5 Beneficial Tips On Tent Care

Family Camping Near A Hidden Lake At Mount Rainier

Irrespective of whether you are a beginner camper, or an expert, it's great to have a few great pointers that can help make your whole camping experience a lot more gratifying. A old friend of mine and his wife recently decided to travel south for a Wintertime family camping trip with friends who weren't as experienced as they first thought. While I listened to the report about their family camping trip, I thought that there are several best-practices that new campers might not know.
All in all they had a good time, but I want to discuss a couple things they overlooked that, if they had not, they probably could've had an even better time.

1. Tent Pitching Area Matters

When you arrive at your camping spot, it's always a bang-up idea to take a good close look at the soil around you. By that I mean, does the camping spot soil have a pitch? Have you tried to avoid dips in the land that can fill up with rainwater? Do you see any poison ivy, or oak, near your campsite? Is the spot you picked for your camping tent a good safe distance from where your campfire will be located? Do you see any protruding tree roots or stones sticking out of the ground?
An answer of yes to any of the questions posed could mean damage to your tent, and the opening of a miserable camping trip.

2. Clean That Family Tent

Before you break camp and start packing everything up in your car, check to make sure there are no bits of food, plants, or other debris on the floor inside your tent. If you don't, you'll have an unpleasant surprise the next time you unpack your family camping tent and set it up. Small pieces of food begin to rot over time, producing little black areas of mold that makes you want to go home. You can prepare for this by simply taking a house broom with you,and sweeping everything out before packing it up. I'm always surprised at how much crap we were able to sweep up off the tent floor.

3. Protect Your Tent From Sun Damage

Someone not too far from where I live, pitched his tent in the backyard and has left it there for over a year now. He has no trees in his yard for shade, so their family camping tent is constantly exposed to the sun. I remember when he first set it up it was a dark blue and gray color but, after a year the dark blue is now very light blue, and I'm pretty sure the stitching is beginning to rot.
Most people know that the sun produces harmful UV rays that are bad for your eyes, and even worse for your tent. Your family camping tent is not a toy for the kids to play in, and should be taken down and properly stored after each camping trip. Most camping tents are not designed to be permanent outside structures.

4. Dry Your Tent before Storing

Many people have had to learn this the hard way. If it has recently rained or your tent is damp for any reason, you will be forced to pack up your tent while it's still wet That is okay but, make sure that you remember to unpack your camping tent and dry it out in the sun once you get home.
If you need to you should write yourself a reminder note so you don't forget because, the moisture will weekend the fabric of the tent and the mildew that grows will make it smell horrible. Once you arrive back home and the sun is shining, lay the tent out flat in your yard and flip it occasionally until it's completely dry. Also, double check that the inside portion is dry as well before packing it up and putting it away again.

5. Never Throw Away the Tent Instructions

I'm sorry but this just cracks me up. My friends that I mentioned at the beginning, forgot their tent instructions but decided there was the need to go back for them since it couldn't be that complicated. Having confidence that they had set the tent up several times before, they didn't worry about it and continued on their way. Then, when they arrived at their camping spot it was early so they decided to build a fire and have a few beers before setting up the tent.
In the end, the beers they drank seem to somehow drowned their memory of how to construct their tent so, they snuggled up in the car for the night instead. sorry guys).
Most tent instructions can be printed on a single piece of paper and, since 99% of us don't pitch our tent every day, or for that matter even once a week, it's easy to forget a thing or two. One very effective idea is to place your tent instructions inside your vehicle's glove box so that you never leave home without them. This is a handy trick I've used more than once.