Total rookie tent question

[Sterling]

Hi folks,
I am a total rookie to tent camping at the age of 46. Call it middle age itch, whatever, I felt a need for the outdoors.
Just last week I bought a tent at a garage sale. A Escort Uv-Tex 5. It seems to be in good shape. I set it up in my back yard in about 10 minutes and I discovered after a we got a little rain that there is a leak somewhere. There is no rain fly with the tent. So here are my rookie questions. Can I just fashion a tarp or something as a rain fly when I'm camping? Also, would it do any good to try and seal the seams or use water treatments of some kind?
Thanks, any help is much appreciated.
Sterling

[hwc1954]

Re: Total rookie tent question

As near as I can tell, that tent is supposed to have a rain fly:



If so, you'll never make it waterproof with seam sealer or whatever.... or, if you did, you would have spent more than a fancy new tent.

Best bet is to put up a tarp and pitch the tent under the tarp. You could certainly just lay the tarp on top of the tent, but it would generally be better to put the tarp up using trees or tarp poles, like an roof over the tent.

[MacGyver]

Re: Total rookie tent question

If you go with a tarp, I suggest practicing setting it up before you take to the woods. Wind and rain can wreak havoc with a tarp - especially rain. The last thing you want is to wake up to a rain storm and find yourself under gallons of water that collapsed it onto your tent. You have to make sure that you have sufficient slope to allow water to run off. Once you think you have a good setup, check it with a garden hose.

[hwc1954]

Re: Total rookie tent question

Looking at that tent, if you have the ridge pole that runs front to back and extends out over the door, you could place a small tarp directly on the tent over the ridg pole and guy it out to the ground and make your own rainfly. That wouldn't work that well for tents that have a shaped rainfly, but it probably would work with that ridge pole design on the tent.

[hwc1954]

Re: Total rookie tent question

Wind and rain can wreak havoc with a tarp - especially rain.

How much wind can a tarp take? When is it best to take it down?

[Moss]

Re: Total rookie tent question

Hope for sunny days and dry nights...

You can cover a tent that size fairly easily with two tarp poles, tarp, para cord and stakes. If you setup between two trees it's even easier no need to use the poles at all, a quick Google image search for "tarp shelter" will show you dozens of variations of what can be done with a tarp. You would just be scaling up the setup, if you got a tarp say 2.5 times the size of the tent and kept it low enough you could leave the windows unzipped for ventilation and have a nice little awning area out front.

How much wind can a tarp take? When is it best to take it down?

In what setup? If I take a 10'x10' blue tarp bought at the local discount stores and tie it off vertically between two solid oaks like a wall on all 4 corners it's not going to handle high winds, it will act like a sail and rip all the grommet points.

That same tarp can be taken pitched in a low army army pup tent style and stake properly and be a great wind break and with stand much higher winds. I've seen campers take tents 20'x20' tarps and just cover their entire tent and place stakes, rocks and logs around the entire tent. Essentially saran/plastic wrapping their tent like a plate of leftovers. Very little if any ventilation and with a bunch of campers underneath there will be plenty of condensation. That tarp will go no where, the wind will collapse the tent before it destroys the tarp.

I took a winter survival class where the instructor used a contractor black trash bag and duct tape and made a decent wind/water block in under 5 minutes. He used the tape in several spots on the edge of the tarp to make grommets to strengthen the bag.:cool:

[ppine]

Re: Total rookie tent question

Using tarps well takes some practice, but many people favor them instead of tents. There is nothing like being able to see out while sheltered from the weather. I like a lean-to with a fire in front in cold weather.

[James.]

Re: Total rookie tent question

Hi folks,
I am a total rookie to tent camping at the age of 46. Call it middle age itch, whatever, I felt a need for the outdoors.
Just last week I bought a tent at a garage sale. A Escort Uv-Tex 5. It seems to be in good shape. I set it up in my back yard in about 10 minutes and I discovered after a we got a little rain that there is a leak somewhere. There is no rain fly with the tent. So here are my rookie questions. Can I just fashion a tarp or something as a rain fly when I'm camping? Also, would it do any good to try and seal the seams or use water treatments of some kind?
Thanks, any help is much appreciated.
Sterling

I am almost in the same boat as you. We would often go camping when I was growing up but I have only gone one time in the last 20+ years. And that was with my brother (he has a lot of cool stuff). But lately I have gotten the "itch" to start going again. I think it is because of the books I am reading (Lord of the Rings, Dies the Fire and other science fantasy stuff). So some of my knowledge is a bit old but for what it is worth....

I think hwc is on the right track. It wouldn't be that hard to make a fly out of a tarp, especially if you get some fiberglass poles for a ridge pole. I would definitely set it up in the yard to work out the kinks before hand and to add some seam sealer to the tent.

Good luck with the camping and welcome to the forum.

[MacGyver]

Re: Total rookie tent question

How much wind can a tarp take? When is it best to take it down?

That depends on the quality and size of the tarp and how you have it rigged. I stopped buying the economy blue tarps years ago because the grommets were weak and the tarps themselves degraded from UV light way too quickly. I forget where I got them but all my tarps are heavier gray tarps, most with reinforced corners because the corners are the ones most prone to ripping.

Typically, the smaller the tarp, the more wind it can handle. My smallest is a 10 x 12 and seems to put up with a lot of wind. The biggest, an 18 x 24, I've had to quickly take down when the wind started whipping it around. (That's the reason I don't take it out too much anymore).

How you set it up makes a big difference too. It can get tricky. You want enough slope for water runoff but, the steeper the angle, the more prone to wind it is. I now use bungee cords on most if not every line so that they buffer the tension when the wind starts kicking. Also, just like is done with a 4 season tent, I put extra lines up when the weather gets bad.

I don't know how well you'll be able to see the details, but this is how I've rigged a large tarp


There are bungees on every grommet on the left side because it's more vertical and catches a lot of wind. The crease on the right makes for great water runoff. It channels the rain and capillary action tends to make it run down the rope and away from the tarp. As it happens, it rained like crazy a few hours after I set that up. Stayed nice and dry!

Just like everything else, I guess there's a learning curve here. Over time, you'll figure out what works and what doesn't. It's been years, but I've had more than a couple tarps collapse from wind and rain.

[terasec]

Re: Total rookie tent question

if you can manage, and size/weight is not an issue i recommend a larger tarp like macgyver has,
gives you dry outdoor space to sit out the rain, over being huddled in a tent.

[Sterling]

Re: Total rookie tent question

This is a pic of the tent I bought, thought it might help with answers to my question, etc. Thanks for the input so far, all very helpful.

Macgyver, that look like a great setup for a tarp. Think I'll have try that out sometime. Thanks

James, yes our stories are very similar. I was more of an outdoors person when i was young man. I use to trap and shoot bow and did a lot more fishing than I do these days. But haven't done much in years. Now that i live in Canada, the outdoors bug is coming back. So here we go......
Thanks again everyone,
Sterling

[teeny-bopper]

Re: Total rookie tent question

Where could I find tarp poles? Would a sporting goods store like Dick's or Academy have these?

[hwc1954]

Re: Total rookie tent question

I use these adjustable kelty tarp poles. They are very substantial aluminum poles (1 inch diameter) and adjust in height from about 6 feet to 8 feet. I've got a second pair that I removed a section from so those adjust from about 4 feet to 6 feet. The second pair isn't really necessary for the way I pitch my tarp, but they give more options.

http://www.amazon.com/Kelty-41981003.../dp/B001M0NVGC

They make a lighter/cheaper set, but tarps put a pretty signficant load on poles and reviews indicate the lighter ones bend.

You can also get non-anodized aluminum poles (similar to the poles on your tent) for tarps:

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___26604

Here's a photo of my tarp pitched with one pair of the poles. It's a Kelty Noah's tarp (12 ft by 12 ft). I don't need it over the tent, so I pitch it over a picnic table just to have some place to get out of the rain if necessary. Nothing worse than waking up in the morning to rain and not being able to make coffee without getting soaked. The second photo shows a closeup of one of the poles. They adjust with a push-in button arrangement on the bottom section. I pitch the tarp by myself so I can get the thing up and then raise the poles one or two holes to really put some serious tension on it (along with more headroom):





I actually think you are going to have to plan on getting a complete tent at some point. Without a rain fly, your tent is not going to offer much protection against rain or wind. It's going to be flapping like a flag in any kind of wind... You might be able to order a replacement rain fly, but it might be cheaper to just start new.

[MacGyver]

Re: Total rookie tent question

This is a pic of the tent I bought, thought it might help with answers to my question, etc. Thanks for the input so far, all very helpful.

Macgyver, that look like a great setup for a tarp. Think I'll have try that out sometime. Thanks

You're welcome. A word of caution: Large tarps can be a real pain to set up. I had some real disasters when I first started trying to cover large areas. Ripped grommets, wind damage and collapsed tarps with bent poles because of rain. If you aren't familiar with putting one up, I'd recommend starting with something smaller. Judging from the size of your cabin tent, something like a 12 x 14 would be a good size. It'll cover the tent and give you a bit of an awning.

Where could I find tarp poles? Would a sporting goods store like Dick's or Academy have these?

I don't know about Academy but the only poles I've seen at Dick's were flimsy, chrome plated steel - guaranteed to eventually rust or break. I also never liked the segmented poles with the top pin stuck in nylon. (Picture below) They aren't infinitely adjustable and the top pin doesn't seem very durable.


The only poles I've ever had any luck with are the Eureka aluminum poles


Infinitely adjustable, one piece aluminum and available in 3 sizes (7, 8 and 9 feet) from many online distributors and maybe locally in your area. I know Campmor carries the 8 foot - the ones I like the most.