Placement of tent

[overtheridge]

You know I never really thought it was important where you put your tent up (at the campsite) as long as you were able to set it up properly. Well we learned the hard way! My daughter and her friends ended up coming into the camper one night because it was raining and the tent was on a low spot of the campsite – you guessed it, the rain water soaked the bottom of the tent. The water was running from the higher point to the low point and that was where the kids were. Grrrr – I let them pick where to put it. Lesson learned for both me and my daughter. My hubby laughed and said I wanted to tell you but you said let the kids pick!

[jlj]

Wow, that must have been a real mess. And think about how dangerous that could potentially be in a real heavy rainfall or flashflood. Something I never really considered either. Something else you think would be common sense is setting up a tent on a level surface, too. But a friend of mine set his up on the side of a hill on an incline and in the middle of the night it got windy enough that his tent (with him in it) toppled to the bottom. I guess it's a learning curve : )

[Bud]

You learn how to choose your campsite through experience too. I always like to choose a site that gets lots of morning sun to take the chill off in the morning.

[outdoorsy]

I love that your hubby did not tell you or try to argue with you. It's a teaching moment for you and the kids. Now you know to not set up a tent next to a hill. I bet it was fun taking down the wet tent and putting it up someone safer.

[Stormypath]

I went camping years ago with my folks, they were on the bottom of a grade and we were on the top. We stayed dry all night and they did not. I learned that long ago.

[Grandpa]

Another lesson from Dad that I didn't have to learn the hard way. Look for drainage first, then uphill dangers, and finally overhead dangers. I look more for afternoon shade than morning sun because I am usually up long before the sun can do its good deeds in the mornings.

[Susie]

Well, look at it this way, you will all have a lot to laugh about for awhile. You'll be talking about that one for years to come!

[outwest]

I once managed to set a tent up after the sun had already went down, we realized there was a problem when two of us starting to roll down a small hill in the middle of the night.

It only takes one time to learn.

[SweetSassyLady]

Grandpa-Great advice. I like to find somewhere that has a lot of soft grass if I can. It makes a difference underfoot. It's really dangerous to camp beside of water too if there is rain coming.

[TRegasaurus]

If the camp site permits, try not to set up under trees. This will protect you and your tent from falling cones, branches, bird droppings and sap.