We leave Thursday morning for a four day camping trip. The forecast is for highs around 60 and lows in the upper 30's with a 40% chance of showers each day. So, today, I'm thinking about things we'll need to stay warm in our tent.We love our Electric Blankets!
For the two older boys, I'll put their foam core mats together and then put an electric blanket down over them (under their sleeping bags). We like the foam core self inflating mattresses because the foam offers insulation from the cold ground that plain air mattresses don't. There are some pretty inexpensive ones at Walmart. Anyway, the boys can wear some sweats, socks and a knit hat and be as snug as a bug.
For our four year old, we'll wrap an electric throw around his Pac-N-Play mattress (under a fleece sheet) and pile in several warm blankets. If its really that cold, we can put his fleece snow suit on. He is usually just fine, and we've had a night or two in the upper twenties before.
My husband and I use an electric blanket and sleep on a foam core self inflating mattress. The foam offers insulation that plain air mattresses just can't boast.
But here's where I could use some advice! In the tent, we usually run an electric space heater which helps some. But with the huge vents in the top of the tent, even a light wind can sail in under the fly and steal any warmth we've accumulated.
This year, I'm thinking of laying a light quilt over the top of the tent under the fly to cover up the vents. Or maybe a tarp. But do you think the tarp would be heavy enough? And do you think using clothes pins to hold it in place would be enough?
If any of you have done something like this or have a better idea, I would really love to hear about it!
For the two older boys, I'll put their foam core mats together and then put an electric blanket down over them (under their sleeping bags). We like the foam core self inflating mattresses because the foam offers insulation from the cold ground that plain air mattresses don't. There are some pretty inexpensive ones at Walmart. Anyway, the boys can wear some sweats, socks and a knit hat and be as snug as a bug.
For our four year old, we'll wrap an electric throw around his Pac-N-Play mattress (under a fleece sheet) and pile in several warm blankets. If its really that cold, we can put his fleece snow suit on. He is usually just fine, and we've had a night or two in the upper twenties before.
My husband and I use an electric blanket and sleep on a foam core self inflating mattress. The foam offers insulation that plain air mattresses just can't boast.
But here's where I could use some advice! In the tent, we usually run an electric space heater which helps some. But with the huge vents in the top of the tent, even a light wind can sail in under the fly and steal any warmth we've accumulated.
This year, I'm thinking of laying a light quilt over the top of the tent under the fly to cover up the vents. Or maybe a tarp. But do you think the tarp would be heavy enough? And do you think using clothes pins to hold it in place would be enough?
If any of you have done something like this or have a better idea, I would really love to hear about it!
2 comments:
I would take both the tarp and the blanket. It's not very space-efficient, I know (and I really need to learn to do better at that!), but that would be my first choice. ; ) I would probably go with the light quilt idea, but there are the cons of the possibility of it getting wet. If that is an issue, I would think that a tarp would be some help while solving the dampness problem. It wouldn't be air-proof, but if you're running a heater in the tent, you might not want it to be totally airproof. And yes, I think clothes pins are an amazing idea. I don't know if that helped, but there is some of my rambling thought process for you.
Btw, where do you go tent camping that you get electricity? I haven't found that luxury yet in my tent camping experiences. ; )
Thanks, Christina! I'm leaning in that direction, too. We'll have plenty of room since we're taking our moster van as well as a trailer for bikes and firewood.
Most of the state parks offer several kinds of sites. You have your rustic sites with no hookups--which are usually designated for tents. But then you have sites with all kinds of hookups. We usually just choose one that offers a basic electric hookup. There might be a slight difference in cost, but I don't know since we've always done it this way. I'm afraid once you've gotten used to the convenience of having electric, it really spoils you!!
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