Tarp Under Tent - Common Practice?

[Jalopy77]

Went camping last weekend and seen something I'd never seen before. An old college friend joined us for the trip. He's pretty new to camping and arrived with one of those pop-up tents that 'pop' into place without having to assemble the poles. He had the thing up in seconds.

However, that wasn't what spiked my interest. It was the bright orange tarp we placed under the tent. 'For next level moisture protection' as he called it. Is this common practice? I've never seen or even heard of someone pitching their tent of a tarp. If your ground sheet is water proof, why would you need to use a tarp.

Just seems like an unnecessary piece of equipment you have to pack up and carry with you. Maybe if you're camping during monsoon season. But if the most you expect is a little light rain I just don't see the point. Any experienced campers in here set me straight?

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

You may need to get out more, it's very common.. if you think that is odd, wait until you see someone using a plastic tarp over the top of a tent for extra protection, truly mind boggling.

 

[Jalopy77]

You may need to get out more, it's very common.. if you think that is odd, wait until you see someone using a plastic tarp over the top of a tent for extra protection, truly mind boggling.

You what... a tarp over the top
You're kidding me?

 

[ITTOG]

I have never heard of not having one under a tent. I would say using a tarp/liner is the norm. However, it is more to protect the tent floor than for water. It only helps with water if the edges are flipped up. Otherwise water will run right over the top in a hard rain.

 

[NatersXJ6]

Yes, seriously, very common. Manufacturers even sell their tents with custom cut and sized tarps. I think they call them “footprints”.

With the cost of equipment, it seems crazy not to protect it, even if that means carrying a little more weight.

 

[chris the ogre]

I use a tarp under the tent when car camping. It protects the floor of the tent and keeps the tent cleaner. Tarps are cheap and don't take up much room.

 

[NOPEC]

We use both a footprint and a "custom" cut piece of building wrap (Tyvak) under the tent. As ITTOG mention, it is critical to make the tarp slightly less wide than the tent floor, all around. Cheap tarps work just as well. We don't use it under the vestibule.

We are mostly worried about sharp penetrations through the tent floor into our sleeping mats. In the rush to push the weight of technical (yikees..) gear downwards, I think the material used by some of the air mattress companies is actualy getting thinner, case in point, compare a first gen Thermarest with the newer stuff. The extra protection might only be psychological, but it feels good anyway......

 

[Ozarker]

A ground cover (tarp, canvas, blanket or rug) first, helps to protect the floor of your tent. When you walk inside your tent or move around, the canvas moves against the ground, however slightly, it rubs against the ground. As mentioned ^, it also keeps the tent cleaner, less mud, dirt, damp leaves or other dead material from sticking to the canvas. When you take the tent down you don't need to brush off the tent as much to put it away clean.

If you miss picking up a sharp stone or stick before putting the tent up, a good ground cloth might keep you from ending up with a hole in the floor.

A tarp (or whatever) over a tent helps to insulate the tent and it helps to shade the tent, it also helps fight the UV rays from breaking down the water treatment in the canvas and giving it a longer service life. Have you ever cleaned bird crap off the tent? An old tarp or plastic tarp can be cleaned off at home or just thrown away, it gets packed by itself if dirty and saves the tent from another scrubbing.

I was typing when ^ posted

 

[crazysccrmd]

Car/truck camping with my larger tent I always put a tarp under it and a moving blanket inside of it. The floor is what wears out first in almost all tents, might as well protect it. Pretty much the same idea when using a footprint with my ultralight backpacking tent just on a larger/heavier scale since I can toss all that crap in the truck instead of my back or on my bike.

 

[nwoods]

Here is the key: The ground sheet should be smaller than the tent footprint. What you don't want is a tarp or something that projects out beyond the footprint of your tent, because that will catch rain and "collect" it directly under your tent, testing your tents waterproofing to the max.

 

[alanymarce]

Never used one, and don't plan on doing so. A good built-in groundsheet is sufficient in my experience. Plus, a second groundsheet adds weight and volume to what you're carrying.

 

[Zillon]

This is something that was drilled into my head as a scout - always put down a ground sheet before putting down the tent, and always make sure it's either smaller than the tent or tucked under itself so that the tent footprint is bigger than the tarp itself.

Does 2 things:

- Protects the tent floor from extra wear and tear
- Provides a moisture barrier from the ground itself

 

[Jalopy77]

Never used one, and don't plan on doing so. A good built-in groundsheet is sufficient in my experience. Plus, a second groundsheet adds weight and volume to what you're carrying.

my thoughts exactly

 

[SDDiver5]

Yup! Use one here as well! Keeps it's cleaner and prevents any type of puncture.

On the contrary to what Nwoods said, I bring a tarp that is bigger than my tent so I have a place to put stuff and things so it is not on the dirt or ground or whatever. He makes a good point regarding rain but I'm in So Cal so if it's going to rain I usually wont go camping lol.

 

[Dave in AZ]

Went camping last weekend and seen something I'd never seen before. An old college friend joined us for the trip. He's pretty new to camping and arrived with one of those pop-up tents that 'pop' into place without having to assemble the poles. He had the thing up in seconds.

However, that wasn't what spiked my interest. It was the bright orange tarp we placed under the tent. 'For next level moisture protection' as he called it. Is this common practice? I've never seen or even heard of someone pitching their tent of a tarp. If your ground sheet is water proof, why would you need to use a tarp.

Just seems like an unnecessary piece of equipment you have to pack up and carry with you. Maybe if you're camping during monsoon season. But if the most you expect is a little light rain I just don't see the point. Any experienced campers in here set me straight?

Uhmmm... what??? Absolute standard practice to lay a tarp under the tent, a "ground cloth" also called. You fold in all edges so nothing sticks out from sides, so it doesn't capture rain.

Every Boyscout is the history of scouting was taught this is the correct way to set up a tent, as well as military training, and every book on camping I have.