Wall tent care after the hunt

[Gravelyctry]

How do you guys take care/dry out your wall tents after a hunt? My son and I used my tent in MT this spring for a bear hunt, and we got rained on daily. Everything was soaked. No big deal, I put the tent up in the yard when I got home and let it dry. I could do that because it was warm and sunny here when I got home.

But then I started wondering, what would I do if I used this tent in the fall or winter and got it wet from snow? It would freeze outside, and 8 don’t have a big enough dryer to put it in. What would I do? I have no idea.

For you guys that have experience with this situation, how did you go about drying out your tent so it wouldn’t mold or mildew in storage?

Thanks, Neil

 

[pabearhunter]

I leave it rolled up till I get a warmer day then put it up and let it dry. As long as it is froze it won't hurt it.

 

[Don K]

I rolled mine out in the garage and propped it up to air out.

 

[Sytes]

Garage becomes a Gypsy house for a few days.

I've lost a $1200 wall tent because I forgot to air my tent after letting another use it. It wasn't their fault. I simply forgot.
Next year, yellow mold that I touched and the tent portions would crack, open tear, or crumble. Hard lesson.

I started taking my second wall tent to a commercial dry cleaner. Found that f-d it up after a few seasons because it no longer allowed the canvas threading to swell that acts as a water repellant.
The chemicals used apparently broke down the threading. It's been with my trips many years and holds many sharpie memories so it has a dedicated quality tarp...
I like the tarp anyhow so not a big loss though something to keep in mind.

 

[Gravelyctry]

Garage becomes a Gypsy house for a few days.

I've lost a $1200 wall tent because I forgot to air my tent after letting another use it. It wasn't their fault. I simply forgot.
Next year, yellow mold that I touched and the tent portions would crack, open tear, or crumble. Hard lesson.

I started taking my second wall tent to a commercial dry cleaner. Found that f-d it up after a few seasons because it no longer allowed the canvas threading to swell that acts as a water repellant.
The chemicals used apparently broke down the threading. It's been with my trips many years and holds many sharpie memories so it has a dedicated quality tarp...
I like the tarp anyhow so not a big loss though something to keep in mind.

Sites, are you saying the tarp you use keeps it dry enough you don’t have to worry about drying it out further, or does the tarp just help keep it from getting too as wet as it would otherwise? Thanks, Neil

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Good thread, good tip about leaving it frozen. We just got a wall tent and have been wondering this same question.

If it wasn’t frozen I’d think you could just set it up and run the stove to get it dry (presuming it’s not still raining at home).

 

[Werty]

I put it up in my garage, then stick a fan in the doorway, seal it so it inflates like a balloon. Dries great

 

[Sytes]

Sites, are you saying the tarp you use keeps it dry enough you don’t have to worry about drying it out further, or does the tarp just help keep it from getting too as wet as it would otherwise? Thanks, Neil

The tarp I use is worth it's bulk and extra $ to cover the tent and provides additional awning mainly at the entry of the wall tent. My tent is 12x14 and I use a 19x24 heavy duty tarp. It is cut for the stove jack and gorilla tape (Weatherproof) lines the cutout to avoid the tarp from tearing further.

The excess tarp off the sides is valuable as heck as the rain run off is far enough away from the tent, it has to be a Noah duplicate to run water against the tent itself.

With this current setup, the tent retains much more heat and still breaths fine (least in my situations) with the front, rear, and side canvas areas open to breath along with the top slotted openings at both ends of the tent.

I don't need to hang the tent at home as the tent remains dry.

 

[Gravelyctry]

The tarp I use is worth it's bulk and extra $ to cover the tent and provides additional awning mainly at the entry of the wall tent. My tent is 12x14 and I use a 19x24 heavy duty tarp. It is cut for the stove jack and gorilla tape (Weatherproof) lines the cutout to avoid the tarp from tearing further.

The excess tarp off the sides is valuable as heck as the rain run off is far enough away from the tent, it has to be a Noah duplicate to run water against the tent itself.

With this current setup, the tent retains much more heat and still breaths fine (least in my situations) with the front, rear, and side canvas areas open to breath along with the top slotted openings at both ends of the tent.

I don't need to hang the tent at home as the tent remains dry.

Sites, That’s great information. I’ll be investing in a tarp for mine before the next use.

 

[JLS]

They need to be dry dry or they will mildew. I’ve had to find a place to hang mine a few times.

 

[Sytes]

are you saying the tarp you use keeps it dry enough you don’t have to worry about drying it out further,

Every use and packing needs to be evaluated. With my tarp... I've had to let the stove jack and side the downpour soaked dry out once or twice though my folding typically has that portion within a fold or two to dry a simple section vs the garage Gypsy tent.
Another event we had to break down camp in a storm...

Another simple tip that you'd likely catch on your own, slide the tarp off and use that as your floor to fold the tent as you pull the tent off it's frame.

 

[furness]

I drape mine out in a spare room in the house for a few days. I turn it it every day to make sure all of it dries. Brush the dirt off, put it in its bag and into a plastic tote, then to the garage Storage.

 

[Orion’s Breath]

I think a lot of canvas maintenance really depends on your environment (especially humidity where you store it) and how you use it in the field?

I always like to brush off dirt a day or so before breaking camp, let it dry if the conditions allow, and fold it in the field on the tarp. So far no problems aside from a bit of shrinkage, which I believe is normal.

16x20 Davis tent

 

[MinnesotaAA]

I think a lot of canvas maintenance really depends on your environment (especially humidity where you store it) and how you use it in the field?

I always like to brush off dirt a day or so before breaking camp, let it dry if the conditions allow, and fold it in the field on the tarp. So far no problems aside from a bit of shrinkage, which I believe is normal.

16x20 Davis tent

Just recently bought a Davis tent. What do you use to store your tent? Just the tent bag or did you buy some sort of storage container for it?

 

[Nostromo]

It's important to dry it out any way you can. I've done it in the garage, the basement and the back yard. Outside, I'll put a kerosene heater in there and crank it up. This past week, I was in Northern Michigan trout fishing and we had rain every day but one. So, when I got home I pitched it in the backyard. Canvas dries quick.

But, it's a good idea to put a tarp over it and keep as much moisture off as you can.

 

[el unit]

We always set our wall tents up in the yards when we pulled them out of the wilderness for the season. We always pulled our back country camps after Colorado's 3rd rifle season, a couple years after 2nd rifle. I would wait for a decent day and rinse/ scrub the tents with water, then set up for a couple days until fully dry. If weather was poor, we'd wash them on a non-freezing day in the yard, and then hang them to dry in the hay barn with baling twine holding out the sides as to let them thoroughly dry inside and out. Never had any rot problems with the tents. Be sure every inch is dry before they're stored for the off-season.