Wall Tent Directions

Ridge Pole; Setting up a wall tent with a Ridge Polesystem demands that steaks be a bit more substantial than standard tent staking. Start with staking down the tent base square. Drive the guy out stakes and make sure to angle the corner stakes 45% from the corner of the tent. Lift up the side walls and wedge the side pole between the ground stake and the eve tab. Putting the side pole in top of the ground stake really helps keep the tent wall down. Guy out the eve's loosely and erect the peak. Once the peak is erect completely the side walls can be guyed out tight. And that's about it; you should have been able to do it in 30 minuets from start to finish.

Deck Construction if you chose to make one should be built using 2 X 6 for the decking. This will allow the rain to run through the cracks of the deck. If you are planning to build side rails to tie off the side wall too than make the deck 2' wider than the tent. The side rail will be 5' tall and 12” frame the side of the tent. Were the tent hangs to the deck surface is the parameter fearing strips get screwed to the deck and the bottom of the tent will be screwed to the outside edge of the furring strip. Make this material a 2 X 2. Basically this will be the size of the tent and cut space for the front entrance.

Make Ridge Frame Pole separate from the vertical poles but anchor the vertical poles permanent. When the camping season comes the tent will be draped over the ridge pole and stretched out to the rails and after a little screwing the tent will be ready for summer activity.

Rafter Frame; Setting up a Wall Tent using an InternalRafter Frame is a little different. Staking down the bottom of the tent and guying out the lines is less important but if the wind picks up it is just as important. First assemble the roof of the tent frame. You can go ahead and prop one side up with the leg poles. Now drape the tent over the frame and lift it up and set it back down on the other side legs. That's it! Stake it down and move in.

Deck Construction for a rafter frame whether you build the frame or I supply the frame varies depending on whether you want the deck to be completely inside of the tent, or if the will be set in the center of an oversized deck. Over sized decks is my preference because I like the guy ropes to anchor to the deck, but some folks like the security of a sealing of the tent to the outside edge of the deck. Guy ropes must than be anchored to ground. Sealing of the bottom of the tent is still accomplished on an over sized deck by simply screwing the tent to a sill plate that is permanently secured to the deck. The frame whether steel or wood will rest on the sill plate with the sod cloth slipped between the legs or bottom plate of the frame and the sill plate. Between screwing the outside edge of the tent and the sealed sod cloth the seal to the outside world can't be better. The deck should be built 3' larger on all sides including the rear of the tent. Remember that the guy ropes should be 45% from the corners. The deck can also be elevated so no excavation needs to supply a level tent site.

Building an Internal Rafter Frame is achieved using angle fittings that I supply, and cutting your own straight pipe. Building your own steel frame. Or best of all making it out of 2 X 4's. All measurements are obtained frame the tent description. Notice on the drawing the angle that the rafter and leg ends are cut the same 60% to obtain a 30% pitch on the roof. Once the frame is built and the tent is draped the single tricky task is lifting the frame to slip the sod cloth between the sill plate attached to the deck and the bottom plate of the frame. On larger frames shims may need to be used but I think you will get the job done.

Use the Loop in the bottom of the tent. It's under the sod cloth inside the tent unseen from the outside, until you fold it through the grommet to the outside. This is one of my favorite improvements of the year because it will keep the bottom of the tent lifted a bit off the ground and les dry rot will form around the grommet.

Tent Stake styles vary to the way a tent will be set up. If you are going to integrate a ground stake with a side pole than the head of the stake must fit into the tubing size of the side pole. A 5/16” X 10” Log Spike works well for ½” conduit. In the center of the 10” spike weld a 5/16” washer. The tent loop stays under the washer and the side pole slips over the spike and rests on top of the washer. If you are not integrating the ground stake to the side pole, thus Internal Frame set-up than plastic stakes with a hook on the side work well. If you want something more substantial some type of welded ½” spike needs to be made. For the guy out staking go for the larger log spike, ½” X 12” Log Spike.

Poles

Side Poles are best hollow tubing. Wooden side poles can be drilled out at the bottom to fit over a ground spike. The same concept can be accomplished at the top of the pole also. A 3” long Eye Bolt can lock the eve of the tent to the top of the side pole. Install the adjusting end of the guy rope through the Eye Bolt and Stake the loose end to the ground. Slip the Eye Bolt through the eve grommet and into the conduit side pole or drilled out wood pole.

The Ridge Pole can very simply be a 2 X 4 joined together with a door hinge supported vertically with other 2 X 4's. If you have access to welding than material used should be 1 5/8” line post, this is common fencing martial and it can be sleeve together using 1 ½” muffler pipe. Measure the distance between the peak grommets in the tent and drill through the ridge pole at these points. These holes will pin the vertical poles to the horizontal pole and also stretch the tent across the ridge. You will need to figure out how to weld a rod to the top of the vertical pole and also, if the ridge is more than 12' you will have to saddle the ridge in the center of the tent to another vertical pole.

Home The Canvas Instructions Wall Tents Cowboy Tents Bedrolls Tepees Custom Canvas Chuckwagon Canvas Contacts Us