Out of state - Trailer/Tent setup

[emmagator]

Based on my current preference points in several states I'm HOPING to do a bunch of out of state hunting in the next five years. Im curious what type of travel/camp setup works best for folks who are traveling to hunt. I plan on some archery elk hunts and have my early season setup fairly covered, what im interested in is how you guys are setup for late season rifle deer hunts when weather gets nasty. I have a 30ft bumper pull thats great, but ill likely be solo, and thats too much trailer. Especially if im trying to camp within the hunting area and not at a campground. It seems cargo trailers that have been converted to camp in are popular. Im open to wall tents, but not preferred. A small 20ft bumper pull would be nice, but hard to justify, since i already have a trailer that i could probably make work in most situations. Just curios what other guys are doing.

 

[browtinebull]

We tried a small enclosed trailer. Ditched it after one year. We ended with roof top tent mounted on a truck topper. Very mobile and more comfortable than you think even in cold wet conditions. Smitty built.

 

[echampion8]

We tried a small enclosed trailer. Ditched it after one year. We ended with roof top tent mounted on a truck topper. Very mobile and more comfortable than you think even in cold wet conditions. Smitty built.

What didn’t you like about the enclosed trailer?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Superdoo]

I'm going to beat everyone else to it and say get a spring bar tent and a propane heater for your base camp.

 

[TomJoad]

I pretty much exclusively BP hunt so its just a question of tarp vs tipi and stove or no stove early season or winter. That being said I 4x4 dispersed camp with the family a lot and am adding capability for that this summer. Currently on the wait list for a go fast camper for our truck. Really like the minimal weight and the "beyond topper" utility of the openable but lockable side panels. This seems like it would be an ideal set-up for a single person hunt set-up who didn't want to drag a full camper. But.... 6 month wait period!

https://gofastcampers.com/pages/camper

 

[BRoth82]

Look into the larger insulated hub style fish houses as well. I'm using mine this year, it's an eskimo 5i so it's 110"x100" inside, enough room for 2 guys with cots and a buddy heater. I use moving blankets on the ground.

 

[emmagator]

I'm going to beat everyone else to it and say get a spring bar tent and a propane heater for your base camp.

Looks interesting. do you run this setup?

 

[sdfuller]

Maybe a slide in camper for the truck would work nice. I usually have a tent near the truck and a bivy/singleperson setup for staying out a few nights

 

[Fordguy]

Don't laugh, (or do laugh, I laugh at myself frequently) but in the past I have used an old 2 horse trailer. It worked great, had enough room for a cot and floorspace for a small heater. It had ventilation, doors in the front and back, easier to drag a whole buck in than trying to get it into the truck bed solo. Clean up is easy, just spray out when you get home. On the cleaning note, if its been used for horses you'll probably want/need to clean/bleach deodorize before camping in it. All in all it worked really well.

 

[def90]

Where are you trying to go? Might be hard to get a trailer back in to some places.

 

[Opah]

Kodiak spring bar tent and a my buddy propane heater worked great for me, now its a Colman pop up and a Mr buddy propane heater.

 

[emmagator]

How safe are the Buddy heaters inside a tent?

 

[ODB]

I'm going to beat everyone else to it and say get a spring bar tent and a propane heater for your base camp.

Oh man, thanks for that. I dig the kodiak...but China...China....glad there is a closer-to-home alternative.

 

[Wapiti1]

How safe are the Buddy heaters inside a tent?

Safe if you vent properly. No different than venting a travel trailer when you run the propane stove.

The safest for indoors use are catalytic heaters that don't have any open flame, but you still have to vent.

Jeremy

 

[Wapiti1]

I use a 16 foot travel trailer for many hunts and base camp wherever I can find a good spot to park it. It is a 4 season trailer so, even when frigid, I have a self contained trailer. Which is awesome when I have to take a dump in the middle of the night.

The downside to the 4 season trailers is the water tank and holding tanks are small compared to 3 season trailers.

I will tent camp if I need to, but have found very few places that my trailer wasn't a better option. Outside of a backpack hunt of course.

Jeremy

 

[Superdoo]

Looks interesting. do you run this setup?

I don't, but I've seen enough of these types of requests to know that someone was going to say it. It's an extremely popular option that a lot of guys use.
I would also recommend what @BRoth82 said. Those quilted popup ice shelters go up in a flash, have some decent insulating value and are not at all that expensive when compared to other options. You can also find them used easily enough.

 

[Brendan]

I've been going mostly solo since 2014, driving from the east coast. Started with a full size F150 crew cab with topper, now rocking a Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. I've done cheap backpacking tent beside the truck, big Kodiak Canvas, used my sawtooth, and now have a tipi.

I'm at the point I'd love to have a small teardrop / squaredrop type of trailer that still allows me to be mobile, and is fast / zero setup. Or, converted utility trailer.

https://valiantexp.com/teardrops

Second behind that is probably be back to a pickup with topper, truckvault, and roof / bumper storage to leave the bed clear. My main reasoning is that there are some hunts where a bigger tent is great, there are others I've moved around a lot more. The last two years a teardrop would have been a godsend for me...

 

[Brendan]

I'm going to beat everyone else to it and say get a spring bar tent and a propane heater for your base camp.

Been there, done that. Sold mine (Kodiak Canvas). Great for some hunts, not as much for some others. And, I get it, I know some people love theirs...

I'll expand: 2014, 2015, 2016 it was perfect for me. Set up camp and stayed in the same place, stayed in hotels on the road. 2017, 2019, 2020 I ended up trying to camp more in the truck on the road, and did a lot more moving around during my hunts. Setting up a bigger tent like a Kodiak and any "camp" is a pain in the rear if you have to do it multiple times.

I also hated the sewn in floor. I have tipi and/or my Sawtooth for that, and would probably buy a small wall tent before going back to a Kodiak / Springbar..

As a primarily solo hunter, I'm back to something like the Teardrop, or just the pickup.

 

[Traveler]

IMO it’s really hard to beat a Davis wall tent with wood stove or generator/space heater. You can set up a small-medium sized one alone, lots of space, last forever if cared for. More mobile because a truck always goes more places than a truck+trailer. Why the hesitation with a wall tent?

 

[rayporter]

as you can see nothing is perfect and many of us will change out mind after a while. all you can do is start gathering gear and test it for your self. and don't be too quick to sell it cause the next year may be perfect for it when this year was not.

my rig is a small gooseneck horse trailer. if it dont have horses in it it hauls a 4x or gear in the back while i sleep in the front. i added some insulation to the roof to stop the condensation dripping.