I’m thinking of buying some tents to house some of the folks who will be relocating to my place for “the duration.” I live on a farm with a large barn, several garages and storage buildings. All the outbuildings are unheated, well-roofed, and have concrete floors.
I was wondering if any of you have experience with the larger (6 person or better) FREESTANDING dome-type three season tents. I could put these up in the outbuildings for folks to have a private place of their own and somewhere to stow their personal stuff, or if the weather was decent, they could be put up in the stable yards, meadows or woody areas of the farm.
If the weather got really cold or rainy, we would all come into the heated main house and camp on the floors in sleeping bags or on cots.
These tents arent cheap, especially the larger ones, and a lot of them have production problems, like leaking roofs, crappy zippers, and weak seams. Do any of you have models you particularly like, or brands that you would recommend? I want to get quality tents that could be used later for things like long-distance trail rides, beach camping, etc.
Tents should have their seams sealed with seam sealer, of course, or they will leak. It’s a tedious process but worth it if you want to use it in all sorts of weather!
I also use Camp-Dry water repellant on the roof, and spread a tarp underneath to prevent moisture leaching through.
You’ll need camp toilets and cooking facilities.
Also, somewhat private shower/cleaning facilities…
I’ve used this for years successfully and the same company sells a stand-alone shower enclosure.
Thanks for the comments, but I guess I should have mentioned that we have alternative electricity and water for the main house (which is reasonably large), so toilets, showers, laundry, cooking, etc. shouldnt be major issues.
My main concern is buying the right tents. Are there different brands of seam sealer?
Can you recommend any particular brand of freestanding tent? I want quality and sometimes price isnt enough to indicate that anymore…
When there is something that I need to buy and I don’t have enough information to judge the quality of a brand, usually I’ll go to Sam’s Club. I may be way off base, but it seems to me that they usually have one or two brands of their more expensive type items and I figure they choose to stock the brands/styles that are in greatest demand. I’ll usually buy the more/most expensive brand they carry, hoping it is the better one. As I said I might be way off base, but that’s what I do.
I suppose you could try Consumer’s Reports for a more sensible technique of judging quality, but that is way too complicated for my tiny brain.
Lots of sporting good stores are having seasonal inventory clear-out sales so now is the time to buy. We got a great one by Jeep. Originally it was 129 and it was on sale for 69. It was easy to put up and very sturdy. It was labeled as 3 person but could easily do 4. I don’t know if there is a larger version. Also, friends of mine swear by Eddie Bauer tents - they are on-line and target carries some of theirs as well.
oops! sorry that was me
Saddle Tramp, we have a 6 person ultra dome tent from LLBean http://tinyurl.com/q6fwa , we have never had 6 people in the tent, I just like all that room. It has been a great tent. Very easy and quick set up. Always use a ground cloth or ‘foot print’ under any tent.
Thanks, folks. This gives me a start. If anyone else out there has info, plz send it in.
I have had the best luck with Eureka, use the seam sealer on all the seams, after use just rinse off let dry and store in temp controlled place. Once was caught in a tropical storm on the beach. Tent stayed dry on the inside, wind howled, never want to do that again but Eureka has a fan for life. Ground cloth will help protect tent bottom, and keep you dry. Your ground cloth should not be bigger than the tent.
If your outbuildings are well-roofed, I don’t see the problem (until the weather improves and they move out). The tent itself will create an enclosure which will keep its occupants warmer than without it in the outbuilding. The roof will keep them dry. Sounds like a good plan.
Tarps or other ground covers should go under the tents. You can’t have too many tarps!
I went to the LLBean website and looked at the ones there. Nice. Thanks for the suggestion.
Has anyone used a freestanding tent in a heavy wind or a really bad rain storm? Is there a problem with them blowing away? If we move them outside in the good weather, should we tie them down somehow in case a sudden front comes thru (like a summer thunderstorm) and we’re not able to strike them in time?
Secure the tent with tent stakes.
I watched a dome tent sail off a ridge in a relatively light wind. even with your gear inside, make sure you stake ‘er down if you pitch outside. Being inside takes some of the major concerns out of the weathser proofness. I have two Wenger brand tents I got on clearance from Sam’s Club. We have used one several times for camping and it seems to be holding up quite well. Made in China, but the stitching is small, the waterproofing pretty good, and it does have YKK self healing zips. Walmart has 6 by 8 and 8 by 10 tarps which are perfect for camping—even in your barn, it will protect the bottom of the tent and provide a good vapor barrier as well.
NC Seeking………Your ground cloth should not be bigger than the tent.
May I ask why the water barrier tarp should not be bigger than the tent? Is it because it might catch rain water & funnel it back under the tent? Just wondering…..
Yes, so it won’t collect water. A ‘foot print’ is cut to fit exactly the tent floor size.
You may want to cut the ground clothe a LITTLE (6″) SMALLER than your footprint of the tent. When the wind tends to lift the bottom edges of freestanding tents, even with pegs etc, the run-off from the tent runs down to the tarp, and pools under your tent. It also makes it a little easier should you need to pitch the tent in the dark, gives a little margin for error.
ALWAYS set a new tent up SEVERAL times in your yard before you need it. Unfolding, sticking the poles together, staking, etc is easy ONCE you practice. You probably don’t need to be SO proficient that you can do it blindfolded (picture fiberglass tent pools jabbing you in places that you don’t want them to jab{OUCH} or driving in stakes through your tent instead of tent peg loops.) ;}
The tent pegs that come with many tents are little bent wire pegs. Not only do they not hold all that well due to short length, they bend out of shape with the first root. The yellow plastic I-beam shape is a bit better, and you are less likely to trip on them or lose them when you take the tent down. Homemade pegs made from rebar (3/8″ steel rod used in concrete forms) with a D ring welded on are a much better long-term stake provided you do not need to carry them any great distance. Make them about a foot long, and paint them orange to help prevent stubbed toes. A cheap ($1.) mini carbineer makes a great quick connect from the stake to the tent.
If you are in a sandy area (the beach?) use a length of galvanized threaded 3/8″ rod 18″ long, bend an “O” at one end for the carbineer. Then use two galvanized washers and nuts to sandwich around a pie plate at the other end. It’s called a sand anchor, and is one of the only things that will stay in place during a wind. Other option would be to use a sand-filled 3-gallon bucket buried in the sand as your anchor points.
If you are planning to have the tent set up for a long time, you may want to get a well-made tarp a few feet bigger than your tent footprint. Using rope etc, rig it about 6″ above your tents rain fly, and secure it well with additional guy cables. The tent will last a LOT longer due to protection from UV rays, will be cooler due to shade, and will stay a lot dryer. The silver colored tarps keep it cooler than a dark tarp, but stick out like a sore thumb (maybe not a good idea if you are trying to stay low key.)
Dance around the footprint area of your tent in bare feet before you put the ground tarp down. If you can stub your toes or get jabbed in the foot, clear the offender away BEFORE you put the tent down, or get used to having a pain in the back or foot (and a hole in the tent floor) after you put the tent up over a root, rock or branch.
Never put your tent up at the lowest point around. Yes, it gives great concealment, but you tend to float away come the first downpour.
Once your tent is up, dig a shallow trench around the exterior edge of the tent, and create a slightly deeper drain-off trench away from your “moat.” Fill in your trenches when you tear down.
Put a cheap piece of indoor-outdoor carpet right outside your tent door, it keeps it a LOT cleaner inside.
Cut off a cheap Dollar Store broom to 3′, makes a great way to clean out the dirt, sand and leaves that creep into the tent without poking holes in your tent with a too-long broom handle.
If you are in an area that experiences high winds occasionally, add a few EXTRA guy lines to the peak of your tent, fastened to stakes set out about 10 ft from your tent. They take most of the shifting wind load off the pools.
Get a cheap roll of marking ribbon (orange or other bright color) and tie it onto guy wires, stakes, etc. Saves stubbed toes, torn tents, and trips to the Dr’s to get broken bones set.
Now :) Go have fun!
p.s.: don’t set up a white tent in a blowing snow storm, and then go for a long walk in the woods after dark to enjoy the winter wonderland. You will NOT be able to find your drift covered “igloo” when you stumble back. Been there, done that, no fun at all.
Saddletramp- the bigger the tent the more body heat it takes to warm em up. Hard to estimate numbers at this point I’m sure but if its cold, full tents will be warmer.
Chesapeake & Strider are right about the ground cloth. some tents have ground cloths you can buy that are cut just for that tent or you can cut one your self from light plastic. I have various size tents for differnt types of camping. I have stakes for sand, stakes for hard ground & etc, a tool that helps pull the stakes up, a plastic hammer to get the stakes in. guide lines that work on all tents, tent repair items,ground clothes and anything else I might need. I have all this in a small bag that I call my tent bag. At a moments notice I can grab which ever tent & my tent bag and know I have everything I need to put up that tent. Backpacking of course this would not be good. before the tent bag I use to loose stuff or forget it was in the other tent, so I hope this helps
I don’t know about the quality but… I was in Walmart the other day and they have 4–6 person tent with sleeping bags, burner, camp dinner set, folding chairs, etc. It all comes in a bag about the size of a water cooler base and it has wheels. It was under $70. I imagine they aren’t the best BUT if you could have them in a building anyway and it’s just in your yard- near a safer shelter, the price is right. You could buy several sets if you plan on having a large crowd and not break the bank. Plus, if you’re paying anyway, no one should be complaining. Target, believe it or not, has an excellent tent selection as well. Again, I wouldn’t take it on a safari or up Everest but if I was in the yard or spending a weekend at the lake with the kids it would be a good choice. DISCLAIMER: On the Fence does not own any stocks in the above mentioned companies. :-)
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