Jellobiafra
Cape Coral, FL
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Hey, first post here. So hello everyone!
Anyway, my family of two adults, three boys (ages 6, 5, and 3) will be tent camping for the first time in October. We spent a week on the Blue Ridge Pkwy back in June, and decided to go back for fall leaf season. We'll be spending about 10 days between the Pkwy and Smoky Mountain National Park. All but 2 of those days will be spent tent camping.
We'll be staying at some of the official campgrounds right the parkway like Pisgah and Doughton Park.
Not wanting to squeeze into a little tent, we went out and spent some money on a large dome tent. Well, turns out this thing is massive. We decided to put the thing up last night in our living room, just to get a handle on how tough it would be to assemble, but also to seal the seams. Well, as you'll see in the attached picture, the thing took up our whole living room almost, LOL!
So my immediate question, if anyone knows the answer, is whether or not the camp sites along the parkway can even handle a tent of this size. I've seen mention of "tent pads", and wonder what might happen if the tent itself is larger than the tent pad.
I've looked everyone on the net for an answer to this, and hoped that you guys might know.
We've also purchased cold weather sleeping bags, some sleeping pads, back packs (we have some wafterfall hikes planned), flashlights, a couple of heaters, starter logs for fires, and some other odds and ends. Would love any other advice you might have for a family on their first tent camping trip.
So the tent is 16 x 10. The picture is below. And just for fun, I'll include a pic from a waterfall we hiked to in June, called Rose River Falls in Virginia. That's my wife and our youngest in the picture. Hope you enjoy! And thanks in advance for your help!
Edited photos to conform to RV.Net maximum size
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edited 09/22/08 07:56am by an administrator/moderator *
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Jellobiafra
Cape Coral, FL
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Didn't realize that you specifically have to set your preferences to see the pictures. Just wanted to give you a heads up if you want to see them, but can't. Head to your preferences and check mark the box letting you see pictures. Unless you are on dial up...that might suck a little ;-)
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Vapor_Trails
Yucaipa, CA
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Can't help you with your potential tent pad issue. Every CG (campground) I've been to here in So Cal. (Baja Norte) doesn't have designated pads; just relatively level clearings to set up tents.
But, the reason I'm responding to you is that you need to be careful with the camping thing. Pretty soon your wife will be wanting all the comforts of a RV and you will become a Winnebago Warrior. Then the real Jello will make fun of you...
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Jellobiafra
Cape Coral, FL
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LOL, can't have that!
Well, the tent thing was actually her idea. I've been wanting to try it for years, but she's the one that decided on it for this trip.
And anyway, can't afford the 6 mpg gas bill for an RV anyway ;-)
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NPD MECHANIC
Hooksett, NH
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you may not be able to afford the 6mpg but a pop up would do cheap money and you keep the mpg. as far as the tent goes if you can set it up inside you are all set. we have a pop up now but our tent we cant set up inside. good luck. i get almost 18mpg towing my pup.
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Biznaga
Arizona
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Raised 5 kids camping in various large tents. One or two had two rooms, one for the kids and one for the parents.
After 30 plus years age caught up to us so we went shopping for a tent-on-wheels and wound up with a pop-up camper 5 years ago.
So you can get a pop-up camper after 30 years of tent camping.
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fordsooperdootydieselsmoker
OrangeCountyCalifornia
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When I started out with camping my brothers threw in and bought a 14x18 4 room cabin type tent, huge! It looked like Omar Sherif on a Road Trip! Never had any issues here in California with State and County campgrounds. Usually a dirt pad and/or grass.
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mister_d
Livonia, MI - hardly qualified to be a
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We tent camped for years in tents that size w/o a problem.
The list for what to bring depends on the camper - with the scouts everything had to go in a backpack whereas when we had a kid we brought everything except the kitchen sink (if my wife could have fit it she would have brought it).
I suggest you do a 1 night backyard test first - if you need something write it down - then when you actually go take a small notebook to write even more down. You could just say to hell with it and camp nearby a wallyworld and run up there for everything you decide you need(:
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Jellobiafra
Cape Coral, FL
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A dry run would be a good idea if it wasn't 93 degrees here, LOL! Even at night, the heat and humidity is way too oppressive to sleep in a camp. Another reason I can't wait to hit the mountains next month! It's been a long summer.
I guess the good thing about camping along the Blue Ridge Pkwy, is that if we find we need or want something, we actually can pick it up at a store the next day. With towns like Asheville, Boone, and Spruce Pine never too far away, we'll always have access to some shopping.
Although I'd rather go without stepping foot in one of those stores while I'm gone 
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Jellobiafra
Cape Coral, FL
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fordsooperdootydieselsmoker wrote:It looked like Omar Sherif on a Road Trip!
Hilarious! That's about what we were thinking yesterday when we put it up. This thing is more like a luxury suite than a tent. But thanks for the info. Main reason I was worried, was because when I ran an image search for tent pads on google, I found pictures of a dirt like area surrounded by wood planks. And that just wasn't going to work if that was the norm. As long as it's just a well kept area of grass, I'm sure we'll be fine.
How about cold weather tent camping? We have good sleeping bags. The kids are mummy bags rated at zero degrees, and the wife and I both have extra large bags rated at 20 degrees. My sister offered up a couple of propane heaters. Do I have to worry about those things burning down my tent? That probably would ruin the trip 
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