Placement of tent

[overtheridge]

You know I never really thought it was important where you put your tent up (at the campsite) as long as you were able to set it up properly. Well we learned the hard way! My daughter and her friends ended up coming into the camper one night because it was raining and the tent was on a low spot of the campsite – you guessed it, the rain water soaked the bottom of the tent. The water was running from the higher point to the low point and that was where the kids were. Grrrr – I let them pick where to put it. Lesson learned for both me and my daughter. My hubby laughed and said I wanted to tell you but you said let the kids pick!

 

[jlj]

Wow, that must have been a real mess. And think about how dangerous that could potentially be in a real heavy rainfall or flashflood. Something I never really considered either. Something else you think would be common sense is setting up a tent on a level surface, too. But a friend of mine set his up on the side of a hill on an incline and in the middle of the night it got windy enough that his tent (with him in it) toppled to the bottom. I guess it's a learning curve : )

 

[Bud]

You learn how to choose your campsite through experience too. I always like to choose a site that gets lots of morning sun to take the chill off in the morning.

 

[outdoorsy]

I love that your hubby did not tell you or try to argue with you. It's a teaching moment for you and the kids. Now you know to not set up a tent next to a hill. I bet it was fun taking down the wet tent and putting it up someone safer.

 

[Stormypath]

I went camping years ago with my folks, they were on the bottom of a grade and we were on the top. We stayed dry all night and they did not. I learned that long ago.

 

[Grandpa]

Another lesson from Dad that I didn't have to learn the hard way. Look for drainage first, then uphill dangers, and finally overhead dangers. I look more for afternoon shade than morning sun because I am usually up long before the sun can do its good deeds in the mornings.

 

[Susie]

Well, look at it this way, you will all have a lot to laugh about for awhile. You'll be talking about that one for years to come!

 

[outwest]

I once managed to set a tent up after the sun had already went down, we realized there was a problem when two of us starting to roll down a small hill in the middle of the night.

It only takes one time to learn.

 

[SweetSassyLady]

Grandpa-Great advice. I like to find somewhere that has a lot of soft grass if I can. It makes a difference underfoot. It's really dangerous to camp beside of water too if there is rain coming.

 

[TRegasaurus]

If the camp site permits, try not to set up under trees. This will protect you and your tent from falling cones, branches, bird droppings and sap.

 

[Lamebeaver]

My criteria for seleting a campsite is as follows (not in any particular order)

Good drainage and not in a low spot
eastern exposure so the sun hits the tent earlier
nearby water source
nearby cover (bathroom privacy)
no dead trees nearby that look like they're ready to blow over
trees nearby for shelter in rain and hanging food
nice view
relatively flat spot to pitch tent

 

[AlphaMale]

Good advice guys. At least the kids learned a lesson without being damaged. If they had been in a flash flood it could have been tragic. I learned it the hard way too. A nice little grassy valley that I camped in, became a drainage ditch. I was young and stupid. I didn't get anything but wet (thank goodness) but I learned my lesson.

 

[candycane]

I remember the camping trip fondly when we had a spot next to the restrooms. The restrooms had a tin roof, and that summer happened to produce a bumper acorn crop. The entire night it sounded like a gun going off next to the tent as the acorns would drop from the trees and hit the tin roof with a very loud BANG! Good times.

 

[firedancer]

Definitely something you just learn over time. I do remember my aunt and uncle setting up once on an ant-hill, so that's something else I try to avoid is possible. It's funny how ground can seem flat until you're laying down and then it can feel like a ski slope!

 

[rockytibby]

We have pitched the tent under trees and had those tight hard cones come down and tear a hole in the tent, not a good thing.Now we move away from the trees. I do like the morning sun to warm the tent.

 

[Hikenhunter]

Reminds me of the time my buddy and wife set up on a low spot while we were canoe camping. It rained buckets that night and the water flowed under his tent as though he had put it up in a creek bed. Next day they said it was lie sleeping on a waterbed, but the rain never soaked through the floor of their Eureka Timberline. This is a testament to the quality of the Eureka tents.

 

[ppine]

Trees are a double-edged sword. Falling danger, but wind protection and thermal cover on cold clear nights. I look for healthy younger trees with no snags or decadent trees.

Drainage is the second most important issue. After waking up on Boy Scout trips in a puddle of water, I am very careful about topography. I do not understand the current fad of putting a footprint or tarp under a tent. If it hangs out at all rain water goes under the tent. Afternoon shade is good in warm weather, but morning sun is really good almost always in the mountains.

I learned from the horsepackers how to use trees for thermal protection to keep the dew and frost off the bedroll. Herding animals do the same thing.

On a river trip on the Snake in ID we camped next to a rapid close to the river. During the night an upstream hydroelectric dam released water to generate extra power for air conditioning. At 3 am we were being inundated by water. The aluminum pots were floating around near the campfire. After putting all the gear in the canoes, and dragging up to dry ground, my partner turns to me and says "It's a good thing there are no women on this trip."

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Hikenhunter- Once I was camping up at a state park in Michigan. I'd borrowed my brother's Eureka Timberline tent. The park was flat as a fritter and the ground was about 75% sand (we were right next to Lake Huron).

During the night a massive thunderstorm passed thru the area, and it rained about as hard as I've ever seen it rain for about an hour and a half. The tent barely took on any water, mostly thru the zipper along the door.

Next morning I got up and could see a high-water line all the way around the tent about an inch and a half above ground level. The floor never leaked a drop! I heartily second your testimonial about Eureka tents.

 

[Terry]

Experience makes the difference here. I remember setting up my pup tent under some overhanging bushes. It was fine until the rain started and those bushes got so heavy they ended up laying on top of our tent and eventually wicking the moisture inside. Yuck.