Bell Tent Sizing

[sauroman]

Hi all,

I am hoping to purchase a bell tent soon and looking for advice for the correct size I would require to accommodate me, the missus and 4 kids comfortably with room enough to fit a wood burner safely inside (probably will be a frontier).

I have my eye on the Soulpad 5000 genie or the 6m Bell tent, I am just a little worried regarding the size (esp the 6m version) as it seems these take up some size and may not fit on a normal pitch at sites etc. I currently have an Horizon Galert 8 man tunnel which tends to be the average tent sizes these days at camp sites which are not so small. Does anyone own a large bell tent and have had any issues regarding pitching?

Any advice on the size that would probably be most suitable for me would be much appreciated (I really don't want to turn up to a camp site with a tent capable of accommodating half the field or even worse, and have to sleep in my car )


Many Thanks,
Darren

 

[Cromm]

Hi,
I havea Soulpad 5000 hybrid - G. And have had me, wife, 5 kids in there with room to move with no worries, I don't think we could of had a stove also as soulpad says you should have just under half the tent free from beds or people when lit.
As for footprint it's no worries, I do always email the place we are staying at beforehand just to make sure but have had no problems at all.

 

[Robbi]

Get the biggest you can afford / carry / dry, you can never have too much space.

 

[dwardo]

Only the 5 meter bell tent here and never had a problem with pitch size.
Some of these tunnel tents have a much bigger overall foot print.
Stoves do take up a lot of room when safety is considered. I have flat pack wire cage that help my little one from bouncing off it.

 

[didicoy]

If the campsite you are using have a strict spacing policy for fire regs/insurance etc. They can get funny with 5 meter + as most pitches will be based on width, allowing depth for parking of vehicle. I have on several occasions had to shorten the guy lines to stop encroaching on the next pitch tents. Mine is a 5 meter bell tent and the design requires the guy lines to be far enough away to tension the side walls, too short and the walls can't maintain wall height. 6 meter between tents/camper vans/motorhomes is common for fire regs. I also have a woodburner in it and separate/removable double inner bedroom. I bought mine from belltent UK. Although everything they sell has increased in price over the last 4 years.

http://www.belltent.co.uk/

 

[sauroman]

Thanks for all the replies and input.

The 5 meter version would probably be fine but as I would like to fit a log burner to get some early spring/late autumn camps with it, I think I will need to go for a 6 meter one and still be able to take all the family lol.

I have been trying to size as many as I can from the few that are on youtube and various websites. After seeing a few more I am not as worried regarding them being too large and will probably go for a 6m one similar to the one on belltent's website. It really is just the width that might be an issue but there is usually far larger tents on most camp sites that I have been to (length wise for sure).

Thanks,
Darren

 

[dwardo]

Might want to think about transporting and pack size too. I have a Honda Accord with a very large boot and the tent plus the frontier stove pretty much takes up the whole boot.