BMX racing and Tent & Trail by James Phillips.
Our story began 10 years ago. BMX racing at the age of 5. My little one is now 15 years old!!! We are a Father and Son BMX racing team from Dorset, UK. We have raced across the UK and Europe for the last 10 years. My son Fynn is the BMX racer and is part of the Mongoose Factory BMX Team. As for myself, I play the role of driver, mechanic, manager, coach, supporter, friend, father and more!
Why did we approach Tent & Trail?
We no longer fit in the same bed in the back of our van/car as we used to on our first racing adventures.
We have taken the family tent: Huge, great for keeping our stuff in order. But fills the car/van and is a pain to set up when all you want to do is relax.
We have taken the van and a one man tent: Do you really get a great nights sleep if you’re racing next day or having just done a long drive? Not really!
We have done the Premier Inn: A great night’s sleep as promised – but oh so expensive and very solitary.
So, is the solution a roof tent?
Thanks to Tent & Trail, we rocked up at the 2024 British Championships in Derby, kitted up and ready to go; Ford Transit Crew Cab and the Tent & Trail Adventure Series roof tent. We even managed to lift share and tow along a friend’s caravan!
The Adventure Series is fantastic. Quick and easy to set up. Not bulky (although quite hefty) on the roof. You can mount a bike on top of the hard shell keeping it out of the way of items stored in the cargo section of the crew cab. Perfect for separating living and BMX life!
Setting up
The set up involves unclipping two clamps, it pops up with hydraulic arms, you erect the perfectly stored ladder, climb up and sit in the tent space! You move one frame and secure with two extendable arms. You make the outer tent taught by adding two bendy metal poles. You hang out the shoe bags either side of the ladder and job done! Little fuss and no arguments. Even a 15 year old can do it on his own in less than five minutes; on only the second time of putting it up!
The weekend in Derby was windy and wet at times. Having listened to Chris’ advice, we parked the van “into” the wind. There really was no issue at all. It was stable and dry and surprisingly warm in the dead of night.
Extra space
If you want a more social space, the Adventure Series comes with a “sail type” awning extension. This took two of us 5 minutes to set up as the tent was mounted pretty high up on the van (although we could have taken a step and erected solo). You zip it onto the roof tent, and secure with guy ropes and two adjustable poles. Everything really has been thought of. The adjustable poles mean you can secure on a low vehicle or a high vehicle. Tent & Trail have provided extremely high-quality pegs (there will be no bending these!) and a beautifully crafted hammer.
On the van the awning space enabled us to have a dry space to get up to when I awoke each morning, it was also great for setting up a space to get ready, cook or socialise with others!
The tent is visually stunning when up and running and drew a lot of attention from friends and fellow campers interested in how it worked for us over the racing weekend!
Packing away
Setting down camp was equally straightforward. The only difference being to ensure that doors and windows were rolled down and secured to prevent the tent billowing out when you close the lid. Tuck in the sides and clamp up. Job done! I’d like to say we were the first to leave, however helping others without roof tents meant we were not!
Was our weekend a success?
Chris at Tent & Trail is brilliant. He helped us to install the Adventure Series on the van. We discussed other alternatives for roof tents. We have a Toyota Auris estate which the Adventure Series is too heavy for but Tent & Trail have three other types to suit your needs. There is a Compact Series, Explore Series and Discover Series. If winter training plans work out, I would love to see if other options would help us to travel to Manchester more economically in the car rather than taking the van!
The roof tent option is certainly stress free. The teenager loved the roof space. I loved the space inside the van. Could it be even better? Yes. Although that responsibility rests with us not Tent & Trail.
Chris has evolved a brilliant Land Rover Defender Crew Cab to work for him in harmony with the products he has passionately developed. We would need to do the same with the van. Sorting out the van with a leisure battery, solar panels, and some special van drawers would really help add to the overall experience of van life.
Tent & Trail have designed the tent to work! You can enter the tent from all three sides. This worked for us as we did not use the rear entrance because I slept in the back of the van. The shoe bags are a simple but brilliant feature. No more wet shoes to find before you leave the tent. Tent and Trail can supply some lovely led lights should you wish to use them; the disco effect was loved by the teenager!
The racing
Our racing didn’t end as successfully as we might have hoped. Having dominated racing all day, Fynn was shut down in the semi final by the eventual British Champion. Sometimes it just isn’t your day. At least we had the roof tent to come back to as a base to enjoy the after party.
To find out more about Fynn and his BMX racing adventure, head over to his instagram page and give him a follow: @phi11ips09
