12-Person Instant Cabin Tent with Integrated LED Lights

Full on gear junkie here. My parents bought what I refer to as the Taj Mahal from Walmart to start camping again. They ended up buying an rv instead and gave it to me. I’d never buy this 12x18 3 room tent. It was probably $100. It was f’n amazing when we brought our kid camping when they were months old. There was room for the pack n play, a changing station, a blow up bed. We ultra light backpacked for years with the bare minimum, that thing was a whole new world. Couldn’t recommended it enough and available for borrow to my friend group. I think I own 7 tents from a bivy type to a canvas to the Taj. They all have their place.

We purchased the Ozark trail 12 person instant cabin. We love the Ozark tent we got, just took it out for our first trip. It rained a lot, 1/2 inch or more. Everything stayed dry, rainfly did not leak and we had a ground tarp. I do not know how long it will stay waterproof but it did not let us down on that trip. With the extra room in the middle we could bring our wet dogs in. Dry and crate without touching our sleeping area. It set up really fast and had tons of room. We had two 4x5ft dog crates set up on one side and a queen size sleeping area for my wife and I on the other side. We had so much room left in the middle and around the edge of the tent. We absolutely could have had 3 more people sleeping in the tent. This thing is 18x10 with 80 inch ceiling. Its bigger than what we need, but this is our campground tent. We have a small trailer we tow with all our gear on it. So with this Bass Pro tent 14x8 it is smaller than 3 queen size mattresses lined up (assuming 60''x80'') So what is your 5 plus a dog? Married couple with 3 kids, or is it 5 full size people plus a dog. I think if you guys are a couple with your kids you would fit fine. Just think maybe you do a test setup to see how much gear you want to keep inside the tent before your trip. But if its 5 friends and a dog trying to camp comfortably I think this would be too small. If everyone has their own pile of stuff they want to bring and store in the tent. I think you would end up having a wet dog walk on everything. Looks like a nice tent though. We are in New York, camping weather is mostly nice. So we went with a cheaper alternative. Looks like a well made tent, I am curios to hear from anyone that owns the Bass pro tent. [Here's the Walmart tent we got](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-12-Person-Instant-Cabin-Tent-with-Integrated-LED-Lights-3-Rooms-47-87-lbs/55260502?classType=REGULAR&athbdg=L1100&from=/search)

We use the Ozark instant up cabin tent, not the popup. We have used it through many rainstorms and many, many scouts putting it up and down. They aren't gentle handling jt. And it has lasted so far through the years. I am 5'2" as well and can put them up easily by myself. We have almost all of the size options of the tent. Pretty easy to pack up as well.

I'd also recommend an ozark trail instant tent, They're the new coleman from decades past. The average mans tent, for whoever is just getting into the hobby and doesnt want to break the bank. Great for familys who may go camping a handful of times a year in mostly fair weather. They'll last some rough handling for minimum a few years to a decade, plenty of time to get use out of it and upgrade. Any from the instant tent line will be big, bulky, and heavy but quick and easy to set up even if its just one person going it. Ive personally set up a 10 person myself in less than 5 minutes. I've also used mine during souther arizona monsoon storms, high winds and sideways rain and I stayed nice and cozy with room to sit around to relax in unlike a dome tent.

The kingdom tents from REI are great. the tubeshape and features are quite nice so are the extras.... but if you want easy to put up an down the instant tents from Ozark Trail I used with my family when kids were young in cub scouts for 5+ years. I the integrated poles made for putting it up and down very quick and easy even by myself, and I could stand up and had 4 cots in them. The may be cheaper than others but there are a few brands that make the instant tents with integrated poles. I was surprised how well my ozark held up. also check out the alps brands, they are built well, but heavy.

I ran a instant up Ozark trail for well over a decade. Went a few years with a small camper and sold it to get into a nice gazelle and I couldn't be happier. I don't do hiking/backpacking due to disabilities but it's perfect for car camping. Throw it on my roof rack get to camp and 10 min later my tent is set up.

I'm not an expert but IMO your sleep systems are gonna be a lot more important than the tent. I'd save money on the tent and start there. Especially with a family outfitting everyone with outfitting them all with sleeping pads, bags, clothes, etc. is gonna add up. If you're actually planning on a stove then IDK, I've never done that. I camp on Vancouver Island with a family of 4 and just use a cheap Ozark Trail cabin tent from Walmart, but invested in some decent self-inflating sleeping pads and sleeping bags. It's gonna be chilly in the tent in the morning no matter what. Just get up before them and start a fire for them :D

A large tarp or awning is something you could consider? We have the classic and affordable Ozark/coleman 10ft pop up canopy and it has been amazing for rainy days. It covers the picnic table and gives us a dry place to hang out, cook and keep kitchen stuff without it getting wet. It’s bulky but great for car camping. Having a way to organize all your items to be grab and go and minimize setup at camp setup will help with getting out more. I personally view backpacking and car camping as two separate things. Yes you can use backpacking gear for car camping, but usually I don’t want to. If I’m going car camping for a few days I want to be comfy, otherwise I may as well just hike to a remote spot and use the backpacking gear lol. Backpacking gear is pretty expensive. Not because it’s the best, but because it needs to pack down small and be lightweight. Those two things mean durability suffers and you pay a premium for the better gear. If you aren’t set on backpacking yet, I would say don’t buy your gear with that in mind. Once you are ready, that is when you should go down the backpacking gear rabbit hole so you can dial in the setup and make sure you have what you need and can actually carry it all. Of all of the things there perhaps you want to upgrade your tent for more space and weatherproofing? For car camping personally I enjoy tents you can stand up in - much comfortable and it feels way more spacious once you’re with other people. A 4-6 person tent would let you bring people with you no problem and still have room for your personal items in the tent. The point is, when upgrading, find out what features you want in gear before upgrading! For example we finally upgraded from our cheap and very large Ozark Trail cabin tent (that served us very very well) to a more premium Snow Peak Alpha Breeze tent. We knew for the tent we wanted to downsize to a smaller tent, wanted to stand up, wanted an integrated awning so we aren’t rained on while putting our shoes on/off, a better rain fly, but also has lots of windows with the ability to close them up for privacy inside if needed. For car camping I don’t like the idea of tents that have all this mesh, but once the rain fly is on it becomes a cave with no windows (or maybe a tiny widow). I love being able to lounge in the tent and enjoy the views outside! We haven’t tried the new tent outside yet, but I’m looking forward to getting out once the weather warms up!