Tent Pitching Guide
Introduction
Camping is one of the regular activities of the NPCC. Campers stay in tents during annual school camps, Adventure Training Camps and Survival Training Camps at Pulau Ubin, Camp Resilience. Hence, it is necessary for instructors and cadets to familiarize themselves with tent pitching.
Equipment needed for the NPCC 4-Man Tent
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- 1 x Inner Sheet (with door flaps at both ends and wall flaps on both sides)
- 1 x Outer Sheet
- 1 x Ground Sheet
- 1 x Horizontal Pole (also known as “crossbar”)
- 2 x Vertical Poles (also known as “uprights”)
- 14 x Metal Pegs
- 1 x Mallet/ Extra Peg
- 12 x 1.5m Twine
- 2 x 2.5m Twine
Equipment needed for the NPCC 4-Man Tent
There are 3 main factors to take note when we choose a site.
a. Risk of Danger
b. Damage to equipment
c. Discomfort during stay
Below are a few recommendations made based on these 3 main factors:
- Select an area that is as flat as possible or gentle slope. Avoid marshy, low lying ground that could flood under the condition of heavy rain.
- Remove all stones, sticks or anything that might damage the groundsheet.
- Choose a site away from bushes, trees with low hanging branches and away from animal tracks.
- It is better not to pitch under trees, especially in windy weather.
- Rainwater may continue to drip long after it has stopped raining and some trees may even drip sticky sap onto the tents, which may affect the maintenance of the tent sheets. Fallen branches may injure someone or damage the equipments.
- Make use of any natural wind breakers, hedges, walls or boulders and where possible face the openings of the tents along prevailing winds to maximize ventilation and minimize air resistance acting against the tent sheets.
- Avoid dead logs and undergrowth, which may be habitats of harmful insects like bees, army ants, hornets or wasps and snakes. Avoid stagnant pools of water as there may be mosquitoes breeding in there.
1) Erect the tent frame by inserting the pins of vertical poles into the holes at two ends of the horizontal pole. Ensure that the vertical poles are perpendicular to the ground. Slip the inner sheet over the frame.
2) Start by securing the corner guylines of the inner sheet. Tie one end of the 1.5m twines to the corner sleeve rings using bowline.
3) Pull the corner of the inner sheet such that the wall flap is just touching and perpendicular to the ground. From the corner of the inner sheet, form an ‘L’ shape on the ground away from the tent using a peg – that will be the position of the inner corner pegs. [Refer to Fig. 2]
4) Pull the inner sheet and check that the inner corner pegs are facing the corners of the inner sheet.
5) Hammer the pegs at 45° to the ground.
6) Anchor the other end of the twine to the peg using a tent guy loop.
7) Tighten the corner guylines of the inner sheet, fastening pairs of diagonally opposite corner guylines at a time.
8) After the four corner guylines are secured, hammer in the inner wall pegs and secure the two wall guylines similarly.
- Inner wall pegs are positioned 1 peg away from middle of the length of the tent.
9) Ensure that the inner pegs on each side of the tents are in a straight line and parallel to the wall flap. [Refer to Fig. 3]
10) The surface of the inner sheet should be tight and the wall flaps are vertically upright and just touching the ground [Refer to Fig. 4].
11) Tie the two main guylines using approximately 2.5m long twines, to the pins of the vertical poles using clove hitches. The distance of the main guyline peg from the base of the vertical pole would be the length of the vertical pole itself. Anchor the two main guylines using tent guy loops similarly.
12) Drape the outer sheet over the inner sheet. Secure the four outer corner guylines and two outer wall guylines similarly. Ensure that the pegs on each side are in a straight line.
- The position of the outer corner and wall pegs are one peg length away from the position of the inner pegs in the direction parallel to the breadth of the tent. [Refer to Fig. 2]
- Outer corner pegs should be facing the pin of the opposite vertical pole. [Refer to Fig. 3].
13) Unfold the groundsheet inside the tent and lay it flat. The sides of the groundsheet may be folded if necessary.
14) Adjust the tension of the guylines if necessary. A well-pitched tent should have a ventilation gap of approximately 6 inches between the inner and outer sheet. [Refer to Fig. 4]
2) Start by securing the corner guylines of the inner sheet. Tie one end of the 1.5m twines to the corner sleeve rings using bowline.
3) Pull the corner of the inner sheet such that the wall flap is just touching and perpendicular to the ground. From the corner of the inner sheet, form an ‘L’ shape on the ground away from the tent using a peg – that will be the position of the inner corner pegs. [Refer to Fig. 2]
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| Fig. 2 |
4) Pull the inner sheet and check that the inner corner pegs are facing the corners of the inner sheet.
5) Hammer the pegs at 45° to the ground.
6) Anchor the other end of the twine to the peg using a tent guy loop.
7) Tighten the corner guylines of the inner sheet, fastening pairs of diagonally opposite corner guylines at a time.
8) After the four corner guylines are secured, hammer in the inner wall pegs and secure the two wall guylines similarly.
- Inner wall pegs are positioned 1 peg away from middle of the length of the tent.
9) Ensure that the inner pegs on each side of the tents are in a straight line and parallel to the wall flap. [Refer to Fig. 3]
10) The surface of the inner sheet should be tight and the wall flaps are vertically upright and just touching the ground [Refer to Fig. 4].
11) Tie the two main guylines using approximately 2.5m long twines, to the pins of the vertical poles using clove hitches. The distance of the main guyline peg from the base of the vertical pole would be the length of the vertical pole itself. Anchor the two main guylines using tent guy loops similarly.
12) Drape the outer sheet over the inner sheet. Secure the four outer corner guylines and two outer wall guylines similarly. Ensure that the pegs on each side are in a straight line.
- The position of the outer corner and wall pegs are one peg length away from the position of the inner pegs in the direction parallel to the breadth of the tent. [Refer to Fig. 2]
- Outer corner pegs should be facing the pin of the opposite vertical pole. [Refer to Fig. 3].
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13) Unfold the groundsheet inside the tent and lay it flat. The sides of the groundsheet may be folded if necessary.
14) Adjust the tension of the guylines if necessary. A well-pitched tent should have a ventilation gap of approximately 6 inches between the inner and outer sheet. [Refer to Fig. 4]
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| Fig. 4 |
Handling of Pegs
Method of pegging
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The sole of one leg should be placed in front of the
peg, at the arrow shown.
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When pegging, the other leg should remain knelt on
the ground so as to maintain an upright posture.
Passing a peg
- The sharp end should always point towards the ground when being passed around.
Removing pegs
- Hit the peg at its sides using another peg until the soil holding it loosens and
the peg can be safely removed.
Miscellaneous
- The following reinforcements [Refer to Fig. 5] can be done to keep the pegs in place or keep the pegs at the desired angle. Reinforcements are usually done when the pegs are pegged on soft grounds.
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| Fig. 5 |
- Campers can scatter sulfur around tents to repel snakes.
- Trenches [Refer to Fig. 6] drain off and divert rainwater, keeping the tent floor relatively dry. There are 2 types of trenches
- Type A trenches are dug directly under the edges of the outer sheet to collect and divert the flow of rain as it slides off the outer sheet.
- Type B trenches are dug a distance away from the parameter of the tent to divert water from the surrounding area and to prevent water from collecting around the location of the tent.
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| Fig. 6 |
