We have booked our first family holiday/trip to France (with an 11 month old - what could possibly go wrong?!). We are staying at Les Iles which has hard standing, stoney/sandy pitches like below.
I am a bit concerned about it damaging the tent and our inflatable sofa or air bed . We have a built in groundsheet plus an extra footprint, will that be enough to protect the tent? Is it worth getting an extra top to go in between the footprint and groundsheet?
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Looking at the pic, it appears quite fine/dusty/sandlike, as opposed to pea gravel or similar sized stones, so I'd say something like this would definitely suffice...
Google "Breathable caravan awning carpet", and shop around for prices and sizes. Most (but not all) come in 2.5m widths x various lengths.
Unlike your footprint, this won't need to be slightly smaller than your tent. It can protrude (and will therefore help to protect every part of your tent Sewn in Groundsheet. In a heavy downpour, puddles may settle on it, but slowly but surely, it will trickle through the carpet, and soak away... even under the tent itself.
If you need to buy two (or more!) to suit the tent size, they can be overlapped if need be. They can be pegged down (and will likely curl up if you don't peg the edges.)
Most have pegging eyelets, but even a peg straight through the carpet won't do any major harm. Don't worry if you need to peg your usual footprint down (through your new carpet). It's already "full of holes", to male it breathable! :-)
Oh... there is often a choice of colours too, typically blue/green/grey, and occasionally purple!
To recap...
Breathable carpet first. Overlapped if need be. Total area larger than the tent base. Can be pegged around the edges.
Then just as you do at home... your usual footprint, with tent directly on top of that.
One final tip... if it's massive, have all the spare area to the front of your tent, as an outdoor carpet. It matters not that there is no shelter over it. Any puddles will drain through, remember!
Thank you very much for your reply! I’ve had a search and I’m really struggling to find a way to do this that won’t cost an awful lot of money! Our tent footprint is 520cm x 370 so would require more than one breathable awning carpet and they’re certainly not cheap.
Thank you very much for your reply! I’ve had a search and I am really struggling to find a way to do this that won’t cost an awful lot of money! Our tent footprint is 520cm x 370 so would require more than one breathable awning carpet as I can’t find one big enough and they’re certainly not cheap. It sounds like the ideal solution, just not doable from a financial point of view sadly!
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The alternative is a bog standard Builders tarp or similar. Usually dirt cheap.
Problem being they are generally waterproof (even if not as waterproof as your tent's built in groundsheet).
Use one bigger than your tent... and you risk puddles laying on top and/or getting below your tent for the duration of your holiday. That can get squidgy underfoot (and potentially smell real bad after a fortnight, but in fairness, you would only expect the latter on a grass pitch, so maybe ignore that bit!)
Use one smaller than your tent... as you would with your current Footprint (I assume?) and you risk not protecting the very outer edges of your tent's built in groundsheet/around the tent pegging points etc.
I guess not many of us walk around the inside edges of our tents, but you may have furniture to consider?
Not an easy decision... and glad it's not me that has to decide, as it's your tent!
Let us know what you end up doing, and how well it works.
Only been on hardstanding twice... same site... a bit cinder track type stuff.
I took heavy duty Reinforced industrial Polythene (You see it up on massive scaffolding, to protect the workmen from the weather and prying eyes!)... but at the last minute, decided not to bother, and trust the tent and the single usual footprint...
All worked well, with just tiny dimples in the tent's sewn-in groundsheet (& footprint) but no lasting damage, or anything to be overly concerned about... thankfully!.
Did the same second time around... good job we didn't have an impervious groundsheet sticking out, or it could have got wet under there...
Quote: Originally posted by Mucker1884 on 03/8/2022
Looking at the pic, it appears quite fine/dusty/sandlike, as opposed to pea gravel or similar sized stones, so I'd say something like this would definitely suffice...
Google "Breathable caravan awning carpet", and shop around for prices and sizes. Most (but not all) come in 2.5m widths x various lengths.
Unlike your footprint, this won't need to be slightly smaller than your tent. It can protrude (and will therefore help to protect every part of your tent Sewn in Groundsheet. In a heavy downpour, puddles may settle on it, but slowly but surely, it will trickle through the carpet, and soak away... even under the tent itself.
If you need to buy two (or more!) to suit the tent size, they can be overlapped if need be. They can be pegged down (and will likely curl up if you don't peg the edges.)
Most have pegging eyelets, but even a peg straight through the carpet won't do any major harm. Don't worry if you need to peg your usual footprint down (through your new carpet). It's already "full of holes", to male it breathable! :-)
Oh... there is often a choice of colours too, typically blue/green/grey, and occasionally purple!
To recap...
Breathable carpet first. Overlapped if need be. Total area larger than the tent base. Can be pegged around the edges.
Then just as you do at home... your usual footprint, with tent directly on top of that.
One final tip... if it's massive, have all the spare area to the front of your tent, as an outdoor carpet. It matters not that there is no shelter over it. Any puddles will drain through, remember!
I totally agree with Mucker. In fact, we now use Isabella Bolon (a really tough, breathable groundsheet) instead of an impermeable footprint because it still keeps the underneath of the SIG clean and protected but with the added benefit that water cannot collect underneath the tent. This means you can have it protruding from the edges of the tent snd, as Mucker says, it's ideal to have a good bit protruding in front of the tent to provide a clean area underfoot.
It's not cheap but it lasts for years. You can cut it to shape if required ad it doesn't fray. Bolton has no eyelets so nothing to damage the SIG if you have to overlap and you can secure the outer edges (if you want) with Clingons. Isabella also manufacture their own, similar clips.
Check out eBay, Gumtree etc for some used Bolon. You can power wash it or clean it with detergent and a stiff sweeping brush or scrubbing brush if required (just make sure to rinse thoroughly).
You're all stars. Thank you so much for all your advice. I've messaged a few people about some 'awning carpet' on Facebook market place, with the hope to use this for our porched area/front of the tent. I've also ordered a heavy duty tarp for the main area of the tent, which I will use as an extra footprint (and as shelter in the future possibly!). Fingers crossed this combination keeps our nice new tent free of holes and damage!
If the price is right and you have car space I would consider the interlocking foam workshop or play mats. A soft layer for your little one to crawl and fall on, and very insulating if you camp in cooler climes or times.
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Topic: Protection on Hard Standing Pitches
via mobile 03/8/2022 at 11:25pm
