Going mad!! Tent was folded away in bag at campsite in France but a bit damp from overnight rain. Have spent 2 days trying to dry it out, it's been over the trampoline as cant put it on wet grass, it's been in and out the house because of heavy showers, it's been draped over the bed this morning because of rain and now I can't fold it back into the bag because I can't lie it flat to fold it properly because grass is still soaked!!! It's now been stuffed in anger into the corner of my bedroom awaiting a dry day that doesn't seem to be coming!
Rant over!😡
Ours used to end up over the stairs and turned as dried. Real pain and one of reasons we have gone over to the dark side!
------------- 2026
Various weekends, weather and time permitting
April - Yorkshire and Yorkshire
June - Wiltshire and Oxfordshire
Autumn - North and Scotland
I have become quite proficient at laying our tents out in the conservatory to dry and folding them in a relatively small space!
I used to have to use the bedroom, where the tent would fill all available space, which was a pain when you realised your shoes were still under the bed...
Be patient, providing it's now dry (the VIP thing in all this), maybe you can just bundle it up in a corner or under a bed until it's dry outside and then fold it neatly away?
I've been there too and dreading the time it'll be the cotton canvas not polyester to dry out...
------------- Camping - emotional resilience in action, a triumph of hope over adversity and antidote to virtual reality.
We're quite lucky in that the local tent repair place to us will also dry tents out for about £10.00, though I have a large garden so can just put it up again when we get home I was very tempted last time to try out the tent drying service, saves a lot of hassle.
When I had my very big dome tent I used to dry it over the stair bannisters then bundle it into the back of the car and take it round the corner to the community centre to fold it up on the hall floor. The janitor was fine about this, after all the hall is for the community to use, no? Sometimes the mums waiting for Brownies or Playgroup to finish would give me a hand to fold it. So...any church or community halls nearby?
I'm drying the TT canvas out atm, in sections over the stairs. Oddly enough the best place to fold it is actually on the stairs because they're very long and the canvas is in long sections. Then I roll each section loosely and put it in an Ikea bag to go up in the attic. Canvas only needs folded tightly if it actually has to go back in the bag otherwise it benefits from being left a bit looser.
Came home Sunday morning with a wet PC tent, put it up straight away in the garden, had a cuppa, unloaded the rest of the gear, then took the tent down... bone dry in a good hour or so! Weather was perfect, breezy and sunny.
In the winter however, when there is little chance of achieving anything in the garden, I can just about manage to lay it on the spare bedroom floor for three nights, moving it about each evening to expose a different area. I can then just about manage to get it back in its (over-sized) bag, but not, of course, folded properly!
All this is with my Frinton 4 Classic.
If I bring the Filey 6 Classic home wet, that is a whole different ball game. The spare rooms a no-no, so my only option is to get it up in the garden. It just fits! There it would stay until dry, be that an hour, a day, or a week! Better up wet, than down wet!!
I winder if my local repair centre does/would entertain a drying service? Hmmm.... interesting!
Tent salons: blow-dry, trim, tinting, smoothing and straightening... OK they exist already as tent valeting services but I did find the thought amusing.
Hope it gets sorted soon carasash as they are a bit of an omnipresent obstacle whilst drying out.
Don't forget the guylines
------------- Camping - emotional resilience in action, a triumph of hope over adversity and antidote to virtual reality.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Drying out tent-rant!!
We're soon off camping apparently - putting up in the rain should guarantee a good row.
