Rant: the 40 year old tent advice that finally clicked

My dad swore by putting a tarp under the tent, said it was the only way to keep dry. I ignored him for years until last spring in the Smokies when everything soaked through my floor. He was right obviously, now I even trim the tarp so it doesn't stick out past the edge. Anyone else have that one piece of advice from an older camper they fought forever?

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ray64819d agoMost Upvoted

Did you ever hear about the old trick of putting a cheap car windshield sun reflector under your tent instead of a tarp? I read about it on a camping forum years ago and thought it was the dumbest thing, but it actually works great for reflecting heat and it's lighter than a tarp. Still, your dad's advice about trimming the tarp is the real key, I learned that one the hard way when a rainstorm pooled water right under my tent because I left a big skirt of tarp sticking out. I fought it for years too, thought it was old-school nonsense, but now I won't set up without one. Take this with a grain of salt, but for me, the trick is to cut the tarp about two inches smaller than the tent footprint on all sides, that way water has nowhere to sit. Your mileage may vary, but once you see the underside of your tent bone dry, you kind of get why the old timers swore by it.