Setup Times

[xcvator]

Are we still talking about camping ?

😄

Yes, the other sort takes about 3 weeks preparation just to get ready 

[Bird]

This guys from tonights show down on peninsula link wins...


although amongst all the show cars, sleds, mustangs, chevs, this thing was towed by a late model pathfinder

[Bad Scott]

Hmmm wonder if we could get hold of a proper drawbar scale for towball weights while at it..

got a set of crane scales at home. accurate to 0.5kg

[alnjan]

takes me a couple of minutes but takes the bride about two hours

[Swannie]

takes me a couple of minutes but takes the bride about two hours

 

[Tim - Stratford]

Takes me about 90 seconds for an overnighter now 

You cheated last time - you didn't use the front stabiliser legs! 

....but that whiskey appeared pretty quick! 

Tim

[Bird]

....but that whiskey appeared pretty quick! 

appeared? or disappeared?

[nab]

I must admit I find these setup times hard to believe, but maybe I'm just slack and/or don't flog the missus and kids enough.
For our Jayco Eagle Outback we are lucky to have it setup with the bag awning out (no walls) roped and pegged, bed fly's are not bagged so they live folded up in the storage side hatch, mats down camp chairs and table unpacked, shore power connected, water and sullage hoses connected in under one and three quarter hours.

And packing up, that is another saga all together, from getting out of bed (not having breakfast) to driving away, we never do it under 3 hours.

I think you are slack!!!! We setup our 2005 Dove pretty much as you do (as per pic) and we are done in <1hr, just cruising along. Record is 35mins when all 3 kids were asleep in the car!!! Pack up including breakfast/dishes etc is ~1.5/2hrs. That includes dealing with 3 kids 6yo and under. Not blowing steam up my bum but very interesting comparing 2 near identical setups that take such different times to setup.



Our old soft floor took about an hour from memory, 14ft tent and awning. Including beds/portacot etc.



Best thing with the Jayco setup is in fine weather (no awning/bed flys etc) it can be unhitched and ready for sleeping in 15 mins whereas the softfloor took roughly the same time as a full setup. Anyway, going off topic....

[Swannie]

I must admit I find these setup times hard to believe, but maybe I'm just slack and/or don't flog the missus and kids enough.
For our Jayco Eagle Outback we are lucky to have it setup with the bag awning out (no walls) roped and pegged, bed fly's are not bagged so they live folded up in the storage side hatch, mats down camp chairs and table unpacked, shore power connected, water and sullage hoses connected in under one and three quarter hours.

And packing up, that is another saga all together, from getting out of bed (not having breakfast) to driving away, we never do it under 3 hours.

Surely mate you are having a lend of us ? Many guys have been away with me & even just with me and my 13 year old boy and bed flies over bed, bag awning setup roped & pegged and I'm done in about 15 mins.

[Onion]

and the kids sleep in swags inside the tent. everything for them is in the swag, mattress, sleeping bag etc, so we lift those onto the floor and put their poles in and they are done.

Are those swags some sort of "all-in-one" setup or just a normal swag with the gear left in them?

[The punter]

One of the biggest things that had us upgrade from our soft floor was the double and sometimes triple handling of things, that aside, the Cavalier was up for an overnighter with 4 pegs, two poles and two spreaders. 4 more poles and the annexe was up. Some of these Chinese jobs seem to have craploads of poles, we helped a bloke set one up at a camp recently and even with 3 of us it was an hour.

Now I only move things once, and it saves huge time in setup and pack up. Usually it goes like this...

Level camper, 2 mins
Drop stabilisers 2 mins
Throw the lid up 1 min
Wind awning out peg and rope 5 mins

While I'm doing this wife gets the chairs out and a couple of tables and the Weber

Beer in 10 mins or less

For longer camps it's about another 20 mins to do the anti flap and walls, wife does the shower and toilet tents and then all I have to do is dig a hole. Complete setup is 45 tops.

We are looking to camp a lot more now because this ease of setup means we can do quick weekenders without the 1.5 hours either end.

It's tops

[Rumpig]

Having a quick camper set up also means night arrivals are fairly easy set ups also. We arrived at camp at 7 p.m on Friday, site was nice and flat so just had to....swing open the wheel carrier, undo 6 latches and flip the hard floor open, push up the u bar at back inside the camper and throw in 2 spreader bars and the misses was then busy cooking dinner. Whilst she did that I did a few more small set up things on the camper, like the front awning that consists of 2 poles and a spreader with 2 ropes going to the drawbar and zipping a few doors closed on the canvas. Within 40 minutes of arriving we had the camper set up and steak and sausages cooked for dinner, and it only took that long because we stopped and chatted with mates who arrived earlier and were already set up. Saturday morning I threw the front awning up which is a 10 minute job, couldn't be bothered doing it when we arrived as there was a fire to go sit around and a few cans of Bundy calling my name.

[axle]

For us the windups (Goldstream Storm) gives us a nice compromise between set up time and comfort.

Overnighter - 20 - 25 mins depending on level of ground.
Leveling - 0-5 min
Stabilisers - 4 min
Windup and bed ends out - 5 mins
Moving stuff around off the floor inside - 2 mins (have just got sky tracks storage system which helps here)
Spreader bars for the beds and door setup - 5 min
Camp Chairs setup and Fridge moved - 3 mins

Longer Stay - 1hr 20mins (maybe longer if winds are forecast)
As above - 20 mins
(Before roof is up)
Bed end awnings - 2 mins without poles or 10 mins with poles and guy ropes
Main Awning - 10 mins
Awning walls, and van skirt - 15 mins
Far side awning - 10 mins

Cgear mat pegged - 10 mins
oztrail gazebo and walls - 15 mins

The short stay time is important to us but the long stay one is less so. Its more likely to be longer than this as a few beers will be had etc. Hopefully by this stage we are in holiday mode and time concerns are left back at home.

[prichens]

What to look for..
Gal dipped
Bed can stay made
When unfolded you can just hop in and sleep

Sure for extra beds you will almost always have more setup time.
Also look at the extra tarps/cover no good saving time on other things if it takes just as long to have a dry meal

Sent from my ZTE Blade Q Lux using Tapatalk

[archer63]

Not meaning to be a smart ass....but I don't care what time it takes.
Times vary depending on who goes and how much stuff you take.

Our setup time for our recent trip to the Gold Coast took longer because the place was packed and we had to negotiate a narrow road with cars and vans everywhere and also other people's guy ropes, hoses & leads everywhere.....yet our first trip away to Bribie took less time to set up because the sites were more open.

They way we see it is that we are on holiday or away for a long weekend....watching the clock is a work thing....time to chill out.

Just my opinion.

Cheers
Rob

[Banjo16]

Well said.

[Bird]

Not meaning to be a smart ass....but I don't care what time it takes.
Just my opinion.

Well said... and nope not just yours mate

What the **** is the race??  as long as I'm not home, I'm happy to 1/2 setup, have a break, and finish it later

[Rumpig]

The OP asked the question how long it takes as they want quick set ups got short stay trips, hence why we are giving the times. They also asked what brand camper we have when doing some, which I forgot to add in the reply.

[Swannie]

Well said... and nope not just yours mate

What the **** is the race??  as long as I'm not home, I'm happy to 1/2 setup, have a break, and finish it later

Typical response from a bloke that takes about 4 hrs to setup

[Bird]

Typical response from a bloke that takes about 4 hrs to setup

shhhhh....

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.

Well you have everything from 10 mins on a soft floor (I think he was drunk), through to 1.5-2 hours for a Swan (which I think he was handcuffed to a tree)...

[xcvator]

Geeze, all these times really makes me realize just how good the design of the "Tanami "is. Just roll back the cover, fold out the tent, 8 pegs into the ground, push out 2 frames and that's it, get into bed, oh sorry, forgot to slide out the kitchen/stove/preparation area and connect the gas, another 90 seconds 

[GeoffA]

What the **** is the race??  as long as I'm not home, I'm happy to 1/2 setup, have a break, and finish it later forget about the rest...

Fixed....

[Bird]

Fixed....

[Jakster1]

I have a johnnos offroad deluxe and for a basic setup for the tent all that is needed is to unzip cover, pull out tent, lock in the 2 extendable poles and peg the base.  DONE. That's the easy part. It's unloadimg and setting up all the other crap for a wife and 2 kids and a dog that takes time. But t I usually have a beer cracked by then and it's no real rush. If the missus helps make the beds and open up chairs, table etc then it's quicker but she's usually keeping the kids busy while I setup and have a few sneaky beers.
I have had other soft floor users amazed at how quick the actual tent part can go up/down. They're usually the ones with the cheapy Chinese campers with 400 poles and fitting to figure out what to do with

[xcvator]

No it's not a race, but the easier the set up is, the quicker it is, so more relax time, whether drinking, fishing, walking or whatever.
This is a perfect example of you get what you pay for . Generally the better the camper, the faster/easier the setup/packup.( ask Peter1 and Lynda )
Example is the "Tanami", you set up the tent( 8 pegs )  ( 15 minutes) slide out the kitchen( 30 seconds) and that's it, everything else is in it's own drawer/compartment/cupboard/pantry/fridge.
Packing up should just be the reverse and if it's not, it's your system or the camper design is wrong.
My suggestion is if your setup/packup time is more than about 40 minutes each way, beg, borrow, save for a better camper or else you're going to crack the sh1ts with it and stop going camping.
Even in my dim dark past as a kid 58 years ago our family had a 10x16 heavy canvas tent, stretchers, kero stove , 12v light run from the battery, and we would have that up in about 30 minutes, driving from Yallourn we would stop and camp at Cann River( 6 or 7 hours then ) then the next day be in Eden for lunch ( 3 hours ) ( road is a bit different now )
And before you all start jumping on me( I wish ) think about this, if you took 3 hours to set up camp , would you have kept on camping, or would you have said " stuff it" it's too hard