Non-Back Country Camp RV vs. Wall Tent

[OregonJim]

I try to spend at least a couple of weeks a year in my wall tent whether in elk camp or just camping.
I absolutely prefer it for camping and hunting but I am yielding to my hunting partners who are bending over backwards to help me.

This season I will be dragging the RV out to WY and CO for elk season.
The feel of camp will obviously be missing some of the things I love.
At the same time hot showers, a real mattress (a good one not that crap that comes in the rv) and consistent heat controlled by a thermostat, will be nice.

Although the fuel cost will be more I won't be having to stop a couple of times at midnight for hotels, and all my guns/bows/optics will be at arms reach when i stop for rest.

 

[ivorytip]

nothing beats walking down the mountain after a long hunt to see smoke rising from a big canvas wall tent, just something about it. but at same time, that nice shower would sure feel damn good!

 

[Hilltop]

Even when we had an RV or camper along, we still set up a cook tent. Pros and cons to either way but it sure is nice to have the elbow room in the tent.

 

[2rocky]

If you have an RV, more power to you. The more comfortable you are in camp, the longer you can hunt.

Like every convenience (horses, generators, big tents, atv's), It brings its own degree of difficulty for something else to maintain and fix during / before the hunt. The key is to balance the convenience/comfort and hunting. Having a non hunting companion along to manage these conveniences sure makes it easier to hunt hard. It also makes it easier to bring the family and that is always good.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I do both and both have their advantages.

 

[Winchester]

It's hard to beat a good campsite ... but I've never tried an RV ... a hot shower would be nice.

 

[ssliger]

I have done both, the best part of having an RV is my morning visit to the mens room. I also enjoy not waking up every 2-3 hours to stoke the fire in the stove.

 

[Gr8bawana]

When I was a kid my dad only had a tent. Not bad when the weather is good, but when it rained or snowed you still had to make a fire
just to get warm or cook. We did that for a lot of years. The last year before my brother and I bought a trailer the wind blew open the tent door and snowed inside on our sleeping bags. Since then our trailers are mighty warm and comfy. You can't beat the hot showers
and not pooping out in the snow under a bush!

 

[trkytrack2]

I spent many years in all kinds of tents. Enjoyed every second of it too, even when it was freezing cold. But the older you get the more comforts you desire. Now in my "golden years" I prefer a nice warm cozy camper with all the trimmings.

 

[bigmoose]

We have always set up a cook tent unless it is just the wife and me. Most of the guys I hunt with have a RV and when we bring our wives along it gives them all the comforts of home. We eat all our meals in the cook tent. I had my cook tent made with two doors and depending on the size of the group, we'll hook two cook tents together. I can't imagine hunting camp without a cook tent. It's just a great place to get together whether eating or getting dry or playing cards or just hanging out.

Moose

 

[ivorytip]

We have always set up a cook tent unless it is just the wife and me. Most of the guys I hunt with have a RV and when we bring our wives along it gives them all the comforts of home. We eat all our meals in the cook tent. I had my cook tent made with two doors and depending on the size of the group, we'll hook two cook tents together. I can't imagine hunting camp without a cook tent. It's just a great place to get together whether eating or getting dry or playing cards or just hanging out.

Moose

well said bigmoose

 

[az.mountain runner]

I'm with you 2Rocky there is good and bad with all things, cutting wood, heating water, ect.ect., or insurance, propane, tire repair, all come with some kinda cost, but I would still like to put together a team that is dedicated to hunt, guys that didn't draw that would go and do camp chores and glassing,along with helping getting the elk out, in return I would be there to help them when they need it.but it always turned out I help them out and, when it's their turn to help me never around., maybe some day

 

[minn elk chaser]

Age has made it easier to be in RV. Miss the tent but enjoy being warm and dry.

 

[Wapiti_Hunter]

I am a wall tent loving fool! It is one of my favorite parts of being in the mountains. I'm sure as I age I will change my mind but for now I love the cold ground, the campfire and that sweet wonderful canvas.

 

[Timberstalker]

I like my RV, I will be tenting it in Wyoming though. I hope I don't regret leaving the RV at home, maybe I should bring it? You have me second guessing my plan OJ!

 

[2rocky]

Regardless of what kinda camp you run, to be successful hunting, the best is one you never see in the daylight...until you tag out.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Regardless of what kinda camp you run, to be successful hunting, the best is one you never see in the daylight...until you tag out.

This is true.When I was a kid hunting with my dad we never left camp until the sun was almost out and always back well before dark.
We almost never got a deer but at the time I didn't know we were missing the best hunting hours.

 

[THelms]

I've hunted out of the back of my truck, a huge RV, and numerous wall tents during my tenure as a hunter. I've even slept in my duck boat on Saginaw Bay and Little Bay De Noc. However, the RV's and Wall Tents have always been someone else's but last weekend my wife and I set up our first "on our own" base camp with a friend's 8x10 Denver Tent Co. Wall Tent.

While I must say setting it up outfitter style was a major learning experience we got it figured out and settled in for two days of scouting and one morning of opening day archery elk.

Sunday proved to be a test of our camp as about ten a.m. the rain socked in and soaked everything in the mountains. However, it proved to be a blessing as my wife, my lab, and I burrowed into the cozy little tent, lit a fire in the wood stove, heated up some spaghetti, and brewed some coffee all while kicking back with a Craig Johnson novel for me and Olive Fredrickson's Autobiography -The Silence of the North - for my wife as we let the weather do its thing outside and listened to the pitter patter of raindrops on canvas. It was exactly the kind of relaxation we both needed.

Sunday evening we ventured forth and put the spy on eight nice bulls as we made our plans for the Monday morning hunt. I must say that returning to a warm and cozy tent in the dark was wonderful and full of the ambiance of hunting in the West.

As I write this the base-camp is still, barring Grizzly mischief, standing and waiting our return on Friday evening. As I look out my classroom window to the west toward the mountains I can close my eyes and be transported to that magical little camp along the banks of a mountain stream that is my home away from home.

I will be purchasing my very own wall tent outfit in the near future. As a teacher and coach I do not have the luxury of taking the time to bush-wack miles into the backcountry for ten days but I can set up a comfy little camp as a base and day hunt from it with the ability to "coyote-out" if needed and return for refueling as needed.

The canvas is just "romantic" in the literary sense of the word (not Nicholas Sparks) and it just brings more to the hunt for me than an RV. My Dos Pesos!

 

[OregonJim]

I like my RV, I will be tenting it in Wyoming though. I hope I don't regret leaving the RV at home, maybe I should bring it? You have me second guessing my plan OJ!

If it helps I'll PM my gas bill when I hit Rock Springs
You can PM me back if you have to pack the tent up wet and head for Oregon

 

[OregonJim]

I've hunted out of the back of my truck, a huge RV, and numerous wall tents during my tenure as a hunter. I've even slept in my duck boat on Saginaw Bay and Little Bay De Noc. However, the RV's and Wall Tents have always been someone else's but last weekend my wife and I set up our first "on our own" base camp with a friend's 8x10 Denver Tent Co. Wall Tent.

While I must say setting it up outfitter style was a major learning experience we got it figured out and settled in for two days of scouting and one morning of opening day archery elk.

Sunday proved to be a test of our camp as about ten a.m. the rain socked in and soaked everything in the mountains. However, it proved to be a blessing as my wife, my lab, and I burrowed into the cozy little tent, lit a fire in the wood stove, heated up some spaghetti, and brewed some coffee all while kicking back with a Craig Johnson novel for me and Olive Fredrickson's Autobiography -The Silence of the North - for my wife as we let the weather do its thing outside and listened to the pitter patter of raindrops on canvas. It was exactly the kind of relaxation we both needed.

Sunday evening we ventured forth and put the spy on eight nice bulls as we made our plans for the Monday morning hunt. I must say that returning to a warm and cozy tent in the dark was wonderful and full of the ambiance of hunting in the West.

As I write this the base-camp is still, barring Grizzly mischief, standing and waiting our return on Friday evening. As I look out my classroom window to the west toward the mountains I can close my eyes and be transported to that magical little camp along the banks of a mountain stream that is my home away from home.

I will be purchasing my very own wall tent outfit in the near future. As a teacher and coach I do not have the luxury of taking the time to bush-wack miles into the backcountry for ten days but I can set up a comfy little camp as a base and day hunt from it with the ability to "coyote-out" if needed and return for refueling as needed.

The canvas is just "romantic" in the literary sense of the word (not Nicholas Sparks) and it just brings more to the hunt for me than an RV. My Dos Pesos! View attachment 10522

Very nicely stated!
You will fall in love with that wall tent.
My "Canvas Cabin" (brand) is about 12 years old and is holding up great.
Like I said in the OP, I'd probably be dragging the cargo trailer with tent and wood stove it was only up to me.