Pitching tents can be easy or hard, depending on many things. When you have instructions or it’s light outside with no rain in site, it is easy. However, what happens if you are in the dark in bad weather? Here are some tips to pitching a tent quickly and properly.

Practice at home so you know how the tent goes together. Understand all the pieces and practice putting it up and taking it down. You might even want to do some dry runs outside in the dark just in case.

Don’t use shortcuts. Follow the instructions. There is nothing worse than getting a tent up and either realizing it is wrong or having it collapse.

Take the instructions with you. You may also need a flashlight to see. Put your instructions in some kind of binder sleeve to protect it from rain and dirt. Nothing is worse than being unable to read the instructions when you need to.

Make sure you start with a ground tarp. It should be the first thing you put down. Once you pitch a tent on a flat surface, tuck the ground cloth around the edges to keep out critters, weather, and dirt. 

It can’t hurt to bring extra stakes if you have them in case you find it is windier than expected.