Canvas Tents - Anyone??

[Gold Winger]

"We have canvas frame tents at camp, and we run miles of extension cord for fans so that everyone can sleep."

 

Good lord! Can you spell parlour scouts? Sheesh! Just open the flaps and you'll get a nice breeze through the tent.

[SR540Beaver]

"Good lord! Can you spell parlour scouts? Sheesh! Just open the flaps and you'll get a nice breeze through the tent."

 

Depends entirely on where you are camping. I recall the 98 degree nights with 98% humidity at the 2005 Jamboree. There was no where to run an extension cord from, but I would have killed for a fan. Instead I just lay in a pool of my own sweat most nights......with the doors on both ends tied completely back. Been to summer camp in Arkansas where it was much the same. The rolling hills and tall pines and hardwoods don't allow much of a breeze.

[Gold Winger]

Manly men don't mind sleeping in a puddle of sweat. :-)

 

 

[ASM857]

The last 2 years temp was in the upper 90's roll up the side walls & flaps we were good to go. I've never seen some one running extension cords in camp, were not thier for home sweet home.

 

YIS

Doug

[Scouter&mom]

Okay, I am talking extension cords for summer camp only. We are in the deep south, where it was over or near 100 degrees each day, temps at night only slightly lower, and no breeze anywhere in the wooded campsite. Humidity was never below 90%. Sleeping a night or two in that kind of heat is doable, but come on, a week is not a great introduction to Scouts for all the first years we had. I work on a Marine base, and every afternoon as I left work to head to camp, either the red or black flag was flying for the weather. If the Marines aren't supposed to be doing physical activity because of the heat, aren't 11 year olds allowed a little breeze.

 

So now to my question, how do you deal with heat in a canvas tent? I don't know enough about them to try to guess. Or does no one who uses them have an issue with heat? I can see how they would be great for cold weather, but cold is not an issue here. There are probably less than 30 days a year when temp goes below 32 and never below zero.

[Nessmuk]

I understand your comments about heat in summer camp.. but canvas tent or otherwise..it's part of any real outdoor experience and I suspect it always will be.

 

An important part of living outdoors begins with understanding and accepting that it's NOT indoors and therefore feels different.

 

As a Scout and adult I have plenty of memories of the hot nights in summer camp..We rolled up the sides and front/back flaps.. As I got older (teen years) we figured out how to rig up fans made from large pieces of cardboard and pulled on a little rope hooked to the mechanism (pioneering!!) that swung the card-board back and forth over the bunks-- In the style of old arab shiek movies..

 

Then we told the younger guys that if they did'nt get a 100% on camp inspection they had to stay up on shifts all night and fan us.

 

I have also seen scouts rig up wet towels on both ends of the tents and create "swamp coolers" - which really works if the humidity is not too high and there's a little breeze.

 

In Cub Scout Family campouts (like ours last week) I have come to expect all the ADULT heat complaints and electric cords and fans running at night etc..

The boy don't ever complain -- unless Mom or Dad gets em started. Cub Scout camping actually may serve to hurt the 'outdoor method' overall - another thread someday.

 

In Boy Scouts, if Mom and/or Dad are coming along and running electric cords (whining about heat etc)then there's a REAL problem with the way the outfit is being run - aside from heat..

 

My Cub Scout camping experiences tell me that we need to get boys away from Mom and Dad when outdoors - Because they cause more prob's than they solve..

 

It's also a shame how soft in general Americans have become..It's a rare thing to meet someone who can live comfortably in the outdoors. When I do, it's an extreme pleasure.

 

What are you teaching your Boy Scouts when you "run electric cords" to your tent and moan so much over the heat/humidity??.. Has anyone ever suggested that maybe you should just stay home? I know its harsh, but its an option. And if your going to ruin the purpose of the experience for the rest of us, maybe its a good option.

 

Oh yeah --Dealing with the heat /humidity anywhere in the typical summer camp scene in the US is 95% in your head - i.e. its a mental adjustment. Sure you gotta drink the right amount of water etc. an dthere are trick sto stayoing cool. But people tend to get themselves all worked up about it and make it worse.. While laying there, just think about how fully dressed/geared up soldiers are doing it in Iraq and you will snooze off cool and comfy..

 

Oh yeah one more trick.. When I was a Scout in summer camp we had fire cans out in front of each tent. They had to stay full all the time. I recall taking ice cubes and putting them in the fire-water can. I would set the can next to my bunk and pat myself down with the cool wet cloth until asleep.

 

So instead of whining - we did stuff to solve the problem.. It seems nowadays in many cases boys have Mommy and Daddy right there in camp to do everything for them - including whine.

 

[Gold Winger]

I got to wondering . . . where the heck do you plug in all of these extension cords? Every camp that I've been to has limited electricity. Usually only in the office and dining hall.

 

Has anyone looked at all of these extension cords with an eye to fire hazard? If your line gets too long, the line itself starts drawing a considerable amount of current and will overheat which can cause problems.

 

BTW, when I was young we used to camp out in an active volcano. Now you want to talk about hot! Of course, at that time most of the surface of the planet was still molten.

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

If I had access to an extension code, I would be using it for my CPAP machine and give myself and neighbors the gift of a silent night

[SR540Beaver]

This is one manly man who does not enjoy lying in a pool of sweat. I've done it plenty as I rarely miss an outing and I am one of those guys who can sweat in a snow storm.........literally.

 

fyi, many camps now provide electrical service in the campsites. I've been to two camps that do, but they are in forested locations with high heat and humidity.

[Gold Winger]

Electricity? What's next? Flush toilets? A chlorinated lake?

 

 

[SR540Beaver]

Actually.........yes. Our council has not done a capital campaign in years and it really showed in our camp properties. Our three main properties are in the process this summer of building new flush latrine and hot shower facilities per the current specs from national. They have individual showers on one side and individual toilets on the other with locking doors with a central maintenance hallway down the middle. There are handicapped facilities as well as a laundry room. The ceiling is a metal mesh with exhaust fans in the eaves for air flow. Of course if you don't want to hike to one of them, you can still use the campsite latrine.

[Gold Winger]

Next it will be dish TV and a bus to run you around the campgrounds.

[shortridge]

Any reccomendations for good manufacturers/purveyors of baker's or pyramid-style canvas tents?

[SR540Beaver]

Nope. Vehicles other than service vehicles are only allowed in to load or unload on opening and closing day. Even then they are regulated as to how many can be in at one time.

[shortridge]

Yep, flush toilets (in the form of "comfort stations," including showers) were a big deal at my former camp a few years ago. The old showers were block structures with no roofs, and got incredibly nasty no matter how much cleaning was done.

 

When they upgraded, the council decided to add flush toilets to complement the standard campsite latrines (which younger Scouts sometimes had an aversion to using, leading to ill effects).