When it comes to car camping, or walk-in camping, we like lots of room and comfort. After all, it’s not like we have to lug the thing very far. That’s what backpacking tents are for. With car best camping tents, being comfortable and having enough room for everyone while being adequately sheltered when bad weather strikes are key to enjoying a wonderful summer out camping with friends and family. Here, we’ve listed best camping tents that can sleep a maximum of four people. You just have to determine how much room you want depending on how many people, dogs, cats, kids, and/or stuff you want inside with you in your tent. Do keep in mind that although tent specifications indicate the number of people it sleeps, it’s usually a tight squeeze for that number.
We want to suggest tents that we believe are high-quality. So we won’t really consider price as part of our selection because a lot of times, you get what you pay for and we want to get a lot so that we can feel confident that our precious vacation days are spent enjoying the outdoors and not wishing we had a better tent. I would know, I’ve been there. I once had a one-size-fits-all type tent that was on the heavy side for backpacking and on the small side for car camping and definitely on the inconvenient side for bikepacking (because of the lack of vestibules), and I was usually envious of the other tents around me. That said, we do consider good value for tents that are practical and reliable and are cost effective. So here are our best camping tents.
Mystery Solved!
The best Camping Tent is:
REI Co-op Kingdom 4 Tent
Why we love it?
- We love the vestibule that has doors that can open as awnings, perfect for days when you just want to hang out and read or need to eat under some shelter over your head because of the hot sun or rain
- Perfect for week-long summer camping at a nice campsite surrounded by nature but easily accessible by car
- With the Kingdom 4, you’re living it up in style and comfort, no need to sacrifice a thing to enjoy many nights of summer camping
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Top 6 Products
REI Co-op Kingdom 4 Tent |
The North Face Northstar 4 |
Marmot Limestone 4P |
Marmot Limelight 4 Persons |
Big Agnes Big House 4 Deluxe |
Coleman Carlsbad™ 4 person |
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| Price | 399.00$ View On REI | 549.00$ View On REI | 252.58$ View On Amazon | 367.85$ View On Amazon | 349.95$ View On Amazon | 138.66$ View On Amazon |
| Overall Rating | 10 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 7.6 |
| Pros | Luxuriously roomy, Tons of storage details, Awesome huge vestibule, Weather protective awning, Ample peak height for standing up inside, 2 Huge doors, Durable and strong, Can withstand a storm , Leakproof | Easy to set up, Lots of room and high ceilings , 3 Doors with one huge vestibule , Sturdy enough to withstand wind, rain and snow, Plenty of storage pockets , Durable and long lasting, Plenty of vents, Great build quality | Easy setup, Plenty of room, Leak-proof from rain, Lots of storage pockets, Double doors, Ample head room, Durable | Easy setup, Internal pockets are handy, Stormproof, Lighter, Roomy double doors and vestibules , Comes with a footprint, Near vertical walls, Good ventilation | Easy setup, Very roomy, Numerous pockets inside for organization, Vertical walls and high ceiling, Double doors, Huge vestibule but sold separately | Easy setup, Dark room for sleep-in-ers, Screen room is like a screened patio to enjoy a book without bugs swarming, Huge floor space |
| Cons | Setup may be tricky at first, Super heavy | Heavy, More expensive | Smaller vestibules, Fewer vents, Heavy for backpackers | If not staked out properly, fly could have rain pool on top, May be a tight squeeze for four adults, Footprint material is a bit delicate, Peak height not as high as others | May not withstand strong winds or rain, Vestibule sold separately , Tricky zippers, Limited ventilation with fly on | Heavy, Low peak height, Build quality not as great as the rest, Does not withstand rain |
| Bottom Line | Why sacrifice roominess and comfort? Enjoy the guilty pleasures, you can have it all and feel like royalty glamping in luxury. Just make him carry it to and fro the car | This is a great heavy-duty car camping tent that you can use during the winter and will give you ample room for all your activities and storage needs | If you can’t stand the idea of car camping with a big ol’ gigantic tent and carrying it around, the Marmot limestone 4P could be your goldilocks tent – not too big and heavy, not too small, just right | This car camping tent has one foot in the backpacking door and the other in the car camping door. So if you really wanted to have one tent that you could use for both, the Marmot Limelight 4 Person Tent could be your tent. It’s light enough to carry on hikes, especially if split, and still has some of the luxuries of the bigger car camping tents. It just might be snug for 4 | The Big Agnes Big House 4 Deluxe Tent offers deluxe features like millions of differently sized pockets for great storage organization necessary for those extended camping vacations. It’s also incredibly easy to set up and if you get the vestibules, you can have even more space for all your stuff and activities. Perfect for long summer camping stays with the family | Car camping in the hot sun or in the middle of lots of bugs? Or maybe you just enjoy sleeping in and want it to stay dark inside? Then we’ve found your tent! The dark room lets you sleep in and/or stay cooler under the hot sun, and the screen room keeps bugs away. Somewhat lower quality but it’s also quite inexpensive |
| Weight | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Price | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| Convenience | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Durability | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Interior Space | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
2. The North Face Northstar 4
Weight
Price
Convenience
Durability
Interior Space
Best offers
Pros
- Easy to set up
- Lots of room and high ceilings
- 3 Doors with one huge vestibule
- Sturdy enough to withstand wind, rain and snow
- Plenty of storage pockets
- Durable and long lasting
- Plenty of vents
- Great build quality
Cons
- Heavy
- More expensive
For car campers who want something more robust and super easy to set up, the North Face Northstar 4 is one of the best camping tents with lots of room and can even withstand winter elements. So this summer car camping tent can double as your base camp tent or ski touring tent in the snow. Lots of storage pockets and its geodesic shape and design make the interior space versatile.
3. Marmot Limestone 4P
Weight
Price
Convenience
Durability
Interior Space
Best offers
Pros
- Easy setup
- Plenty of room
- Leak-proof from rain
- Lots of storage pockets
- Double doors
- Ample head room
- Durable
Cons
- Smaller vestibules
- Fewer vents
- Heavy for backpackers
Here’s a middle of the road car camping tent that’s not too heavy, but still boasts a lot of room (especially for jumping up and down) and attention to detail like mesh pockets inside and a hook for a light on the ceiling. It’s still not ideal for backpacking but in the event that you have a bit of a walk from the car to the campsite, it’s not so bad. Then, since setup is so easy, you get to start enjoying your camping vacation sooner than the others.
4. Marmot Limelight 4 Persons
Weight
Price
Convenience
Durability
Interior Space
Best offers
Pros
- Easy setup
- Internal pockets are handy
- Stormproof
- Lighter
- Roomy double doors and vestibules
- Comes with a footprint
- Near vertical walls
- Good ventilation
Cons
- If not staked out properly, fly could have rain pool on top
- May be a tight squeeze for four adults
- Footprint material is a bit delicate
- Peak height not as high as others
Here’s a car camping tent that can also double as a backpacking tent for some. It’s quite light for a car camping tent, but you do sacrifice some space so it will be a tight squeeze to sleep 4 adults. It’s still roomier than most backpacking tents and offers stash pockets inside for that extra convenience. The big doors and vestibules make things like cooking out of the rain and going in and out more comfortable.
5. Big Agnes Big House 4 Deluxe
Weight
Price
Convenience
Durability
Interior Space
Best offers
Pros
- Easy setup
- Very roomy
- Numerous pockets inside for organization
- Vertical walls and high ceiling
- Double doors
- Huge vestibule but sold separately
Cons
- May not withstand strong winds or rain
- Vestibule sold separately
- Tricky zippers
- Limited ventilation with fly on
This is another great car camping tent that’s easy to set up and take down that offers plenty of room to stand up inside and comfortably sleep 4 people. The vestibules are huge, but they are sold separately. It’s not as heavy as some of the other large car camping tents and still offers plenty of room and pockets for storage and organization. It also comes with a nifty bag that makes it easy to pack the tent back in and carry it to and fro the car.
6. Coleman Carlsbad™ 4 person
Weight
Price
Convenience
Durability
Interior Space
Best offers
Pros
- Easy setup
- Dark room for sleep-in-ers
- Screen room is like a screened patio to enjoy a book without bugs swarming
- Huge floor space
Cons
- Heavy
- Low peak height
- Build quality not as great as the rest
- Does not withstand rain
We know, we know. This isn’t usually something we’d recommend, a tent with a dark room? But we thought about the folks who want to enjoy extended summer camping vacations and sleeping in at the same time. We also thought about the folks who might be doing some camping in the middle of hot sunny sites where a dark room could reduce the heat a bit. And we also thought about the people who may be camping in places where there are tons of bugs. The screen room is great to sit and read or eat without having bugs swarming around you. It’s also great for days when it’s too hot to sit outside in the sun but you still want to enjoy the view and relax on a chair all day. For all you folks, the Coleman Carlsbad 4-person Dark Room Tent with Screen Room is for you. It’s definitely one of the best camping tents because it’s quite heavy but it’s also got lots of floor space. The peak height isn’t quite high enough for tall people to stand up, but the screen room makes up for it, and it’s the least expensive of all our picks.
Criteria for Our Best Camping Tents Selection
Roominess
Car camping, or walk-in camping, implies driving up to the campsite with a car and pitching your tent almost next to your car. At most, there could be a short walk from the car to the site if it’s in an area where cars aren’t allowed, but it shouldn’t be a trek. If we want to camp somewhere that requires more hiking, then we’d recommend lighter tents, like backpacking tents. Backpacking tents are lighter because they are smaller in volume and use ultralight material.
But when we go car camping, we like to enjoy the luxuries that car camping offers, which include the freedom to bring everything we need for a comfortable and fun vacation. And to us, comfort means lots of room and more room. So, when selecting our car best camping tents, we fell in love with big huge tents. Yes, size matters, the bigger, the better.
Comfort
Although roominess plays a huge role in the comfort of a tent, we also admired tents that boasted attention to detail such as tons of smartly placed and sized internal pockets to help keep our stuff organized. We oohed and ahhed tents that had multiple doors because it’s nice to not be woken up in the middle of the night when someone else needed to leave the tent and then return when we’ve just fallen back asleep.
Then we were like giddy children whenever there were awnings because it’s hella cool to sit under an awning, totally in the shade reading a book and enjoying a cool drink and not getting sunburned. Vestibules were important in our ranking because when it does rain, you’re going to want that covered space to store gear or shake off the rain before entering the sacred space in your tent. And the bigger the vestibule the more we approved.
Easy setup
Who doesn’t want to enjoy the vacation sooner? Best camping tents usually take a bit longer than backpacking tents to set up because they are usually bigger and have more or longer poles to deal and more fabric to figure out. But there were some pretty awesome tents that were easy to set up solo. Yes, you do need to read the instructions to get it right the first time.
Quality
If you want to fill your campsite neighbor with tent envy, you’re probably not going to do it with a tent that lacks quality. Plus, if you’re going to invest in a car camping tent, may as well pay for something that boasts quality material, design, and a good warrantee so that you’re not stuck with a leaky tent and a pool inside your tent during your maybe once-a-year summer camping vacation.
A quality tent can go a long way, from ensuring a pleasant experience to lasting a decade for years of great memories with friends and family. When selecting best camping quality tents, we opted for more durable material and design that were offered by manufacturers that guaranteed great performance.
And what do you think? Let us know in the comments!