Tanglewood 3

I use a kelty 3 man for car camping- it’s light and plenty of room for gear and myself and enough room for the get times my wife came camping. and I like it enough that I got the 2p backpack version. It also probably way und your budget number

I have a 3 person kelty that has served me well

You're safe! I have similar tents... My fave is my first Kelty dome tent. I won't tell you how old it is, but it's small, waterproof, and a breeze to set up. I also have a Kelty 6 wireless, a Gazelle 3t, a coleman that I've never even set up, a 2 person random cheap tent that I have used twice, and another little dome tent that I have no idea where it came from. And, I'm still looking. I have issues.

How tall is the air mattress? What time of year do you want to go and how many people will help with set up? I’m in middle TN and really only fall and spring are where storms are less unpredictable. Sounds like you are perfect for a larger tent from Walmart like a Coleman. An REI/kelty dome tent is also a good option if your air mattress is not very tall. Get something cheaper to figure out what you do and don’t like/need.

A dome tent should work just fine at that height. They are easy to set up solo and don’t break the bank. I would advise looking into the Coleman tents since they are cheaper and normally a bit bigger but I have spent many nights in a kelty dome tent. Look into the exact set up for the rain fly on staking it out, that will help if there is a storm forecasted. When going on tent size know that if it says 3 people that means 2 people can be comfortable and 3 people need to be super close so always go down 1 person vs what the tent actually says.

I bought a Walmart tent a few years back and camped with my girlfriend. Downpour happened. She ran in tent, I cleaned up and came into the tent soaked. It was leaking because it was shit material. And she farted right before I came in so my only safe space from the rain smelled like fart. Rough go.  Bought a Kelty tent after and haven’t looked back haha. 

I like the Walmart brand Ozark Trail. We have had a smaller tent from them for quite a while (it does leak now but we set up a tarp over it). Our nicer Kelty tent tore and the zipper broke. They’ll fix them for you but I lose the receipt :(  Since you’re new I’d go on the less expensive side first. 

I've had my Kelty for about 12 years now and it has never failed to perform to my highest expectations. I highly recommend them.

Where do you camp, what is the weather like? Generally Kelty or Alps Mountaineerimg tents are the budget tents that are a step up from Coleman. Two layer (separate body and rainfly) are most forgiving. Full rainfly (covers the whole body) is best. More mesh in the body for hot and humid. Less mesh for colder climates.

Yeah the marketing is so bad. There are 3 season tents that are better suited for colder climates but they aren't advertised like that. So weird. In the south, I recommend Kelty tents a lot because their 2 layer tents have almost-full mesh bodies. I notice that people in the northern US swear by Alps Mountaineering tents... their bodies happen to have a lot less mesh in the body. They're like 3.5 season tents, lol (but they'd be bad in the south).