Ozark Trail - 16-Person 3-Room Family Cabin Tent, with 3 Entrances

I’ll be the dissenting opinion here! I have a 16 person Ozark Trail that’s going on 6 uses and we love it. We actually used it this past weekend and it was one of if not our best camping trip ever. I bought it because we were at a campsite that had a tent limit but not a person limit. I also wanted to be able to run a window AC unit because it was on the edge of the season where it could be cool and could be hot . I bought 3 different really freaking huge tents back in like 2018 and set them up to test. One was a Ozark 20 person red tent but I really preferred this tent because it’s effectively 2 or 3 rooms with a living room in the middle. What usually happens is my wife and I take a “wing”, my sister and BIL take the other wing and then all the kids pile into the middle. It’s heavy AF, I wouldn’t trust it in major rainfall and it’s probably not gonna last 100 uses but I honestly love it and we have a lot of fun with it. I paid $150. This is ours https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-16-Person-3-Room-Family-Cabin-Tent-with-3-Entrances/518694841

I should add that the “16” person Ozark would probably max at 3 -4 couples depending on how comfortable you are or 2 couples and 4-6 kids.

Honestly for car camping with little kids, look at the big instant up multi room ozark trail tents from Walmart. They’re heavy and pack down big, but they’re well under $200, ours has lasted for years and through many rainstorms, and it has enough room to stand up. Also the front room doubles as a screen room which is really nice if it’s super buggy. https://www.walmart.com/browse/sports-outdoors/pop-up-tents/ozark-trail/4125_546956_4128_887708_4094354/YnJhbmQ6T3phcmsgVHJhaWwie?adid=22222222265446360557&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=b&wl1=o&wl2=m&wl3=74904359694166&wl4=dat-2326704043460416:loc-71240&wl5=108901&wl6=&wl7=&wl14=ozark%20trail%20instant%20up%20tents&veh=sem&&msclkid=28b64cefffd2149f863824cddc429607&gclid=28b64cefffd2149f863824cddc429607&gclsrc=3p.ds I wouldn’t suggest a nice tent with little kids unless you’re actually backpacking. They tend to be hard on things, and the more room the better

Their fabric is damn thin. Do not use this tent in rain. You will regret it, I promise.

It should be just fine for your use case if weight isn’t a factor. I own expensive tents but I also have a cheap $30 Ozark trail tent I bought in 2019, only use it for local 1 nighters and it’s still fine. Only thing I’d recommend is hit all the seams with water proofing spray, especially around the bottom where the fabric is stitched to the tarp floor. I just buy the 3M stuff that is recommended for outdoors, think it has a tent picture on the spray can.

I have the same one. Perfect for one.

Ozark trail makes some solid stuff for the price. I say go for it.

This will not be a popular answer lol. I usually do 3 to 4 night backpacking trips. I bought a $30 Big Cat tent off of Amazon and used it regularly for two years until I broke one of the poles. I had a trip planned so I stopped at Walmart and picked up a $19 Ozark Trail tent. I used it all week and it was exactly what I needed. It was super easy to set up. I would recommend a footprint, though. The flooring of the tent is not the best quality but hey, it was $19.

Ozark Trail and Coleman make decent and easy to use car camping tents that will hold up better than you'd think. I always steer people who don't know if they're going to be super into camping yet towards those brands. They'll keep you dry and covered for the night without breaking the bank. My last Coleman Skydome lasted at least 60+ nights before one of the corners started to wear through.

Ozarks Trail has increased a million fold in quality since it came out (late 90s/early 2000s?). I would definitely give it a try and keep the receipt just in case.

We loved our Ozark Trail tent! Set out on a cross country camping trip with a brand new Kelty that we spent a pretty penny on. A week in, a pole broke in the wind and we got SOAKED through the thin floor. Went to a Walmart, picked up an Ozark Trail, and left the Kelty in a dumpster. Never looked back on that decision.