When you go camping and your looking to buy a tent for the first time you will wonder how long will this tent last until I have to buy a new one. Well there are certain maintence that you can carry out on your tent to help prolong the lifespan.
So, how long should a good tent last? Some camping tents can last up to 2 years and there are some tents that can last a complete lifetime. In general, there will be a number of things that will add to the length of time to your tent and it does depend on how often you intend on using the tent whether it is regular use or not as often. Other factors that will help make the tent last longer you will need to carry out these tasks in order to make it last longer.
I have written this post to help you get a better idea on how long a camping tent can last with some maintenance work that you will need to put in.
What is the life expectancy of a tent
Your tent’s life span is going to depend on how well you maintain your tent. When you first get the bug for going camping it’s easy to think that once you have a tent you can put it away and leave it until the next time you go. That’s far from the truth, you will need to carry out some maintenance on the tent first before you put it away.
Your tent is not just an equipment, it’s a home away from home so you will need to look after it. Once you spent some money on buying the tent you will need to look at it as an investment for the long term that’s if you plan on camping alot more and more often.
How To Make Your Tent Last
Once you have brought yourself a camping a tent in order for it to last longer then what is said you will need to maintain the tent. There are some basic but essential house keeping that you will need to follow so that your tent can last alot longer and you can reuse it many years to come. I have written some following tips to help you maintain your tent
Footprints
Stop mildew from occuring
Protect your tent from UV rays
Keeping your tent clean from mud
Clean your tent regularly
How to re-waterproof your tent
Stop your tents seams from leaking
Look after your zipper
Prevent broken poles
Using the right repair kit
Why You Should Use A Footprint
A footprint will certainly help keep your tent from being torn and keep it clean from the bottom of your tent. The footprint is particularly used for protecting your tent from wear and tear from the outside of your tent. It is placed underneath the tent itself, it all depends on where you pitch your tent. Make sure that the surface is flat but incase there are rocks and sand around it will protect your tents flooring.
You Can Stop Moulding From Occurring
Whenever you come back from your camping trip i would highly recommend that you lay it out flat to dry first. During your trip it will collect moisture and even have dirt collected without you knowing.
During your time camping your tent will eventually pick up moisture during the morning or even during the evening, if you have been caught up in the rain usually by the morning your tent would have dried up so you will be okay.
Whatever you do dont ever store your tent away while it is wet. As soon as you get back from your trip i would suggest you take your tent out to the back garden and let it dry out first. Either lay it out flat or pitch it in your back garden and let it dry for some hours before your store it away.
Whatever you do never store your tent away when it is wet, if you do you are inviting mould to come into your tent and begin to appear. Overtime if this happens when you use your tent again there will be a vile smell from your tent and a stain that will be difficult to remove.
The bacteria that the mould produces will eat at your tent and will eventually take away the waterproof coating. When this happens naturally your tent does not become waterproof any more. I am not saying that the mould will cover the whole tent but you will certainly see patches of mould build up and it’s those patches that will cause damage to your tent.
Protect your tent from UV Rays
Because your tent will be used as a shelter it will be exposed to the sunlight. The sunlight uv rays can be quite harmful to your tent and can overtime age it, you would be alot better if you pitch your tent more in the shade then directly under the sunlight.
Another way is if you know you will be pitching your tent for a long time in the same spot it would be ideal to use a tarp to cover the roof of the tent. You will need to pitch your tent amongst some trees so that the tarp can be tied to the trees and it will stop the sun’s UV rays hitting the tent.
Keeping Your Tent Free From Mud
It’s going to be natural that mud will get into your tent because you will be walking around hiking and seeing the sites and and touring the campsite.
Your boots will be full of mud, so when you do step into your tent the mud will naturally stay there. But as soon as you can you want to get rid of the mud.
Clear it out as soon as possiable otherwise the mud will dry up and sink into the seams of the tent which is what you want to avoid. Once that happens the seam will begin to open up due to the dry mud and it will begin to leak water into the tent which is what you don’t want.
Clean Your Tent Regularly
Keeping your tent clean will certainly prolong the life of your tent. The main thing that you do not do is put your tent into the washing machine that will completley ruin your tents material and even tear it apart.
Most people think that the tent would be easier to wash in the machine but it’s the worst thing that you can do.
If your tent has some dried up soil the best thing to do would be Simply to wash it down with plain water don’t use any fairy liquid or any other dishwashing soap that won’t work and it will ruin the material of your tent.
You can get cleaning equipment that are specifically used for camping tents because the level of chemicals will be less harsh towards the tent. Check out this reivew for the cleaning equipment that would be good for your camping tent.
Once you have used this cleaning product make sure you leave your tent out to dry up before you roll up the tent and store it away.
How you can water-proof your tent
It’s important that you waterproof your tent, when you first buy your tent make sure that you buy one that is waterproof.
I would highly recommend you search around and buy a waterproof tent even if your looking to go camping in the summer as you won’t ever be to sure when it could potentially rain, or even get some water on the tent.
There are some good branded good quality waterproofing spray that you can use on your tent. It’s good practice if you every time you go camping to spray your tent with the waterproofing spray so that it is protected.
How do you stop your tents seams from leaking
When you have a camping tent, overtime the seams on the tent will eventually begin to leak. This will be due to wear and tear and even soil drying up over the factory sealed seam.
The dried up soil can begin to eat at the factory sealed seal as it’s just a thin layer that sits on top of the Seam so that no water leaks through. Then a second layer of waterproofing is placed on top which helps further with any leaks.
If there were no sealant around the seams then the moment the tent gets wet water would leak through there would need to be a medium amount of water to make it leak but with the factory sealant that prevents it from happening and then an extra layer of waterproofing sealant helps even more.
Your zipper is important
Your tent door will need to be working properly so maintaining your zipper on the front of your tent will need to
As a factory standard the zippers on most tents are quite heavy duty. They tend to last quite well in high winds but overtime they eventually do give in or break off.
Always keep a zipper kit at hand so you can repair the zipper incase it does break either on the camping site or when you do get home.
You can pick up zipper kits for an affordable price have a look at the zipper rescue repair kit and the zipper repair pliers.
Prevent broken poles
So how often do the tent poles tend to break? Well it depends on how often you use the tent and how quick you try to put the tent up. Even when your storing your poles you will have to be careful as not to place them anywhere where it can easily get bent.
When your putting your poles together it can easily get caught and get bent without your realising and due to strain you could quite easily bend the pole which can eventually break aswell.
If you are pitching a tent and the weather is raining try not to rush to much as you can break the tent pole that way or even as your putting both tent poles together because the weather is not so great it’s adding pressure to you to rush which in turn can cause a mistake that can break your tent pole so try and avoid putting yourself into those situations.
Using The Right Repair Kit
When it comes to your tent being repaired you can buy repair kits specifically designed for camping tents. The reason for this is because of the material that is used for the tent is alot more stronger and will need some patches that can handle the strength.
If you happen to pierce the tent while your camping you can always use some duct tape that becomes a temporarily fix only because the adhesive on the duct tape will eventually peel off as it’s strong enough to stick but overtime it will come off. Also make sure that the tent has duct tape on both sides of the hole that way it secures the hole for the time.
Once you do get home make sure that you repair your tent as soon as possible. You can use the patches that are specific for the camping tents which are here. I would highly recommend using the patches that have a circular cut to it so it stops it from peeling off. You can also use the square ones with rounded edges that would work just aswell. Once you place these patches on the adhesive is so strong that the patch will last for a long time.
Do you need to waterproof a new tent
When you do buy a new tent they do come with a waterproofing cover but you will need to apply a new coat of waterproofing and UV protective spray. Every 6-12 months your going to need to maintain your tent check on it and carry out necessary repairs. But again it will depend on how long you have had the tent stored away and how often you use the tent.