new wall tent and stove

[LB_hntr]

Just ordered my first wall tent and stove. Have been in them before but never owned one until now. Any tips or suggestions?
I bought a Davis 12x14 with a screen door and rear window, internal frame, summit cylinder stove, and 2 of the disco xl cots this will give me 2 bunk bed double cots for room for my wife and kids in the summer and work good for 2-3 hunters.
 Plan to use it in Michigan, Ohio, andbindiana a week each state burning fall and winter hunts.

If you have a flat bottom stove, they run cleaner with less smothering if the wood or charcoal is up on a grid. Charcoal is real handy for moderately cool weather and steady in tent temps, above 20f, but it tends to smother the bottom coals. A grid a couple of inches off the bottom cures this.

[LB_hntr]

Originally posted by pavan:
If you have a flat bottom stove, they run cleaner with less smothering if the wood or charcoal is up on a grid. Charcoal is real handy for moderately cool weather and steady in tent temps, above 20f, but it tends to smother the bottom coals. A grid a couple of inches off the bottom cures this.

Good to know...thanks!
My stove does have a coal grid. I had an idea of how it worked but didn't know about the charcoal.

[Ragin Bull]

Davis makes a great tent, I believe you will be very happy!
I have had mine for 6-7 years staying in it for up to a month at a time. I have nothing but good to say about them.

[mike g]

I know ya already got your tent, But something for people to think about is Yurt....

[centaur]

Some of my best camping memories are involving wall tents and camp stoves. Got snowed in one time for a week, and stayed toasty in a wall tent and Sims stove. Ran out of beer, though, so it wasn't all roses.
A great way to camp, for sure.

[tradshooter]

Wall tents are great with lots of room.  Did you get a sod cloth/floor as these are really helpful especially with a family.  If you didn't get one use a tarp for the ground and it will keep things a lot cleaner.  Never seen or used bunk beds but they would have to be stable enough at the base to not tip, I'd for sure have them set away from the stove, so if they did tip they didn't hit the stove.  Make sure to have a USFS approved spark arrestor on your stove pipe and I imagine your stove came with one.  We have used wall tents for years elk hunting and they make for a nice camp.  We also use sheep herder tepee style or range tents 10 x 10 with 3" side walls and floors to pack in spike camps. Best to you and sounds like you made a good purchase.

[R.V.T.B.]

I also have a Davis tent, 14 X 16.  A great tent and it can turn a miserable hunt in bad weather into a enjoyable experience. I have the Four Dog stove and you really have to play with it or the heat will run you out of the tent.

It is hard to take one down and fold it up without getting it dirty, muddy and nasty. I routinely set mine up when I get home, wash it down with a garden house and weak solution of dawn and let it dry thoroughly.

A couple of things that I encountered that might help you out....

I use a canvas tarp and rugs for my floor. It gets nasty with dirt, leaves etc. being tracked into it. I started out taking a little hand held whisk broom with me, which was a pain.  I now take a full sized house broom to sweep up every day or two. The tent is tall enough and big enough so it works better.

You are going to need some way to clean out the ashes from your wood stove if you burn it for 3 or 4 days in a row.  I had overlooked this and made a huge mess.  Now I carry an old cooking pot and small metal shovel.

One of the nice things about the wall tent is being able to hang stuff inside. Pick up some of the cheap plastic coated metal hangers from Home Depot that look like an "S" hook to hang over your frame.

The tent pegs that came with my Davis tent are just 10 & 14 inch long metal nails.  They work fine for around the base of the tent but I was disappointed when using them with the tie down ropes.  In soft ground or in a windy area I was always redoing the ropes or the nails were pulling out of the ground.  I went on line and ordered some 14" long tent stakes that are made out of 1/2" steel bar stock and then bent into a shepherds hook at the top.  They work great.

Enjoy your tent....  it is a great experience.

   

[TSchirm]

Wall tents with wood stoves make great hunting camps.  You probably already know this, but get a good tarp or fly to put over the tent.  While the canvas is water repellent, the tarp or fly makes sure of it and keeps debris, tree pitch, sparks, etc from damaging your tent.

Also, for the stove, put a layer of rock in the bottom. The rock will absorb heat and re radiate it for awhile even after the fire goes out.

DO NOT use river rock or rock that has been in a lake , pond or any water.  The water can be absorbed and turn to steam in the rock when it is heated, causing the rock to explode.

A rope strung along the rafters with pvc pipe so it doesn't sag lets you dry clothes easier.

Have fun, they are comfortable.

[R.V.T.B.]

[R.V.T.B.]

[TSchirm]

Another thought I forgot to mention.  I agree with  RVTB, but tried a slightly different floor.  I put a tarp down first for the floor and then some rubber backed astro turf or artificial grass. Dirt will filter down through the 'grass' and so it doesn't seem so dirty when you track in.  You can roll it up, take it outside, and shake it out and you're ready again.

I like it better than just a tarp.

[Roger Norris]

I use trapping stakes with my tie down ropes.  Works great.

[LB_hntr]

All great tips and suggestions. I'm learning a bunch of stuff that will make this better.
I already have a ton of trapping rebar so that is a great idea.

I didn't get a floor as I will just use a tarp staked down under the cots and back half of the tent.

The cots I ordered are awesome. They are able to be separate cots or bunk on top of each other and also fold into a couch. Super strong extra wide and have an amazing reputation for durability with military and relief efforts around the world. They are called disc-o bed cots if anyone is interested.
It will be nice to fit 4 adults in the sleeping space needed for 2.

[Izzy]

Glad to see your liking your tent. Im getting ready to order one after comparing them to pop ups for a while. Ill be setting up for one to two weeks on the family property so the added space will be welcome.

[old_goat2]

My buddy says it's smart to take a couple of strong back young men along on the hunt to set the heavy suckers up for you! I'm thinking about one of the tipi's with the packable stoves for next year for me and my wife to elk hunt out of!

[LB_hntr]

Originally posted by old_goat2:
My buddy says it's smart to take a couple of strong back young men along on the hunt to set the heavy suckers up for you! I'm thinking about one of the tipi's with the packable stoves for next year for me and my wife to elk hunt out of!

It takes me about an hour to set up my 12x14 wall tent by myself. Nothing really heavy as its all separate pieces. Stove is heaviest at 74# but with a simple strap its easy to sling the strap over your shoulder and carry like a duffel bag. The tent is not heavy, the frame poles in 2 sperate bundles are not heavy. So all in all a wall tent is no different than putting up a dome tent, just a couple more pieces and a few more mins.
 With the major bennifits of canvas I will try as hard as possible to not ever sleep in a nylon tent again unless its a pack hunt.

[habujohn]

I have the same tent and have learned that they do shrink when drying them and they are not staked out.  You can stretch them back out as I did but it takes several days of nice dry weather to do this.  Try to get it bone dry while you have it staked out so this does not occur.  I love my tent and my family have so much more fun using this then are camper.  We use a quad to get way back into places you cannot get a camper.  Enjoy#

[old_goat2]

LB_hntr you're ten years younger than me, just wait;-)

[stalkin4elk]

Get an enclosed cargo trailer to store everything all ready to go. You already can see the huge pile of gear wall tents require and if it is scattered when you need to get going it becomes a hassle.