So we're spending more than a couple of nights away this year. As part of the Adventure of it we won't always do the Premier Inn thing, so the lad can mess about with his riding mates, racing mates etc...
We have enough space in van to carry a memory foam mattress, so not a massive issue in terms of the lying down context... but sleeping, well, do we go for Tent, Gazebo or in the van...
Gazebo will already be up and waiting with doors and sides.. so that could work well... The van obviously has sides and a roof and the tent, well it's not a 2 mins job, but far from a complete nightmare to put up.
Which is 'best' then ?
Tent every time.
Usually the reason you have the van is that it's full of bikes and kit.
Unless you've got a van big enough to have a garage, then it's going to be full of stuff too expensive to dump outside overnight.
Pop up tents are so good now and so incredibly easy, it just makes more sense imho.
If your van isn't insulated etc, it'll tend to be colder too.
Tent, you can fit a really nice tent and mats/sleeping bags in the corner of a van while you travel, then get a decent nights sleep.
Sleeping in a van (unless it's been gutted and/or is half empty) isn't particularly pleasant.
Depends on budget really. We have a Vango 6 man inflatable tent for the 2 of us, really nice & roomy, but quick to put up also, so would really recommend something like that!
"Field sleeping"??? It's ok to call it camping 😜
Van every time.
Usually the reason you have the van is that it’s got a lovely full width bed, fridge full of cold beer, lovely soft warm duvet, cooker, cotton sheets, lighting and a heater
Unless you’ve got a van big enough to have a garage, then it’s going to be full of people so dump the expensive bike stuff outside overnight. That's exactly what you bought the 10 metres of Pragmasis chain for.
Vive la difference....
Usually the reason you have the van is that it’s got a lovely full width bed, fridge full of cold beer, lovely soft warm duvet, cotton sheets, lighting and a heater
So, you mean camper, or RV...
Well yes, the van will be just a van... but will only have 2 MTBs in there, so could easily fit a single mattress.
Hammocks....
If you want to sleep in the van, have a good think about insulation and ventilation. If it's a case of only one night at a time, a 2 seconds Decathlon tent is more than satisfactory.
Hammocks….
No need for that sort of language.
“Field sleeping”??? It’s ok to call it camping 😜
Wild sleeping, surely?
Well yes, the van will be just a van
Vans are noisy in the rain and even if it doesn’t rain you get woken up by big fat drops of condensation….. which alway, always manage to land in your ear. The first sudden movement in the morning create a small rain shower. In summer they’re hot and stuffy as soon as the suns up.
it takes a bit of time and work turning a van into an insulated / ventilated space to sleep otherwise it’s just a too cold / too hot damp nosy metal box
If you're racing multiple weekends it's well worth sorting the van with insulation. bed and bike storage.
I've a fitted out camper, but faced with a tent, car or basic van camping, you'll only find me in the car/van if my tent has collapsed or is floating.
Tent is much warmer and more pleasant.
If you’re racing multiple weekends it’s well worth sorting the van with insulation. bed and bike storage.
Doesn't really work IMO as at times we'll have 4 and even 5 bikes in the van. This weekend for example we'll have 4 in there just for FoD and Cannock. Once you get into that you can't really have space for bed/storage as you then need to start removing wheels etc which we don't want to do. So the van is predominantly a van/bike thing with any sleeping aspect being secondary.
Tent is my preference for comfort and a decent night's sleep. Change for a quicker to pitch one if needed. Most 3 hoop tunnels can be put up by one person in 5mins or so. Then the van is just for lobbing bikes, manky kit, tools etc in.
Wild camping
Shirley that should be ... Wild fielding*.
##notabakeoffmoment
+1 for tent.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/3-person-blackout-pop-up-tent-2-seconds-xl-fresh-black/_/R-p-172537?mc=8492484&c=WHITE (or the 2 man if it's for one person, or you want separate ones) is literally a 2 min job, if it's not windy then just a few pegs around the sides and don't even bother with the guy lines. Plenty of vents/mesh for if it's hot and to keep insects out.
Thick self-inflating mattress and you'll have a decent nights sleep.
When we had a van it was just used as a mega estate car.
Put a false floor in the back with a double row of (large) storage boxes underneath, bikes bracketed on top and space to seat 6 (or 4 with loads of space.) With the spinny front seats we could sit and eat in there. Space to get changed if the weather was properly bad. Enough space for 3 or 4 days worth of race kit, plus food/camping/glamping/BBQ/gas hob/lighting/cooking etc from a mains hook up. And a massive tent in it's own box, then another box for camping mats/sleeping bags etc.
Toured and raced the length and breadth of Scandinavia in it, plus Germany/Netherlands/Belgium/Holland/UK.
Then we had kids.
So we reconfigured to a kid friendly of mega estate.
Then we sold it when they were about 4 and got a caravan instead.
the van will be just a van…
Sleeping in an un-insulated van is a miserable experience - choose one of the other options.
I thought this was going to be about some audax type ride where you hide behind a hedge for 1hr and what hedge to choose
Sleeping in an un-insulated van is a miserable experience – choose one of the other options.
Exaggeration. There are better places to sleep but with a window cracked and a good self inflating mat it is fine. In the ops case I would choya tent because of the amount of gear but in general sleeping in a van is fine.
Well yes, the van will be just a van… but will only have 2 MTBs in there, so could easily fit a single mattress.
Never that pleasant rolling over in the night and getting a face full of DMR Vault! 😂
I think I’d have a basic easy to erect tent purely to sleep in since you have the van and gazebo for shelter you can move about in. Whether I actually used it would depend on laziness, weather, space.
Mostly I’m looking forward to seeing how all this pans out over the next eight months once the Weeksy’s have a race season behind them and know what actually worked for them
BTW I have slept in cars and vans but only out of laziness/lack of options/drunkenness
Mostly I’m looking forward to seeing how all this pans out over the next eight months once the Weeksy’s have a race season behind them and know what actually worked for them
As with bikes, vehicles, layouts etc, this is definately going to be a 'suck it and see' type situation that changes, develops and moves fluidly as we learn, develop and grow. There's things like food, catering, heat, cold, etc all that again will be different one week to the next.
I'm leaning towards the Gazebo at the moment, but that doesn't help in terms of flooring if it's rainy/wet, which obviously one of the 2sec tents from Decathlon will work for as it's got a dry groundsheet... but currently we've got 5 weeks to come up with plans 😀
I would sleep in the van, with the bikes, but have a tent or gazebo immediately outside to get changed in, sit in, leave all muddy stuff in etc. A decontamination zone! A van is always watertight and takes the headache out of wind/rain for the sleeping part, but if you keep it just for sleeping in and keeping bikes in it keeps the faff and chaos factor down. But if you can't sleep in the van with your bikes then I would go for the tent option - I wouldn't want my bikes outside with me in the van. Even with big locks, it's too much risk.
100% the bikes won't be outside... that's simply not happening.
You can get a bed that drops down from the ceiling, so if you can get the bikes low (or stored on their side for when you sleep), this might work ok?
I sleep in my uninsulated van no problem. It's no worse than bivying outside, but is also roomier and drier with more space and comfort
Tent would be the simplest though
I'd get a tent with some kind of canopy; whether that's part of the tent or a separate gazebo chucked over the entrance area.
That allows you to get out of the wet & rain to take your shoes off without dragging it into the tent & soaking the inside every time you open the door.
You could probably lash something up from the side of the van with a tarp.
You can then sling all your kit like clothing, pads, shoes etc. into the living area of the tent, keep the gazebo for servicing & cooking perhaps. The van stay as the bike storage area.
Something LIKE this, with a canopy, is what I would be thinking of (link below).
You can keep the front door open & peer out without getting covered in rain & you can de-robe under the canopy without getting the tent soaking wet.
Or go hybrid.
Those ultra blacked out decathlon tents are awesome. We got one last summer after decades of camping in “normal” tents. Waking up at the right time and at the right temp rather than baked in sweat at dawn was a revelation.
Those ultra blacked out decathlon tents are awesome.
True dat 👌
Depends on how cold it is...tent will be warmer than gazebo and van as it is likely to be a smaller space to keep warm.
Van would be good as it means if anyone is trying to break in to get the bikes/kit, then you'll also be there, but it probably isn't the best place to sleep as it will be full of all your riding gear as well, so space will be tight.
Gazebo - it would work but tends to be a much larger area so unless it is a warm day/evening/night then it wuold be a cold place to sleep.
I thought this was going to be about some audax type ride where you hide behind a hedge for 1hr and what hedge to choose
Bus shelters are so last years audaxing......
Depends on the weather, temperature. Tents can be warm, which becomes too hot,... but, how big tent you thinking?
Unless it's very warm the gazebo will be cold, ditto hammocks.
Van will work on that horrible night you arrive late, lashing rain and don't want to get the tent up.
Any 'easy-up' tent for me. Either pop-up or inflatable for comfort. Having said that, and given this is @weeksy, I fully expect to see this in a thread appearing near you soon 😜
Roof tent?
There wouldn't be any room for the helicopter, silly
we’ve got 5 weeks to come up with plans 😀
New tent / gazebo / Winnebago incoming in 5,4,3,2,1…….
could easily fit a single mattress.
Have you consulted with Weeksy Jnr about spooning with dad? 😂
at times we’ll have 4 and even 5 bikes in the van.
So is that the Weeksy family weekly shopping run?
The helicopter will go on the pop-up roof tent. A few velcro straps over the helicopter runners around pop-up roof and all will be fine when the tent is in use with helicopter also fitted.
Also, you can sit in your tent and get wrecked.
Do that in the van and it's harder to explain to the feds should the need arise.
Bit of everything mentioned,Gazebo next 2 van,wind breaks either side unless you get a fancy walled type then tent(s) entrance underneath that..see it as like..well.. your lobby.
@kayak23 - if you're in a field of other people camping and you've got a bed in the back of your van, the chances are almost impossible
