How do tents without full rain flys keep out rain?

[NYCgrrl]

Re: How do tents without full rain flys keep out rain?

Last year was the unannounced monsoon season for coastal CT.

First, we camped from the end of June to the middle of July during, Hurricane Arthur, whose presence was felt in for at least 5 days (and nights) of thunderstorms in a row. We started to note a pattern and ran with it: early mornings no rain before 11:00 AM then threatening clouds and rain on and off until dusk at which point the skies would open complete with sound and light effects in the form of thunder and lightning. Our antidote was to swim in the mornings then jump in the car to the weather sanctity of central and northern parts of the state. Did a lot more sightseeing and hiking in unfamiliar areas than our norm and that was a good thing.

Still, evenings were filled with tons of rain and our half-fly tent held up nicely. Took in some water in one corner at the floor but I attributed that to a lack of adequate seam sealing maintenance. Normally I do the seam sealing and such on site because it’s easier when you live in a high-rise building.

When we got home made a point of doing proper tent maintenance so felt up to the challenge of our next trip. Where in 1 night that part of the shore experienced so much rain it overwhelmed the town developed sewer system and newly formed "lakes" formed throughout the campground, LOL.

Here are some pictures of what the place looked like after the deluge:

Normally, this is a roadway not a boating spot




Wish I'd taken a pic of this site when I first saw it that morning. The kids were sitting atop the picnic table playing cards in the midst of a still growing pond. Their tent had a separate body of water surrounding it. This picture was taken in the late afternoon and much of the water had subsided.


Suffice to say that most people weren't in the least bit concerned about half or full flys:D.

[spinyeel]

Re: How do tents without full rain flys keep out rain?

Buy a quality canvas tent. No need for a rain fly.

[Irate Mormon]

Re: How do tents without full rain flys keep out rain?

If you have a Coleman tent (my big tent is a Coleman) you should invest in a tarp to use as a rainfly. Not an elegant solution, but if you look around the campground you'll see plenty of others doing the same.

[Irate Mormon]

Re: How do tents without full rain flys keep out rain?

Last year was the unannounced monsoon season for coastal CT.

Site selection! Always take the high ground :-)

[NYCgrrl]

Re: How do tents without full rain flys keep out rain?

Site selection! Always take the high ground :-)

You know it! Mind you the 2nd shot's site is extremely popular because it very close to the ocean; I'd rather walk a lil further than deal with that mess. All the sites on that road have a decided slope and hardly any trees.

[MacGyver]

Re: How do tents without full rain flys keep out rain?

High ground? A bunch of us learned that lesson the hard way. Imagine going to sleep with 2+ feet of snow om the ground and waking up to 50° and rain. The site we were in was in a valley that basically was swept away, along with a few towns down the way. It just so happens that my popup was on just enough of a bump in the site that the water came up just enough to cover the fold down step. 3 or 4 more inches and I would have lost the camper.

[wiiawiwb]

Re: How do tents without full rain flys keep out rain?

When it rains, the tent fly is designed to go all the way to the ground and essentially cocoon the tent. I've found that on 1-3 person tents, it sometimes makes sense to buy a separate tarp rather than use the tent fly.

There will be a small weight penalty but you will get a much larger tarp that will keep the rain farther away from the tent while enabling air to flow through. Moreover, you will also be able to lie or sit in your tent and get views because the tarp is not buttoned to the ground.

The same concept can also apply to 6-8 person tents as you will be car/ATV tenting and can carry the extra weight of the massive tarp. You'll need to learn to string a ridgeline and tie a few knots (Trucker's hitch, Prussik, taught line, and evenk hitch).