My car camping tent is an REI Kingdom 4. I love it. There is plenty of space. You can stand up in it. There are doors at both ends that allow for great airflow. I have a queen size camp cot that fits great in it so I'm sure two small cots and a dog bed would be no trouble.
Single mom here who tent car camped with 2 kids for over 15 seasons. My best performing tents were the rei co-op tents. My favorite was the Kingdom 4 & 6. My kingdom 4 lasted me 13 years. (Kingdom line is no longer made). A 6-man tent is ideal for 2-3 people. Because you'll be able to camp in a variety of ways. You'll have more standing room. You can do cots or the big air mattresses. If you look for a dome style, it's easiest to set up and tear down. My favorite setup is cots, with backpacks and gear under it. The rei "Campwell 6" is on sale as of this post 30% off for $230.00. I camped with my kids every late spring to early fall seasons from their preschool years to mid college. My tent failures were the Walmart Ozark, the Target brand (can't remeber the actual name). honestly the cheaper ones were a waste of money, because the materials broke down after 2 seasons. If you plan to camp regularly and with a growing child. Pay a bit more for a premium tent. And get a GOOD ground tarp. Treat it kindly to last you years and years of outdoor fun!
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Also a Minnesota camper (car camper who prefers cart-in sites). I don’t know what you consider modestly-sized, but since I started camping with 2 dogs, I have grown to love my Columbia Mammoth Creek 8-person, which has a rain fly that doesn’t cover the windows. (I also have a Big Agnes 6-person and an REI Kingdome 4, which are more modestly sized, but each of those has a full length rain fly.)
Last summer I took the Columbia tent to Whitewater State Park and there were horrible storms. It rained so hard, I expected to wake up to puddles inside. Surprisingly, everything stayed dry. I really love that tent. They’re hard to find now, but the Coleman Tenaya Lake tent looks kind of similar.
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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.
Get something with a full length rainfly, and if you stake your guy lines out further than you think, then double them (each tie down point has two lines spread out like 45 degrees) you’ll be in pretty good shape. Take the time to re-adjust to get everything nice and taught. Worth the $$$ to get some quality stakes and line, you’ll need more than comes with the tent.
This is what I’ve done with a big, tall REI Kingdom tent that has near vertical walls, and it’s pretty good through even gusty 30 mph winds.
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The North Face
Wawona 6
84% positive of 134 users
Spacious vestibule, strong in storms, but rainfly tricky solo.
Kmay14
