The Ultimate Guide on Wall Tent Flooring Types & Ideas
Hunters, outfitters, and even large families choose canvas wall tents as their favorite outdoor camping shelter. Constructed of durable materials and built to withstand wood stoves, canvas wall tents can endure the rough and rugged conditions of the backcountry wilderness while keeping everyone warm in the winter. And wall tent flooring plays a major role in the shelter's comfort, practicality, and protection.
In this guide, you’ll learn why wall tents don’t have floors, find a breakdown of wall tent flooring options, and discover a few smart wall tent flooring ideas to add comfort and cleanliness.
Wall Tent Flooring & Sod Cloth
Before we jump into types of wall tent floors, there’s one important thing to understand about wall tents. Wall tents typically do not come with flooring. Instead, you will need to decide and choose a flooring option suitable for your needs, whether that’s a wall tent for hunting expeditions, an outfitter base camp, or group camping with the family.
Why Do Wall Tents Not Have Floors?
The answer is pretty simple. Because wall tents are traditionally used as outfitter tents and hunting tents set up in the rugged backcountry. The backcountry where you might lack luxuries like paved campsites or landscaped campgrounds. Instead, you get leaves, muddy grounds, snow, and more, which will inevitably be tracked into your wall tent.
Right, but isn’t that the exact reason why wall tents should have floors?
Look at it this way: The lack of flooring in a wall tent is to your advantage, letting you choose the best flooring setup for your camping style and site. You can choose no floor or full floor and several configurations and options in between. We’ll dive into types of wall tent floors (and some additional options) later on.
What Is a Wall Tent Sod Cloth?
While they may lack a full floor, many wall tents have a built-in "sod cloth." What is a sod cloth, you ask? A sod cloth is a 12” wide band sewn along the bottom length of the walls, providing a mud flap-like seal that prevents the elements from getting inside the tent. Once your wall tent is up, you fold the sod cloth inside the tent, then either pack it down with dirt or place a tarp or flooring of your choice over it.
The sod cloth is often made of a heavy vinyl material, even on canvas wall tents, and is usually UV resistant and weatherproof. The reason for the heavy vinyl-like material of sod cloth is that it makes it easier to clean.
Beckel Canvas wall tents are designed with a heavy-duty sod cloth sewn along the bottom perimeter of the walls. Our sod cloths are 12 inches wide and made of 7 oz. poly.
Wall Tent Flooring Options
Wall tent manufacturers usually offer different types of wall tent floors. As we mentioned, this is to your advantage, letting you decide how much ground coverage you want or need. Unlike standard nylon tents and bell tents, the flooring of a wall tent is often not sewn-on or even included. It’s purchased separately as an add-on accessory.
With that in mind, let’s go over the basic types of wall tent flooring options:
Sewn-in floors
Loose floors
Full floors
Full floors for stoves
¾ floors
Sewn-in Wall Tent Floors
Sewn-in flooring is exactly that. It’s a built-in flooring sewn along the edges and corners of your wall tent. We mention this type of wall tent flooring first because it’s not recommended. Many outfitters and hunters are not too keen on sewn-in floors and for good reasons. While you have the advantage of knowing the inside of your wall tent is secure from pests, critters, and the elements, it has several downsides.
Sewn-in flooring cons include:
A more difficult tent setup (often requiring more hands)
Added weight to your wall tent (roughly 20% more, depending on tent size)
Overall wear and tear to the wall tent (as opposed to a replaceable flooring)
Lacks versatility and the ability to fold back (into say ¾ flooring)
Not compatible with internal frame pole systems (better for traditional pole sets)
Loose Wall Tent Floors
Loose floors go by a few different names such as “detached floors” and “free-floating floors.” These wall tent floors are not sewn-in, which provides a lot of advantages, and is what many outfitters prefer to use in their wall tents. In fact, the types listed below are all considered loose floors, just with different configurations.
No matter the configuration or style of loose flooring, you place them down the same way after you set-up a wall tent, slipping the sod cloth beneath the flooring’s banded edge and securing it with the frame legs – it’s that easy! Also, both traditional pole frames and internal pole frames work with loose tent flooring. Another pro for loose tent floors? Cleanups and repairs are much easier.
In case you're wondering, Beckel tents do not automatically come with a floor tarp groundsheet. However, they are included in the Comfort Package! Beckel Canvas can make a detached floor tarp made of 14 oz. vinyl to fit perfectly inside the wall tent of your choosing, designed with grommets around the edges that allow you to tie it down good and tight.
Full Flooring
Full flooring ensures complete ground coverage inside your wall tent. It provides the most warmth during cold weather and is ideal for winter camping, especially when facing harsh conditions. Wall tent brands offer full flooring sizes to fit each size of their wall tents.
Full Flooring for Stoves
Full flooring also comes in two styles: with and without a stove mat/cutout. If you intend to use a woodburning stove, it’s a wise idea to invest in full flooring with a stove mat or stove cutout, which provides extra safety in the wilderness.
Think of stove cut-out floors as a hybrid between full floors and ¾ floors. These floors extend to most sides and corners of the wall tent, except one: the corner closest to the stove jack. In that corner, you’ll find instead a cutout section (roughly 5’ square) where you position the wood stove. You may occasionally come across stove cutout floors with zippered stove mats, which can be removed or added back to accommodate as you like.
Alternatively, you could place a wood stove mat under your tent stove to protect your wall tent flooring from melting and burning if any hot ashes / coals accidentally spilled out.
¾ Flooring
This type of wall tent flooring is a nice compromise for many outfitters. A loose style wall tent flooring option, a ¾ floor is designed to cover a portion of the ground toward the back of the tent, where cots and gear are kept, keeping the front open.
Having an open front provides an extra vestibule or mudroom-like space for woodburning stoves, dry firewood, and room for muddy shoes and such. It’s a favorite among outfitters who prefer removing shoes and dirty clothes to keep clean floors in the rear sleeping quarters.
Wall Tent Flooring Ideas
Now that you understand sewn-in or detached flooring for wall tents (and why you might choose one configuration over others), let’s take a look at more flooring ideas. We recommend using most of these flooring ideas in addition to your groundsheet flooring in order to protect a tent floor and offer a cozier space.
Canvas Tarps
Beckel Canvas also offers canvas tarps in several sizes, which can be purchased separately to create flooring for your wall tent. Again, this offers you total flexibility in choosing how much ground you want to cover.
These canvas tarps are loose and not sewn in, making them quite versatile as well. Not only do they make a soft underfoot for your wall tent (or any tent for that matter), but they can also be used for other purposes. For example, to cover camp gear in the truck bed, unroll it to load and unload the gear before setting up camp, and then tie it up across lines to create a rain shelter or sunshade.
And, much better than a basic blue tarp, these rugged canvas tarps are made to last a lifetime.
Standard Tarps
Not that there’s anything wrong with a basic blue tarp – they have a place and purpose!
In fact, many outfitters use cheap tarps in combination with another flooring, keeping a cheap standard tarp groundcloth beneath the sod cloth, and then adding a second layer of flooring (detached canvas, vinyl, or otherwise). Plus, these tried-and-true tarps are also relatively easy to clean.
Drop Cloths
If you’re looking for an affordable alternative to a canvas tarp, there are also drop cloths. This is a great option for outfitters who tend to get their wall tents extremely dirty. If you have to toss the drop cloth at the end of a trip, so be it!
A nice alternative? Some outfitters layer their flooring with a water-resistant tarp below and softer drop cloth above.
Old Carpets and Carpet Remnants
If you come across some old carpets (ripped out of home renovation and such), this makes great soft flooring for wall tents. It doesn’t require a room-size carpet; you can find remnants to place in front of cots.
And the carpets are generally cheap, second-hand, and already used, so you don’t feel guilty giving them a small second life.
Throw Rugs
If you are using your wall tent for glamping or just want to add some extra comfort and class, roll out a few throw rugs. Throw rugs are perfect for wall tents with ¾ flooring, but you could also combine them with full floor tarps and more.
Outdoor RV Rugs
Another budget-friendly option for wall tent flooring is outdoor RV rugs. Made of durable polypropylene, these outdoor rugs are waterproof, stain-resistant and quick-drying. If you get dirt on it, just give it a good shake outside the tent.
Outdoor RV rugs are also portable and lightweight. Most come with a convenient carrier bag. After use, fold and pack it away. When installing these inside wall tents, however, look for RV rugs designed with corner lanyards that allow you to stake it securely to the ground.
Artificial Turf
A lot of outfitter folk appreciate AstroTurf. Like tarps, artificial turf is easy to clean and gives a natural, grass-like feeling on the feet. You can cut it to size for the back half of your tent. Like outdoor rugs, AstroTurf is portable. Just roll it up and pack it out.
Wooden Platforms
If you intend to use your wall tent as a permanent structure – say, for instance, you want to live in a canvas tent or create a glamping stay – you may want to consider building a wooden platform.
Placing a canvas wall tent on a wooden platform has lots of advantages. It makes your tent last longer, allows water to run beneath, reduces dirt and debris inside, and also makes the overall structure more sturdy. And, of course, you can add comfort to the wood floors by rolling out outdoor or indoor rugs, carpet remnants, and more!
Choose the Best Wall Tent Flooring for You
As with most outdoor gear, choosing the right wall tent flooring often comes down to your style of camping. If your wall tent is intended for an outfitter’s lifestyle or to be set up in a remote deer camp, you need to factor in harsh weather conditions and all the extra things that can trek inside.
Our recommendation is a detached floor and many outfitters will agree. Unlike sewn-in wall tent floors, loose floors are much more versatile. Whether you choose a full floor, a full floor with stove compatibility, or a ¾ floor is your choice!
Loose Flooring for Beckel Canvas Wall Tents
Beckel Canvas offers a detached and loose floor tarp made of 14 oz. coated nylon. Along the perimeter are durable grommets too, allowing you to stake and secure the wall tent floor to your liking.
What type of wall tent flooring configurations and extra touches do you prefer? Have a new wall tent flooring idea to share? Tell us in the comments!