Bed Orientation.
The most obvious difference between Rear Folding Tents and Side Folding Tents is the bed orientation. Rear Folding Tent features the major advantage of both campers being able to slide off the bed without disturbing the other. Imagine using a Side Folding Camper when someone needs to go the toilet in the middle of the night or someone needs a pre-dawn wakeup for a spot of fishing.

Storage access.
Rear folding tents have the advantage of the kitchen having its own separate door and compartment, so when you are using you kitchen alone, you are not going anywhere near your storage, you are not even opening the tailgate. The kitchen is located at the very front of the trailer, resulting in a large square storage area in the middle and rear section of the trailer body. The disadvantage with a kitchen in a Side Folding Tent is the kitchen is located on the driver’s side of the kitchen in a narrow long shape. Resulting in your storage being a even narrower long in tailgate, the very front of the trailer is almost impossible to access. Reaching the front of your trailer in a Rear Folding Tent is not required as the space isn’t as deep, but its more the twice the width, creating a more user friendly accessible storage space.

Tailgate Location.
One of the most obvious differences between a Rear Folding Tent and a Side Folding Tent is the location of the tailgate. A Rear Folding Tent has the tailgate opening on the inside of the main tent, which means it is easily accessible at all times, particularly in the middle of the night, there is no need to even exit the tent to get addition bedding. The Side Folding Tent has the tailgate opening on the outside of the tent, underneath the awning, which isn’t as convenient, it’s also means your storage is exposed when the kitchen is in use.

Floor Size.
Floor size can also vary a great deal between Rear Folding Tents and Side Folding Tents. Side Folding Tents have the advantage of using the length of the trailer as the length of the tent, commonly the tent will be 2100mm wide creating a space easily used for beds or a table and chair. A Rear Folding Tent uses the width of the trailer as the width of the tent, so it is a significantly narrower tent. At Outback Campers, we build our trailer bodies to the full with of the trailer wheel guards, which allows us to maximize the width of the tent. At 1850mm wide, the tent floor is still large enough to allow a bed to be set, even table and chairs. If addition floor space is required, we recommend the use of an additional Side Bedroom.

Caravan Park.
Loathe them or love them, Caravan Parks are a popular choice of camping spots or caravans and camper trailers alike. The advantage here lies with the Rear Folding Tents as it has a similar footprint to a caravan. A long narrow shape with a awning on the passenger side, which means you could easily get a site in all caravan parks. The disadvantage Side Folding Tents it that it can be generally too wide for many caravan parks as the drawbar must face the road for safety regulations.

Awning/Annexe Size.
Rear Folding Tent might have a smaller tent floor size, but they do make up for it in the size of the awning. Due to the orientation of the tent, the awning uses the length of the trailer in its size, rather than the width as a Side Folding Tent does. This difference can be as much as 600mm.

Heavy 4wding.
It is not a situation that most people would find themselves in, but luckily for one of our customers he had one of our Outback Campers with a rear folding tent. While exploring the Victorian high country, our customer had a wheel puncture on his vehicle and it was quickly approaching sunset. The track was heavily surrounded by trees, so fortunately he was able to erect his camper as that track behind him was clear. He was able to camp on the track overnight, make the necessary repairs in the morning and continue on his journey.