HELP!! Tent and Water problem...

“I'm a rookie here so go easy on me and please assume I don't know what I'm talking about.

I have a North Face Nimbus tent and went camping last night. It rained. Not hard, but it was a steady shower for a few hours. I had the groundsheet down and the rainfly on. This fabric..,is this or is it not supposed to be waterproof? The water collected on the groundsheet, keeping a layer of water between it and the tent, and the tent floor got wet. Granted, there were no puddles of water in the tent, and I don't have a seam problem, but it soaked the floor, getting our bags wet as well. And the rainfly shed the water--we were dry, but it still absorbed it as well. It was so wet that the tent fabric that holds the poles was also soaked--wet enough that you could see through the fabric and see the poles.

I've had it in the rain before and I don't remember it doing this, but it's been over a year. In the meantime I let my brother-in-law borrow this tent once, and I know that they cleaned it with soap and water when they were done. Did they do something to it? Am I just expecting too much out of the tent? Should I/Can I waterproof it so water runs off like a duck's back? Would I have been better off not using the groundsheet so that the water would have permeated the ground instead of my tent?(btw, the leaves under the groundsheet were spectacularly dry)

Thanks in advance for any help and insight!”

“Tuck the tarp under the tent. NEVER LEND TENTS TO IN-LAWS.”

“Buy a hammock.”

“Be sure to tuck/fold under the edges of the groundsheet under the tent floor (~6in from edges) so none of the cloth is showing. The groundsheet will keep water from permeating up and into the tent floor, however, it will also pond the water if any water gets on top between the cloth and tent floor.

I'm stubborn and don't use a groundsheet, and the bottom of my tent floor does get somewhat dirty, but not that much. When sleeping, my weight will cause moisture to permeate into the tent floor and under my sleeping pad, but not enough to make things wet. And when I break down the tent in rain, the ground always seems to be dry (well, drier than the surrounding ground).

Remember...tuck your groundsheet under the sides of your tent so it doesn't show. That ought'a do the trick.”

“I'm guessing the soap and water washed off the waterproofing. You might want to re-waterproof the rainfly.”

“What?s this, a real backpacking topic. How boring. : )

Some of the water on the inside of the fly could have been from condensation. Test the fly with a hose on an otherwise dry day. Pay careful attention to the drainage of the land when you pitch your tent.”

“Along the lines of what everyone else is saying, never let your ground sheet extend from underneath the floor of the tent of it will trap water. Your in-laws may have damaged the fly's and the floor's coating depending on what kind of soap they used and how hard they scrubbed. I have had floors wet out on me, but usually only in extended periods of heavy rain. Like Buddur said, I usually see this under my pad.

Why try a test with your ground sheet and tent. Squirt some water under there a see what happens?”

“Yup, sounds like your problem is twofold, possibly three.

1)redundant, but NEVER let your groundsheet go past the edges of the tent. Better to be short a few inches.

2)NEVER use harsh soap to clean waterproof materials; find out what the inlaws used, but it sounds like you need an application of Nikwax,or other...go back to the TT main page and do a search on "waterproof", or there is a thread from about a week ago titled "anybody use this?" or some such, asking about waterproofing measures.

3)possible there was just a lot of condensation. Be sure to vent, maybe use a candle lantern, maybe you're just working up too much of a sweat... ;^)”

“When I was in Canada we used big 6 man tents (we were traveling by canoe, so weight wasn't a huge issue). We had one rainstrom that produced a good inch of standing water on the ground. Luckily our ground cloth stuck to the botom of the tent and the water flowed under it. It was kind of wierd though to have an inch if water under the tent. Kind of like a water bed.”

“Nafai - I agree with Tommy on all 3 points (and most everyone else).

I would also add that tents don't need to be cleaned very often. I think the cleaning process can be damaging if overdone or not done correctly.

mtn gal makes a very good point about paying close attention to where you pitch your tent. Sometimes you have to hike a lot further to find a good spot. Make sure you never pitch in a low spot. It's ok to pitch on an incline, just make sure you sleep with your head uphill, or you can get a bad headache.

I don't use ground sheets. It's personal preferance, but I think that if you choose your spot wisely, there is no need for one. Plus it's extra weight, and one more item to worry about, and lengthens your tent-pitching time.”

“Sounds as if the waterproofing got washed away. I've used camp dry on my fly and on the tent seams with good results. Just re-waterproofed my rain suit with the nik wax stuff and it seems to have done a great job.

as for the flor of your tent getting wet, tucking the ground cloth will help, but if it looks like rain, I get a stick and make a trench around the tent, between where the fly comes down and the edge of the tent, then I route it downhill and away from the tent. Works very well. Floor stays dry, as does my thermarest and sleeping bag.”

“My brother borrowed my tent a few years ago, they got rained on and he just stuck the wet tent in his trunk. A few weeks later he returned it - all covered with mildue and moss or something. I was quite upset - I knew it was ruined so I just stuffed it into its bag and stuck it in the garage.

Lucky I had given him the cheap Wenzel tent - not my good 4 season tent.

A year later - he wanted to borrow a tent again - With out a word I gave him the moldy one in a clean bag.

He called me two days later from a phone booth - he pitched the tent - it looked and smelled awful but it was all they had - a light wind kicked up about 2am and tore the tent in half - he and his wife had to sleep in their car that night.

I just wanted to share that with you guys ...”

“one more thought ...

I frequently hear someone suggest folding or tucking your groundsheet under your tent - I'm not one to cut my toothbrush handle to save weight - but why not cut your groundsheet to size (about 4" smaller than your tent footprint) ? You may save a couple ounces, a couple cubic inches, as well as easier set-up.
Why carry that extra 12" or whatever?”

“If your tent rips in two, you can pitch the ground cloth and not have to sleep in the car!”

“This might help. Hang your tent up and spray generously with scotch guard. Seals the spaces in-between the tent fibers.”

“My wife insists on me carrying that extra 12 inches. So, I gotta carry the extra weight.”

“Oh, you take the little black bag when you go camping, Chief???”

“Flesh colored.”

“hangman...that's brutal!
I love it!!!

Scotch Guard question: won't that impact the breathability of your tent?”

“Not unless you spray so much on the vent screen that is fills up the holes.”

“hangman is my kind of guy.”

“The only reason to have a slightly oversized ground sheet and tuck it under the tent is because it kinda makes a dam to keep any water from running from the ground and slipping between the G cloth & tent.

Hangman
VERY FUNNY STORY!!!
Thanks for the laugh!”

“Hangman nice move! I would have let my wifes cat piss in it first. Now THAT'S a smell that would gag a magot. Trust me I know.”

“I did a test with my Northface VE-24 to check for waterproofness for the fly. I placed a portion of the fly over a dry basin and poured a few cups of water on it to form a puddle. Within minutes the water soaked through so I knew the coating was going bad. I did the same test with my TNF Westwind tent and it held back the water fine. I started thinking about what was wrong so I searched the net for answers and learned a lot about tents, coating and their care and projected life span. I also inspected both tent flies with a 30 power magnifier and now I know why the fly leaks. Under magnification you can see tiny openings between the threads where the coating has opened up and worn thin from the fly stretching and just normal wear and tear. There's still a coating there, but it's too thin to do the job. TNF puts the coating on the outside of the fly on these tents to protect the fly from UV damage so the coating takes all the abuse of rain snow and sunlight. Know wonder it gets thin.
I emailed Nikwax to ask about their Tent and gear proof and they told me that it would improve the performance of the fly, but if it's UV damaged to replace it. Since mine isn't UV damaged I checked other options like recoating it with Aquaseal, Kenyon K-Kote recoat and McNett Tentsure. From reading reviews on the products the results seem to be mixed sometimes they work other times they don't. I'm going to try one of them and draw my own conclusion. Eureka claims that the tent PU coatings have a life span of 7 to 10 years and there is no way to replace the coating. Also keep in mind that tents are probably one of the more perishable pieces of backpacking gear since there made of thin fabric and exposed to acid rain, wind, storms, dirt, etc. Nothing lasts forever.”

“Loved Hangman's story. I also agree with flyguy, only I say never lend tents to ANYONE!! Unless it's a tent you don't like anyway, like the one we pulled out of a lake and gave to someone else...but I digress. One thing no one has mentioned, was the rainfly pitched very tight so that it was not touching the tent body, (except for the attachment points of course)? A taut pitch helps the fly to shed water more efficiently. Saggy spots tend to catch and hold water, giving more opportunity for it to soak through.”

“Ditto on the silicon coating... an older tent would benefit by it, since UV rays tend to degrade the material over time. As for the groundcloth, it sounds as if your tent came into vogue before "footprints", and thus, you must improvise. Good advice in the prior posts.

Here's a tip: I set up my tent at home, using 4 mil tyvek (comes in rolls generally 10X25 ft.) I picked up at a local hardware store as groundcloth. First, make sure the tent is firmly set up, taut (sp.?), and then measure the inside dimensions. Cut a piece of tyvek 2" shy of these dimensions on all sides. Note the stuff's kinda slippery, so consider picking up some hook and loop ("velcro") self adhesive strips to secure the sides and corners - this will "secure" the groundcloth to the bottom of your tent. While not a particularly weight-conscious technique, it works, but I suggest testing it with a garden hose, once you've got it all together.

Option II: Get a new tent.”

“obi wan canoli - you humble us young jedi.

I can't believe with the number of gearheads on this site, myself included, nobody just said Hey! Buy a new tent!

I'm so ashamed.”