r/ElectricForest • u/MinuteZucchini2355 • Mar 31 '26
Equipment Tent for camping
I’m going with a group of 5 and we found a tent that would fit us perfectly with enough space to really set up our home for the week. I was just wondering if anyone has used this same tent and had it not hold up during the storm (pic attached)
this is my third year going and i’ve had atleast one canopy break on me during the storm so we’ve invested in heavy duty stakes & weights for extra support considering it is the whole structural support for the tent.
Any suggestions or recommendations would be super helpful!!
edit - we are camping at good life meadow, first time but i saw people saying it was 20x25 (pls correct me if im wrong)
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u/LilGooby19 Year 5 Mar 31 '26
You will need at least two cars to have enough car space if you plan on car camping to set this up. If you plan on tent only camping then I’m guessing the size will not be nearly as much of an issue. The only thing is if your canopy goes down, your tents are now not completely sturdy. It can be hard to keep a canopy up in heavy rain. So if you do this, you better make sure you have a really good canopy and that you tie it down on each of the four corners that will help stop the water from pooling and weighing it down
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u/MinuteZucchini2355 Mar 31 '26
we’re camping at good life meadow! it said it’s 20x25 is that correct? it’s my first time camping there
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u/slybrows Year 13 Mar 31 '26
Your car has to fit in that space, too. And you can’t get creative with how the car is parked. I don’t think you’ll have room.
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u/Ok-Description675 Apr 01 '26
Good life meadows is tent only camping, this will fit. I’ve done a canopy with tents on 3 of the sides fitting just fine in good life Sherwood court which is now meadows I believe?
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u/slybrows Year 13 Apr 01 '26
No, GL Sherwood Court is now GL tent-only. Meadows is a separate section and is only sold as car-camping.
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u/Ok-Description675 Apr 01 '26
Oooo okay thank you! My mistake lol I’m over in preset good life now and haven’t kept up with the name changes So is meadows car camping further out from gl village?
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u/AbleLimit5071 Apr 01 '26
Yes the Good Life Meadows is further out. It’s across the road from Good Life Village North which was most of the tent only camping I believe. The real benefit of the Meadows is that it doesn’t have any flood lights like the rest of GL has and nobody is loud or has renegades.
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u/Ok-Description675 Apr 01 '26
20x25 is correct! As long as you aren’t in a fire lane youre good
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u/Ok-Description675 Apr 01 '26
However, with the rain we seem to get every year, I wouldnt get this. You will need to lower your canopy but keep your tents up, and it seems like this doesnt do that.
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u/questingone Apr 01 '26
Could fashion a big tarp over the top to at least direct the rain to the sides
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u/DryPalpitation7743 Mar 31 '26
Hey there, not going to forest this year but have fornthe past 4. Heavy duty tent stakes were a must for our 2nd year but they did nothing but keep our broken tents from flying away lol. The wind is the killer, It weakens the canopy and tent poles due to them being lightweight. Id look for a more heavy duty tent than anything. Luckily we have the truck bed tent now so its held up during rough weather but if I were to do a regular tent again id do some kind of "extreme weather" tent. Better to go overkill if youre worried about it. I did see some dudes using their broken tent as a blanket so there's always options!
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u/NefariousKing07 🏝️ Island Wubz 🌊 Mar 31 '26
How many cars are you coming in with? The footprint looks a little large strictly based on the photo, but you’ve got the camping space measurement so I’m sure you made sure that the setup would fit.
I also recommend canopy’s that can go over top of the tents - you want the shade to keep you cool through the summer heat so you can sleep a little later. Blankets/tarps/aluminets as sidewalls for privacy and additional shade
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u/M1sterGuy Mar 31 '26
I have this tent, it’s massive. If EF camps are the same shape (rectangle) and size they have always been this is too big. It barely fit Bonnaroo (square) Overall I like the tent, it’s huge and I like the “rooms” inside.
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u/KThom824 Mar 31 '26
I haven't been in a few years but I used this exact set up for multiple years, including multiple big storms. The two issues that I ran into were making sure the rain fly was staked far enough out to let the water run off and that if you have to lower your canopy for storms, the rain fly doesn't really protect anything inside your tent unless adjusted for the new height.
We didn't have issues with space but we also rushed to get the canopy set where we needed it for everything to fit. It was a little cramped if we had to get into the back of our car in GA but we were able to make it work.
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u/Tekqqi Mar 31 '26
If we were to get the ABC Canopy steel straight leg with vent holes you think that would be fine or
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u/KThom824 Mar 31 '26
I can't say for sure because I don't know if they have changed how the tent connects to the canopy. On the model I had, there were holes at the top and bottom corners to attach the tent to the canopy and that model may not have the same thing.
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u/4TheArchitect Year 5 Mar 31 '26
I highly recommend buying a different tent made for higher winds. I know its most ideal to cram in one tent but the wind and rain are going to make that tent really difficult to use and enjoy. Can't suggest the Wawona 6 enough. It'll fit 4 really well, and 6 if you buy camp bunks.
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u/4TheArchitect Year 5 Mar 31 '26
Fwiw, that tent shape is very similar to the Kelty Caboose which i tried last year and absolutely did not like. It was hot and sucked in wind.
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u/lothartheunkind Mar 31 '26
These kind of tents flood like crazy, I know from experience. In a strong rain it all runs off the canopy and will start to pool on top of the tent.
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u/Princess_Butt_Kick Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26
I have used an Oztent that is directly zippered to a Rhino Rack Sunseeker awning, which attaches to a car roof rack.
They are expensive, but the quality is amazing. It held up to a rainstorm, even with the awning collecting a large amount of water! I was shocked that it didn't break under the weight.
So I can definitely recommend that brand of this style of tent. The exact setup you have pictured is concerning, because wind could definitely cause some damage in an enclosed corner like that. You need an outlet for wind between the tents. A neighbor had 3 canopies tied together with only one face open. A good gust of wind picked up half of it.
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u/Sufficient_Result558 Mar 31 '26
I would not want this set-up for festivals. You want a tent that can be partially moved under you canopy as needed to fit in your space. Different festivals have different sized spots and you never know when sizes might be changed. That also does not look like a blackout so you will want the tent positioned to be in the shade during the morning sleeping hours or you will roast. Also, strong winds destroy a lot and I mean a lot of canopies. You are not gonna want a tent that is dependent on a canopy. You want to be able to lower the canopy in high winds but still have a workable tent obviously you don't want your tent destroyed along with your canopy.
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u/likka419 Mar 31 '26
I don’t recommend this because it’s not flexible enough. Say next year you want to hit a different fest, a smaller site, with a different group, you won’t have room for this.
Also, there’s no way I’m sacrificing the airflow on 2 sides of my canopy and baking underneath it with 5 people. Having the option to move your tent UNDER your canopy is valuable in various weather scenarios. If the wind gets gusty, it’s important to lower your canopy, especially before leaving camp unattended. When the rain hits hard, lowering the canopy can keep your gear much more dry. I would never sacrifice the taut setup of my tent to ensure canopy flexibility.
Get 2 4P Coleman darkroom or sundomes instead. You can’t go wrong!
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u/Davey2Jonesd Mar 31 '26
The winds will test your gear. They almost all break if not lowered before huge gusts
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u/Neither-Durian3926 Apr 01 '26
Hey friend! Veteran Rave Mom and Group Camp Leader for EF (Camp Momma Ain't Raise No Bitch) the past four years! We have a few of these types of tents (I call them my "Hide-A-Wook" tents). I have used both the Ozark trail (Walmart) brand ones and a more expensive version from Amazon and I MUCH prefer the Amazon ones! I see the appeal of this one is the "wrap around" effect, but in my experience using this exact tent, that corner ends up being, at best, suitcase and clothes storage or at worst, unused area of your camp that is annoying to reach.
I HIGHLY recommend the UNP brand on Amazon for their canopy tent attachments! I've used them now at two different fests and they seem SUPER sturdy and they are SO EASY to put up and break down! The floor space in this tent is a bit larger than the Walmart brand ones making it MORE than comfortable for two people. And not having the weird corner means you can place the tent UNDER the canopy for more protection from the rain/sun. UNP Canopy Tent Attachment
As far as canopies go, I also have a lot of strong opinions on these! My group camp is typically 30-40 people large and we have A LOT of canopies between us. I promise the one you will find at Walmart/Costco WILL NOT be strong enough for Forest. We have lost many a canopy to the past few years of Forest Storms. The canopies that have LASTED and held up the best are our heavy duty COMMERCIAL pop ups. When searching for canopies, you SPECIFICALLY want to look for ones with peaked roof tensioners and steel hexagon/trussed legs. Example Canopy 1 Example Canopy 2
Now be warned these are HEAVY DUTY and generally a couple hundred dollars at their cheapest but if you can swing the upfront cost (these would be long term investment pieces) they are worth every penny and I promise you WILL spend more replacing all the cheaper canopies that Forest will chew up and spit out. 😂
ANOTHER MOLE HILL THAT I WILL DIE ON: A broken canopy is safer than a FLYING canopy. When you buy your new equipment THROW AWAY the dinky little steaks they give you and invest in enough 8-12 inch LUG NUT SCREW IN canopy stakes. Example Tent Steaks
I also recommend bringing a cheap impact driver so you aren't trying to pound these in by hand. I have this super cheap one from Harbor Freight that is a work horse! Impact Driver
Hope this helps and hope to see you in The Forest!
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u/Typical_Sundae5735 Apr 01 '26
Do not buy this. The first gust of wind will take your entire camp down. Rain will also build up on the canopy and take your whole camp down. Get a nice sturdy Coleman blackout tent, put a canopy over it. Then use tarps tied down to the canopy to surround your tent. Keeps ALL the sun out, makes tent stay cool and extremely dry. And storms won’t take away your whole camp.
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u/Miss-Behavior-Life Mar 31 '26
1) You will want a second layer over it and use long stakes. 2) The spaces in Good Life Meadow I believe are that large, BUT your vehicle has to fit into it as well. Hot tip: if you bring a short vehicle, you get a smaller spot. You bring a longer vehicle (trailer not allowed) you get a longer spot. They basically give you the space next to your vehicle plus a few feet. So because of the shape of this, it probably won’t fit with your car. One tent plus the living space would, but the second L part tent would be a gamble and partially rest on if your neighbors are cool.
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u/caitlinsaiz Mar 31 '26
We paid for 2 car camping spaces knowing we like to sprawl out & they gave us about 1 skinny space & 1/3rd of the second space & shrugged their shoulders when we tried to point out we paid for two. They had already directed the car behind us to pull around & park & they did not give us the option to move. I wouldn’t recommend solely relying on this tent. Maybe bring a back up, modular “Plan B” set up just in case. We ended up making it work by offering the use of our canopy to our neighbor to make a shared space, but without that we would have wasted our $ & time.
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u/19Wandered91 Mar 31 '26
This is what the 20x25ft will look like if that is the space you are given. Never camp at Meadows area it fairly new but I never have problem with space in GL Tent Only area
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u/PotsMomma84 Mar 31 '26
I just wanted to ask do you have a link for this tent? This is pretty sweet.
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u/minisoda02 Apr 04 '26
Had this exact tent last year! We ended up having to drop everything and really hunker down during some high winds last year. Some pieces of it snapped, but ultimately it held up pretty well. I was at group camping, and there was a handful of other tents. This tent is huge but if it’s the only tent on site you should be okay.
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u/PressureStraight4126 Mar 31 '26
If you are going to get this for EF, then make sure you get to EF as early as possible. We saw a guy try to squeeze one of these into his site in GL Village a couple years ago and after a few hours he broke it all down and got a hotel room.
Buyer beware and whatnot.