REI Co-op Base Camp Tent and Vehicle Connector Review

There’s no worse feeling than rolling up to camp and finding that all of the shaded spots are taken — or nonexistent. It can be a real issue where I camp in Colorado, with a high alpine sun that can really crank the UV, and four-legged camp companions to keep cool.

Enter the REI Co-op Base Camp Vehicle Connector: a portable porch in a bag. This awning attaches to the Co-op’s super-popular Base Camp tents and then extends over the back of your vehicle, creating a covered area for lounging, cooking, or extra storage.  

This summer, I tested the Base Camp 6 Tent and Vehicle Connector as a dynamic duo by camping in the wildflower-sprinkled meadows of Crested Butte and the granite-encrusted alpine deserts of Gunnison. These excursions allowed me to evaluate both as individual pieces of gear and as a cohesive set. And the living? Too easy.

In short: The REI Co-op Base Camp 6 Tent + Vehicle Connector is the perfect pairing for folks searching for a shady place to call home for the night. On its own, the Base Camp 6 Tent is a spacious shelter that can easily accommodate family, friends, pets, and gear. Furthermore, by adding the Vehicle Connector, you can create a canopy that makes unloading your vehicle a breeze. Once set up, this invaluable spacious area makes camping even more enjoyable.

Looking for a new camping tent or portable shade awning for your trail rig? Check out GearJunkie’s Best Camping Tents and Car and Truck Awning Buyer’s Guides to see how the Base Camp series compares.

REI Co-op Base Camp 6 Tent + Vehicle Connector: Review

What You Get

The Base Camp 6 Tent ($549) comes in its own stuff sack, and inside, you’ll find the rainfly, main canopy, five aluminum poles, and a bag of stakes with guy lines. REI describes the poles as being color-coded, but I found that there were some discrepancies. More on that later.

It is important to note that this tent does not include a ground tarp, so you’ll have to buy that for 60 bucks separately or bring your own.

The Base Camp Vehicle Connector ($199) has its own smaller stuff sack. It includes the main canopy fabric, four poles (three of which connect together), a bag of stakes, and guy lines. Like the tent, it doesn’t include a ground tarp. 

Neither the Base Camp 6 Tent nor the Vehicle Connector includes mallets for hammering the stakes down, so you may need to get creative and use a rock (like I did) or bring your own. 

When packed up, these two stuff sacks didn’t take up too much room in the back of my truck, and stowed, the tent weighs a little over 20 pounds, and the Vehicle Connector just over 8 pounds. This setup is designed for car camping, so hauling the tent wasn’t too bad. Would I take it backpacking or into a super-far walk-in site? Probably not. 

A Simple Setup (With Some Practice)

The Base Camp 6 Tent is relatively simple to put up, but it definitely took some head scratching my first time. The main corners of the tent have gold-colored stake points that should align with specific gold pole ends, but I found that all of the poles were a similar brass color.

However, because the main corner poles go into dead-end sleeves, those poles only have pegs on one end. Figuring this out made the process much easier than trying to discern between the two very similarly colored pole ends. After getting two main poles in, it is fairly simple to slide the adjacent cross-poles and attach them via the hook loops on either side of the vestibule. 

Once the main tent is up, you can either attach the rainfly or leave it off. Opting for the rainfly may require a tall friend or practice throwing. I am 5’3”, so you can imagine how hilarious I looked trying to throw a very large rainfly over the top of this 6-foot monster. The final pole easily slides into the rainfly panel, helping keep it taut.

The setup for the Vehicle Connector is relatively simple. The three included black poles have joints that connect to make an arc shape, where the highest point of the awning is. These joints have carabiners for clipping to the awning corners for tension. At the back, the rear connects easily to the cross-pole of the tent’s rainfly. A center pole then runs along the top side of the connector.

I set up the Connector with my partner’s help, which made the process go pretty fast and relatively simple. Teamwork makes the dream work on both of these products. 

Kicking Back in the Base Camp

The Base Camp Vehicle Connector really elevates your camping experience. In Colorado, it can feel impossible to find a shady campsite, and with temps on the rise, it seems even more disheartening. This awning takes away the guesswork of trying to find a campsite with trees or the painstaking task of jerry-rigging a tarp up. 

The inside space of the Connector provides enough room for lounging or storing gear away from the rain. I kept my bike under it while I slept, which gave me some major peace of mind when the rain started falling. You can also easily throw a few camp chairs and a table under there. 

The best part of the Connector, in my opinion, is the ability to use the space as an unloading area straight from your trunk to the tent. Having the simultaneous rear vehicle and front tent access is huge and truly helps streamline the packing/unpacking process. 

The Base Camp 6 Tent is a solid tent for the price. The inner canopy is spacious, with 84 square feet of space. While I never camped with five other people in there, the tent accommodated me, my partner, our two cots, and our two giant dogs quite well. I think it would be a bit of a squeeze with six people and their gear, but the extra storage areas help immensely.

The massive doors are amazing for in-and-out movement and getting larger bags and pieces of gear into the tent. However, I did find that the zippers had a tendency to get stuck and could not be easily opened with one hand. This felt more like a tension issue within the tent design itself rather than a material quality problem. 

Storage Galore

Both the Base Camp 6 and Vehicle Connector have multiple storage areas for throwing your extra gear, stuff sacks, headlamps, and more. The transparent mesh pockets on both the tent and the connector make it easy to find your smaller pieces of gear, which can help if you find yourself fumbling around for things in the dark. 

To add to the storage component, the Base Camp 6 Tent has two large storage vestibules under either end of the rainfly, totaling 44 square feet and able to accommodate large duffel bags, bins, and more. When you factor in the extra storage space from the covered 62 square feet with the connector, that’s a whole lot of room for all your precious gear. 

Durability and Weather-Resistance 

While I don’t live in a climate that experiences hurricanes, tornadoes, or other drastic weather events, my area of Colorado does see high winds, short-lived monsoons, and brutal but well-loved sunshine. 

The tent, with the rainfly, seemed to survive it all, and quite well. This is thanks to its 75-denier polyester fabric, which helps resist moisture and damage. Additionally, the ground tarp is made with 150-denier polyester, which held up splendidly despite being slid around on granite, stepped on by lots of dog paws, and used to support two metal cots. 

Because of how well the Base Camp 6 is stitched and crafted, it is excellent at keeping pesky insects and critters out. Something I noticed immediately upon waking up was several dead flies on the top of the tent, but they weren’t in the tent, so that was a major win. 

The Vehicle Connector also repelled rain just fine, but was a bit challenging to set up during some wind. Once it was staked in well, however, it did hold its own. Furthermore, the fabric has some stretch, which definitely helps it fit over the back of your taller car or truck. 

Is It Worth It?

If you decide to buy both the Base Camp 6 and the Vehicle Connector, you’ll be spending around 750 bucks — and I know that’s a lot of cheddar. However, I do think they are worth it as a cohesive pair. The added protection and storage space from the car awning and the ability to create a tunnel to your tent are major pluses, especially if you need the extra shelter.

My local recreation areas typically have larger campsites to accommodate trailers, campers, and multiple vehicles, so you may want to consider if you’ll be using this setup in similar situations. You definitely need a longer-style site to fit both the vehicle connector and the tent at the same time. 

However, this setup certainly elevates the camping experience to a whole new level. Between the spacious Base Camp 6 Tent, which has plenty of storage space, and the sheltered area of the Vehicle Connector, it does feel like having a yurt with a patio wherever you want. 

It is important to note that the Base Camp Vehicle Connector is not compatible with just any shelter — it only works with newer REI Co-op Base Camp 4 and 6 tents. So in order to purchase it, you must buy either of these options as its pairing.

REI Co-op Base Camp 6 Tent + Vehicle Connector: Conclusion

The REI Co-Op Base Camp 6 Tent and Vehicle Connector are two shelters with plenty of protection, storage, and accessories that will transform any campsite. With lots of wiggle room for lounging and sleeping, both of these products are user-friendly and designed for folks needing some extra covered space at their campsite. 

The pros certainly outweigh the cons when it comes to this camping pairing. My only real struggles with this tent and connector were with the setup. While I was able to get both set up by myself, I found that having a partner made it a far better experience. Other than some issues with the zippers and pole coloring, I was ultimately quite impressed by this combo. 

The Base Camp 6 Tent and Vehicle Connector would be well-loved and used by families or friend groups needing a solid shelter for a weekend or extended camping trip. The six-person tent is one of our favorite designs, and the awning from the Vehicle Connector gives a shaded space for cooking, hanging out, or storing gear like bikes and more.

The pair is certainly an investment, but for those looking for a perfectly matched front-country palace, it’s tough to do better than the Base Camp set.