Your family camping tent will be your house and home. The tent you choose
will probably be the most important piece of gear you buy. A good
tent, taken care of properly, will last a lifetime. A good tent will
let you sleep soundly at night without needing to worry about rain,
wind, bugs or other creatures of the night. Select the best tent you
can afford, set it up properly, take care of it, and then just enjoy
your trip. Here are some tips to help you get off to a good
start.
- Set up a new tent at home before your trip. This lets you
check its condition, and learn how to set it up without the
pressure of darkness or rain at camp.
- The seams on all nylon tents must be sealed before using a new
tent, and periodically thereafter. Seam sealer is sold in
applicator bottles, which you rub along the inside of all
waterproof seams.
- Avoid setting up camp next to stagnant water, which is home to
biting insects.
- Don't set up the tent on a sandbar or in a dry wash. The water
will probably rise if it rains. Dry washes can flash flood due to
a rain storm many miles away.
- Don't set up the tent in a low spot or depression. Rainwater
will collect under the tent and soak through into your sleeping
bag.
- During bug season, you might want to take a gazebo. This is
essentially a rain tarp with mosquito netting on all sides, to
provide shelter from bugs, rain and the sun.
- Put a plastic tarp on the ground under the tent. It should
match the "footprint" of the tent so that it doesn't gather
rainwater. This groundsheet protects the floor of your tent from
stones, sticks, and general wear and tear.
- You can get special stake-driving mallets, or use a plain old
household hammer, to pound tents stakes into the ground.
- Don't use your axe for driving stakes. This can damage the axe
head, and possible cause it to fly off.
- Get the sturdiest aluminum tent stakes possible. Most
campgrounds build sites with gravel, and this hard ground will
bend or break most lightweight and plastic stakes.
- The rainfly is a special tarp that is spread over the top of
the tent to make it waterproof. Most tents come with a matching
rainfly included. The rainfly should allow the tent windows to
remain open for ventilation while protecting the seams from
potential leaks.
- Use a stake puller to help pull tent stakes out of the ground,
or just loop a short rope under the stake's hook and pull on the
rope to pull up on the stake.
- Keep a whiskbroom in the tent for sweeping out dirt and
leaves.
- Use an old towel or small piece of carpet as a door mat for
wiping off feet before entering the tent.
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