Frequently Asked Questions

Our tents are made from 380gsm waterproof / fire / UV / rot resistant canvas - it's seriously good stuff. This is one of the main reasons our tents cost more than other standard Bell Tents on the market (and of course there is much more canvas in a Lotus Belle). The groundsheet is made from 540gsm PVC - this is the same material that boat covers and lorry curtains are made of, again seriously heavy duty. Your tent will come with everything you need to put it up, including the groundsheet, pegs, poles, guy ropes, and even a mallet!

Yes.

Please note, canvas tents need to get really wet a few times before they completely felt and mesh together; it's possible that your tent may leak on the first few serious downpours, but don’t panic – the process of water soaking into the material and drying out again helps the fibers to mesh together, and after 3 or 4 rains, it will be absolutely dry as a bone. If you experience issues with leaks beyond this then give us a call and we’ll sort it out for you.

Ideally you'll need about 7m diameter space to put up the 4m tent, 8m to put up the 5m tent and 9m for a 6m tent. The pitching footprint can be greatly reduced using rigid upright posts around the outside.

The Air Bud with included porch requires 5m x 7m. The Mahal needs at least 12m x 12m and the Mela approximately 11m x 11m.

Please contact us for more info.

Yes! Obviously it depends on which tent you're after, but finally we have a ‘yurt’ that you can take camping. Most of our tents fold up and fit into a large hold-all which should fit into your car boot - so there's even room for your sleeping bag (and perhaps some clothes too if you're lucky). If using a banana bag, you may need to sacrifice one of your back seats. For specific information on the packaged sizes of each tent, please see the product pages or get in touch and we'd be happy to help!

No, they're heavy. Our 4m tents weigh 56kg, and our 5m tents weigh 72kg. You'll need to get one of those lovely people with a golf cart to drive it to your campsite, although you might be able to manage a 4m tent using a sack truck if you're feeling fit. If you are looking for something that you can carry on your own across a festival site then we would recommend our revolutionary Lotus Air Bud, which is much more manageable (31kg) and comes in a handy wheelie bag for easy transport.

Yes you can fit a burner, it’s easy to fit one yourself with the addition of a flashing kit. Our tents don't come fitted with burner holes, as woodburners differ and need different positioning depending on their specifications and distance to combustibles. We have a range of burners available - please get in touch for more info!

It is important to note that you should not use a woodburner with any of our Air Tents (Air Bud or Air Belle)

The first time you set up the tent you’ll need to tie on the guy ropes and insert the curved steel poles into the canvas wall. The whole process takes about an hour or so for two people. Thereafter, pitching the tent can be done by one person in around 30-45 minutes - we know a guy who does it single-handedly in 12!

You can check out this video on our YouTube channel, which shows an 8-year-old putting up a 4m tent on his own in around 25 minutes. (He has lived and breathed these tents, so is well-versed! Additionally all the guy ropes are on and the poles are inserted!)

Your tent will come with pictorial instructions, but in case you lose them, here's a reminder of the order in which to do things... View PDF Instructions.

We also have a video tutorial on YouTube.

We recommend a banana bag for rapid pitching and take down. They are shaped like a large banana which enables you to store the canvas wall part of your tent without having to remove the steel poles from the canvas. This shaves your pitching time down to around 20-25 minutes, and packing down time down to around 10-20 minutes.

This video shows our current best practice for how to fold and pack away your tent using a banana bag.

Mud splatter - once the canvas is completely dry, most soiling can be easily brushed off with a firm-bristled brush. Any remaining marks can be removed with a little cleaning. We have found that the best stuff to use is Ecover laundry liquid (eco-friendly, gentle detergent) as it doesn't damage the proofing in the canvas. With a micro fibre cloth work away at stains and smears until they are gone.

Tree sap or Algae - There is no eco friendly answer that we have found, so our current best practise is to use a reputable weed killer, (Pathclear) spray over the affected canvas. Wait ten minutes then rinse this off with a light hosing (do not pressure wash as this will blast the proofing from the canvas). Some customers have found success using diluted bleach and the sun (!!) to bleach the canvas back to good.

Your canvas is treated to be waterproof, flame retardant, and rot proof. If you wash your tent thoroughly and regularly, you will wash off some of the treatment, and as such you will need to re-proof it with waterproofing solutions. You don’t need to do this every time you wash the tent, just one coat at the end of the season will be fine. Fabsil Grangers for cotton is our recommended waterproofing solution.

For glampsites, we do recommend professional cleaning at the end of each season - it is advisable to find a local industrial cleaners, and establish if they will be able to clean the canvas. Mould is an environmental issue that affects all bell tents across the world. It is important to be aware of it and tackle it head-on, as soon as you see any signs of it. Please contact us for our tent care guidance and we would be more than happy to help you!

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Need to know something else? Contact us.