<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\nRelated Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\nHow big of a ground cloth should I get? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n To keep things simple, you can get a ground cloth that is slightly larger than footprint of your tent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note! Since your tarp is larger than the size of the tent and if you do not fold it properly, then you have created a little pond! Make sure and fold the tarp properly to ensure the water runs off.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nMake sure to tuck the tarp inwards, with the edges folded underneath the tent so that the tarp matches the size of your tent (we’re trying to get water to run from your tent and not to it).<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
Tarp correctly tucked downwards. Don’t forget that your tarp needs to cover the tarp so the tarp doesn’t help collect water under your tent! <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
Tarp incorrectly tucked upwards<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nDoes it Matter Which Type of Tarp\/Ground Cloth I Use?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n There are several options for “ground cloths”. After researching this topic it I learned out there are dozens of materials that you can use! Ultimately, your climate is what dictates how a particular ground cloth will perform. If you’re a beginner, I recommend going with a simple, cheap tarp so you can get camping.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nListed below are some common options for ground cloths:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tent Footprints<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nTent manufacturers will often make a “footprint” which is designed specifically to fit the dimensions of a particular tent. From my research, people have varying degrees of success with their footprint for moisture control and protection. It’s likely they vary in quality along with the tent. This is generally the most expensive option, and it’s likely you can get some of the same benefits without the price using other options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tyvek<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nTyvek is used as a moisture barrier for houses. You’ve seen it before when a building is under construction before they put the siding on. Some campers use this as a barrier for their tents. This requires a little DIY since the material doesn’t come in convenient rectangles handy for tents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Painter’s Drop Cloth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYou can buy plastic painter’s drop cloth, used to collect paint, dust, and drywall debris when painting. Since it’s essentially a sheet of impervious plastic, it will also work great for a waterproof barrier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tarpaulin (Tarp)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAhh, the good ol’ tarp. Tarps can be purchased from your local hardware store with varying thickness and weight. For occasional car camping, a tarp that’s in the medium thickness range will work fine. There’s no need to get the thickest tarp available unless you will be camping on extremely rough surfaces regularly. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sometimes you bring gear with you to the campground simply because your parents or your friends always did it that way. This is how I felt about why to bring<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[15,18,19,20],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":36,"label":"Running"}],"post_tag":[{"value":15,"label":"car camping"},{"value":18,"label":"moisture-barrier"},{"value":19,"label":"tarp"},{"value":20,"label":"tent"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_20190330_085633-1024x768.jpg",640,480,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Peter","author_link":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/author\/outsidedecider\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":36,"name":"Running","slug":"running","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":36,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":52,"count":38,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0","cat_ID":36,"category_count":38,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Running","category_nicename":"running","category_parent":52}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":15,"name":"car camping","slug":"car-camping","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":18,"name":"moisture-barrier","slug":"moisture-barrier","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":19,"name":"tarp","slug":"tarp","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":20,"name":"tent","slug":"tent","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":20,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"}],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10299,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions\/10299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}