LTC is coming soon, so we would like everyone to read the tent pitching procedure and familiarize yourselves with tent pitching procedures for both A tent and canvas tent as you might be needed to help other patrols as well during camp. Since we had a tent pitching session before, all these steps should not be unfamiliar to you all.
A-Tent:
1. Count number of pegs in peg bag and note down the number. Check if other equipment is present, such as the fly sheet, spacer and mallet.
2. Find flat area on the ground that doesn’t have any obstacles lying around or any overhanging tree branches. Gauge the space that is large enough for the tent to prevent complications later on whereby there is an obstacle in the way where a peg should be.
3. Lay the A-tent on the ground with the door of the tent facing the direction that wind is coming from/face the common corridor.
4. Peg down the corners of the tent with the brailing pegs at an angle of 90 degrees.
5. Open up the tent doors, then insert the supporting poles into the A-tent, one at the front, one at the back
6. Pace 3 paces from the tent pole (pace in a straight line). Then, peg a brailing peg into the ground and tie two and a half hitches. Do this for the other tent pole as well.
7. From one corner of the tent, walk 3 paces diagonally and peg a brailing peg into the ground at 45 degrees.
8. Using twine, tie a clove hitch at the same corner of the tent, through the black loop.
9. Loop the other end of the twine into the brailing peg that has been pegged down before
10. Tie a 2 half hitch at the end of the twine. Make sure it can be tightened and loosened smoothly
11. Repeat the above 4 steps for the other three corners.
12. Have a person at each of the guylines. The timekeeper will signal “one,two three”. At“three”, the people at the guylines should tighten the guy lines at the same time, ensuring that the tent is straight and taut
13. From one corner of the tent, take 4 paces forward or 1 pace from the peg for the tent and peg a brailing peg into the ground at 45 degrees. This will be the pegs for the flysheet.
14. Do this for the other 3 corners of the tent.
15. Place one spacer each on the supporting poles.
16. Place the fly sheet over the A-tent
17. Tie a clove hitch to one corner of the flysheet
18. Loop the twine twice around the brailing peg 4 paces away and tie a 2 half hitch at the end of the twine.
19. Repeat the above two steps for the other 3 corners.
20. Tighten the guylines for the flysheet if needed.
21. Put aluminium foil on the guylines and pegs once the tent has been pitched.
Canvas Tent:
1. Count number of pegs in peg bag and note down the number. Arrange the pegs in a cob house formation.
2. Check that other equipment (dollies, spacers, flysheet) are present, including mallets that will be needed.
3. Fit together the upright poles (2 sections each).
4. Fit together the ridge poles (3 sections).
5. Connect the three sections of the ridge pole together. Place the ridge pole on the ground in the direction you want the tent-door to face. Put in a brailing peg at each end of the ridge pole at 90 degrees. This is to mark the positions of the bases of the upright poles.
6. Take 3 normal steps from one end of the ridge pole and mallet down a peg at 90 degrees
7. From the peg that was just malleted, walk another 3 steps to the left and right and mallet down a large peg at 45 degrees. Make sure the pegs are aligned perpendicular to the ridge pole.
8. Lay out the canvas tent which is still folded in half on the ground with the sod cloth(white) between the two brailing pegs.
9. Open up the tent.
10. Move the ridge pole to the center of the tent.
11. Place the upright poles, putting the spokes through the holes in the ridge pole and in the tent. The upright pole with a split should be the middle upright so as to ensure it will not spoil any further. Make sure that the bases of the upright poles are resting against the brailing pegs. Make sure that the poles are attached properly.
12. Insert a spacer between the flysheet and the inner tent sheet.
13. Fold the tent back into half, covering the poles.
14. Put the main guylines and a dolly onto each upright spike. Untie the main guylines and release the runners.
15. With a Guide timing ‘one, two three, raise both the uprights together until they are vertical using the main guylines with the stopper at the end of the upright pole at the furthest ends.
16. Put the main guylines over the four large pegs already in position.
17. Tighten the guylines together at the count of ‘1, 2, 3’ until the tent stands by itself.
18. Check that the poles are standing vertically. Also check that the three upright poles are aligned. Any signs of leaning should be correct by adjusting the guylines and not by moving the poles.
19. Fasten the doors and ensure that the door brailings are fastened to the two original pegs. Put in the four corner brailing pegs at the same time (squaring the tent.) One person should hold the tent door to the tent pole and another person should stand by to check if the tent is squared properly.
20. Untie the side guylines. Ask the pacer to pace three steps before malleting in the brailing pegs for the corner guylines at 45 degrees.
21. Put in large pegs for the remaining guylines so that the main guylines follow the lines of the seams, runners are about one third of the way up from the peg or when the guylines are tight and must be pegged at 45° to the ground.
22. Put in the rest of the brailing pegs around the tent wall. An extremely long twine may be used to go round the 4 pegs of the corner guylines of the flysheet/tent to ensure that the rest of the large pegs are in line at either sides.
23. Repeat steps 21-22 for the flysheet. Flysheet pegs and tent roof pegs should be roughly 1 pacing away.
24. After pitching, make sure that all the runners are facing the same way, pegs at the sides of the tent are in a straight line and all guylines are tucked into the peg notches and not on the ground.
25. Mallet in the rest of the brailing pegs (if sufficient) around the tent wall.
26. Put aluminium foil on the guylines and pegs once the tent has been pitched.
Thank You!
LTC Camp Set Up ICs