Setting Up Tent In Rain

[mjhenne]

I have a tent with some mesh at the top for ventilation. I've never set up camp in the rain but will have to eventually. What is the best way to set up and keep the inside of the tent dry? Throw the rain fly down over the tent and crawl around under the fly getting the poles in and up? Don't worry about it and wipe down the floor after it is up? Or ???? Or just find a motel?

[Mellow]

Get a couple camp towels.. they are almost like chamois for cars. Even if it's pouring hard, just setup as normal and you can get in side and towel the floor dry.

The other key is to keep everything in separate waterproof bags, your sleeping bag and your air mattress. This way, while you're setting up, they stay dry and you can unpack them later if you want.

Some tents, like the Cabela's XPG tents and some MSR tents have independent standing flys... you could setup your ground cloth and then your poles and fly and do the actual tent underneath, while it's raining.

[ST-Brian]

I have a tent with some mesh at the top for ventilation. I've never set up camp in the rain but will have to eventually. What is the best way to set up and keep the inside of the tent dry? Throw the rain fly down over the tent and crawl around under the fly getting the poles in and up? Don't worry about it and wipe down the floor after it is up? Or ???? Or just find a motel?


I vote find a motel. I'd rather ride in the rain all day than have to setup and/or break camp in the rain. While I'm sure there are methods and equipment that can help you stay dryer... you and your stuff is going to get wet. Then on top of it all, what to do next while it rains... stare at the ceiling of your tent for a couple hours until you can fall asleep?

[Mellow]

I vote find a motel. I'd rather ride in the rain all day than have to setup and/or break camp in the rain. While I'm sure there are methods and equipment that can help you stay dryer... you and your stuff is going to get wet. Then on top of it all, what to do next while it rains... stare at the ceiling of your tent for a couple hours until you can fall asleep?

I usually have my rain gear on and start a fire... LOL :cf1:

It's rare that if you are caught in some rain that it rains like cats and dogs the entire time.. .not saying it's impossible... just rare. In fact, it's never happened to me. I've woke up in the morning to rain.. I've setup in the rain.. but rarely is it raining the entire time.

For me, I'd rather spend the evening in the rain getting a campfire going than in a hotel.. sorry, I just love the outdoors.

[mjhenne]

Thanks!

I'm planning an Alaska trip summer of 2010. This summer and next is to get/test camping and other gear. I figure there is a good chance that I'll hit a place where I'm done riding (too tired), no motels and raining.

The tent I bought - 5 person Quest from Dick's (50% off this week) with screened vestibule fits in one saddle bag, the fly and stakes fit in the other bag with room left over (for camp towels, Frogg Toggs it looks like) and I'm going to get a decent water proof duffel for the rest of the stuff - sleeping bag, clothes etc.

I figure that this way I can get the tent up and ready without having to open the duffel.

[Mellow]

That's the technique I use. It's not foolproof but it's pretty darn close.

Your tent is big.. personally, I'd move to a 2-person hiking tent as it will setup faster. That's been my experience.

I think this is a really nice tent:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?id=0031780&navCount=11&parentId=cat20103&masterpathid=&navAction=push&cmCat=MainCatcat20075-cat20103&parentType=index&indexId=cat20103&rid=

[ChucksKLRST]

I usually have my rain gear on and start a fire... LOL :cf1:

It's rare that if you are caught in some rain that it rains like cats and dogs the entire time.. .not saying it's impossible... just rare. In fact, it's never happened to me. I've woke up in the morning to rain.. I've setup in the rain.. but rarely is it raining the entire time.

For me, I'd rather spend the evening in the rain getting a campfire going than in a hotel.. sorry, I just love the outdoors.

I have woke up in the rain, broke camp in the rain, rode all day in the rain, made camp in the rain, woke up in the rain, and repeated that for 3 days straight, before I relented and got a motel room. Have been through this exercise multiple times. Now, if it is raining I will use my plastic camping gear over my normal camping gear.

[Gonzo]

Back in '56 I was camping with the Boy Scouts at a Jamboree in Germany. Had to be 500 Scouts there. Almost all of us had pup tents supplied by the Army.

The day we set up it was raining hard, and still rained for about 24 hours. We all had to trench around the tents. If you touched the fabric, it would leak there. As long as nobody touched it, the wet ran off normally.

You would think this would be a miserable time, but in fact, it was one of the best camping trips I was ever on while in the Scouts.

In addition to we American dependent scouts, we had a big contingent of German Scouts there, and we all had a heck of a good time. Of course, they had superior tents.

Personally, I like rain. I particularly like to run while it's raining. I'm going to be very wet anyway, so the rain is not a problem.

So what if it rains? Have fun.

[Mellow]

I have woke up in the snow before... now, that was fun... actually, it was a blast.

[George]

I'm going with a bigger tent for WeSTOC. What I _really_ want is taller! Anyhoo, I suggest tools, etc, be carried low and inside, any other "dense" stuff (and frequently used, like extra gloves, 'lectric vest, cold weather gear) in the bags, and camping gear up higher on the pillion. I genearlly split my tools between both bags, down low and inside, cool weather gear and other "loose" stuff in the left bag; sleeping bag, pillow and liner in right bag; tars, duffle, tent, cot, mattress on the pillion and rear rack.

I know I over-load (weight) the bags but they've never cause me a problem. My load on the pillion/rack is prolly only 50 lbs or so, much lighter than an actual pillion.

Many folks ask, "How can you carry so much _stuff!!_" I respond that my _total_ load weighs less than my wife, and she's only 120 lbs with ATGATT.
32082

Joe has it right about setting up in the rain. Things only get a little damp. Just suck it up and do it.

[mjhenne]

Yep - I got a bigger tent than I had wanted. I was looking for:

1. Fit in the saddle bags (except for the poles)
2. Fairly tall (72 in)
3. Vestibule for rainy days, screened for buggy days
4. Relatively cheap ($99 marked down from $199)

It will take a bit longer to set up - 20 minutes on my first try so I'm guessing ~15 with practice. I really wanted one that I could stand up in and have a place to put the chair I pack either in the tent or the vestibule. The other tents that I found that had what I was looking for in a smaller (right) size were a lot more expensive than the $199 regular price. This tent will do. I had also wanted less pole sleeve/more clips for faster set up. I'm also thinking that I'll have the occasional 2 or 3 day stay in one spot. A bit more room will help then.

Or I'll grow to hate the darned thing.

[boxermoose]

Some of the newer tents allow you to attach the fly to the poles - with the ground cloth down you can set the fly up free standing - and then set your tent up underneath

The key to to do it first dry and leave the fly attached to the poles as you collapse them

[st1300r]

I have woke up in the snow before... now, that was fun... actually, it was a blast.

Somewhere up in the poconos there is a pot of turkey soup with a log on the lid from a txgiving camping trip. Never did find it. Not a spec of snow on the ground when we went to sleep. Over a foot in the morning. LOL.

[Lowrider]

This is not meant to be a one better story. but myself and three others were deer hunting on Kodiak Island and staying in a dome tent that was huge...maybe 12 feet in diameter and 8 feet tall. We went to sleep on cots at maybe 10 pm and we all woke up at about 3 am when the tent collapsed on us. A storm had blown in and dumped a foot or so of snow on us and the wind had drifted it almost to the top of the tent before it fell on us.

It took hours to dig our way out of the tent after the storm subsided a bit. Great fun!! The next trip we stayed in "cabins" made from steel silo domes...much better idea!

["H"]

We were camping at Lake Chicot State Park in Ville Platte,LA and ran into a band of NINJA racoons.The first day we unsuspectingly set up our tents went fishing and returned to our camp.My son was a late arriver and brought several large steaks which were deposited in a large ice chest with the bream we caught and cleaned earlier. All of our refrigerated items were in the chest and the nonperishables were stored in a large container on the picnic table. A large watermelon was stored by the side of the ice chest.
We retired to the tent early as it had been a long day.That was when the first attack began. Hearing noises ouside we went outside to investigate. One small band ran right and led us on a wild chase into the woods. Little did we know the main group was attacking the picnic table. Once we realized we had been outsmarted the damage was done! All the nonperishables were either stolen or destroyed. We asessed the remains and found the watermelon and ice chest intact so we weighted down the icechest and went to bed. Coons 1 Campers 0
The second attack was a covert operation carried out in great stealth. Hearing only slight muffled noises later in the night we shined flashlights out the tent only to find three "ninja racoons" holding up the lid of the ice chest while the fourth stealing the last vestage of food we had. The 30 lb watermelon was gone. Coons 2 Campers 0
The heavy rain that followed washed away all incriminating evidence. We awoke in the morning to find our camp destroyed. We did see the watermelon down at the bottom of a slight hill below our camp. My buddy ran down and as he braced to lift the heavy watermelon he hollered and let a string of expletives out that awoke all the campers in the area. The coons had hollowed out the melon like a spring easter egg! Coons 3 Campers O

[Trekker]

Sometimes you can set up under the trees and stay relatively dry while erecting your shelter. Many times you can just wait a while for the rain to blow through. Sometimes it's just plain raining and you need to work fast. If you have other riders with you they could hold the fly over head while you furiously set up your tent.

The one thing I seem to always neglect to do until it is absolutely required... is pound in the tent pegs! That is a bad habit I really need to break. Tents and dining flys make really good kites.