View Full Version : Tent Repair Help
Hey guys. I left my tent bag on the back porch today and my lab ripped the bag open and added a few holes to my tent. There are 2 holes about 1" in the netting and 2 holes about 2-3" in the floor of the tent. What's the best way to repair these holes?
Thanks
The Old Boot
04-13-2014, 21:22
Hey guys. I left my tent bag on the back porch today and my lab ripped the bag open and added a few holes to my tent. There are 2 holes about 1" in the netting and 2 holes about 2-3" in the floor of the tent. What's the best way to repair these holes?
Thanks
The netting can be repaired with either patches of noseeum material or in a pinch, use an old bug jacket. If no old jackets grap a cheap head net and use the fabric from it. You can either machine sew or hand sew the patches on. Sew all around the rip and again around the outside of the patch so there's no loose edges.
For floor material, head to a fabric shop like Joannes and buy a small quantity of silnylon and then head to the auto parts store and get flowable silicone, the kind used to repair windshield leaks. After you've sewn the patch on the outside of the tent floor, doing the same as for the netting (both around the tear and around the outside of the patch), apply a thin layer of silicone to seal the stitching. I'd do it on the inside. If it's tacky after 24 hours, dust with a little bit of baking powder or baby powder.
bighammer
04-14-2014, 00:17
I had a squirrel get into a tent that was airing out on the front porch. (then couldn't find the way out and made a few new ones) I put duct tape on each side and it has held surprisingly well. While it's not my hiking tent, I will carry a couple feet of it just for that universal pachability.
Odd Man Out
04-14-2014, 08:40
I got some McNett's tenacious tape for such repairs. It really is tenacious. It is thinner and more flexible than duct tape.
http://www.mcnett.com/gearaid/tenacious-tape#10691
HeartFire
04-14-2014, 10:05
You didn't mention what tent - or rather, what material the tent is made from. I doubt you would find 'silnylon' at Joanns, and, tenacious tape will not stick to silnylon.
So, it depends on how big the holes are, and what the material is.
Small holes, tears in the noseeum mesh can just be sewn closed, larger holes will have to be patched. tiny holes in silnylon - you can just put a dab of silnet over it, small holes in sil - just glue a patch on with silnet. larger holes will have to have a patch sewn on and seam sealed. If it's a PU coated fabric, then it needs to have a patch sewn and then seam sealed with the appropriate seam sealer - unless you can get some tape and iron on the seam sealing tape.
HeartFire
04-14-2014, 10:06
oh- tenacious tape will stick to a pu coated fabric, so that could be a good choice.
The floor material is nylon taffeta. PU coating. DWR.
Drybones
04-14-2014, 11:49
I like Kenyon tape for tent, down jacket and sleeping bag repairs. I've washed a sleeping bag with many repaired holes twice and the tape is still solid.
I think that your dog is telling you to splurge and buy a new killer tent!!!
Starchild
04-15-2014, 07:28
To repair the bug netting I took some shoegoo glue and cut out a small patch of material from a old stuff sack - all gotten from a hiker box, and it lasted fine for the thru, yes you can see the solid spot but really it doesn't bother me that it is there. Later I used 2 pieces of cuban fiber repair tape and just put one on each side of the hole - that one seemed to hold also.
squeezebox
04-15-2014, 20:26
Why would you let your dog tear up your tent ?