Going camping is, no doubt, one of exciting outdoor activities. But one thing that can come between you and the experience being fun-filled is setting up the tent, which many people find quite challenging. However, don’t break a sweat as in this guide we’ll take you through everything you need to know about building a tent. And to your surprise, you’ll get to learn that with these camping tips this entire activity isn’t as complicated as you had earlier thought.
Right now, you must be filled with lots of doubt as to whether we know what we’re talking about. So to ease your doubts, here’s a detailed guide on the steps to follow when setting up your camping tent.
Step By Step Guide On How To Build A Tent
While setting up the tent varies from one type to another, this overall guideline on pitching a tent covers most types. Here are the steps you should follow as you set up your tent, even when setting up your tent on a rainy day..
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Find A Flat Surface
The area where you’re looking to build your tent should ideally be flat. It also should be free of any rocks, roots, and branches to make it easy for you to erect your tent.
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Set The Tent’s Foundation
Once you’ve found the flat area where to place the tent, proceed to lay out your tent’s footprint by placing the groundsheet, or protective tarp, on the ground. This tarp is essential as it acts as a barrier between the ground and the tent. It also ensures you don’t come into contact with the wetness or dirt on the ground, thereby improving the tent’s overall comfort.
Moreover, the tarps prevent moisture entry from below into the tent since this will shorten the tent’s lifespan.
Related: Top Camping Tips for First Timers
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Roll The Tent Over The Foundation
Start to open up your tent while figuring out the tent’s base, which will be placed over the groundsheet or tarp. As you do this, make sure to consider the direction you want the door to be facing. Otherwise, you might end up disassembling the tent because the door isn’t facing the correct direction, which can be a hassle, especially if you’ve got a bigger tent.
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Link The Tent Poles
Connecting the tent poles which in addition to giving your tent the desired structure, also supports it. Usually, the tent poles are either one or two, which depends on the kind of tent you own. These tent poles are usually either linked with a bungee rope or elastic cord, or have numbers that require you to connect them by yourself.
The tent poles are colored or numbered correctly to avoid any confusion when setting up your tent. If your tent doesn’t come along with colors and numbers, it’s advisable to label every pole since this makes your work easier the next time you’re setting up your tent. After all these poles have been connected, place them on the flat tent and start putting in the poles inside the tent’s respective flaps.
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Raise Your Tent
Once you’re through inserting the poles into the corresponding flaps, you should raise the tent. When doing this, you’ll need help from someone else since it requires a fair bit of coordination., especially if you’ve got a bigger tent. Usually, the tent will raise itself into position after inserting the poles, but this isn’t always the case with some tents.
If your tent resists to being raised, you need to pull its corners to confirm these poles are untangled and secure. But once the pole snaps into position, your tent will start to have a definite structure to it.
Related: Useful Tips and Tricks to Make Your Camping Experience a Success
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Anchor Your Tent
You’ll need to anchor your tent to the ground to provide it with added stability to ensure that the winds don’t blow it away from its position. When doing this, you should use stakes that you push into the ground on the tent’s lower end. If you want to guarantee the stakes are well inserted into the ground, you can use a harmer for added stability. But as you do this, be careful not to hit with too much force since some of these stakes aren’t that sturdy to cope with pressure.
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Attach A Rainfly
At the top of our list of camping tips is adding a rainfly which is essential since it protects the inside of your tent from outside water. Make sure the rainfly covers the entire area of your tent and is connected to your tent’s base and the poles.
Types of Tents That Are Easy To Build
The types of tents on the market differ significantly in size, the material used, and ease of installation. Here’s an overview of the easy to install camping tents you should consider.
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Ridge or A-frame Tents
This tent features a cross pole referred to as the ridge, which holds up the roof and stretches the tent’s length. If you’re still new to camping, this is an ideal choice because it’s easy to build and holds up better, unlike other types of tents. However, it lacks enough headroom and storage space, so it is only best suited for solo travelers or couples looking to spend lots of time doing outdoor activities.
Related: 10 Easy to Learn Tips for Your Camping Trip
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Dome Tents
These tents have two flexible poles which cross over the dome and bend for anchoring on the floor on the dome’s four corners. It has better headroom thanks to its greater vertical space, but only the smaller models boast superb stability.
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Tunnel Tents
If you want a tent that’s simple to set up and large enough to accommodate your entire family, look no further. This tent is made using several flexible poles that coil from one side to the other, forming a tunnel shape. If correctly built, they’re very stable and capably withstand harsh weather conditions.
Conclusion
Setting up a tent can be quite overwhelming. But if you had concerns about the steps to follow throughout this entire process, this detailed guide has helped enlighten you with useful camping tips on the steps to follow when building a tent. Now you also know of the types of tents that are simple to set up and to consider for your outdoor activities. Therefore, you’re now better placed to prepare for your camping trip.
