For hunters, outfitters, and backcountry campers, a canvas wall tent is a serious investment. You spend a pretty penny, you should expect it to last. However, even the most well-made, high-quality products require a certain amount of care and maintenance. And that includes handmade-to-order canvas tents.

With over 60 years of experience, Beckel Canvas knows a thing or two about that. Here’s how to care for your wall tent – so that it lasts!

How to Care for Your Wall Tent

Caring for your wall tent requires a combination of routine cleanings, proper maintenance, and even a few repairs every so often. Let’s dive into each, touching on their importance and what precisely to do.

Seasoning the Wall Tent

Seasoning your new wall tent is an important first step. In fact, we recommend seasoning any new canvas tent, especially before heading off on your first trip. Besides, setting up a wall tent at home to season it will offer some good practice so you can set up swiftly in the backcountry (and make sure that you have all the parts and pieces).

To season your wall tent, you’ll need to set it up, preferably in your backyard close to a hose. (You could start the process on a rainy day.) Next, wet the canvas, really give it a good soak. The point of seasoning is to expand the canvas fibers to seal any holes and seams caused naturally by the manufacturer's stitching - but also allows that tents to shrink. Once the canvas is soaked, allow it to thoroughly dry, and repeat the process at least a second time.

After a good seasoning, you canvas should be water tight. Your poles may also need to be trimmed at this point, since the canvas will shrink a little bit after the first few times it gets wet and dries.

Choose a Proper Site

Setting up a wall tent in a good location can extend its life in several ways.

First, while a wall tent’s canvas can withstand direct sunlight far better than plastic nylon tents that tend to disintegrate over time, your canvas wall tent still needs protection against UV rays. So, if you can, choose a site that has enough sunlight to dry the tent, but isn’t in a direct path all day long during the summer months.

Ultimately, you want to find a site where there is limited exposure to the elements. Consider somewhere under dappled trees (that don’t seep resin or sap) or somewhere shielded by the natural landscape.

A great solution to this is to rig a protective shade over your wall tent using a canvas tarp or a custom made tent fly cover. A wall tent cover offers many more protective benefits, which we’ll talk about soon, and is something we strongly encourage.

Pay attention to the ground beneath too. You need level ground to avoid rain puddles and streams from breaching. And while wall tents lack floors, allowing you to choose your own wall tent flooring and replace it once it’s worn, you don’t necessarily want to sleep over rocks and roots. Make sure to cut back any grass or plants that may brush up against your canvas walls - as these too these this can lead to mildew growth the longer your tent is up.

When you set up your wall tent, also be sure to properly set it up, using all the pegs and stakes to withstand strong winds and offer it the strength and stability it needs, minimizing unnecessary wear and tear. A surprise gust of wind can ruin grommets, rip your canvas or even topple your tent if it is not properly secured.

Lastly, for those building campfires, remember to set up your wall tent at a safe distance from flames. Also, never face the wind, which could blow sparks onto the roof, causing burns and holes that will need repairs.

Mind Your Stove’s Position to the Canvas

You’ll need to mind your woodburning stove too. Wood burning stoves require a set of care instructions all to themselves, so we won’t dive into things like cleaning the pipes of creosote and all that. But it’s still important to touch on proper stove setup when it comes to caring for your tent.

The short of it is that you need to position your wood stove safely and accordingly, about 20” away from the canvas walls. We have always recommended exiting your stove jack pipe out the wall, and this minimizes burn hole repairs that frequently come into our shop when the pipe exits the ceiling.

Ideally, you should use a fireproof tent stove mat. This will protect your wall tent flooring from melting or burning, should hot ashes or coals spill out. The grommets on our stove mat invite you to hang it from the tent frame as well, doubling as a heat shield to protect the canvas walls too.

Give Wall Tents a Regular Cleaning

Like all hunting gear and camp equipment you maintain to last, when it comes to caring for a wall tent, routine cleanings are critical. Here’s what a regular cleaning should look like:

Allow your tent to dry, and with it – any sludgy mud or caked-on dirt. Use a soft brush to remove what you can. If your tent does need more attention, wet the spot and scrub it gently with a brush, rinsing the area with water (think a jug or even a hose hooked up to your vehicle’s water tank).

Avoid strong chemicals. Bleach can deteriorate the canvas fibers (not to mention destroy any treatments). Also, avoid strong water pressure. It sounds tempting to pressure wash your canvas to remove those bird droppings, but use some elbow grease with a light brushing instead.
For tougher stains, like grease, mold, bird droppings, and algae, Iosso Canvas Mold and Stain Remover is an effective spot-cleaning solution.
Clean the zippers. Use a toothbrush to clean away grit and dirt, then rinse and wipe them down with a damp cloth, especially any excess salt accumulation (a common issue when camping near the ocean). It’s also beneficial to lubricate the zippers every once in a while.

Avoid Adding Stress to Zippers

Aside from cleaning the zippers, it’s also wise to reduce stress along the zippers. In other words, when setting up a wall tent, always unzip the doors before placing the canvas over the frame. Over a wall tent’s lifetime, the canvas will shrink, adding tension to the zipper and surrounding seams, which could result in a tear.

Another step you could take is to cut down the rafters a bit, reducing the tension and stress all around.

If a zipper does get stuck, don’t force it! Work it back and forth gently to loosen the material and free the zipper teeth. Grab yourself some zipper Candle wax works in a pinch too.

Monitor Heavy Snow

Heavy snow accumulation can cause damage to a wall tent if you’re not careful. When setting up in snowy conditions, keep an eye on the load it’s adding to your wall tent’s canvas roof and frame. Snow can become quite heavy, causing the canvas to stretch, at the very least. It could even cause damage to your tent’s frame. Worst case scenario, a really heavy snowfall could even cause your frame to collapse, which could be quite dangerous.

The good news is that caring for a wall tent during a heavy snowfall is simple. It just takes some extra effort to keep an eye on things and minimize the weight. Here are a few methods you could use to reduce the load:

Brush off snow from the canvas. A long broom should do just fine. We suggest doing so once just a few inches have accumulated on your tent.
Use your tent stove’s heat. For winter camping, tent stoves are essential. They will keep you and the tent warm, doubling their duty by melting snow off the roof.
Use a synthetic fly cover. Snow doesn’t slide off of canvas easily, so invest in a synthetic vinyl or polyester cover.
Add extra support to the frame. Add an extra section of rafter poles and legs strengthen the frame.

Let the Canvas Wall Tent Fully Dry

One of the worst things you can do to a canvas tent is pack it up before it’s fully dry. The thick canvas is made to last, but trapping moisture that gathers on your tent causes mold and mildew, destroying the canvas’ integrity. If you pack up a tent that is even slightly damp in a small location, mildew will start growing in a matter of days.

Before breaking down the wall tent, allow it to fully dry in the sun. If you’re short on time or packing up in the rain, definitely dry it ASAP when you return home. Simply pitch it again in the backyard and let the sun do its thing, or spread it across some ladders or workhorses.

Once it’s good and dry, then you can roll up and pack away your wall tent. Avoid folding the canvas, as this causes creases on the fabric.

Store Your Wall Tent Properly

Speaking of which, take extra steps to securely store your wall tent. Don’t just toss your canvas wall tent in the garage or shed all willy-nilly. Many wall tent users have cursed the day they opened up their tent after winter, only to find rodents had made a nice cozy nest after eating through several layers.

Instead, store your canvas tent loosely, folded away in an extra bin, and in a well-ventilated space. Avoid concrete floors that are porous enough to create moisture.

TIP: Toss some desiccant packets in with your tent when you fold it up and even add a couple rodent repellent packets around the outside.

Making Repairs to Wall Tents

Frame damage and canvas tears are likely to happen. The good news is you can mend and make most repairs yourself – without sacrificing an entire frame, pole, or canvas wall. We’ve broken down each repair:

Wall Tent Pole Repair: Pole sleeves (also called pole splints) are an easy way to fix a broken pole. Repair sleeves are generally also offered in various sizes, but choose a sleeve that’s slightly wider in diameter. First, straighten or bend back the pole, then slide the sleeve on, taping it at both ends.
Wall Tent Canvas Repair: Get yourself a Speedy Stitcher sewing awl and Tear Mender Canvas Glue to make quick repairs. Tear Mender is an instant canvas adhesive perfect for manageable canvas repairs like patching small holes and rips.
Mesh Windows and Entryways: Look for a decent-looking mesh tape to patch up any holes in your mesh-lined windows and doors.

Retreating the Canvas

Harsh environments and frequent use will wear away any waterproofing treatments done to the canvas. Retreating or reproofing the canvas is essential in maintaining its life, so it’s important to reapply the treatments periodically.

The Dry Guy Canvas Waterproofing Concentrate will get the job done. You will know it is time to retreat your canvas if what no longer beads up and rolls off the canvas (or water seems to be getting in more frequently then in the past).

Extra Tools and Items to Help Care for Your Wall Tent

Rain fly: As mentioned, a canvas tarp rain fly offers many advantages, including shielding the tent’s roof from heavy snow, rain, tree sap, droppings, and more.

Stove: A woodburning stove not only keeps you and your company warm but melts snow off the roof. It also helps regulate condensation inside the tent, reducing mildew on the canvas.

Tent Canvas Repair Kit: We touched on repairing canvas earlier, so go ahead and do yourself a favor by investing in a decent canvas repair kit. A good repair kit should include:

Spare cotton canvas fabric (ideally water, mold, and fire retardant and the same color as your wall tent)
A bottle of Bish’s Tear Mender fabric adhesive
Speedy Stitcher sewing awl with waxed polyester thread

Final Thoughts…

Caring for a wall tent requires effort. Plan for a solid day or casual weekend to take care of cleaning, maintenance, and retreating. It’s a wise idea to create a routine for yourself, taking proper care at least once or twice a year. Mark your calendar at the start and end of your camping season.

Like Bob Beckel himself said: “Treat it like an honored friend and it will serve you well.”

Caring for a Wall Tent -- So That It Lasts!