Waterproofing canvas tent?

[Overland Shark]

We are building a new log home in spring and have started to clear the land already. Next month my goal is to set up a large canvas tent that I'm going to buy that I can have a wood stove in for heat and cooking. We are going to live on the property in this tent till the house is completed and we can move it. Then we'll use the tent for hunting trips.

So, I don't know much about canvas tents other than they are they most durable for long living, but I've read that some aren't waterproof or mildew and fire protected. If canvas is not waterproof, is there anything that I can apply to it to make it waterproof and mildew proof as well? Mildew will stink and my wife won't like that.

Let me know. Thank you!

 

[Travis]

Oh man, I think that is something you are better off just buying from the tent OEM. Most canvas tent companies will give you upgrade options that will cover those items. My father in law prefers canvas tents and he was trying to talk us into getting one last winter, which we are thinking about it. But I learned a bit about these sort of tents. It's also good to not go cheap with these.

 

[Cole Barth]

I thought canvas tents are already waterproof??

 

[GEONat]

No Cole canvas tents need to get treated in order to have weatherproof properties. We have an old canvas tent in the garage that we take out once or twice during the summer months when we head up to the lake with the family. It huge, and can fit 10 people in it. I bought this tent 7 or 8 years ago, they are expensive, but if you get a good brand (ironic because I'm having a brain fart right now and can't think of the brand we have) the tent will last a long time. Just need to make sure you store it properly. We ordered ours treated for weather. Knock on wood, no issues at all.

 

[Overland Shark]

Hey Nat, thank you. When you have time, I would love to know the brand you have. 8 years is great for longevity. Have you had any issues with mildew?

 

[GEONat]

Hey Nat, thank you. When you have time, I would love to know the brand you have. 8 years is great for longevity. Have you had any issues with mildew?

You are in luck, I just called my son who is cleaning out the garage as we speak and he confirmed it's from White duck, their Alpha pro tent. But no issues with mildew at all.

 

[Howling Offroad]

Funny memories, we grew up camping in big old canvas tents. My father was a old school rancher and wouldn't have any of those synthetic pieces of @#$%% in his garage. Only canvas. When it rained, and when the tent dripped, he would always say the same thing "they're not exactly good at keeping the rain out, but they're great at keeping the laughs in!". He would say that everytime. Whats funny is he would always buy the cheapest canvas tents he could get, it wasn't till the last 10'ish years of his life that he finally stepped up to one I think he paid nearly $2400 bucks for. Which 17 years ago, was an expensive tent. But boy that tent was a work of art. My father loved camping and must have known his time was coming to an end, he stopped traveling and just had that thing set up in the field behind his house for nearly 8 years. Wait it wasn't that long, at least 6 years though. He had wood floors in that thing, power, fridge, wood fire place, TV, it was serious glamping. My mom and him would spend the weekends in there. Or my dad alone when him and mom had the rare argument. I'm not even sure what happened to that tent. That last tent, whatever brand it was, never leaked, not at least to my knowledge. I need to check with my brother on this, he is the one that took all that down.

 

[Steven Abra]

Canvas, really? I didn't think canvas was any good for tents, thought it was more old school and newer tents simply have better technology and benefits. Am I wrong?

 

[TomInOregon]

Not sure how big of a tent you're looking for, but search for "Civil War Wall Tent" for 10X12 size canvas tents under $700. These usually use a wooden frame, so not as light as an aluminum frame, but much cheaper. Sunforger canvas is waterproof and mildew resistant. As far as I know, you shouldn't see mold on these unless they are wet when they are folded up to be stored for long periods. You can also check https://www.walltentshop.com/collections/canvas-tents#tents for more canvas tent types.