2021 Basecamp TENT - Question - May Be Same Tent For All Years

[MSheri]

Hi,

Ordered a new 2021 Basecamp (arriving "Sept 1 thru end of year") so that means I have time, too much time, to think and plan and add stuff and all that.

The option for the tent was mentioned, so I am adding that.

And my question is: I am told by my out of state dealer (buying the BC sight unseen) that it may weigh 45-50 lbs. But I am now trying to find out if anyone HAS one (even earlier BCs probably use the same or very similar tent and setup for it?) and if so, can you tell me where you STOW the thing, does it fold up small (dimensions?), etc.

Too late to un-do adding it, so don't tell me I shouldn't have added it! LOL

I am new and scared enough as it is, huge step and major life change this is for me a solo FT nomad "soon to be."

Thank you so much for any info and clues! Can I set it up alone? Storing it? things like that. I just think I would really like the extra "space" even if it's just a tent attached to the exterior. Have large dog I will be traveling with. Heading toward SD. That's the plan, anyway! THANK YOU ALL!

Sheri

[FaFaFooey]

Congratulations on the purchase! Did you go with the 16 or 20 ft?

We have a 2018 and have both the side and rear tents which will probably be different from the tent you will get. Ours are the old pole style and yours will probably be the pneumatic version. The old style weigh somewhere around 40 lbs each (Side slightly heavier). I store mine in the under seat storage on the curb side. I can easily fit both tents and the small over door canopy in there with plenty of room.

Enjoy the new trailer! We love ours.

[Willisinatin]

Congrats on the purchase.
sounds like you may have gotten the older style.
The air inflating tent is heavy and when packed large. about 70lbs , when dry. Good thing there are handles on the bag. We have hauled ours in between the seats on the floor , but found it best to keep it in the tow vehicle. it is tricky to thread the attachment to the basecamp with out a second person. A very nice and well built addition to the camper. We have come to the conclusion that there is a 3 night minimum if we set the tent up.
we made a wonderful usable awning that packs up in a small bag and cost less than $200.

[MSheri]

Thanks! I am getting the 16X and the dealer says tent weighs 45-50 lbs. Hm. I just have no clue as to how much storage, really, I will have inside overall. I plan to be a FT person so I gotta watch out for loading up too much “stuff” as it is. I have a general idea that I will have storage under the bench seats and maybe in cargo netting up above but that looks like about IT. Yes I am buying this thing without ever having even been in one. Crazy I know. I am paring down all my “stuff” as we speak, of course, but I have no concept of how many clothes or personal items, cookware, all that, will fit ok in the BC. And I will have a dog in there with me. Thank you all again!

[roc97007]

Originally Posted by SheriMICA

Hi,

Ordered a new 2021 Basecamp (arriving "Sept 1 thru end of year") so that means I have time, too much time, to think and plan and add stuff and all that.

The option for the tent was mentioned, so I am adding that.

And my question is: I am told by my out of state dealer (buying the BC sight unseen) that it may weigh 45-50 lbs. But I am now trying to find out if anyone HAS one (even earlier BCs probably use the same or very similar tent and setup for it?) and if so, can you tell me where you STOW the thing, does it fold up small (dimensions?), etc.

Too late to un-do adding it, so don't tell me I shouldn't have added it! LOL

I am new and scared enough as it is, huge step and major life change this is for me a solo FT nomad "soon to be."

Thank you so much for any info and clues! Can I set it up alone? Storing it? things like that. I just think I would really like the extra "space" even if it's just a tent attached to the exterior. Have large dog I will be traveling with. Heading toward SD. That's the plan, anyway! THANK YOU ALL!

Sheri

We have a 2017 Basecamp and I bought the side tent, which I assume is what you're talking about. There's an additional smaller tent that goes over the rear.


It's a few feet long cylinder packed, easy to stow in the back of the truck, but I throw it in the trailer through the back door. I don't think the tent weighs 45-50 pounds. I could lift it easily and didn't have any problems tossing it around. Moreover, the poles have a separate satchel inside the main bag, so you can divide it up into two bags if that makes it easier to move around.



That back door is extremely useful and I'm going to miss it when we trade in our current Basecamp. I used it for horse shows (I'm a photographer) and I could put my table and chairs and solar panels and tent in the trailer through the back door and not have to take up room in the truck. Not to mention, storing all that stuff in the trailer between gigs instead of taking up room in the garage.


But I'm going over to the dealer tomorrow to look into trading the thing in, because of all the problems we've had with it, which I won't bore you with here. Looking at a Sport or Bambi. Which means I'll lose a lot of carrying capacity, unfortunately.

[DellCook]

Hello All! Didn't want to start a new thread on this topic. I'm curious about storage of the side tent (newest inflatable model) and would like to know if anyone could post pics of the side tent stowed in the Basecamp? Considering the tent but reluctant based on potential space it takes up - I don't anticipate setting it up all the time but would likely store it in the trailer all the time.

[Rainer]

One thing to remember. The old style tent will not work with either "X" versions of the Basecamp. The "X' versions are over 8 inches taller and one will need the inflatable version.

[roc97007]

Originally Posted by MSheri

Hi,

Ordered a new 2021 Basecamp (arriving "Sept 1 thru end of year") so that means I have time, too much time, to think and plan and add stuff and all that.

The option for the tent was mentioned, so I am adding that.

And my question is: I am told by my out of state dealer (buying the BC sight unseen) that it may weigh 45-50 lbs. But I am now trying to find out if anyone HAS one (even earlier BCs probably use the same or very similar tent and setup for it?) and if so, can you tell me where you STOW the thing, does it fold up small (dimensions?), etc.

Too late to un-do adding it, so don't tell me I shouldn't have added it! LOL

I am new and scared enough as it is, huge step and major life change this is for me a solo FT nomad "soon to be."

Thank you so much for any info and clues! Can I set it up alone? Storing it? things like that. I just think I would really like the extra "space" even if it's just a tent attached to the exterior. Have large dog I will be traveling with. Heading toward SD. That's the plan, anyway! THANK YOU ALL!

Sheri

When I'm taking ours, it goes in the cargo area between the benches in the back. I toss it in through the rear door.


Basically everything I usually take camping gets stored in the cargo area. Chairs, table, tent, solar panels. It all sits there while the Basecamp is in storage. If necessary, I can run tie-down straps through the eyelets in the floor.



When we park at a campsite, the first thing I do is open the back door and start pulling out stuff and setting up camp. Unfold the table, put it the chairs, set up the solar, and put up the tent. If we have shore power, the solar panels go into the back of the pickup.


Can you set it up alone? Sure if you're agile and read the directions carefully. In my experience (I'm 5'9") you will need a stepstool. We have a folding one that stays in the storage space under the counters to the right of the door.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Having spent many decades camping in tents .....

Normally the biggest issue is rain. In a lot of places Rain or heavy dew comes down almost every night. In the morning the tent is wet. This is when it's time to pack up and roll out. You *could* wait for it to dry. Will that be 10AM or will it be 2 PM? If you have an X hour drive and need to be there by 5 ... hmmm ....

The typical value of X means that no, you don't have time for things to dry if they got well soaked overnight. You pack them up wet and move on. If the next stop is another campsite, maybe they will dry before you head to bead ... maybe. If you are heading home, they need to be taken out and dried.

None of this is crazy hard to deal with. It simply needs to be part of the planning. You do *not* want to pack it wet and leave it that way. The result is usually pretty yucky .....

Bob

[DellCook]

Any pics you could share of the tent in it's "folded" configuration to give an idea for size? Is yours the newer tent with inflatable supports?

[Willisinatin]

Sorry the bed is down so I can’t put it inside but the photos should give you a better idea

[DellCook]

Originally Posted by Willisinatin

Sorry the bed is down so I can’t put it inside but the photos should give you a better idea

Thank you for posting the pics! Definitely helps... it doesn't seem to take up as much space as I imagined.

[Basecamp77]

Willisinatin, I’m new to these forums and I can’t figure out how to reply directly to a post of yours. (Even though I click the reply button to your post). I think this is posting to the end if the thread. Anyway, thanks for mentioning the awning you made. We have a 20x, and our tent just arrived. However, we’re frustrated that there is no window on the Basecamp that can be opened in the rain (without some type of awning). If we’re driving longer distances and just stopping to sleep for the night (and don’t want to/can’t run the AC) then it would nice nice to at least open one side window in inclement weather. I’ve been thinking of making our own and have some ideas, but I would be interested to know what you did? For what it’s worth, I’d guess that any redesign on a future model year will include a side window that folds out from the bottom vs the current configuration.