles clearly marked and kept separate from main tent poles to avoid confusion and while husband is pegging down main tent I lay annex poles out in place.

Bedding - Takes 15 mins. (main bed, 3 x kids beds, put on sheets/blankets, bring in pillows, bags, toys.) Main bed is almost always made up, kids beds x 3 depends on length of stay but we usually put up three stretchers and place self inflating matts on top (which we keep stored flat on main bed) Middle child usually takes control of the making of the beds while I go out and help set up kitchen.

Kitchen and dining - Takes about 15 mins (Floor down, kitchen out, table out, chairs out, lights up, tv out, water hooked up, gas hooked up.) We use cgear for floor, quick and easy to roll out and peg down. We changed our kitchen to a drifta DPOR, it takes a couple of minutes to setup and everything alrady has a place so I dont need to worry about unpacking pots and pans ect.

Total time average (keeping in mind that some of these things are being done at the same time)
35 - 40 mins.

Most of the reason that we got our time down is that our camper has evolved with us. When we saw a way to make it easier, then we would do the mod.
Eg. Fast connect water
      Kitchen with complete storage
      Annex roof kept attached (we never used to be able to do this but after the zipper busted on our cover, we had the cover replaced with a bigger one)
      Setting up our electrical so outside lights only needed to be clipped in.
      Keeping kids matts on main bed saves on packing/unpacking.

Small things add up to alot of saved time.

[Bird]

If setup times are an issue, look at a Jayco or a Hardfloor...

But depends on your budget, how many people your taking, what sort of travelling your doing or expecting to do and what tow vehicle.

[Jezza]

I have a Camel and setup time is just over an hour with help from wife.

Level & unpack - 10min
Main tent - 10min (includes kids bunks and putting away personal items)
Annex - 20 - 30 min, includes floor, fly screens and walls if required, lights
Kitchen - 15min (water and gas connections, grey water line) chairs and table

It is usaully beer time then and the first can is finished while doing a walk around.

We have back room annex but this will only get put up if we are staying for more than 5 nights or we have visitors.  The visitors can then put it up and pull it down.

Pack up time varies.  Can be done in hour, but will usally take two hours

[loanrangie]

Typical set up time for our Outback Tanami for an overnighter without unhitching was about 10 minutes, pack up about 15 minutes, deploying  the awning added another 15 minutes to the set up time 

You can have a look at it http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=45000.msg757343#msg757343

cheers Keith 

 Ours is similar, just putting up the tent is about 10mins. Its all the other stuff like beds and bedding that takes time but if you arrive at a decent time you can do that at leisure or make the kids do their own.
  I have just done some excavating in the backyard ( with the car   ) so now i can set the camper up in the backyard and get it all ready to go like wifey and my bedding already done so its only kids beds to set up.

[Spada]

I camp a lot with a mate that has a Camel soft floor. Usually takes him about 45min from unhitch to beer open.

[tk421]

What about pack away too?

Rear fold Cape York soft floor with two swags - 5 pax. Myself and Wife working in pure harmony..

Quick overnighter kids in camper 5-10minutes.
- pull up, take cover off, get 5 chairs and 2 tables out, pull tent out, adjust two poles, hammer in 6 pegs, unroll 2 swags, youngest in main bed with us.
 
Longer stays 30 min to 1.5 hours depending on how we feel, how much kid wrangling we get involved in etc.
- pull up, take cover off,  get 5 chairs and 3  tables out, pull tent out, adjust two poles, hammer in 6 pegs, drop two stabiliser legs. +5-10 minutes
- put matting down + 5 mins
- Set up two dome swags coz kids are too small to do it themselves + 10mins
- Build stretcher bed for youngest + 10 mins

Ready to rock and roll

- unhitch? +2 mins
- Put awning up? (remains attached) and uses 7 interchangeable poles + no spreader bars - +5-10mins
- Annexe wall? +2mins (Velcros on)
- Add tarp?  +10mins - unroll, pull over camper, uses existing awning poles and needs one extra pole
- Get fridge out of car and plug into camper? +2 mins

Pack up 45mins-2hours depending on whether we cook breakfast, wash up and do a mini pack up the night before

[xcvator]

Typical set up time for our Outback Tanami for an overnighter without unhitching was about 10 minutes, pack up about 15 minutes, deploying  the awning added another 15 minutes to the set up time 

You can have a look at it http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=45000.msg757343#msg757343

cheers Keith 

These are actual times, including everything, bed stays made up with 2 adults, for the tent we generally used 8 screw in pegs and that was it 

[DaveR]

My first rule with set up is the wife helps with the travel cover so I can fold it neatly up front.
Then she disappears with the 3 kids, out of sight.
Do not come back until you see me in the position which looks like this 

Reason, it adds a factor of 3 to the set up time if any of them help. Then if all of them help, it will always end in tears..... 

With all that in mind, I'm fully done in 30 min, that is reverse into a spot and stepping the floor plan out on ground all the way to the last of the pillows and bags in place. Everything in between, lights, tables, 2 x bunk beds kitchen.

[Beachman]

It ranges from 15 minutes for a quick overnight with no annex to 90 -120 minutes for a 2 week stay in a remote camp site with shower & toilet tent put up,  full annex, kids room, putting together and making beds plus all the toys we take for long trips.

Mind you when I’m doing the big set ups I’m normally taking my time and have been known to stop for a beer and chat with the families we go with.

[Goose]

I remember someone posting once about the difference between setting up the camper and setting up camp... the former being just getting a bed to sleep on and the later included doing everything up to and including a camp fire.

If you're looking to reduce setup time for softfloor my advice is:

Leave your awning for the next day if it is a awning that takes a long time to setup (more than 15 minutes).
Choose a camper that has a swing out kitchen, with all the plumbing for gas and water permanently in place. Moving jerries and gas bottles takes time.
Choose a camper that has the tent poles built-in - this may mean a smaller size however - anything that needs extra poles or spreaders will give you more size but take longer
It will always take longer to setup in an unfamiliar site or when nomads are watching 
Anything that doesn't get used on your current trip is a earmarked for not coming next trip.
If setting a campfire on the first night, pre-cut all your wood and kindling
Have an easy meal arranged for the first night (sandwiches) and last morning (cereal)
Leave all the chair bags at home

I have recently purchased a drifta pantry and going to move towards keeping everything (food, utensils, small tools, torches etc) in it in the tub of the trailer, even when travelling and keep big things like chairs and tables in the rear of the car. Currently its the other way around with all the food and utensils in clear tubs that i am constantly moving around the site and into and out of the car when travelling.

[Onion]

Thanks for the comments everyone - much appreciated :-)

[oldmate]

I have a soft floor CT

20 mins to unhitch, take 4 x bikes off the bike rack, unhook bike rack, find kids helmets and send them off, put stabiliser legs down and check it is level
5 mins to empty all of the crap out of the tub
15 mins to raise main tent, lift internal poles and peg
30 mins to make 3 x stretcher beds and bedding, inflate air mattress for main bed and put on bedding, connect 12 LED strip
10 mins to set up collapsable tables, shift eskys / fridge from car and get site as you want it.


Add 30 mins to hook up annexe roof and pole / peg properly with guy ropes for longer stays. Add 10 mins per wall if we choose to use them (zip and peg)

If I'm sitting in a camp chair with a beer in less than two hours and all is done and wife and I and not killing each other after the set up....it's a win. Having said that, after doing it so many times now, it's almost routine and the stress levels are low.

That right there, is about the best description for a soft floor set upthat I have witnessed. We have never owned a soft floor, and you hear all the stories of 10min here, 15min there.  It's all crap!
^^^^ That is real for most people that I have sat and watched do there full soft floor set up.

[Rodt]

I think it also relates to how much you want to kill yourself doing the setup also.

Being a lazy fat bstrd I generally just get into the main part (unload cage / rack, get the crap out of the tub etc) and get the main tent set up with the awning and this is normally knocked over in about an hour.
I actually find the time consuming part is the double handling of most things. You get it all out of the tub so that you can set the tent up, place everything on the ground out of the way, set your undercover area up and then unpack relocate everything such as tables, chairs, esky and fridge (depending on how you have stored them in the trailer first - I try to have at rear and pull them out the back), BBQ etc etc

The pack up is exactly the same in reverse.

Easy to see how the time adds up  that keeps me away from 

Maybe I need to have the discussion with the treasurer about upgrading to my dream Forward Fold 

Rod

[Snapman007]

Our setup starts with pulling in to a campsite, I then grab a beer from the console fridge before exiting the vehicle. It doesn't feel like a chore when your having a beer. Ding, ding, round 1, start fighting.
Our soft floor takes about 1 to 1.5 hours without rushing to setup the tent, annex (without the spreaders) and kitchen. Clothes and bedding are stored in the walkway and its miss 9's responsibility to setup her own bed.

Setup time in good weather doesn't bother me and usually I take my time. Pack up time is more of a concern. When it's time to go I just want to go.
They way I look at it is, if it's thumping down rain and windy, how much time do i want to spend packing up?