We also ditched the RTT in favor of ground tents. After traveling with a ground tent for a week, we realized it was more for us.
We opted to stay with a smallish ground tent. We use a MSR Hubba Tour 3 back in like 2018 and it continues to serve us well. We also have the Tour 2 if we don't want the annex. Our rigs are generally smaller, two-door SUVs, so space was a premium for us. We can just throw the tent in the back. I also have to say, drying out a RTT was an issue for us as we don't have a garage and live in the Pacific Northwest, where it rarely dries out in the winter. A simple ground tent dries out much faster.
We started our tour in Iceland on October 15th and went through to China arriving mid June. We used an MSR Hubba Tour 2. It held up to the crazy wind in Iceland. We got lucky in that winter in Europe and Turkey wasn't particularly bad that year, but honestly this tent would have been fine in anything. Had it snowed a lot we just would have needed to shake the walls in the night to keep it from sagging. The vestibule is big enough to fit 2 bikes and gear inside. It's also nice to cook in during bad weather (know the dangers of doing this so you don't kill yourself).
The hardest part about winter camping over long periods is the condensation build up on the tent walls. 4 season tents have less ventilation, so they get wetter, especially when the temperature is -5 to +5. 3 season tents have better ventilation, so it's not as bad... but it's still pretty wet. A 4 season tent in the tropics .... Ungh, I'd just never put the fly on.
It's not a light tent, but I have had no problems with mine. I've also been using the hubba 2 for over a decade. It's a nice free standing option for solo camping but a bit heavy if you're planning on some long days.
I have the MSR Hubba Hubba 2P which is a solid tent with an easy setup process. Weight is acceptable. It’s a good, tent for a beginner if you can find it on-sale or used.
Note: Removed references to “reasonable priced”. New tents are $450/ish which is outside OPs budget.
Top Camping Tents on Reddit
1
The North Face
Wawona 6
85% positive of 133 users
Spacious vestibule, strong in storms, but rainfly tricky solo.
fifteenW40
