This is the last major field test before transitioning to production. It was an excellent test. We experienced conditions not encountered before with heavy hail one afternoon high in the Rockies and wind conditions approaching hurricane force one night in the Oklahoma desert. We got experience using an electric cooler vs. ice and there were a few details we had changed to improve setup. We did not go looking for the winds we were subjected to one night in the Oklahoma panh

The Cumberland Camper is a great platform for both wilderness and campsite camping. It is tent camping in comfort. Through the design...

Field testing never ends - nor should it. This trip had nine days of camper use and 3900 miles of driving. The fourth field test went...

The Cumberland is made to be used in developed sites with utility connections and in the wilderness. In the wilderness, you may be able to make a wood or charcoal fire for cooking - the best kind of camping. Cooking over a bed of coals when a campfire is dying down is a fine art. We did that one night boondocking in Colorado on a recent field test. But you will also want to cook when electricity is not available and an open fire is not allowed. In good weather, cook outside u

There are two choices for heating the Cumberland in cold weather. Camping with electricity : If you have access to a 110V 30 amp RV hookup, you can use a portable heater up to 1500 watts plugged into one of the 110V 15 amp wall outlets in the Cumberland. 1500 Watts is equivalent to 5200 BTUs. The advantages to an electric heater are that ventilation is not an issue and you are not using your limited supply of propane. We recently used a 1500 Watt heater with the outside t

The design of the Cumberland's tent had to fit within an envelope of requirements . Provide as much living volume as possible for 4...

Our third field test had camping at 8 different campgrounds. These included Maumelle Park near Little Rock Arkansas, Camp Billy Joe for...

The first field test was 2 nights, but provided conditions that generated some improvement. The first night was in Montgomery Bell State...

We have gone star gazing at the Okie-Tex Star Party ( okie-tex.com ) five times (most recently in September 2024) - something worth doing...

One night, field testing in the Davis Mountains State Park in Texas, the temperature was perfect; the air dry, still, and silent. The moonless sky was dark and full of stars.  My campground neighbors were inside their RVs and shut down their generators, some still using their satellite TVs. I was scanning the stars with binoculars before climbing into the tent. (I think of the camper as a tent.) The Cumberland's big windows were zipped In the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend NP

An early goal was to make setting up the Cumberland as easy as possible, and it still is. One person working alone will get the...

Maumelle Park is a gem. We were on our way to the Okie-Tex Star Party (see the blog) in September 2022 and found this state park not far...

Cumberland started with a concept for a tent camper that would be easy to tow, have a large living volume relative to its weight and towing size and be a comfortable tent for enjoying the outdoors. We then designed it and built a few prototypes. The design was CAD based. CAD was particularly useful for generating tent surfaces and patterns. Though much thought and effort went into the design, it had to be proven in the field and tested in as many different conditions a