Camp beds in tents

[XRV John]

Going to be doing a motorcycle trip to Auschwitz in July and camping.

I always use an Exped Synmat but my mate needs his camp bed for his back.

As he'll be borrowing one of my tents I'm worried about the feet damaging the tent floor.

Are my concerns valid and should I be putting something under his bed to prevent any problems?

Thanks for any advice

John

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[baggins]

We use a couple of the civvy equivalent of the army folding cots. the ones that have 3 sets of legs and fold into 4. We use them in our tipi with the ground sheet and have never had any problems. The only consideration is the height, if its only a light weight hiking tent, he may end up with his nose on the roof.

 

[XRV John]

We use a couple of the civvy equivalent of the army folding cots. the ones that have 3 sets of legs and fold into 4. We use them in our tipi with the ground sheet and have never had any problems. The only consideration is the height, if its only a light weight hiking tent, he may end up with his nose on the roof.

Thanks baggins

It will be either a Vango Omega 350 or Outwell Earth 2

I'd thought about the height issue too


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[crosslandkelly]

Cut some tennis balls in half and put them under the feet.

 

[Woody girl]

I take a small picnic rug to put under my camp cot if I use it in a tent. Packs small and has a secondary use to sit on at rest stops for tea and snacks. I too would wonder about being too close to the roof. I only use a cot in a lager tent. I do take an air bed bike camping. Heavy bulky and about the same amount of faff to put up, less if you have a battery operated pump. Personally find airbed more comfortable than a cot but each to their own. Cot may work in the vango... just!

 

[Broch]

When we're trekking (i.e. full 110 Land Rover overland) we use an Oz Tent and put the beds straight on the groundsheet - we've been doing it for years (well over 10) and had no problems. However the Oz Tent has a pretty substantial groundsheet.

If it's a lightweight ground sheet I'd use something underneath it anyway to protect it from damage which would help. If I've got my tents right, the Vango is the taller one and should have ample room. However, I would consider both a bit big for trekking on the bike; but then I've only got a Bonneville which is hardly a load carrier

 

[Dark Horse Dave]

I used a camp bed in a Vango Omega 350 for 4 or 5 nights last autumn. I was the only occupant of course! Height-wise was ok and I used a small rug underneath. The bottom of the tent looked fine afterwards. Hope that helps.

 

[Thoth]

I use a motorcycle side-stand puck under each foot, but the tennis ball trick sounds good too.

 

[Duggie Bravo]

My wife has a Coleman bed, with an inflatable mattress, it’s quite a nice bit of kit and I wish I had bought one at the same time so we could sleep on the same level.

We use a Vango 5 person, as that is the only one that the bed would fit in, without touching the sides/ends and we would be comfortable in.

We never put anything under the feet, and there was no damage to the ground sheet that I could see.


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[Mulloch]

Tennis balls sounds good, if the legs are small/narrow you night get away with squash balls. Ive used some quilting type fabric to make wee booties for my army campcot. You could use leather off cuts, or scrap bits of towels or socks. Either laid flat or slipped over the individual legs, use gaffer tape to hold in place.

 

[bearbait]

I use some small squares of 10mm plywood under the feet to spread the load on the groundsheet. If one is restless in the night the bed may move off one or more of them though. The tennis ball idea would likely not suffer that.

 

[Hodge]

Rubber castor cups might do the trick depending on the the diameter of the bed feet.

 

[Nice65]

What sort of bed is it he has? Fairly compact to fit on the bike?

I use a carp fishing bedchair in the belltent, they have wide plates on the feet because they’re designed for muddy or soft riverbanks. The belltent does have a very substantial groundsheet, but even so, 6 plated legs shouldn’t cause any problems.

Thing with the belltent is it has vertical sides for the first couple of feet, so the beds can be right at the edges. Sloping sides are going to limit space a lot.

Best bet might be the carpet protectors suggested above.