I personally am not a fan of three-room tents. They take up a lot of space so it can be hard to find somewhere to pitch them. They are also heavy and huge tents rarely hold up well against windy weather or storms. It’s often easier to use two tents with a separate screened tent for hanging out.You can even create a “three room” large tent by pitching a tarp between two separate tents.
However, if you are camping with a large group and staying in one spot for a long time (or don’t mind setting up a massive tent for a weekend trip!), or use queen-sized air mattresses, a three-room tent will definitely give you more space and privacy. It’s also cheaper to buy one three-room tent than multiple tents, especially since some campgrounds only allow one tent per site.
Below are the best three room tents. All of them actually have three rooms (I’m not counting a vestibule as a separate room!). I’ve excluded a lot of cheap 3-room tents which leak or break easily.
Quick Picks
- Best Overall: Core 12P Instant Tent
- Runner Up: Coleman Rocky Mountain 5 Plus
- Most Spacious: Bushnell 12P Instant Tent
- Budget Pick: Ozark Trail 11P Cabin Tent
Comparison Table
Click the arrows to sort the table by type, size, doors, etc.
| Tent | Type | Sleeps | Footprint | Weight | Doors | Headroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core 12 Instant | Cabin | 12 | 18x10' | 52lbs | 2 | 80 |
| Coleman Rocky Mountain 5 Plus | Tunnel | 5 | 14.9x10' | 37lbs | 1 | 72 |
| Coleman Red Canyon 8P | Mod. Dome | 8 | 17x10' | 23lbs | 1 | 72 |
| Bushnell Sport 12P | Cabin | 12 | 20x10' | 58lbs | 1 | 78 |
| Campros 12 | Tunnel | 12 | 20x9' | 24.3lbs | 2 | 72 |
| Ozark Trail 11P Instant Tent | Cabin | 11 | 14x9"/14x14' | 39lbs | 1 | 76 |
Best Three Room Tents
1. Core Instant Cabin 12P
Choose because: A very large three-room tent that can handle bad weather and is easy to pitch
Features
- Type: Cabin
- Doors: 1
- Footprint size: 18×10 feet
- Max height: 80 inches
- Weight: 52lbs
- Buy Here
Review
Even though this tent is very affordable, it is surprisingly well-made and has a great design. For an instant tent, it is pretty sturdy and handles bad weather very well. It also has built-in ventilation so you don’t end up with condensation problems in cold weather.
I love the design of this tent. The entrance doors are in the middle. You enter to a large room which can be used for hanging out or storage. There are room dividers on each side, giving you two separate sleeping spaces. The room dividers zip so are easy to open/close. You don’t have to unhook them to get in as is the case with some cheap family tents. A queen size air bed fits in each section of the tent, but with little room around the sides.
The only real downside of this tent is that it is very heavy. There is also a lot of fabric, so packing it up can be a challenge. It does withstand bad weather well but you may need to reseal the seams eventually.
Pros
- Room dividers have zippers
- Great ventilation
- Handles bad weather well
- Affordable
- Instant setup
Cons
- Very heavy
- Annoying to pack up
2. Coleman Rocky Mountain 5 Plus
Choose because: It has a big front room and private bedrooms 
Features
- Type: Tunnel
- Doors: 1
- Footprint size:14.9×10′
- Max height: 77 inches
- Weight: 37lbs
- Buy Here
Review
Compared to other 3-room tents, the Coleman Rocky Mountain 5 Plus is pretty small. This makes it easier to pitch and it takes up less space than other multi-room tents. However, don’t count on using this with air mattresses. The room divider is removable, so you could fit a queen in the bedroom area — but you are better off using sleeping pads or cots.
The tent is designed so the front room is for gear storage or hanging out. There are storage pockets along one wall. You can fit a little table in there and there’s enough headroom for standing up. There are massive clear windows in the front room for light, but annoyingly they arne’t mesh so the ventilation is pretty poor. The tent has a very high hydrostatic head (4500mm) so withstands bad storms and rains. Like all tunnel tents, you’ve got to stake this one out very carefully — but the shape means wind goes off of it so it is suitable to use in bad storms.
One of the best things about the Coleman Rocky Mountain 5 Plus is the black-out feature in the rooms. Not only will you be able to sleep in longer, but the fabric keeps the tent cooler. Core also makes a smaller version of their instant tent.
Pros
- Blackout fabric in bedrooms
- Handles bad weather well
- Large windows in front room
- Rooms have zipper doors
- Storage pockets
- Lots of light in front room
Cons
- Not for air mattresses
- Windows are plastic, not mesh
- Poor ventilation
- Pricy option
3. Coleman Red Canyon 8P Tent
Choose because: It has a small footprint, is lightweight and is affordable
Features
- Type: Mod. dome
- Doors: 1
- Footprint size: 10×17 feet
- Max height: 84inches
- Weight: 23lbs
- Buy Here
Review
Here’s another 3-room Coleman tent. It is very cheap and, as you’d expect, is lacking a lot of features. Noteable, the room dividers don’t have zippers. You will annoyingly have to unhook them to get out. The tent does withstand bad weather well though and it is incredibly easy to set up. There is an air vent at the bottom of the tent, but there is only one window so ventilation isn’t great.
The tent has one door in the middle. Two removable dividers create two more rooms off to the sides. The tent will definitely not sleep 8 people “comfortably.” If anyone were to sleep in the middle, the people in the side rooms would have to crawl over them to get in/out. You are better off using the middle room for storage. It’s a bit small for hanging out.
You can fit three queen mattresses in the tent — but there will be no room for anything else. If you remove the room dividers, you can get a queen mattress in each side room. But the mattress may touch the tent walls and create condensation problems. You are better off using twin mattresses or pads instead .
Pros
- Very affordable
- Quick and easy setup
- Withstands bad weather well
- Lightweight
Cons
- Room dividers don’t have zippers
- Front door is small
- Need to seal the seams
- Few windows; poor ventilation
4. Bushnell 12P Cabin Tent
Choose because: It’s insanely spacious and you can use an AC unit inside
Features
- Type: Cabin
- Doors: 1
- Footprint size: 20×10 feet
- Max height: 80 inches
- Weight: 58lbs
- Buy Here
Review
Bushnell isn’t a well-known camping brand, but they do make this nice 3-room cabin tent. It has a practical layout with the door in the middle and two rooms off to the side. While you can technically fit three queen-sized mattresses in the tent, the middle room is best left as a hangout space. Otherwise it will be hard to access the side rooms.
A standout feature of this tent is that it has large vents for air conditioning. If you want to use an AC unit in a tent, this is one of your only practical options. The tent also has lots of windows all around the side rooms, so ventilation is good. Another nice feature of the tent is that it comes with the poles pre-attached to the tent, so setup is very quick and simple. Like with other large tents though, the tent is insanely heavy. You’ll need help setting it up and want a trolly for carrying it.
Even though the Bushnell tent is far from cheap, it still isn’t made with the best materials. It holds up in the rain but, if you don’t reapply waterproof coating regularly, it will start to rain.
Pros
- AC vents
- Easy setup
- Good ventilation
- Nice layout
Cons
- Room dividers don’t have zippers
- Leaks in rain
- Materials not the best quality
- Heavy
- Pricier option
5. Ozark Trail 11P Instant Cabin Tent
Choose because: It’s affordable, durable and has a flexible layout
Features
- Type: Cabin
- Doors: 2
- Footprint size: 14×9′ (main area); 14×14′ (with back room)
- Max height: 76 inches
- Weight: 39lbs
- Buy Here
Review
You are either going to love or hate the layout of the Ozark Trail 12P cabin tent. It has one large rectangular cabin area that is 14 feet x 9 feet. You can hang a divider in the room to create two spaces. There is a smaller sleeping area in the back that fits a queen-sized mattress (but without room for anything else). This back room is completely optional: you can just leave the fabric hanging down if you only need a two-room tent.
The size and layout means you can actually have people sleeping in all three rooms. However, only two of the rooms will have true privacy because the people in the small back room have have to exit through one room.
The tent is very easy to set up and one person could do it alone, though it would be difficult if you are short. Another nice thing is that the tent isn’t too heavy. However, the reason it’s so lightweight is becaue the tent materials are thin. Make sure you clear the ground before pitching or you will end up with holes in the floor. Another downside is that there aren’t many windows, so ventilation is poor. The back room gets particularly stuffy with the divider closed.
While the tent itself holds up well enough in rain and doesn’t leak, be warned that rain will puddle on the awning. If it is going to rain, you will need to repitch the awning so it angles downwards.
Pros
- Affordable
- Not too heavy
- Easy setup
- Has awning
- Can leave the back room down
6. Campros 12P Tunnel Tent
Best for: Budget three-room tent, though the two-room layout is more functional
Features
- Type: Tunnel
- Doors: 2
- Footprint size: 20×9
- Max height: 72 inches
- Weight: 24.3lbs
- Buy Here
Review
The Campros 12P tunnel tent comes with two room dividers. You can hang a room divider in the of the tent to create two rooms. Or you can hang the dividers off to the side to create three rooms. I think the two-room setup is much better. It allows you to put queen or even king-sized mattresses off to the sides and have personal space left over. With this setup, each room has its own door.
With the three-room setup, the side rooms end up being very cramped. It will be fine if you are sleeping on pads, but not if you are on mattresses. It also is slightly annoying to unhook the dividers to the rooms.
For such a cheap tent, it is surprisingly well-made and seems to hold up to bad weather well. The curved shape definitely makes it better in windy weather than a cabin tent. There’s adequate ventilation to prevent condensation on cold nights. I personally don’t like tunnel tents very much though. They have to be completely staked out to stay upright, which is difficult on rocky ground.
If you hang the dividers off to the sides to create three rooms, the sleeping area ends up very cramped! You also have to unhook the divider to enter.
If you hang the divider in the middle, you get two spacious rooms which each have a door.
Pros
- Affordable
- Lightweight
- Good ventilation
Cons
- Three-room layout creates cramped bedrooms without doors
- Requires at least 2 people to set up
- Needs to be staked down very well
- No porch, awning or gear garage
- Low headroom
Advice for Buying a Three Room Tent
1. There Probably Are Only Two Bedrooms
Even if the tent has three rooms, it doesn’t mean all of them are meant for sleeping. The middle or front room is usually meant to be a hangout room or gear storage room. You can have people sleep in that room, but they won’t have any privacy. Depending on how big the room is, people in the other rooms may have to crawl over them to get in/out.
2. Consider the Layout
Pay careful attention to the layout of the tent. Some might not be functional for your family. Take the Ozark Trail 11P tent shown below. Its layout might be perfect if you want to put a queen-size mattress on one side, sleeping pads in the back room, and reserve the other large room for hanging out. But, if you want to have people sleep in each room, the people in the back will have their exit blocked.
I suggest drawing the floor plan of the tent and seeing how your mattresses will fit inside it. If you are using queen-sized air mattresses, don’t skip this step!
3. Choose a Tent with Multiple Doors
Multiple doors drastically improves the functionality of a multi-room tent. It allows people to enter “their” bedroom without bothering people in the other rooms. Doors are one of the most expensive parts of a tent though, so tents with multiple doors usually will cost more.
4. How Do You Hang the Room Dividers?
Most three-room tents have room dividers to create the separate rooms. Most of the time, you hang the dividers with little hooks. The hooks mean that there is usually a gap in the wall, so you don’t get complete privacy. It can also be annoying to unhook the dividers each time you want to enter/exit the room.
Some three-room tents use zippers for dividers. These are much more functional and provide better privacy. The downside of zippers are they are loud (and you might wake your fellow campers) and add to the cost of the tent.
5. Understand the types of tents
A lot of the bad reviews people leave for these 3-room tents aren’t really issues with the tent itself. Rather, they are issues with the type of tent. For example, all tunnel tents are a pain to put up because they have to be staked down in a million places. Cabin tents generally perform very badly in windy weather. If you aren’t sure which type of tent is best for you, read this post about the Types of Camping Tents (with Pictures).
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