Corpusfishing.com

[txslowpoke]

Need some ideas from you guys. I have tent camped and pulled a small camp trailer down there, and slept out in the open on sleeping bags.. When the road is bad, the trailer sucked. high wind the tent sucked, mosquitos the open camp sucked Been looking at the tent cots?
Family of 4, dont need too many amenities.
What do you think is the best all around camping setup is for the 4x4 section? I have Suburban for the transport vehicle, have slept in it many times but on hot nights it sucks.
So whats the best bang for the buck in your opinion? thx

[Rooster]

I really like my tent cot, easy to transport and easy to set up and comfortable. Not sure if you wanna buy tent cots for the whole family though. I got a cheap sun shade tent from a Academy about 8x10 and it helps alot, you can put the ice chests under the shade to keep the ice from melting real fast, you can also hang lanterns, rolls of paper towels, trash bags and other things from the frame of the shade tent. Me and my buddies have those portable coleman propane grills and they make cookin easier than using charcoal. Also have a couple folding plastic tables that we put under/near the shade tent and use to put our gear one, very useful when the tailgate has stuff on it and you need a place to make leaders or make food. Then you can clear off all the stuff when your ready to eat and you have a table to eat on.

[txslowpoke]

Thx for the info, I dont mind buying the tent cots if they are better than the tents etc. Was not sure how tent cots performed on the beach. I have been thinking about this and I think the best setup would be tent cots and a canopy. At night you could setup the cots under the canopy, drop the canopy down some to help protect from rain if it shows up.
I was thinking of driving T posts/pipe into the sand next to the legs of the canopy to hold it in high wind and wrapping the legs to the t post with rope or bungee cords to keep it from calapsing in on itself/blowing away in high winds.
Just lookin for ideas.
Thanks

[Rudy]

Keep in mind that tent cots are a bit bulky to carry, especially when you have several of them.

[Big John]

And there is the infamous Tent Cot Bandit to worry about.
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[mastergunner]

My vast experience in camping, 15 years in combat arms, and 4 years on PINS has made me do the following things when camping on PINS. Camp as close to the high tide mark as you feel safe. This means no blowing sand. It also means more wind which means less bugs. This also means harder on your tent but position your vehicle right with your tent and you block most of the wind. It is easier to fish whenever you feel like because you don't have to worry about camping at the dunes and your gear being at the water's edge. This also eliminates people driving between you and the water. Easier to walk around on hard sand for several days than to treck through the deep sand by the dunes. Less sand gets into everything by the water than it does next to the dunes. Makes a better floor underneath your tent, stakes stay in the ground better in the wet sand than up by the dunes. By the dunes you get the blowing sand from passing vehicles. Too many rattlesnakes at the dunes edge, close encounters make it where you have to search for them around and under all your stuff in the morning.
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Mastergunner, supporter of hardheads for state fish of Texas

[pinsjeepster]

I"m another big tent-kot fan. I sleep great in mine. No bugs, no sand.
When I bought it they told me the troops can sleep through a sandstorm in
the desert with the rain fly on. Easy quick setup in the dark and wind

[the Poolguy]

Sleep in the truck like I do, that way I can bring more fishing equipment.

the Poolguy
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[GoinCoastal]

I use a tent cot. I love mine. They are great when your moving from spot to spot.

I like to use an Quick Shade or EZ UP pop up canopy with the tent cot when it isn't too windy and I am hanging in the same place for several days. You can stick 2 tent cots under the shade canopy, 2 chairs, throw your bags under the cot, and life is GOOD!!!!

BUT they do take up a lot of space when transporting them!!!!!

[Big John]

About the above.

It is much, much safer to camp um by the dunes. Camping by the high tide lines is fraught with disaster. There are many other good reasons to camp up by the dunes too.

1. If the tide comes up higher than you expect - due to a passing storm, etc, you may find yourself soaking wet. Aski SaltyDog about this one.

2. The hardpack is the road this time of year on the beach, and if you are on the hardpack, you could get hit by some one who doesn't see your tent in the dark of the night.

3. Its also just plain rude to park in the middle of the road, and I have gone out of my way to spin my tires and through sand all over those road blockers in the past (talking back when I was a kid - so don't tell me that's wrong, I figured it out when I grew up). There are others that will do that now.

4. If you are sleeping on the ground and not elevated in a tent cot, that soft sand feels alot better under you tent and bag than than hardpack.

5. Closer to the dunes for that morning pee.

6. Alot easier to dig a fire pit in the soft stuff than the hardpack.

7. The little kangaroo rats will hop down by your fire and investigate stuff. FYI, they love crackers, and after getting one of these, the little critters will take them from your hand. Watched my neices do this on a couple trips down.

8. If your tent is set up with the flap away from the wind, you don't have to worry about sand at night. Zip it shut and you don't have to worry about the skeeter either.

9. You can alway tote a chair down to the waters edge with you while hanging by the water. With all the weed in the beach, you won't be setting a chair up within 40 feet of the water anyway.

10. The weed stinks as it rots - I want to sleep as far from that smell as possible.
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[Tyler]

Whats the best camping setup for the beach?

Living 25 miles from the pavement so I can sleep at home!

Cots are great underneath big canopies so you can keep the dew off of you. Tents can be hot and be a pain but they work if you use those long stakes you can buy at Academy.
Use water in a tray or basin at the entrance so you can de-sand before retiring. Use plenty of realy baby powder with talc to have the sand roll off and always wear a hawaiian flowerdy shirt for c*cktails by the fire before retiring.
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[mastergunner]

I'm parking by the water regardless if it is the road or not. Several reasons, needing knee joint replacement on both knees I will not keep walking back and forth to the dunes especially in the soft sand. Second, it doesn't make sense for me to go out of my way for 24 hours walking back and forth just so the 5 seconds you spend driving by you don't have to go out of your way. I usually leave enough space to where you don't have to drive in the soft sand. What irritates me are those who spread items from the dunes to the water and then give you the death look when you try to snake through their stuff. Or those who see you coming and walk slowing out in front of you to make you stop. At low tide I move my rod holders so you can drive between me and the water, some do and some don't even if you try to wave them through.
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Mastergunner, supporter of hardheads for state fish of Texas

[surffan]

I now park my trailer in Port A and drive down. I'm getting lazy and mostly fish Mustang now anyway. But back when I camped on PINS I had good luck with a camper shell on a long wheel base Dodge pickup. Wife an I would slide a mattress up in the bed with sheets etc. Long wheel base meant there was room for stuff at the end of the mattress we did not want to leave outside. Did use some kind of tarp for daytime shade. At night if truck was parked sideways to wind side windows (screened) could be cranked open for nice breeze. Close up end of truck with tailgate and camper lid and then no bugs. We also used the basin of water trick for sand before we got in the truck bed. I know question was for 4 people but this worked great for 2.

[txslowpoke]

I typically setup camp closer to the dunes, seems abit safer from traffic to me, especially at night. We setup reflectors to make it more visible. While fishing(day or night) I park the truck to help block traffic and set up reflectors at night to hi light the the area. When we are in at the water line.
What I dont get is why some folks have to blaze through at high speed? Now that is RUDE, IMHO. I have seen it to where a truck will blaze thru our "camp" ,then stop a hundred yrds down the beach, driver/passngers take a leak, grab a beverage and blast off.
Mastergunner, this was several yrs ago, between the pavement and the 4x4 sign a couple was camping in a tent at the hi tide line, had a excab f150 parked on the south side of the tent. A couple in thier late 30-40's came along that night in a small blazer and plowed into the f150, bent it in a horseshoe shape and pushed it onto the tent hurting the couple in the tent and putting the lady(passenger) in the blazer thru the windshield, this was prolly 2am or maybe 3am. My father and I came up in from the 50's when we came up on it. Thats my reason from staying away from the main traveled road when setting camp. Keep in mind I am not trying to flame no one, just relaying my experience that caused me to change my camping there. BTW- big john I for one dont mind going around a camp setup close to water, campsites are meant to be fun and relaxing, so if you have to slowdown abit and traverse abit of rough"er" terrain to go around the camp-"TOUGH" I am driving in a 4x4 section, and driving a 4x4 so therefore I might have to use 4wd to get where I want to go. Just consider the camps at the hi tide line a speed bump like you have at HomeDepot's parking lot, slowdown go around it and go on.
thx to all for the tent cot info.

[Team Buddhahead]

Here is how we did it at the 10mm in March 2007. The winds blew 25-30.
Nice thing was that the truck blocked a lot of the wind and was a great tie down for the tent. I never had to worry about blowing away.
Kids loved playing on the dunes, away from the trucks going up and down the beach.

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