Wall Tent Winter Setup

[shafty85]

First off, I'm brand new to wall tents so don't hesitate to flood me with info or provide suggestions regarding any of the choices I've made/am considering. Second, I'm not a hunter (though I am considering getting into it) - please don't hold that against me.

The fiance and I just ordered a 10x12 wall tent (deluxe version with the rear door replaced by a window) with 5' awning and stove from Deluxe Wall Tents. We're on Vancouver Island so the proximity made sense for us and Beau has been great to deal with. We're considering up-sizing to a 10x15 for when we have kids but I think it would be nice to keep it smaller and lighter for the two of us for now and get a larger tent when we have more of us? We'll be using the tent primarily for setting up in the mountains for sled-accessed skiing and for weekends when we're at a resort we'll set up in the parking lot for 2-3 nights. I've done a bunch of research but haven't been able to find a lot of information regarding setting the tent up on TOP of deep snow (our snow pack here is wet, heavy and deep - I'm not shoveling 10'+ down to ground). I WILL be using a tarp - having spoken with manufacturers, all have recommended it would be useful given our use for the tent. It comes with the tent package, so I'm not worried and if I don't like it, I can always leave it at home. Any tips for guying out the tarp to reduce flap/noise while sleeping? Any recommendations for keeping the tent from sinking into the snow pack when snow is falling? We'll use the sleds and our skis to stamp down an area for the tent and I'm thinking of using 18"x18" pieces of 5/8" ply to provide a "footing" under the tent legs. Any other suggestions?

Ideally, this won't devolve into this thread

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=85344



I am open to ALL suggestions so please don't feel the need to argue against someone's suggestion - just make your suggestion and I'll weigh the two/three/etc and choose one that makes sense to me (and likely wind up trying more than one to see which one works best for me).

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

[Big Grey Wolf]

Tenting in high country/skiing where you can get 2' or more snow in one night has its problems. We have had a 6" log ridge pole snap with snow load and that is in high foothill country while elk hunting. Suggest 4x4ft plywood floor pieces, but if you have large heater will tend to melt down into the snow and probably ice up the plywood. You could consider some styrofoam, might buy the 2x2 styro/OSB bathroom pieces from Home depot, but starting to look like your building a cabin.

[pa_of_6]

Hey

I started that thread!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Badone20]

We have always set up our tent with a fly sheet over top to take the brunt of the rain and snow. Our tent has the ridge pole on the outside so we end up with a gap between fly sheet and tent that works quite well at helping to shed snow and water. With the stove going it also creates a cell of warm air between the roof of the tent and fly sheet that works well in melting snow as it falls, which in turn tends to slide off on its own. Having said that we have never had a huge dump happen in a short time so I am not sure how well it would actually work in that situation. We also use bungee straps for the fly sheet, to take up the slack but also lets the tarp expand and contract with the wind if it comes up. It also tends to not damage the tarp this way either as it is not fastened in a manner there is no give if required. Sorry but I have no experience in setting up onto snow packs so have nothing to suggest there. Good look and happy skiing.

[Badone20]

I should be clear that when I say fly sheet, its a tarp, and not a heavy one either.

[shafty85]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Tenting in high country/skiing where you can get 2' or more snow in one night has its problems. We have had a 6" log ridge pole snap with snow load and that is in high foothill country while elk hunting. Suggest 4x4ft plywood floor pieces, but if you have large heater will tend to melt down into the snow and probably ice up the plywood. You could consider some styrofoam, might buy the 2x2 styro/OSB bathroom pieces from Home depot, but starting to look like your building a cabin.

Unfortunately, there won’t be space available for 4x4 plywood or anything similar, as the toboggans only have so much room, though I do love the idea especially the styrofoam. I’m going to use a fire mat and 2 18”x36” sheets of plywood with 25g sheet metal on one face to reflect the heat from the stove away from the snow beneath. My experience with our wet, dense, snow is that it is more affected by solar heat than just warm temperatures so hopefully the tent won’t generally sink over just a few days - we’ll see how that theory plays out!

ETA: we’ll be using a 4 rafter internal aluminium frame (supplied by deluxe wall tents) for the tent with an additional frame for the canopy.

Originally Posted by pa_of_6

Hey

I started that thread!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wasn’t able to find that, sorry. If you post a link to it I’d be more than happy to read it!

Originally Posted by Badone20

We have always set up our tent with a fly sheet over top to take the brunt of the rain and snow. Our tent has the ridge pole on the outside so we end up with a gap between fly sheet and tent that works quite well at helping to shed snow and water. With the stove going it also creates a cell of warm air between the roof of the tent and fly sheet that works well in melting snow as it falls, which in turn tends to slide off on its own. Having said that we have never had a huge dump happen in a short time so I am not sure how well it would actually work in that situation. We also use bungee straps for the fly sheet, to take up the slack but also lets the tarp expand and contract with the wind if it comes up. It also tends to not damage the tarp this way either as it is not fastened in a manner there is no give if required. Sorry but I have no experience in setting up onto snow packs so have nothing to suggest there. Good look and happy skiing.

Great idea regarding the bungies for the tarp - I’ll look into using something like that.

[dmcbride]

I would use an insulated tarp for the floor and small pieces of plywood on the inside of the tent for anything like cot legs to sit on.

[HighlandHeart]

If your tent is going to have a few feet of crushed snow for a floor it is going to be rough when the stove melts it. Too bad putting down a foot thick layer of spruce boughs wasn't an option. I hope someone who has been there done that will give you a solution. Be careful walking on your tarp floor when the condensation freezes on it. It can become slippery like a rink.

[skidderman]

Worry about wind. I once had wind so strong it broke a corner pole. Had I not had lots of help the tent would have burned down. Worst part the tent had kids in it and it was middle of the night.

[HighlandHeart]

Keep a snow shovel handy outside your tent. If your tent is collapsing, after escaping firing a few scoops into your stove can keep you from losing your tent and all of your gear.

[shafty85]

Insulated floor is a good idea. I’ll look into what that would cost and how much volume it would take up. We’ll use plywood under cot and table legs, as suggested. We’ll have to deal with melt from the stove heat as best as we can. I think a fire mat and plywood with sheet metal should reflect most of the heat away from it so the main melt will just be from the general air temp, and hopefully won’t be too bad. We’ll live and learn through that process for sure (well, hopefully live )

Most of our mountains are below tree line so we’ll hopefully have some shelter from the wind and will be using dead men as anchors. Deluxe wall tents uses 1.5” aluminum frames so hopefully they are strong enough and their angles seem skookum.

[Steyr Luxus]

If it were me I would get a liner which adds an extra layer of insulating air to your tent.

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

When I use to sled in the Kakwa are, we had a heavy large tarp over the tent (14x16x5'walls). We strung cable with a come-a-long winch line between 2 trees near the front and back of the wall tent. It was raised up for a steep pitch and bungied down to the wood floor. It was a at least 8 feet above the ridge line of the tent.


Sometimes we would get 2-3 ' of snow overnight. Worked good until one time when we were not in riding for 8 days and it snowed about 12-15' (that's another story in it's self).


Our floor was 16x20. Built on a 2x4 frame with plywood top. Sections were 2x8. Section "A" and "B" 10 sections each. Bolted together. Was very solid. FLoor area near the wood stove had some tin and insulation.


When we would set up the tent for the sledding season, there was anywhere between 6-10 feet of snow already.


It was a great camp !!