What would you do?

[Shawn032]

Would you pull a 20 foot travel or use a wall tent to camp out of during the 2nd rifle season in Colorado?
I am able to borrow the trailer or have been thinking of buying a wall tent.

[ST52V]

Last year we went to Wyoming in the middle of October. Three of us from PA in one truck with our gear. We made it work by packing smart and doing without a few things. We did run into some nasty weather and I felt comfortable driving in it without something behind me like a trailer. My brother drives truck for a living so it would not have bothered him one bit. Weather and getting close enough to the elk would be my only two concerns.

[Wyo67]

Trailer. If weather come in it's nice to have a place to get out of the elements. We had a rain soaked archery hunt a few years back and it was difficult to dry stuff even with the wood stove in the wall tent. Turned it into a steam room...

[Elkduds]

Where are you coming from? Is camper in good shape? It would be NFG to drag it here and be without electric, or plumbing, or gas, or brakes, or have frozen pipes, etc.

[Shawn032]

Coming from Missouri, Trailer is about 3 years old. It is in very good shape. If I take the trailer I will take a weekend and make sure everything is ready to go.

[Gselkhunter]

Easy, I don't have a trailer.

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

That's a lot of gas money... Wall tent and an extra box of Snickers, with some spare change still in your pockets!

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

Oops, saw you don't have the wall tent yet. Trailer is the easy choice there.

[Shawn032]

I was thinking the same thing Trumkin.
I still plan on buying a wall tent.

[Elkduds]

I love camping in my wall tent, to me it is the essence of elk camp. The $ you would save on gas by not towing trailer could be an investment in a tent that will serve you for years. Mine uses propane heat, doesn't leak in heavy rain, and has years of fond memories attached to it.

[Swede]

I hate borrowing things, and a trailer is one thing I would really avoid. If you bring it back in perfect condition, by the time the owner goes to use it, something will need to be fixed. Guess who will be blamed for the problem? A good tent will cost you a little more initially, but will last and save you in the long run. Add a good wood stove to it right away and you have a great cabin to sleep and dry out in. You can cook and eat your meals there for many years.

[pointysticks]

I think the best trailer in the world is " someone else's trailer"

I would use that.

[easeup]

I hate borrowing things, and a trailer is one thing I would really avoid. If you bring it back in perfect condition, by the time the owner goes to use it, something will need to be fixed. Guess who will be blamed for the problem? ...........................................

good advice right there

[Shawn032]

Swede I have thought of that. 2 of my hunting partners Really want to take the trailer for the same comfy as home. They have never been on a hunt out west. They have only hunted whitetails and always been able to go home and sleep in their beds.

[Swamp Buck]

Wall Tent for sure. So many other usable moments.

[siskiyou]

I usually do the wall tent routine. Last year I went with a couple new guys, and took one of their trailers. Miles per gallon went from in the teens to under 8 mpg. On a 2000 mile round trip that really put a dent in the wallet.

[Vids]

Wall tent all the way, mine works great. I have buddies that bring a trailer of some sort out here to CO every year from MN, it's always a fiasco. Costs a ton of gas money and it can be a real bear to get it into the NF, depending on how rough the roads are. Be prepared that you may have to camp far away from the elk if it's a big one. We always tend to get a snowstorm of some sort every year, last year they ended up giving their pickup trailers away to a local since they couldn't even get them back on their trucks in the 2 feet of snow that fell. Over the last 4 years they've spent enough in gas money to buy 3 big wall tents by now.

[Lefty]

Setting up camp is more effort with a tent, but you might be able to get further in with a tent I also hate wood stoves

I wont barrow any ones gear
If its a small trailer still take the tent

[Shawn032]

Thanks for the responses keep em coming.

[Swede]

Lefty: I am curious why you hate wood stoves. Certainly quality propane heaters are easy and not very expensive. I use mine even in the trailer when it is cold. They work great, but I still like wood in a big tent.

[Indian Summer]

I love wall tents. I love wood stoves. Things dry better/faster hanging near a wood stove. Less fuel and tents don't get flat tires. To me an elk camp means a wall tent. Plus they are multi purpose. I use mine in the summer sometimes.

[Fridaythe13th]

How many people are going? A 20 foot camper is not that big. If it is 3 of you its fine but more than 3, spend the money on a wall tent and a mess tent for cooking. We found a Cabelas alakank and a the mess for $700 on Craig list. I have a 27 foot camper with a 14' bump out and it gets crowded with the family of 4 and all your stuff. Last year we took a 13X20 tent and a 10X14 mess tent with 6 people, no problems.
Yes I would rather sleep in my bed in a camper. You don't have to worry about weather or bears as much. But the extra in gas well kill the check book fast I get 6 or 7 MPG pulling against the wind out west and It is always windy headin west.

[stringunner]

As Swede said, I would never borrow a trailer...again. I did it once on a hunt in Wyoming. It belonged to my in-laws. My wife wasn't impressed when I told her how much money we owed them in repairs, which included three flat tires, which didn't cost a ton but were a major inconvenience during the trip. We have our own now. I don't like towing my trailer on roads that have potential to be snow covered. I love my trailer for archery season, but if I was going in during elk rifle season, I would own a wall tent.

[Shawn032]

Just talked to 1 of the hunting party and he still insist on taking the trailer. I agreed on one condition. I am not financially responsible for any repairs. He didn't say to much after that. Wait and see time.

[under H2O hunter]

I actually did both last season. I pulled my 34 foot camper for Labor Day weekend. It was ok I just hated having to get up earlier then normal so I could drive back to my spots. It took longer to get to my area pulling the camper then it does when I am pulling my 4 wheelers on their trailer. After Labor Day weekend I went home for a week and a half packed up my wall tent with all the usual accessories like propane, heaters, carpet floor, tables, and so on. Yes a wall tent takes more time to get ready and set up. However the fact that I can hunt straight out of camp and I don't have to get up as early really does make the choice simple for me. I personally enjoy camping out of a tent while elk hunting. It makes me feel more connected to the animals for some reason. I will be fabricating a hot water shower this year as I am planning on spending 16 straight days in my wall tent during the archery season.

A piece of advice I can give everyone when it comes to wall tents. Make your stay in them as comfortable as possible. If you can do propane over wood burning stove I suggest it. Nothing worse then having to stoke a fire at 2am and then try and go back to bed. I also bring several tarps and a big piece of carpet. Kicking your boots off when you get back from a long day of hiking is one of the few pleasures I really look forward to at the end of each day. Other personal comforts such as padded toilet seats inside a poop tent is better then a cold toilet seat out in the wind.

[Shawn032]

Thanks under

[ST52V]

Be prepared that a trip like this can really cause havoc with friendships. Lots of discussions and planing before hand helps. Everyone has to be on the same page from expectations, meals, clean up, wake up times, drinking or not, gas, calling set ups, extra expenses , packing out meat, ect.. No detail is too small to leave out. The stories are all over this forum and all the others. Good luck and enjoy it. Make sure they know it is nothing like the hunts on tv except for a select few shows.

[Triplebhunters]

Rough call. I don't like to borrow anything. For same reasons as stated above. Tent camping second rifle season you need to know how to keep it warm and dry. We use a 21 foot camper and a tent for supplies, but we are sept. I reccomend calling a camper rental place in co then you wouldn't have to travel wit it far. Also the pros and cons with pulling a camper are long. 1/2 the fuel mileage. Convienance of supplies and organization are priceless. If we didn't take dogs with us I would consider a truck camper and a nice tent. Fuel consumption is suppose to be 1 xtra gal per 100 miles( can anyone confirm this ).

You need good rest in order to hunt hard!

[Shawn032]

ST52V
You are so correct. It's already happening. I mention last night that if we do take the trailer we need to bring a tent to store gear in. My hunting partner blew his top cause he thought is was meaning to stay in it. After I explained why we needed the tent for storage for 20 minutes he finally got it.

Triplebhunters
That's a good idea about renting a trailer. I will have to check into that.

[Shawn032]

Thanks everyone for your inputs.

[pd]

Hmmm. It seems like I am in the minority here. A wall tent with a decent wood stove beats a trailer with a propane stone hand down. The trailer is bloody hard to pull up the mountain, and propane doesn't dry your clothes (it adds moisture to the cabin, whereas the wood stove dries the air, drying the clothes). You can pitch a wall tent just about anywhere. Unless it is really blowing hard, the wall tent will stay warm with the wood stove. Caveat: I don't hunt the Colorado rifle hunt, so I have no idea how cold it can get.

I hunt the Washington rifle general season (Novemeber), and I use a teepee tent with a wood stove. Even with snow blowing sideways it is plenty warm inside the tent.

By the way, when I hunt in the family camp---which uses a wall tent for the mess tent, but everybody else sleeps in trailers---I sleep in the back of my truck. Don't need a stove if only sleeping.

[Shawn032]

We are pulling the trailer. I caved in cause my need to get out west and hunt over ruled my better judgment. Won't be like this in 2015.

[Gypsumreaper]

Wall tent with a wood stove any day of the week, iv hunted 4th season in a wall tent here in Colorado with no regrets, only thing I don't like is not being able to kick off ur boots every once in a while but if ur camp mates are all good they will take boots off at the door an have a tarp down so it's not all muddy we usually set up a few days before an stoke the stove to dry the floor best we can before throwing stuff down

[elk.addict]

I hate putting the wall tent up and down and packing all that gear. When I'm done hunting, sure is nice to toss everything in the trailer and just go home. Sometimes it gets hairy with snow and ice, but I always make it back so it's worth towing around to me.
I do like having the dry heat of the wood stove though. Maybe I'll stick one in my trailer