First overnight hang! Turtledog stand was envied by all!!!!!

[Megalos]

My son joined Cub Scouts this year and we had our first family camping this past weekend. We had fun but the weather was brutal. We set up on Friday night while it was nice out but by 10 or 11 pm the temp plummeted and the rain arrived. I knew this was coming so I brought plenty of supplies to keep the family warm. Saturday was full of fun activities with the other scouts....fishing (not catching), archery, tent setup class, arts + crafts, etc. Everyone was great and we had fun. Unfortunately, the family didn't tolerate the cold very well so we went home Saturday, late afternoon.

I slept in my hammock with a 20 degree sleeping bag as a top quilt and a wool blanket underneath me. I also had the YUKON OUTFITTERS Kindle Under Quilt below me. A 10x12 BCUSA tarp kept the rain off of me even with some wind. I ran it sideways so the 10 foot portion was over me and the 12 foot ran down to the ground. I buttoned up the edges that were windward and I was good....more or less. Not bad for a first time in inclement weather.

The family was in a "4 person" tent which just held my wife and son with some gear. We put down a blue cheap tarp under the tent and some Harbor Freight foam tiles in the tent to help keep out water and for insulation. They had foam mats, Klymit static v pads under them and each had their own sleeping bag. I also gave them a wool blanket and they tell me they really needed it.

We survived and had a good time. They do these family camping outings twice a year and I'm hoping the next one will have better weather. I'll upgrade their sleeping bags for the next time too.

My turtledog stand and setup.






The way the tarp ran along the legs of the tripods, I'm thinking that a sort of Tepee fabric cover for them would make for nice end coverage and I could store gear there on a raised fabric platform.

[NarlocB]

Very nice. Glad all had fun!!!! That is the important part.

[awanatech]

As a Scouter for 11 years now, and still involved, I love to see others hanging on campouts. However, normally I'm the only one. I'm glad everyone had some fun, despite the weather. I just finished up 4 weekends in a row of Scout camping.

I must say though, if my wife was in the tent in next to me, I wouldn't leave her with the wool blanket to keep warm if it was that cold. As much as I dislike going to ground, I'd be on the ground also in that case. I've been hanging on our campouts with my oldest for years. When my youngest was still in Cub Scouts, I'd be in the tent with him, even when my wife didn't go. About the time he got into Webelos, he decided he wanted his own tent. Then I could go back to hanging.

[awanatech]

I meant to add, very nice setup. I have been meaning to make a set of turtle dog stands to keep in our Troop trailer. I'm the one pulling it when we go and it would be nice to have that option. You show 2 different sets of stands. Are both your's? What kind of poles did you use for the metal stand?

[Pennsy Camp and Canoe]

do you have any problems with your stand in the wind? Maybe its our Lake Erie breeze, but the wind always seems to knock my stand over, tarp and all, whenever I'm not in it.

[Megalos]

I meant to add, very nice setup. I have been meaning to make a set of turtle dog stands to keep in our Troop trailer. I'm the one pulling it when we go and it would be nice to have that option. You show 2 different sets of stands. Are both your's? What kind of poles did you use for the metal stand?

The metal one is just to show the fabric "shelf" in the tripod. I haven't made mine yet as we don't have a sewing machine at the moment.

do you have any problems with your stand in the wind? Maybe its our Lake Erie breeze, but the wind always seems to knock my stand over, tarp and all, whenever I'm not in it.

I was concerned about this but I set up the tarp first and staked it down. That seemed to solve any issues with wind but there wasn't that much wind to speak of (while I was up)