Tent Trailers: Perfect for Kid Camping

Camping with young children can either be bliss or hell. My wife and I love camping and wanted to instill a sense of roughing it to our children. So, when they were still in diapers we took a trip into the great unknown.

We were basically car camping out of our little Subaru. We had a 4-man tent and everything you need for a successful trip. We had brought the kid's blankets, stuffed animals, sippy cups, toys, anything we could think of to keep them happy on our trip.

Everything was fine until it was time to put them to bed. We laid out their sleeping bags and pads and lay in the tent with them and read at least ten books. Our boys have never been great sleepers, but after an hour of book reading they were still showing no signs of tiredness.

We thought we'd give it a go though, so we told them to hush up and lie down and sleep. We exited the tent and the kids immediately started giggling and wrestling. The tent looked like it was inhabited by two spastic bear cubs.

Even after stern warnings and more books the boys were not ready to sleep. Finally my wife and I had to crawl between them and sleep with them. Our plan had been to put the boys to bed then have some quality adult time together. That didn't happen.

The next morning we packed up and drove home wondering if we would ever be able to take our kids camping without having to constantly try to make them sleep.

The Tent Trailer Solution

We weren't about to stop camping with our kids, but we needed to figure something out to make it less frustrating. Our answer came in the shape of a tent trailer.

For the uninitiated, a tent trailer is basically a tent on wheels. You tow it behind your car in its compact shape then open it up into a spacious living quarters when you arrive at camp.

Tent trailers are infinitely less expensive than their cousins, the RV. They're light, easy to tow and have everything you could ever need. Granted, I wouldn't call tent trailering roughing it; but if you have little kids it makes camping doable and fun.

The reason the tent trailer works so well with kids is because each kid gets his or her own little "room". A curtain separates the "rooms", but that separation makes all the difference in the world. The tent trailer is more like their rooms back home, but different enough to still be exciting.

Now when we put the kids to bed, we read them a story turn on their night-lights kiss them goodnight and don't hear from them again until the next morning. We can leave the trailer and sit on a picnic table sipping gin and tonics. The tent trailer seems to give them a sense of security; there's a real door and real walls.

Most tent trailers are set up to have the single beds on one end and the queen or king sized bed for the adults on the other. When choosing a trailer look for this setup. You want to be as far from the kids as possible, particularly if you're planning on becoming amorous with your mate.

Weather's No Problem

Tent trailers are also great if the weather's not cooperating. There's nothing worse than being stuck in a ground tent in a rainstorm for hours with your whole family. In a tent trailer it's not too bad. The kids can have their own space, or they can sit at a table and draw or play board games. You can even fire up the propane stove and cook a decent meal; just be sure to properly ventilate the trailer.

If you want to run into town for any reason you have a car at your disposal. You don't have to take the tent trailer with you. Leave it and come back without having to reset everything. Many RV people tow an extra car for this very reason, but I don't have enough disposable income to get away with that setup.

With our tent trailer we are able to take our kids camping without too much hassle. They love the adventure of it and even make me set it up at home just so they can play in it. It has made our camping fun again and helped introduce our children to many magical spots.