Ground Cloth for Museum Wedge

[Are. M.]

I'm plugging this network looking for a ground cloth for my Tentsmiths museum wedge. Bonus points if you live within 3 hours of Raleigh, cause I'll pick that sucker up.

As you know, both Panther Primitives and Tentsmiths are proud of their proprietary products. I've gotten a lot of advice from members of my club surrounding what to use and where to get it, so I have a couple of solid options. I just want to reach out to the members here to see if anything is available.

If you attempt a scam, you'll be immediately reported to the admins.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Well, I was going to recommend the P-P ‘super groundcloth’, but it sounds like you’re dead against it. We have 3 P-P tents (2 walls, 1 wedge) and use their S-Groundcloths in each and wouldn’t have it any other way, as all my friends w/ P-P tents also do.

Good luck!

 

[Brazos John]

I use a canvas painter's tarp from Home Depot in my PP pyramid tent.
It's not waterproof, but I don't usually camp in bad weather.
When I had my tent set up for 6 months, the floor didn't get wet.
YMMV.

 

[SOLANCO]

Lots of tarps on Amazon. Various sizes, materials, and quality.

 

[Calum]

'morning,

Similar to Brazos John, I use a painter's tarp, under it I just have a cheap blue plastic tarp. Little more work to put two down, but if it's good weather, I only use the painter's tarp.

Mike

 

[andy52]

If you have the time you can make a nice ground cloth out of a painter's tarp and turn it into oil cloth, I have one I've used for 30+ years.

 

[Brazos John]

If you have the time you can make a nice ground cloth out of a painter's tarp and turn it into oil cloth, I have one I've used for 30+ years.

What did you do to the tarp?
Does it leave residue on things that are set on the tarp?

 

[andy52]

The canvas is treated with boiled linseed oil and a drier to help set it up more quickly.
The canvas needs to be stretched tight and then the oil is applied with a brush and allowed to dry completely. Once it's dried it becomes a little stiffer but not tacky, so no it doesn't leave a residue on things. I've also made a cape out of the same type oilcloth which works well in the rain.

 

[andy52]

Oilcloth is an HC product it was made even back in the 18th century.

 

[Sooty Scot]

Not HC, but I have used a coated painter's tarp. (I cover it w/ another, if my ten's going to be open a lot).
It's a bit thin, but keeps the moisture out well.

 

[andy52]

I only brought up the HC part because the OP said he had a museum wedge, and my thinking was he wanted to be as correct as possible.

 

[Are. M.]

Thanks for all the input, y'all. I've been looking at the Butyl II Canvas drop cloth. They make a 12'x16' which will be goon enough until I scratch together the proprietary stuff.

I'm not against PP or TS, and I'm a big fan of buy-once-cry-once. I just need something to get me by for a while.

Any experience with no ground cloth?

We can move this thread, Mods, to a better suited forum space.

 

[Brazos John]

Any experience with no ground cloth?

I had my PP pyramid tent set up in my Pine-wooded back yard for more than 6 months, in order to get some "patina". Got lots.
It was from last Fall through the Winter and into the Spring in Texas, North of Houston.
We had rain, but no hurricanes. Got a bit of mildew that has dried, so I hope it doesn't bite my butt.

For all that time, I had no ground cloth. I used the tent for my phone booth, escape room, and just plain cool place to hang out and listen to KNBT on my phone. One or two candles are remarkably bright in an enclosed space like that.

The floor was mostly pine needles, with some leaves. I removed all of the pine cones and sticks, and cut the yaupon sprouts that pop up everywhere. For my uses, I didn't need a ground cloth.

However,

When camping with the Texas Army at reenactments, I have a 9x12 canvas tarp floor in my 12x12 tent. I find that the 3' grass (or whatever) strip isn't a problem, and it can absorb condensation from coolers, without the water running across the tarp. The few tents I've seen into have full-tent floor coverings that can include fancy carpet, so there are a lot of options available! It's a function of what you have or can buy.

One last thing:
From years of Boy Scout leader camping, plastic-type flooring tarps can be crunchy when you walk on them. Keep that in mind. I like the idea of making your own oilcloth tarp, as explained above by @andy54.
Let us know what you do, and how you like the results. We all learn from experiences, whether our own or from our friends.

 

[tenngun]

Thanks for all the input, y'all. I've been looking at the Butyl II Canvas drop cloth. They make a 12'x16' which will be goon enough until I scratch together the proprietary stuff.

I'm not against PP or TS, and I'm a big fan of buy-once-cry-once. I just need something to get me by for a while.

Any experience with no ground cloth?

We can move this thread, Mods, to a better suited forum space.

Lots of experience of sans ground cloth
If it ain’t pouring rain you’re ok.
If it’s pouring rain chances are the cloth will get wet through and through not fully waterproofed

 

[beardedhorse]

Vivatex and Sunforger are commercial treatments for tents, tipis, tarps and ground cloths. Most re enactment tent makers will carry it. I have liners or dew cloths from 7 different tipis that make good ground cloths. Panther Primitives makes a liner with tie in loops for their wedge tents.

 

[Reno]

Go to a home improvement store. Lowes or a Home Depot get a painters cloth or canvas of the size you need. You can even see them together for the size you need.
If you want you can get some water proofing and paint or spray that on.
They will work fine. Many years ago. I bought just regular canvas from a fabric place and sewed my own dining fly.

 

[Nav]

So, I understand that PP and several well known suppliers are the go-to for canvas tents/tipis for rendezvous and reanactments, but their markup on duck canvas is absolutely insane. This is especially true for the simple styles ,diamonds and pups, for adding a couple of strips of reinforcement , grommets, and some tie downs. You can buy a finished, waterproof, seamed, 20’X20’, 16oz tarp, for less than they want for a 6’X8’, 13 oz one. If you can run a sail needle their improvements are quite rudimentary and fast. A grommet kit you bash with a hammer is $8, and a full on press is $25.

I don’t get it. For savage guys that build their own rifles and make their own tools how is there a market with a markup like it is for canvas “tents”?

You can buy a cheap (Harborfreitesque) cobblers, sailmakers, or even just a heavy (canvas isn’t hard to put a needle through) sewing machine off Amazon for a buck and a quarter, and then 60” yards of canvas for $7-$20 a yard depending on the weight. When I see what they’re charging I can scarcely believe it.

Now I get that if you’re going full on tee-pee with liner and everything it’s an easy button to buy one, but you can make an even better one (heavier canvas) for a fraction of the cost even if you don’t have the tools in hand. The scalable patterns are available for download for $5.

It isn’t that sewing is women’s work, because I’ve seen the beautiful bags and leather goods people are hand crafting. Of all the DIY mountain man stuff that’s talked about these “tents” are something I don’t get. They’re so easy to make that I don’t get how they can charge so much for them.

If your Google-fu is even middlin‘ you can find commercial suppliers for all the materials and equipment in five minutes.

 

[Timber Wolf]

I decided to make my own “super” ground cloth for my new Panther Mini Wall. Did not see the point of spending big money for a non-fire retardant floor, which is what Panther seems to sell. I laid down a piece of cloth-like House Wrap and set up my tent. That gives me a clean place to work and keeps the tent off the ground. Then I lay my ground cloth inside, over the House Wrap and sod flaps.

I made my “super” ground cloth by sewing the edges of the painter’s tarp around another piece of the House Wrap. This gives me two layers of House Wrap under the tarp when set up. A 9X12 tarp was perfect to fold under for making a floor for my 8X10 tent. I still need/want to sew some loops at each corner to pull out and pin with the tent’s corners, although it has not been and issue yet. I set the front and back poles on top of the floor and they keep it pinned down in place. And yes, it was fun and educational handling and feeding the tarp/house wrap combo through Mom’s old Singer. But it proved up to the task.

 

[Are. M.]

Thanks for all the input. I think I'll be going with a 10oz. 12x15 heavy duty canvas painters drop cloth that I can waterproof myself.

If that's the case, then I've got a pile of extra cash for an awning.

Do you recommend a flame retardant cloth or just don't worry about it? I asked the PP folks if they've heard of anyone catching their tent on fire. They're response was only once and it was then owners tent, so...

 

[Brazos John]

Do you recommend a flame retardant cloth or just don't worry about it?

Well, folks around you could be cooking over fires, ambers could rise up and get blown toward your tent, where they could land on the fly. They might not be seen until they peek through the canvas.

I would suggest buying the flameproof, or treat it yourself. Other folks have recipes for what to use.