Putting Up The Canvas Bell Tent

  • Find a good spot for placing the tent: look for a flat piece of land without rocks or sharp objects. Try to avoid resinous trees and flowering trees, as they can cause damage to the canvas. If you do put up your tent there, try to protect your tent with a tarpaulin.
  • Unpack the tent and lay out the groundsheet on flat ground. Find the door and rotate the groundsheet so it’s facing the desired direction.
  • For the zip floor tents, even though the groundsheet and tent may be separate we recommend you keep them zipped together and only unzip when you need a breeze. The tent is much faster to put up and down that way. If the total weight is too much to carry across a festival consider separating the tent and groundsheet and doing two trips to the car.
  • Take the small pegs and, pulling the groundsheet tight, peg it out. The straps on the bottom of the walls are only to be used when the tent is pitched without its groundsheet!
  • If this is the first time you are erecting your tent, you will have to attach the guy ropes to the tent if not already attached.
  • Take the main straight pole through the door, find the centre of the cone and push the pole and tent up until it’s vertical.
  • Put the A frame pole together and place it inside the door (it’s easier to get it through the door if you complete putting it together once inside). Put the spike through the hole at the top of the door and fit the feet into their holding pockets.
  • Zip the door shut and attach the first guy rope above the door using the large pegs. Then attach the rest of the guy ropes around the whole tent without putting any of them under too much tension. 
    Please note:
    • All the guy ropes need to follow the lines of the seams in the roof.
    • Adjust the guy rope slider so you have approx 50cm of loop to the peg – this allows adjustment in both directions.
    • It is important to make sure the tent stays symmetrical and that the tension is evenly spread.
  • Once all the pegs are in, adjust the guy ropes to create the desired tension. By doing it this way, and following the seam lines, your bell tent will look great and be without creases! Job well done, you bell tent professional.