Folding camper V's Trailer tent

After many years of great camping we have decided to ditch the tent literally and go for a bit of luxury but cant decide between a folding camper or a trailer tent. You can get a caravan for the price of some of these tents. Pro’s and cons please before I splash the cash!

if you’re going to tow something it might as well be a caravan.. don’t see the point of trailer tents

We’ve been looking at this….I think FC’s are better for weekend trips, as you don’t have to put the awning up, and they are ready in 10mins. The TT’s give more of a camping feel (a good thing IMHO).

All seem quite expensive though.

If you’re going to have something parked on your drive it might as well be a trailer…

I had a look at few tailer tents at a motor home show. They’re pretty impressive things.

You can get a lot of caravan for the price of a FC.
And more choice.
And it really can be used year round.

But given the choice between FC & trailer tent it would be a FC. Trailer tent just seems to encapsulate the PITA bits about tenting & caravanning…takes hours to put-up/ pack away, has to be opened out again if wet, & still needs a parking space. And perhaps I’ve become a caravan snob, but even brand new trailer tents just seems so old fashioned & shonky.

Trailer tent just seems to encapsulate the PITA bits about tenting & caravanning…takes hours to put-up/ pack away

Are you sure that’s true of the modern ones?

I saw a fella demo putting one up in a couple of minutes. He didn’t peg it all down mind, but it looked less hassle than putting an awning on a caravan (and was the size of a caravan with awning).

I made the change from camping to a folding camper around three years ago and not looked back.

Although I would like to add that folding campers should not be confused with trailer tents, they are two very different things.

Pro’s are:
Luxury, sleeping 4 foot above ground level on a mattress is way better than a blow up bed.
Space, with the awning up and the side of the camper rolled up it makes a great living area. Something you can’t achieve with a caravan.
Packing, you can get a lot in them. As long as you don’t go over your weight limit.
Fuel, better mpg when towing, compared to a caravan.
Climate, much easier to control if it’s too hot.

Con’s are:
Weight, It weighs the same as a caravan 1200kg so check your car can take it.
Storage, you still got to store it somewhere and it’ll take a whole drive up.
Damp, you got to keep them dry when storing, same as a tent really just a lot bigger.
Setup, don’t believe they only take 10 mins. Include the awning it’s more like 45.
Climate, colder than a caravan.
Usage, can’t used all year round.

We’ve had a lot of fun from our FC, It’s been dragged all over the UK and for lap around France with no problems.

Would i change it for a caravan…..maybe.

we went from tents to caravan and now back to tents.

reason for switch back was cost of ownership vs amount it was being used.

biggest downside (for us) of tent camping is noise – you’re far more aware of other noise on a site than with a caravan.

The only reason I’d go for soemthign foldign is for ease of storage over a caravan – you can keep one ont he drive without it dominating the front of your house.

you’re still limited to 60mph when towing too which can add a bit of time to longer journeys, although towing is a lot easier with somethign that doesn’t have slab sides.