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It doesn’t matter where you go…an outside overnight adventure always entails the use of sleeping bags and tents. And, your tent is one of the more costly parts of your little adventure so you need to learn how to take care of it the right way. For that, you need some all important tips to see that your investment stays looking good…all the time!
How You Can Keep Your Investment Looking Its Best During and After A Camping Trip
1 – Use A First-Rate Tent
Be sure that the tent you use is premium quality, as anything less may cause it to rip and tear easily. Don’t go for cheap just because you think it’s best. Rather, look at the various brands and find one that’s of high quality, is durable and includes all the pioneering things you don’t typically see with tents. One such company to consider is Eureka, as they make tents both for the military tents and a great family tent.
Setting Up Your Tent: What You Need To Do To Keep It Looking Good
2 – Practice Setting The Tent Up
Once the purchase has been made, it’s time you learn how you have to set it up. This should always be done before you go camping. After all, learning what you need to do beforehand ensures that you won’t be caught by surprise (and drenched) during a sudden downpour of rain. To help you out, make sure you read the manual fully and set it up more than once or twice to really get the hang of it so that it becomes second nature to you. Bear in mind that setting up your tent incorrectly (especially if you’re in a hurry) will likely cause it to tear.
3 – Bringing The Right Tent Stakes
It’s important to remember to bring the right stakes for the location that you’ll be staying in. Each stake is not made the same so the geographical location you are staying in will require a specific tent stake. Don’t forget to apply the right amount of tension to your stake. If you fail to do this, you make your tent more susceptible to ripping should heavy rainfall or gusts of wind occur.
A Look At The Three Different Uses of Tarps
Camping Leaves scenery
4 – Ground Tarps
A ground tarp is important to the life of your tent, as it can keep it from getting soaked or dirty. A ground tarp is just as the name suggests… it’s a tarp that goes on the ground. It also protects it from the sticks, rocks and other things that are on the ground’s surface. Make sure that your tarp is slightly smaller than the tent because with anything larger, water can collect on it and soak into the tent. A third good reason to have a tarp on the ground is to give you the additional comfort you can use when laying/sitting in your tent. A ground tarp can go a long way to protect your investment for a long time.
5 – Over The Tent Tarps (sometimes called a “fly”)
You should also have a tarp on your tent to keep it from becoming ruined. Sunlight can cause the fabric to breakdown. However, a tarp will protect the tent from getting the full-brunt of the sun (especially if there are no trees nearby to give you a decent amount of shade). Besides protection from the sun, a tarp will protect the tent from bird droppings, sticks and rain.
6 – Inside Tarps
Keeping your tent looking its best means you must keep it looking good on the inside. You can do this either by cleaning it using a broom and dustpan, taking your shoes off or using a tarp to collect all the unwanted items in your tent (that you can later shake off or sweep off). An inside the tent tarp is also good to give you additional comfort layer (just like the bottom one is good for). Of course, the biggest way to keep the tent clean is to leave the tent shut as much as you can.
Washing, Drying and Storing Your Tent Properly
7 – Wash/Dry Your Tent
A very important part of tent ownership is learning how to wash and dry it correctly. This means reading the owner’s manual to see what the manufacturer has said is appropriate. Be sure that you follow them. However, most tents just need cold water and hand-wash to be cleaned. Allow them to air dry. Never put the tent inside a washer and dryer since they can cause the fabric to tear.
You’ll also need to clean the tarp, stakes and poles. Be sure to clean all the tarps, stakes and poles to ensure that they no longer have dirt on them. Rinse them in cold water and all them to dry out. Protect the poles by using a spray silicone lubricant on the poles. Don’t scratch them, as they’ll be susceptible to rust if scratched. They’ve got anodized coating on them that protects the metals and won’t allow them to rust.
8 – Keep The Tent Dry
Your tent, regardless of what you do, will get wet…either from the rain, snow or frost. Be sure it’s completely dry to ensure that moisture is not left on it. Any leftover moisture will cause mildew and mold to appear, giving the tent a bad smell and ruining the fabric.
9 – Store The Tent
Always store the tent off the concrete floor of your garage. Rather, place it up high and in a cool, dry area. The stakes and tent poles need to be placed in separate bags since they can damage the tent fabric if placed in the same bag.
With the nine tips above, you can be sure you have a tent to last you anytime you’re in the mood to go camping. Have fun!
This is a guest post by:
Bruce Stevens provides quality review information on a wide variety of products at Hubzz, including helpful reviews, information, tips and more. Focusing on products with wide appeal and that are affordable, all are based on personal experience or the result of extensive research.
