BusaDave9 - Cot Tent

[Hedgehog]

A few years ago I first noticed Cot-tents and have thought about them since. After my divorce I am now getting back into CJ camping. I live in Arizona so the following is possible. When I was younger, but not all that young I did a lot of hunting out of my 1980 CJ5. I did as you have written, hunt all day, when it got dark I'd stop and make a cowboy camp - small grill for steak & beans, bread, canned peach, something liquid (milk, beer, water). Then a simple bed roll - ground tarp, ground blanket, warm blanket, tarp on top, 357 under the pillow (usually another tarp). Well I'm getting older now and a Cot-tent like yours sounds mighty nice for all the reasons you've mentioned.

I'd like to know how your liking your Cot-tent after using it for a while. Is it as practical as it seems to be? Is it durable? What are your thoughts? I'm focusing this on BusaDave9, but anyone who has experience or knows someone with experience is welcome to chime in. Thanks

Michael

 

[Torxhead]

Mike, I have been a long time tent camper, and plan to stay that way. I was with some friends using those Cot-tents during a heavy storm and they got soaked. They seem to be quite poor on room. You sound like you plan to pack light also. There is plenty of room for storage in a CJ for a comfortable night(s) out. I would recommend a checklist to make sure you forget as little as possible. I always enjoy a campfire, but they do not seem to get hot enough for a great meal, so the propane stove is on the list. To each his own of course, maybe you will get some better feedback later on.

 

[Hedgehog]

Did the Cot-tents have the rain fly? I was thinking about the larger model, they sleep two and can handle some serious weight. I won't be sleeping with another person so room, at least room to sleep alone shouldn't be a problem. I like the idea of stopping to pop open a cot-tent and going to sleep, up the next morning and moving on.

The idea of compartmentalizing has always been part of my routine. Basically I have a number of milk crates with different needs in them. Cooking supplies, food, hunting supplies like predator calls and ammunition, clothing, wet weather stuff, sleeping items and water. I need to figure out how to carry firearms in this jeep. My other one had a "Poachers Rack" set-up by the outside knee. It worked well, then, but I want something better now. Those overhead racks made for Wranglers caught my eye. Very doable at home. Yeah, CJ5 camping is doable as long as some thought is put into the job. My other Jeep didn't have a tail gate, this one does and that also opens some doors for camping. I'm excited about the possibilities.

 

[BusaDave9]

Before I had my Cot Tent I used my backpacking tent on jeep trips. I had a heck of a time finding a campsite. There are rocks and rough ground everywhere in the mountains around here. By far the best thing about the Cot Tent is I can set it up almost anywhere. When it starts to get late I just stop and no matter how rocky it is I can use my Cot Tent.

It's also very comfortable. But this thing is not light. It could never be used for back packing. I've used it in the rain without a problem.
The idea is great but the quality is not the best. My Cot Tent is made my Kamp Rite and there are not many other companies that make them. Cabela's sells Cot Tents with their name on them but I think they are also made by Kamp Rite. My tent is holding up but not the case which is made the same. I have a hard time getting my tent into the case and that's how I tore the case.
Overall they are a great tent for jeeping. I have the small one man tent but that's all I need.

 

[Hedgehog]

Yeah I had the impression that back packing would not be the Cot-tents strong suite, but where weight and overall size isn't as important like truck/Jeep camping it seems like a perfect solution for a place to sleep, not party, but sleep comfortably. I like the idea of the larger tent so I have room for the expensive stuff, like my guns, to sleep with me. I live relatively near the border where foot traffic of the illegal type is overly common. They are mostly not very dangerous, preferring to move away from attention, but it is nice to know that your stuff will still be with you in the morning. Also, back when I “Cowboy Camped” it was in the winter thern Arizona) so bugs and snakes weren’t a problem. But when camping in the summer or in warmer weather it is nice to be up off the ground with zippered windows to keep the tarantulas and snakes out.

After doing some research I've found a few companies that make cot-tents, but Kamp Rite seems to be the big dogs in the industry today. It looks like they have changed their design sometime in the past few years. Some pictures show your style with an arch top and several sets of legs, there are a LOT more legs in the double 500 lb support model. Some pictures show a different leg arrangement. The Sportsmans Warehouse here in town has some, usualy the smaller models. I've fussed with them some, haven't crawled in one yet but probably will before purchasing.

 

[Petescj]

I was gonna tell you just to grab a regular tent like my old one. It zips up and will keep everything out as well. Keeps the rain out nice as well for the few times you need it at nite. Your on the ground though. We throw in an air mattress and call it home for a couple 3 day weekends a year. Weve since gone to a larger tent but the one pictured was fine for the two of us. Im a little clostraphobic so the tent cot wouldnt work for me.



That tent folds up into a carrying case that fits right on the wheel well of the Cj. You have a little less room in your CJ5 but not much. Id take the rear seat out and load everything we needed in the back. We bring a bit more each time it seems so I ordered up one of these for the rear bumper.

 

[IOPort51]

ENO Double Nest Hammock by Eagles Nest Outfitters - ENO Hammocks - Shop Brands - hammock - Categories - HammockCompany

I have been thinking about something like this, with screen and fly.

 

[Petescj]

ENO Double Nest Hammock by Eagles Nest Outfitters - ENO Hammocks - Shop Brands - hammock - Categories - HammockCompany

I have been thinking about something like this, with screen and fly.

You laugh but Vicki and I are thinking about those as well. No matter what you take camping you always see someone elses set up and think "Oh we should get 1 of those". Im sure I can find room in the Cj for a "softball" somewhere.

Didnt see the screen and rainfly option for you at all though.

 

[IOPort51]

you have to look around, I was at work and on a break so I cut and pasted the first two person rig I saw. A hammock is not good for cold weather but it is great for hot weather and with one end tied to the roll bar you only heed to find one tree.

You laugh but Vicki and I are thinking about those as well. No matter what you take camping you always see someone elses set up and think "Oh we should get 1 of those". Im sure I can find room in the Cj for a "softball" somewhere.

Didnt see the screen and rainfly option for you at all though.

 

[Hedgehog]

When I was much younger I worked at a Summer Camp doing maintenance. They had one of those hammock tents, actually much like the Cot-tent. I slept in it a bunch of times. It worked well for keeping the rain and buggs off, but to be honest the thing was very hard on my back. I need something flat and hard to sleep on. That experience brought me to being interested in the Cot-tent.

Ooooh did I mention the bear? We had a bear that would wander around the summer camp during the night. It seemed harmless enough. While I was sleeping in the tent hammock the bear must have been curious and wandered up to me and gave me a good sniffing. I was sound asleep, woke up thinking it was a dog and swatted it through the tent and went back to sleep. The next morning I went, "WHHHAAATTT the? We don't have any dogs in camp." Sure enough there were bear tracks by the hammock.

By-the-way I do have regular tents. A lot more fuss and bother than I like.

 

[Peanut Butter]

Been camping since I was 3, let's just say s bunch of years now. The cot tent is an easy one nighter way to go. I'd like to get one myself. However, let's look at what you will be doing all day and not hust at night. If you are out for a weekend and two of the three days it rains, being coooed up in a cot tent just won't hack it. When I go out for a weekend, I don't plan on coming home early due to rain, snow, etc. So my point here is with todays modern tents, a large tent dosen't really take up any more spaxe than a cot tent. So get something that will be comfortable ALL weekend long. Maybe with a screened in area to have a nice mael with no bugs, etc. Just my 2 cents. Rod

 

[Hedgehog]

I hear yeah, but.....

Rainy days ..... That's what a tarp is for. A couple lines between trees and you have an area to sit around in. We don't get a lot of long soaks here in Arizona, sure it rains and rains HARD at times, but nothing like it can be in other parts of the world. Most of my camping will be of the cowboy type, stop and drop then move on.

 

[bdpalace]

you have to look around, I was at work and on a break so I cut and pasted the first two person rig I saw. A hammock is not good for cold weather but it is great for hot weather and with one end tied to the roll bar you only heed to find one tree.

I've been a backpacker for a few decades and was about to call it quits due to soreness after sleeping on the ground when I discovered the joys of hammocking. The hammocks can be just as warm, if not warmer when you use an underquilt in the colder months. I've often camped below freezing and stayed warmer and drier (condensation inside tents in the winter is no fun) then my ground-dwelling friends. Some brands to look at for quality and versitility - Henessey Hammocks, Warbonnet Hammocks, Tree to tree, and the list goes on. For more information about hammocks, you can visit the hammock forums or look for Shug Emery's YouTube videos. These are some of the nicest (non-Jeep) people I've encountered on forums and will bend over backwards to help you.

When comparing to cots, I used my hammock exculsively while deployed to Kuwait to avoid sleeping on a cot. To me, there is no comparison for comfort and versitility.

Good luck in your quest for a good back-country solution.

 

[Hedgehog]

Hammock tents are not new to me, I slept in one quite a bit. Unfortunately, in my later years they tend to hurt my back. Mostly because I can't wriggle around in a hammock as easily as I can a cot type bed. I prefer a hard bed and they make a double wide so the space restriction of a normal military cot isn't as much of a problem. Also, similar to a hammock they are up off the ground.

 

[BusaDave9]

Speaking of hammock tents. Check this out:

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[davey25]

What about those pop up tent things that go on like a roof rack..I seen them back in the 80's

 

[Hedgehog]

Dave - Cool find. A lot of blather about ewak villages and such. But there is potential for sleeping in dangerous environments like in Africa. The cool part of this system they didn't mention is the potential to set the tent up high enough to use it as a roof, add some tarp sides and you have an eating/gathering area and a second floor sleeping area. th floor might get a little cold though. I wonder how small they fold up?

I did get a Double Cot Tent from Craigs list. A $350 tent for $100, couldn't pass this one up. The thought was to have a place to sleep AND a place for the expensive stuff in the tent with me. Nice tent, but I should have gotten the single version. This thing is heavy AND wide. It just barely fits across the jeep, with it leaning against the roll bar and a bikini top it is almost like having a fast back set up.

 

[JR74CJ5]

Speaking of hammock tents. Check this out:

I'd go out for a midnight relief and trip over one of those straps! haha :laugh: :wasted:

Kinda cool though!

HedgeHog, have you had the chance to try it out much? Like it?

 

[Hedgehog]

JR74CJ5 - I am just itching to get out for an over night. Just the CJ, a grill, some steaks and my Cot Tent.

This coming Saturday I'm headed out for some Rabbits. Don't know why but I've been thinking about rabbit stew, roasted and grilled rabbit. We might even bring home a young Jack Rabbit or two for Chili.

 

[Petescj]

- I am just itching to get out for an over night. Just the CJ, a grill, some steaks and my Cot Tent.

First real signs of Spring around here. Almost 60* once or twice. Overnite is still a bit chilly though. I envy you Desert Rats.