Bush Camp Tarps - cheap vs expensive?

Grease

Grease

Joined
May 10, 2012
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Background: Some friends and I have decided to start actively upgrading a single campsite on our monthly trips to the woods. We found an old hunters camp a few miles up an unused/no longer maintained forest service road. We decided to build some semi-permanent shelter using wood framing and tarps, which leads to my question.

I want to donate some tarps to expand our dry area. What kind of tarp would work better for extended wind/rain/snow storms? Should I invest in some high-end camping tarps, or would it be smarter to just get heavy duty hardware store tarps and replace them as needed?
 
I own both ripstop nylon camping tarps as well as silnylon & silpoly hammock tarps. I am also a full time hillbilly living in the boonies and use tarps to cover firewood, machinery, etc.

What I have learned is that silnylon and silpoly tarps are wonderful for the small package that they will pack down to and for their light weight. If you have to carry your gear around in a pack, they're fabulous. However, everything comes at a price, and in this case they are both super expensive and pretty delicate in comparison to a heavy duty tarp.

If you are going to rehab a fixed location (like a hunting camp or permanent campsite) I would recommend in the strongest possible terms that you go with the extra heavy duty contractor's tarps sold at lumberyards. (The super thick silver ones). They are way cheaper and will outlast any lightweight tarp many times over.

I would also caution you to find out who owns the "abandoned" hunting camp and get their permission to do whatever you want to do. I live right on an old logging road myself and can tell you that rural property owners take a VERY dim view of folks who just help themselves....
 
^^This^^

My cousins have a tract of land they use for timber and maple syrup. They currently allow a snowmobile trail to cut across the land but abuse and damage by 4-wheelers combined with people erecting semi-permanent camps (which they tear down) may cause them to shut off access.

This problem isn't any less of a problem is the land is public land.

Private land? Get permission.
Public land? Stay inside of usage regulations.

ASIDE: I'm a big advocate of the Scandinavian concept of every mans rights to hike fish hunt and camp on private land, but this comes with a massive responsibility of people not to trash private lands.
 
I agree with BE. Spend the extra money and get the heaviest duty you can. All poly will eventually lose its moisture content living in the sun. The heavier duty ones will hang onto their moisture content longer than the cheaper, thinner ones.
You'll end up replacing them less often.
 
Great responses. Pack in/out the good tarps, set them up on arrival if needed. Good way to practice and the camp layout may evolve each time. Keeps the visual impact of the camp lower as well. Hardware store tarps for the "permanent" ones. No real loss if they get damaged or removed on someone elses property. The HD green woven ones with plastic grommets are tough.
 
Brommeland said:
The sense of entitlement some folks have regarding other peoples' property is absolutely amazing to me....
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LostViking said:
I agree.

If it's not your land or public land, and you don't have permission, stay off.
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LOL. I created the Land Steward position for all the open space conservation land in my town. Over two thousand acres across a dozen properties - 40 miles of mapped hiking trails and two large camping areas. No entitlement here, just active day-to-day management of public land. I'm not talking trespassing without permission, and based on Grease's request, neither is he.

Ask yourself how many people actively camp, hunt, fish, and hike across property they don't own? Most.
 
Eagle Scout said:
Hardware store tarps for the "permanent" ones. No real loss if they get damaged or removed on someone elses property. The HD green woven ones with plastic grommets are tough.
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Perhaps I misunderstood what you were saying here, but it did seem (to me) that you were recommending cheap tarps based upon their disposability in the event that a pissed off landowner removed them. If I had the wrong impression, then please forgive me.

Having said that, I've read many, many threads over the years regarding "bugging out" and otherwise occupying/using private property without consent from the land owner. It never seems to enter peoples' minds that the individuals/families who actually own said property may not react in a positive manner to such activities.
 
Most public areas won't allow any permanent shelters or stands so you may want to check into that before you do it ...

but if you are planning on leaving the tarps up you definately want high quaility or you will be replacing them often ... wind and cold weather will destroy plastic tarps quickly ...

they are great for being lightweight and emergency or short term shelter but not very good for long term.
 
Lacking common courtesy, like stupidity should hurt...real bad.

Kinda like the other day, I saw someone just toss a piece of trash out their car window into the street. Simply infuriating.

Btw, heavy duty tarps is a go. A few wind gust & those cheap ones won't last long. My father brought back some of those canvas tarps from when he served in '68. I still have them.
 
Eagle Scout said:
I'm not talking trespassing without permission, and based on Grease's request, neither is he.

Ask yourself how many people actively camp, hunt, fish, and hike across property they don't own? Most.
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Well, we're not exactly doing it with permission, but its forest service land that's been unused for at least 2-3 years based on the growth and fallen trees on what used to be the road. You'd need a bulldozer to get a vehicle up it at this point. Makes it a pretty safe spot to stretch a couple tarps out for a consistently dry camp site or a spot to store firewood for next time. Most of the camp that we leave behind is random stuff we've built out of dead wood, so not anything that'll hurt the area.
 
It's pretty easy to build something temporary.

Couple of poles, couple of posts. Use twine instead of Para and the whole thing is biodegradable.
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Heavy Duty or Extra Heavy Duty is the route.

I can usually get close to a year out of a tarp. Depending on set, winds and snow load.
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I highly recommend the use of some bungies or shock cord for some give. Otherwise the tarp will just tear itself apart.

There is a reason they don't leave a ship's sails up while it's still tied to the dock.
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Another option would be to lash together some tripods and just bring a few lightweight tarps. Stand the tripods up when you arrive, and set your tarps.
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I don't recommend anything too permanent for a lot of reasons. Your setups will evolve over time. Depending on needs and weather patterns.

For where you are. Being able to lay down your tripods may be the ticket.
3 poles lashed together with twine will degrade if you don't get back.

None of this is too complicated. But think about prevailing winds. If they swing around and you're not there. They can shred a tarp set up pretty fast. The same with heavy wet snow. 10" of wet heavy snow can tear a brand new tarp apart if it's set wrong and left unattended.
 
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I'd say pay attention to the rules for this public land. But I would assume that anything semi-permanent is going to get used by other people from time to time. I would go the heavy duty tarp route myself with some give in the tie downs.
 
I just had a local sheriff ask me to score some tyvek for his camping and possibly a B.O.B. From a remodel job at my store and I got it for him. Any thoughts here on tyvek.
 
Brommeland said:
The sense of entitlement some folks have regarding other peoples' property is absolutely amazing to me....
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Some of the landowners are ridiculous too. I have had people tell me I was on private property and trespassing when it was public property adjacent their property or private property adjacent to their property which I had permission to be on anyway.
 
Jhansenak47 said:
Some of the landowners are ridiculous too. I have had people tell me I was on private property and trespassing when it was public property adjacent their property or private property adjacent to their property which I had permission to be on anyway.
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I get that. When I was a kid riding my dirtbike I strayed from my parents' property and onto that of an adjacent neighbor. Said neighbor went into full on a$$hole mode and proceeded to hold a gun on me while he waited for the cops to arrive.

On the other side of the coin, I live on a private dirt road. I've had the pleasure of spending $4,000 on grading and graveling it, only to have an entire caravan of dickheads on ATV's come roaring up the mountain and destroy a significant portion of the work I'd just had done.

As a landowner, I try to be fair and work with people who work with me. Folks who show some respect get respect and cooperation in return. However, those who display hostility will get a similar response. I can tell you from experience that common courtesy is becoming a rare thing indeed.
 
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