To protect your tent for long-term use, you must take care of it properly. Many of us don’t know the proper maintenance of it. We just use it when necessary and then store it in a place until the next use. 

As a result, we see that after using it for a couple of months, it gets damaged. Later, we purchase a new one and do the same thing. 

If you want your tent to last longer, it is time to take care of it correctly. Otherwise, you must purchase tents more often, which will cost you considerable money. 

This article will give you some tips for protecting your tent for long-term use. In addition, as a bonus, you will learn how to clean your tent.

Tips for Protecting Your Tent for Long-Term Use

To protect your tent for long-term use, you have to do nothing but take care of your tent in 4 different stages. These include

  • Tent Care During Setup 
  • Tent Care During Use
  • Tent Care During Disassembly
  • Tent Care At Home

In this segment, we have demonstrated each & every step individually with proper explanation. Hopefully, you’ll get it simple to understand. 

  • Tent Care During Setup

First, you must learn how to set your tent up correctly. Most of us make mistakes a lot while setting up a tent; as a result, the tent gets damaged or scrabbled. Before setting it up, ensure you have all the accessories to affix it. After that, take the below considerations into your mind during setup. 

  • Consider an Established Campsite
  • Use Footprint
  • Don’t Set Up Your Tent In Direct Sun
  • Go Slow With the Poles

Consider an Establish Campsite

Look for a place that is level, smooth, and free of vegetation to set up your long-term camping tents. Once you have found the place, clean away debris like pine cones, small rocks, and twigs that could poke a hole in your favorite tent. Taking care when setting up also means a more comfortable camping experience, as it is important to get a good night’s sleep when camping.

Use a Footprint

A footprint is a ground cloth made of waterproof materials placed between the ground and your tent’s bottom. The footprint will keep your tent floor safe from abrasion and confers a clean surface where you will be up to pack up your tent. Also, it will protect your tent from rainwater. 

Don’t Set Up Your Tent In Direct Sun

It is one of the most vital factors to consider if you want your tent to last longer. Why should you consider it? Reducing the UV [Ultraviolet Rays] is a major element in increasing your tent’s life. Over time, Ultraviolet Rays deteriorate the fabrics in the sunshade and rainfly. So, keeping these things in mind, you should avoid leaving your tent in the direct sun. 

You can also use a special coating layer to better protect the tent from UVs, actually many vendors are already doing this with their so called blackout tents on the market. It not only helps the tent to last longer, but also makes the inner space darker, which helps you sleep better and avoid waking up earlier by the sunlight.

Go Slow With the Poles.

Do not wag a pole, attempting to take its shock-corded into place. You can snip a section and knock out the pole or your traveling companion. Setup will go more easily if you open and affix pole sections together at once. 

  • Take Care When You Use

You also have to use it carefully if you want your tent to last long. How to take care of it when you use it? Read the section to know what to, and what not to do during use. 

  • Be Caring to Zippers
  • Take You Boot Off Outside
  • Don’t Keep Foods Inside Your Tent
  • Don’t Leave an Unsupervised Dog Inside it

Be Caring to Zippers

If the zipper of your tent gets stuck, don’t force it. Just hold the zipper with one hand, and  gently try to back the slider up, jiggling it from side to side using your other hand until it gets free.  If the zipper cracks, back it up gently until it re-engages.

Take You Boot Off Outside

Most of us have a tendency to enter into the tents with boots which is a completely a third-rate task. When you go inside with your boots, the tent floor gets dirty with dirt, grit, and pebbles falling from your boots. That’s why you should take your boots off outside.

Don’t Keep Foods Inside Your Tent

Sounds weird, right? Let us explain why you should keep your food outside in a container rather than keeping it inside. If a little piece of your food remains on the floor of your tent, little creatures will come, and chew through the fabric on the lookout for their next meal. 

Don’t Leave an Unsupervised Dog Inside It

Don’t allow unsupervised dogs inside it. Because, its teeth, and claws can be the reason for serious damage to your tent’s materials.  So,keep it outside if it is unsupervised. 

  • Take Care During Disassembly

During disassembly you have to follow some maintenance; otherwise, your tent gets damaged for many reasons. Here we have given some maintenance tips that you should follow when you disassemble your tent. 

  • Clear Dirt & Debris
  • Start In the Middle When Disassembling
  • Push Shock-corder Rather Than Pull
  • Dry-Before Saking
  • Roll It

Clean Dirt & Debris

Before you pack it up, make sure that the dirt and debris have been cleared out perfectly. Hold the tent with your hands, and shake it several times. The raimining dirt and debris will be removed. 

Start In the Middle When Disassembling

When it is time to pack up your tent, start disassembling from the middle of the tent. It will make your task easy to do, and you can do the entire task in a short time. 

Push Shock-corder Rather Than Pull

When extracting a shock-corded pole from your tent, it is better to push instead of pulling to keep your tent from any kind of damage. 

Dry-Before Sacking

Before packing up the tent, make sure the tent is dried completely. If it remains wet, and you roll it with this condition, bacteria, and microorganism will build up there. So, before sacking, let it dry well. 

Roll It

Once the above things are done, roll it properly. Some people prefer rolling, and others believe it is better to stuff it. What should you do then? In that case, you can check out what the manufacturer instructed, and follow the instructions. 

  •  Tent Care At Home

You have to take care of your tent when it is at home too. Regarding this, a number of factors you have to take into consideration. 

  • Thoroughly Air-Dry Your Tent
  • Store Your Tent In a Dry Place

Thoroughly Air-Dry Your Tent

After coming back to the trips, you have to clean it properly. Once the tent is cleaned, let it dry in a shaded outdoor space. When it is dried completely, roll it or stuff it, and look for a better place to store it. 

Store Your Tent in a Dry Place

Once the tent is dried, and rolled, you have to find a place to store it. Never store your tent in a dripping place that will accelerate building up bacteria, microorganism. So, stay away from doing it. 

How To Clean Your Tent

Many people either find it difficult to clean, or don’t know how to clean a tent. But it’s a simple task that can be done by anyone. If you don’t know how to properly clean a tent, follow the steps given below.

  1. Check your tent first if there is sand, fine dust, bird dropping , or tree sap. 
  2. Take a non-abrasive sponge, 
  3. Cold water, and a non-detergent shop.
  4. Now, gently start scrubbing filthy, and coated areas by hand. 
  5. Once the cleaning is done, let it dry in a shaded place. 

Don’t use household cleaners such as spot removers, harsh dish soap, or chemical products that will reduce the life of your tent. 

Final Thought

So, we are at the end of the article. We have given a number of tips that you have to follow in 4 different stages to use your tent for a long-term. 

Most of us don’t know the proper maintenance of a tent; that’s why we have to purchase a tent more often which costs a huge amount of money. 

If you can follow the tips that we have demonstrated above, we can assure you that your tent last-longer than before. 

However, if you have any queries regarding tent to know a lot more, contact us in the comment section below.