about

I sometimes take long breaks from the site. I'm more than happy to answer anyone's questions, but just make sure they're not too time sensitive. :)

Facts about me:
*happy
*employed
*married
*large extended family
*bisexual
*advanced college degree
*no kids (yet)

advice

My friends and I are going on a camping trip towards the end of next month. We live in the UK so it is likely to be cold and wet. We don't mind about that but one thing we are worried about is having to put the tent up in the rain. Does anyone have any tips?

In that case, practice putting up the tent beforehand. My sister and I got so good at putting up our tent one summer that we could do it in about 50 seconds. If you and your friends practice and have a detailed plan of who does what and when, you can cut the time that it takes to put the tent up by probably 80%. :)

Another idea is, look for a pavilion near your campsite. You can always set the tent up under the pavilion and carry it over to your site. Tents aren't heavy and if you have everybody take a corner it shouldn't be too hard to carry. That way, the rainfly will be on and the inside won't get wet at all.



Unroll the tent in the car! There's no use in trying to get it out of the bag and unrolled outside in the rain. You can't actually put it together in the car, but you'd be surprised how much time you can save just by taking it apart. You could even get the poles put together "inside" the car. You sit in the car and slide the pole out as it gets longer.

The biggest tip I can give you is to bring a sheet of plastic the size of the bottom of your tent and put it under your tent. The plastic will keep water from seeping up inside. The tent's rainfly is waterproofed, but the rest of the tent, including the bottom, is not! You could get pretty wet if the ground under the tent gets wet and the water seeps up through.

After the trip, make sure you let the tent air out, especially if you roll it up wet. It'll smell really bad the next time you use it if you don't!

Camping in the rain isn't that bad. I've been camping a lot so I've been stuck in the rain a lot. As long as your tent isn't really old or has holes in it, you will barely even notice that it's raining (except for the sound of course).

I hope that you have a good time and that luck is with you and that it doesn't rain! :)

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(Rating: 4) Thank you for your help :) We won't actually having a car as we're getting there on the train but the plastic tip sounds good.

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