Wall Tent hunters

Noting my pictures above, we were up near Haliburton ON during moose week when those were taken. Beautiful week, no snow. So I wake up early morning, like 5am. I can freakin hear something sliding along the side of the tent. Something big. Like, shhhhhhhhhhhh. shhhhhhhhhh. then a pause. then shhhhh. The only thing big enough to make that noise is a bear. So I sit tight but the bear doesn't leave, I can hear it walking around the tent rubbing on the tarp. So I hit the remote start on the truck. Bear doesn't leave. Fine. So I get my bro up, load some slugs in the Cooey, strap on my boots and step outside prepared to either scare the bear away or put a slug in it.

That's when we saw the 2 inches of snow (and why I took the pics). The wasn't a bear, it was the snow sliding off the tarp and falling on the ground. Makes sense in retrospect, but we weren't expecting snow, and not that much of it.

City slickers, eh?
 
Made a 15 x 15 tent(water, mildew and fire resistant treated canvas) a few years back. Takes one guy(me) 3 hours to set up. That's its only downside. Be worse if I only had a car though.
 
Hunted for many yrs out of a wall tent. Sounds like you have a real nice basic tent. I would strongly suggest the following based on my experiences, "two" large tarps over the tent one from side to side extended out at least 3ft past the walls anchored to the side tent pegs to help run rain water well away from the sides of the tent. The other tarp length ways extended two feet out the back and 10 feet out the front. The two tarp set up creates dead air spaces between the tarps and tent thus helps reduce condensation issues inside the tent, that and keeping the wood stove on low sauna mode. The front area we closed in with plastic to cook in. Keeps condensation from cooking and night time visiting critters out of the living area. All tent pegs that hold guy ropes should be at least 18" long made from three corner metal fence post. Then in heavy rain and snow conditions they won't let go.

Ours like yours is 14'x16' with a bunk in each corner with a five foot strip of triple 6ml plastic on the ground down each side kept down moisture issues and gave each man a dry place under his bunk to put stuff. The centre section was left bare ground. The wood stove was placed dead centre with the pipe run back out through the asbestos pipe hole in the ( yes our is asbestos) back wall and up 5ft. No pipe hole in the roof doesn't let any rain in and presents no issues cutting holes in tarps. We put a 4' square table at the back of the tent between the two bunks up against the back wall. Each fella had a fold up lawn chair to sit in. If you can still find a folding lawn chair.

Lighting and cooking was all propane fueled as we had some close calls using naptha stoves and lanterns over the years so we finally set up the tent one summer and measured out where we wanted lights etc, and had the local propane fella make us up lines to run to each appliance and light. Worked like a charm. No more filling up lights and stoves with naptha or fiddling with little bottles of propane.

We were very comfortable in ours in all sorts of very heavy rain and snow storms. Just like being in a wee cabin. If you dry them out well before storing and store them in a dry place they will last a very long time. Our is 30 yrs old this fall.
 
I run a portable battery powered one around my camp - not sure if it would work, but gives me peace of mind when I have left the camp in for a few days. Haven't had any issues.

When I worked for a beekeeper fresh out of high school we used the solar/battery powered electric fences around the hives to great effect. Used the plastic poles and a double wire and only once had any bear damage to a hive in three years that I can recall. One did get tangled in the fence and dragged it about a quarter mile though. I still wouldn't leave food out in the tent.
 
I have a 14x16 as well. I've had it for five years now and it's one of the best investments I've made. I have waited out some very ugly storms in my tent. The first year I set it up, there was one of the worst fall snow/rain storms I have ever been stuck in. One of those storms that can only happen along the east side of the Rockies, along the Prophet River. 15 cm of wet pack snow covered everything, last week of September. We were in the middle of an old logging camp clearing thank goodness. 25cm x 10 m trees were snapping around us like matchsticks. The trees still had green leaves on them and just couldn't handle the weight of the saturated snow. Smaller trees were bent over and laying on the ground, effectively blocking the road in and out. That tent, saved our lives. A lesser shelter would have collapsed under the weight and likely, we wouldn't have had a stove in it.

I agree wholeheartedly about throwing a tarp over the roof. Not only for sparks. When the fabric of the tent roof/walls gets wet, it increases the weight by 200% over the weight of the canvas. Try to keep it as dry as possible. The stove will help with that.

I only have one gripe with my tent. The frame. It is very heavy to set the tent up, without help, especially as I age. The weight of the poles, along with the weight of the tent is almost to much for me these days.

My method of set up is about as easy as it gets. First I put together the top frame and put in the poles of one side for the walls. Then, I slide the tent over the frame. I go inside and lift the side without wall poles, high enough to slip a pole into the end socket nearest the door. This is a good method but I have 5ft sidewalls as well. I am not tall enough or strong enough to lift the covered frame high enough to get the pole into the socket. OK, enough was enough. I cut a Y shaped branch so that I could get the frame up a bit higher than my shoulder could lift it. All was well from then on. It works well to take the tent down too. Now of course, I have made one up out of a spade handle with a hand grip. It is handier and makes the job even easier.

Mighty Peace, I really like the vestibule at the entrance to your tent. I have a tarp that is 30ft x 50ft and I use it to cover the tent and the area immediately around the tent as well. It's just way more convenient to have the extra covered and dry/wind blocked area.

As mentioned, a stove is a must. So are good lights. My Coleman lamps are great but the new high lumen battery operated units are better. Especially when nature calls in the middle of the night.

There are two other "must haves" for a tent to be comfortable. Cots and slip on waterproof shoes or boots. Making a nature call in the middle of the night, when you have waited far to long becomes extremely urgent when your feet hit that cold tarp on the floor. I have a friend in the carpet business and he is kind enough to save me a couple of pieces of indoor/outdoor carpet to cover the whole floor of the tent. This is a god send. The 40 pounder of Glenfidditch is well worth it. I cut out a spot for the stove and the wet boot frame.

DO NOT COOK IN YOUR TENT... That is just plain stupid. If you want to boil coffee on the stove, go for it. Most food has fat of some sort in it. That fat gets carried all over the tent and everything in it, after it gets hot. Your tent will smell like bacon forever and it will turn brown.

The same goes for smokers. Throw them out if they insist on lighting up in your tent. They will make it and everything in it stink as well as the nicotine and other chemicals in the smoke will soon turn your tent brown. I loaned my tent out to a fellow and his wife that were heavy smokers. She wasn't much of an outdoors girl and spent most of her time in the tent smoking cigarettes and reading. I was POed. I had to spread the tent out on the lawn and wash it with sunlight detergent, inside and out. Took two days to dry and I had to do it again, after it dried. He smoked cigars and a pipe. The thing reeked. I will never lend it to a smoker again.

Anyway OP, these are just some of the things to watch out for and take into account. Enjoy that tent. There is something about being in a tent that beats the hell out of a camper or trailer. You can hear the soft wind in the trees at night, you can hear animals walking around camp and not only that my Jack Russell Terrier loves the tent as well. She starts off on her bed but sometime during the night, she has managed to get under the blankets at my feet. Yes, I said blankets. Much more comfortable than a sleeping bag and you can layer them to use as many as you need to be the right temp for a good sound sleep. Another thing with a tent, you don't need an alarm clock to get up at the right time. I don't know why?? Maybe because it is just so much fresher???

Enjoy your tent and spend a bit more money on heavy, woven plastic tarps. The ground tarp should be as heavy as you can get.

One thing I noticed about the tent by the river/lake, in the slushy snow. You didn't dig a trench around your tent, about a foot away from the walls. A trench as wide as your shovel and half as deep, angled away from the tent will save you all kinds of grief. That's why my camp area is covered with a 30x50 tarp. By the way, the overtarp will need some support poles in the center. One at each end of the tent is just about right and another at the edge of the entrance end. The poles will need a top on them so that the material of the tarp won't tear. Half of a 6in round block that is about 18in long and nailed to the top will do well. One of those half moon hubcaps is even better.
 
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I have a 12x14 internal frame wall tent, got it with a heavy Fly (tarp) to go over the complete tent. The woodstove I bought for it has a side water tank and extra add on extension stove top. Wall tents are a great way to hunt....the reason I didn't go any bigger is I can still set this size of a tent up by myself without much trouble any bigger and I think it would require two people.
 
To the OP, did you get the stove ring on the side of the tent where the pipe exits the tent?
Those are worth their weight in gold when you consider the expense you have already incurred.
The heat will eventually either discolor or worse yet will burn through the tent material.
Dont forget to leave a kettle on top the stove as well with lots of water in it... the steam will keep the air inside moist and you
will sleep and breathe easier in the night.
Best Regards,
Rob
 
Just wondering if anyone has used those portable garage shelters as a tent? They seem like they should work great for this purpose but just wondering what other think about it.
 
I remember years ago hunting black powder season in the Peace area. It was -20c, ran into a couple guys from the interior that had a wall tent. Got invited in and it was about +19c inside. They used tyveck(?) on the floor with straw on top. Nice and toasty!
 
Just wondering if anyone has used those portable garage shelters as a tent? They seem like they should work great for this purpose but just wondering what other think about it.


They're fine. They don't hold the heat as well as canvas and the frames are very heavy. I have seen them crack after a few seasons. You need to be extremely careful how close to the side wall your stove gets. Same goes for the chimney. They don't have chimney provisions.

I used a 14x14 portable green house for a couple of years. It was great on a clear night. Wasn't clear but translucent. The material on this is thicker than a canvas tent but it still didn't hold the heat as well.
 
They're fine. They don't hold the heat as well as canvas and the frames are very heavy. I have seen them crack after a few seasons. You need to be extremely careful how close to the side wall your stove gets. Same goes for the chimney. They don't have chimney provisions.

I used a 14x14 portable green house for a couple of years. It was great on a clear night. Wasn't clear but translucent. The material on this is thicker than a canvas tent but it still didn't hold the heat as well.

It's crazy what people will use as accomodations. I've seen in the same stretch camps built out of just 2X4's and tarp, and RV's with generator's and satellite dishes. Of course it's more fun to go where the RV's can't.
 
I have a tent for sale and all the gear on the EE. It's 4 sections of military tent measuring 32'long. I have more information on the EE if anyone interested
 
Those portable garages make poor hunt camp tents. Why like the previous post stated "they don't breath", that means "condensation" and lots of it. In post #27 of this thread I described how we put two tarps over our canvas wall tent. There are 2 good reasons for doing that: a)It kept the rain and the snow out. b)The canvas would breath and allow the water vapor out but when it hit the cold plastic it would form condensation but it was on the "outside" of the tent when it formed, so we had zero condensation issues in the tent even with 4 of us. We cooked in a fabricated vestibule out the front on the other side of the closed canvas end flaps.

I have seen folks in recent years set up with those portable garages for camps and cooking inside them. Even with a wood stove going there were hundreds of water droplets dripping from the roof. Cooking outside or in a separate tent would greatly help reduce water vapor but just living and breathing in a enclosed plastic tent with no ventilation will produce enough water vapor to make your life inside miserable. Every nice day they had lines strung up all over the trees drying out there sleeping bags. The days it rained they were miserable inside as it was dam near as wet inside the tent as out due to warm most air inside the tent and when it came in contact with the cold plastic tent surface it forms condensation.
If you have ever seen winter use army tents they are double walled the main reason is to help greatly reduce condensation issues.
 
Those portable garages make poor hunt camp tents. Why like the previous post stated "they don't breath", that means "condensation" and lots of it. In post #27 of this thread I described how we put two tarps over our canvas wall tent. There are 2 good reasons for doing that: a)It kept the rain and the snow out. b)The canvas would breath and allow the water vapor out but when it hit the cold plastic it would form condensation but it was on the "outside" of the tent when it formed, so we had zero condensation issues in the tent even with 4 of us. We cooked in a fabricated vestibule out the front on the other side of the closed canvas end flaps.

I have seen folks in recent years set up with those portable garages for camps and cooking inside them. Even with a wood stove going there were hundreds of water droplets dripping from the roof. Cooking outside or in a separate tent would greatly help reduce water vapor but just living and breathing in a enclosed plastic tent with no ventilation will produce enough water vapor to make your life inside miserable. Every nice day they had lines strung up all over the trees drying out there sleeping bags. The days it rained they were miserable inside as it was dam near as wet inside the tent as out due to warm most air inside the tent and when it came in contact with the cold plastic tent surface it forms condensation.
If you have ever seen winter use army tents they are double walled the main reason is to help greatly reduce condensation issues.
sounds like the inside of my portable ice fishing hut with a propane heater.
 
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