Wall Tent Advice

[jstahlberg]

I recently purchased an older Rainier brand wall tent and was hoping to get some advice in regards to the accessories I'll need for it. All the seller had was the canvas, and I was able to negotiate an extremely reasonable price for it, but now I'm assembling the other parts. The dimensions are 12x14, and a friend of mine had extra poles from his old 12x14 that he gave me. My question is about how many poles I should have to safely support the canvas? Currently, the poles I have make it so their are 3 rafter and wall poles on each side, front middle and rear. In looking at some other same dimension tents offered for sale it seems like they often have the front, rear, and two poles in between, making a total of 4 rafter/wall poles on either side. Also, does anyone know of a good source on buying the angled connecting pieces? I was probably just going to buy them through one of the more popular manufacturers unless I can find a cheaper source

 

[MTSasquatch]

Need more info. Weather you’re expecting? Going with a rain fly? I ask as those would help determine your needed frame setup.

 

[jstahlberg]

Need more info. Weather you’re expecting? Going with a rain fly? I ask as those would help determine your needed frame setup.

Likely going to be spring/summer/fall with some limited winter use, so some rain and snow. I wasn’t planning on getting a fly but it seems like it would be a good idea

 

[11boo]

I have that tent, in a 10x12. Rainier brand too. Recently upgraded to aluminum poles, mine only needs 3 rafters, not sure about your size.

I would look at the wall tent shop, great CS and they treated me right.

@Tyler Beck is who helped me.

https://www.walltentshop.com/ They have everything, including answers.

I bought my angles with the tent but I’m pretty sure the wall tent shop can source them.

Mine has been thru some harsh rain and snow. A fly would help shed snow, rain has never been a concern in 25 years.

 

[ReelTime99]

I also just got a used Rainier 12x16 wall tent. I’m looking into getting a rain fly for it as well

 

[THunt]

Our tent is about 16x26 and we ended up with 5 rafters per side. I doubt you could fo wrong with the 4 foot gap between rafters. Others may have different experience, but I did one trip without a fly and said never again. We had freezing rain/snow mix all week and it rolled up about 3x normal size. It took two weeks to thaw/dry completely before i could store it. We ran two big tarps and tied them off with rubber rope (stuff used to tie down truck tarps). That worked really well, kept the tent dry inside and out. Only downside to me was we had to burn lanterns inside even during the day due to the light being blocked out.

 

[Kobuk]

Our 12x14 uses 3 rafters per side. We do get some snow but not more than a few inches at a time. We built our frame from electrical conduit. The brackets are just welded conduit that slides inside the poles. Pretty easy and inexpensive build if you have a welder. We have three tents set up like this and have used for many years.

 

[gholbert]

Following

 

[bw0311]

I have my 12x14 set up for 4 rafters each side. My thinking was more rafters equals better snow load. However i dont leave it up unattended for long periods, so 3 rafters wouldve been fine for my usage. 3 rafters wouldve saved a bit of weight too.
Now building up a lighter, more compact kit with external wall poles w/ 1/2" emt, and one ridge pole w/ 1" emt