Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Tent or Trailer

Thank you everyone for your replies.<P>Next question: What about maintenance? Repairs? Cost? Insurance? Storage? Is it a 'nickel and dime ya' item?

If you buy a small trailer and pay cash, no insurance needed, your car insurance covers trailer. You must do normal maintenance,(coat roof when needed), watch for water leaks, check butane lines and stove,(easy, just turn butane off at tank and watch gage,which you install, if it leaks down fast, you have a leak). Nothing to it, a joy sitting just waiting for you to go enjoy someplace with or without reservations. Stop anywhere you want visit, always some place to park if you look. Just drop trailer and have transportation, something you don't have with a motorhome. Larger trailers with more amenities are great for family and longer vacations but just for a hunting trailer go lighter, smaller, gas lights, stove and refrigerator combined with battery powered lights and refrigerator. Advantage, faster, easier to grab and go, less expensive, just plain fun. JMHO Have both, use hunting trailer much more than 24' Holiday. -- no

I think I have the best of both worlds.Got a n older model 15' Scamper trailer,no bathroom,everything runs off propane.I leave it in the bush during the season without fear of it being trashed or stolen.I use it mostly in Nov.<P>In the early part of the season I have my sheep herders tent.Have a wood burning stove,cupboards and a table.This is a good set up for a couple of guys to hunt out of.We can also load it up on a quad trailer and get off the beaten path.<P>I'm not an old fart,my kids think I am LOL,but I do like to sleep off the ground in the cold weather.It's nice to start the day off without having to walk out the kinks and stiff shoulders.

My solution to the tent/trailer dilemma has been to put a pop-up camper on my 4wd Dodge Ram. I can tow my boat, ATV, trailer, or whatever to any location I choose, and foot-hunt, ATV, or horse-hunt out of this portable camp. If I need to break camp in a hurry, it takes about 10 minutes. It is dry, warm, comfortable, and allows me to get a good nights rest to be able to hunt hard all day. I have used this rig to successfully hunt for, and take, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, antelope, wild turkey, and all manner of upland game on numerous hunts, in several Rocky Mountain states. The 4wd capability gets me off the road, and I can camp in places no trailer can go. I highly recommend this solution.

I have used a camper,hardtop tent-trailer,and a family tent,back-packing tents.A tent-trailer will go deeper than a camper,they peel off on trees.The single most important feature is getting up warm to cook breakfast.This year I bought a wall tent and a propane radiant heater. That is one answer.All tents should be well sited and tarped.

How much it costs and how much of a maintenance hassle it will be depends on what you get. I'm with "no". For just a hunting rig, stay with something small and cheap. You really don't need much more than a bunk and a stove. The important thing is to sleep comfortably and have a place to get out of the weather if necessary, the rest of the time you are still camping. TV's and microwaves and hot running water might be nice for some people, but it's not camping.<P>Mine doesn't even have a fridge. It's a '68, with ice box and no toilet (portapotty in closet or out in the woods when it's not too cold). During hunting season, it's plenty cold outside to keep food cold. Coolers with no ice are usually enough. Keeping it from freezing is more of a concern than keeping it cold, but that only happens when nighttime temps get down close to zero, which is rare. You'll want to keep your roof sealed, and there are batteries to charge before you head out, keep an eye on the tires (don't forget a spare), but that's about it. You might hose it off once in a while if you've been in the mud. I finally had to work on my furnace last fall for the first time in years. Turned out all it needed was the little hole in the burner to be cleaned out. Other than that, it's minimal maintenance. Just park it out of the weather if possible and it's ready when you are. My biggest problem has been with snow piling up on top in the winter, both due to the weight and the water when it melts. Tarps just don't cut it, so I get up there and shovel it off regularly. I'll be building something to park it under in the future. I spose you'd have a similar concern with all your rain.<P>I'm assuming you can park it at home. But some people can't or don't for various reasons. Storing it someplace can get expensive. I think it can run as much as $50/month.<P>If you go with the deluxe rig, I'm sure there will be more maintenance. All those gizmos surely must break now and then. You'll have to winterize the plumbing and tanks. I'm not sure what else. I've seen rigs that look like the starship enterprise inside, with central control panels for all the gizmos, remote electric start generators, even solar panels on the roof to charge the batteries. -al

Get the trailer. Also get a satellite dish so you can watch the Huskies. (Bow down to Washington!)<P>Nomex is donned and ready.

Spike, -- you can spend as much money as you want on a trailer, but for a hunting trailer, look at it like a tent with wheels, you don't have to put it up and take it down, especially if it's covered with snow and ice. Get something used and cheap so you can enjoy it without worrying about scratches and little dents. Don't buy anything that has had a leak in the roof, check the celing everywhere for water spots. An air conditioner is great if you plan on using it for fishing in the off season. In Texas we can park anywhere, most of the time I use Wal Mart lots, they don't mind. Sometimes on the road I will park at a closed gas station or restaurant, when they open I buy gas or eat, they knock on the door when they get to work, works out for both of us. Some stations, open all night like for me to park next to the station for their security and I pay them for electricity when I can plug in. Major companys won't let you because of insurance. Battery powered TV with VCR is great, watch movies in the sticks with girl friend! [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] I have a portable dish for the movies but that costs $$ per month. Great for full time RVers but not for hunting trailer. If I stay in a trailer park on the road,(for bathroom, clean-up, laundry room), much cheaper than motel and no reservations needed. The tent is great but it has it's limitations also. I pull my trailer waaaay back on forest roads, In Colorado you must stay on marked roads and usually the trailer can handle it until the ruts or snow gets too deep. Sometimes when a storm comes through it will shake the trailer but it don't blow down on you, just rock you to sleep snug as a bug in a rug. -- no

N.O., TV/VCR, portable dish??? Deep in my heart, I knew you were a yuppie, but this is a particularly graphic demonstration of it. This should make Sheister feel better about his gas-powered latte machine [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img]

8Ball, -- that stuff is in the Holiday, Micro-wave, shower, thermostat, everything same as home. My hunting trailer is straight no frills, enjoyable, get it and go, except for the portable radio, well, a little battery powered 5" screen color TV just for emergencies. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] This day and age it's hard not to have gagets. You'd be supprised how many CB radios are in the field, we used to caravan to Colorado and visit between trucks all the way up and with people in the towns we went through, especially at Halloween. The CBs are dying out now except on the 18 wheelers. -- no

All this talk about trailers started me thinking. I have a 1/2 ton Toyota 4x4 with a R22 4 banger and a 5 speed trasmition. It is rated at 200lb. tongue weight 2000 lb. gross trailer weight.<P>I never considered it powerful enongh to pull a trailer. Maybe it could handle a pop up type. What do you think?

You guys are killing me!!! Around here, good hunting generally speaking, equals living in a tent..small tent. Trailers are not even on the radar screen.pak

I used tents for many years and a pack-in requires it, but, where you are traveling and hunting public land in the states a trailer does so much more. I still have many fond memories of the pack-in campfire setting and miss them much. Traveling 1000 miles to hunting country a trailer is THE way to go. In Texas we have roadside parks everywhere and to whip in and spend the night, cook breakfast, and hit the road again is convenient and cost cutting, in Colorado the back country is dotted with campgrounds with water and fireplaces. For the timid you don't have to worry about BEARS or other predators. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] -- no

Rick,<P>Pop ups are pretty easy towing. At one time I was towing a small Viking pop-up with a Dodge Omni with the 2.2 litre & 5 speed. I was also hauling two canoes on the roof. Pulled the little hills back east without a problem. Later pulled the same trailer with a Dodge Raider with the 2.6 litre and 5 speed. This also did a good job, including some of the steeper grades in AZ, after I sold the whole rig to my brother. As long as you don't get too carried away with the trailer size, you should be fine with your Toy. [img]images/icons/cool.gif" border="0[/img] <P>Happy Campin'... Mac

Thanks Mac,<P>I'll have to keep my eye out for one of those little guys. <P>When we moved "out west" in the summer of '69 we were in a "covered wagon'. It was a Nimrod folding tent trailer pulled by an old Chevey Biscane wagon. We really felt like pioneers. My dad and I got to where we could deploy that tent in under 5 min in the dark, in the rain. It was a little different then a camping vacation because we knew it was a one way trip with a new business and a new life at the end of it. Just like the pioneers.