Make a Canvas LARP Tent from Harbor Freight tarps!

such a perfect build as a person doing armored combat you can have room for a armor kit, weapon rack and a throne sized bed in there. such fantastic work man

Oh wow I remember making one of these using painter's drop cloths ages ago. Your tutorial is a great DIY . Only thing I would suggest - from experience - is to add a ridge pole instead of relying on your rope. While it might seem like just adding more tension to the ropes and more spikes to the bottom will be fine, any good amount of rain will make the canvas too heavy, everything will sag and you'll end up soggy. Otherwise, this is a brilliant tutorial.

Two things of advice for anyone interested. 1) If you plan on wearing armor at a larp, you want a tent that is tall enough for you to stand in. Crouching while putting on armor is a pain. 2) if your tent has guylines, I recommend using glow in the dark or reflective paracord (or just tying something glow in the dark or reflective to those guylines) so that you don't have people tripping over them, especially at night. Bonus tip: Boots before corset. Always.

Watching roll around on the grass made me nostalgic for the days before we had sooo many ticks. I vote for another tarp for a floor.

For waterproofing, NighthawkInLight did a video recently using silicone caulking and naptha that makes a near perfect flexible but sturdy waterproof coating that can be painted on with a thick paintbrush or roller. Not too expensive either considering it comes from things almost any major hardware store should have

Love this build, I'd recommend having some sort of "floor". I've been in rain and without a floor, all your stuff will get really wet.

Phenomenal, I want to go camping more this summer and I might just have to do this haha

It's much easier to simply trim off the edges you intend to sew together, thus lessening the thickness your machine needs to go through. Any older all metal sewing machine will be more than enough to sew this #10 canvas. I recommend using V-92 thread (nylon - all weather type for sails), and needles for jeans/denim. When trimming the edges, fold them over so you have the material interlocked. Tape them together with basting tape, available at sewing centers. That will hold them while you manipulate all that fabric through the machine. Waterproof with naptha and silicone by mixing it in a large mortar tub and pushing the fabric into the mix until it is absorbed. Messy, but it works. Or, get a clean garbage can and use that. For two tarps sewn together you will need a couple gallons of naptha and four tubes of silicone. For about $100 you will have an excellent waterproof canvas tarp that will be the equal of those costing $300 - except for the cheesy grommets, which can be augmented by sewing on canvas loops adjacent to the grommets. Loops are MUCH stronger and won't cut through. When it's done, set it up and roll on more mixture if there are any "dry" areas.

If after a bit your tent does lose it water shedding abilities, you can spray( use a weed sprayer), Thompsons water sealer on it. It's normally used on wood decks to seal them against rain. I'm a living history renactor, and many people make their own tents, or even the store bought ones get the "treatment" to waterproof them. Easy to do. Do it in sunny weather.

I mathed it out! 7ftx8ft floor space, 6ft 3in center height.. use 3 8ftx6ft tarps and one 8ftx10ft tarp. With a coupon for the 8x6 tarps (limit 3) and a 25% discount on a single tarp for the club membership, total cost around $100. At that size its 1 6x8 + the 8x10 for the walls, and one 6x8 each for the ends, with sufficient overlap. I simply cut cardstock to the dimensions of the side walls with allowance for overlap and taped them with a piece approximating the floor, 1inch = 1 ft; then scoring the walls at a 3in/3ft height, placed it on end on a 6x8 piece and outlined a flap with overlap, aligning the corner of the tarp with one side of the wall; cutting that out left enough scrap to create a second flao without overlap and only adding a small piece at the bottom. There's still enough left over to make a line cover so you can have a little porch overhang at the top!

Super dope tent, alternatives could consist of a pair 12x15 drop cloths and several cans of waterproofing spray. Total would be around 120 or so depending on how liberally you apply the waterproofing.

This is AWESOME!! As someone who frequents renaissance festivals around the country, i may very well have to make one of these. I have always been jealous of campers who have nice period tents or even pavillions to camp in

Great project for the LARP. Looking forward to armor builds, etc. Have a ton of fun at the Reckoning.

To help wrangle large and unwieldy fabric like that, roll each side of your seam onto a long tube( think 2" pvc or the like). It will make things go much faster and easier. It's something a friend of mine does with blankets.

So much good info here! Thanks!

Sewing in loops is a real pain in the butt for those mid tent tie outs. That said if you take a coin or small mouth rock, you can push it tight against the canvas from the inside, and wrap a loop around the outside, then pull the line tight. Also seal your seems, water will find a way.

Have fun at the LARP! I was planning on going to that one, but I have a schedule conflict. Hope you have a great time and your tent holds up.

I use a set of sawhorses and 4 x 8 sheet of foam insulation board as a support table when sewing long lengths of fabric on my sewing machine.

I’d love to see you make a pavilion tent. You can cut the square tarps into triangles and make an octagonal dome roof. I’m sure you could use painted pvc to make the wagon wheel/umbrella style support poles. Add a few more tarps hanging down and you’d have an awesome pavilion that looks a little more medieval.

This looks and functions amazing. Great job. I have a suggestion for a video. You should try casting a bronze dagger.