Seam Sealing a non free standing tent indoors & Putting Non slip Dots on a pad

[Stephen M]

Hi folks,

I had planned to Seam Seal my Tarp Tent Stratosphire 1 Today (should of done it 10months ago) but its started snowing
Outside, any idea how best to do it inside (have a basement), also I read somewhere recently not to stripe the ground sheet
but to put dots on my pads (Exped Synmat & Down mat UL's) anyone have any idea how many and what size would be sufficent.

Also need to seam seal a pair of MLD event mitts.

Cheers,

Stephen

[Jerry Adams]

Erect your tent in the basement so all seams are stretched, seal them, let it cure for a couple days

I put blobs on my bivy floor – maybe 25% of the area was covered

I don't think it matters too much whether you put it on floor or matt – matt is probably easier

[Ken Thompson]

Easier to clean out the tent with the dots on the pad instead of the floor. If you are using Permatex flowable silicone to seam seal there will be no odor. I did my Duomid in the living room.

Just do dots on the middle third of the pad. Where most of the weight is concentrated.

[Ken Larson]

"Also need to seam seal a pair of MLD event mitts"

MLD sent a small tube (.5oz tube) with the mitts but, my past experience with the quantity I knew it would not provide a satisfactory job for BOTH mitt. Use 1 oz of SeamGrip for BOTH (.5 oz for each) AND I thinned the SeamGrip along with accelerating the curing by using Cotol-240™ Cleaner & Cure Accelerator. I used the mitt filling technique given by Ron on his site BUT, turned the mitts inside out and sealed the INNER SEAM & STICHING HOLES.
Good results…waterproof!

Side Bar…
The suggestion of using Permatex #81730 Flowable 100% Silicone Windshield Sealant, available at any auto parts store is an excellent suggestion but, I do not have any experience using it on gloves.
I have used Permatex for both sealing and glueing seams years with my silnylon seams. Compared to Silnet, it is tougher, less sticky, more liquid with better penetration, and perhaps more UV resistant. It cures to the touch in 30 minutes, sets as a glue in 20 minutes, fully cures in 24 hours. It's also cheap – half the cost of Silnet for twice the amount of product.

[Stephen M]

Hi guys,

That's great on the mitts and pads, problem is the tent is non freestanding so I cannot get a tight pitch on it in the basement.

I am thinking of sticking Velcro to the tiled floor, any other suggestions?

Cheers,

Stephen

[Ken Thompson]

Some inspiration. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ditch_your_stakes.html

furniture, milk jugs, pets, whatever…

[Mary D]

From my own experience:

Dots on the floor, stripes on the pad. Silicone sealant didn't stay on my pad from the late KookaBay; within a couple of trips there were little shreds of silicone all over the tent floor. I'm currently using non-silicone (urethane based) sealer on it. The stuff that is supposed to keep rugs from slipping works, too. The main places you want to hit on both tent floor and pad are where your hips and shoulders will be.

Please read the warning labels, which on Silnet says "Provide adequate ventilation." That's even more important if you're diluting the sealant with mineral spirits. The label on my Klean-Strip Odorless Mineral Spirits can says "COMBUSTIBLE. Keep away from heat, sparks, open flames and other ignition sources. USE ONLY WITH ADEQUATE VENTILATION….Do not use where vapors can accumulate and concentrate….If using indoors open all windows and doors and maintain a cross ventilation of moving fresh air across the work area."

If you have a few bricks or cinder blocks, use those for the guylines getting the most stress. For the rest, duct tape to the floor?

[Stephen M]

Good man Ken,

There is enough crap in the Basement to find something of use :-)

[Stephen M]

Thanks Mary,

A few bricks and some duct tape should do the job.

Thanks all for the help :-)

[Jennifer Mitol]

What do you use for the dots/strips on your pad?

To fight pad slippage I currently use a small piece of dycem under my pad…a wonderful sheet of highly sticky blue rubbery stuff that we use in PT clinics to keep equipment – and patients – from slipping around. The stuff works great and weighs nothing, and you can pretty much sleep at a 45 deg angle and the pad won't budge. but mine ends up with dog hair stuck all over it and frankly, it's disgusting to keep with my sleep stuff.

So I thought I'd give this a try…although my guess is that ill have lots of dog hair stuck to the bottom of my pad.

[Mary D]

It's unavoidable! Put it this way, it's adding to the "R" value!

I do comb my dog with a pocket home before bedtime, both to clean him off and to have a little less hair flying around the tent. He loves it, too!

[Stephen M]

Is that a product that can be bought in small quantities Jennifer?

[Jennifer Mitol]

Not sure…I, um, take it from work….
Just the end remnants, of course…….

I think you might be able to…let me see if I can find some. You don't need much at all…I use a 4×4" square under my hips and it does the trick.

But it's the kind of sticky stuff that attracts dust and dirt, then it doesn't work so well. I bet you can get small bits of it. Ill also post a true weight (sans dog hair) as soon as I can get one. Ill grab a fresh piece from work Monday and weigh it.

Stay tuned…

[Stephen M]

Thanks very much Jennifer :-)

[Jennifer Mitol]

Here is the company's website. Looks like the rolls commercially are uber expensive (medical prices = ripoff):$200 for a 16 yd x 16 yd. of the 0.4 mm thick stuff (the stuff I use)

That's obviously way too much.

But you get the idea…and there may be ways to get smaller quantities. Ill look and ask around

[Jennifer Mitol]

Ok sorry, can't seem to edit my post so here's a new one.

I poked around the actual company's website and yes, they do have some smaller quantities of the stuff, including self-adhesive stuff (which would be cool on the back of the mat).

No weights/thicknesses listed on most of these, so I'm not sure if its the heavy 1.1mm or the light .04mm stuff.

Try this…
https://uk-ssl.com/dycem/usshop/shop_viewproducts.php?cat_ID=32

[Jerry Adams]

Maybe this is the same stuff: http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/grip-it-shelf-cushion-liners/6901 $4 from Camping World – for RVs to keep kitchen stuff from sliding around

[Franco Darioli]

here is one set up in my bedroom :

You should be able to see how I place a stake between the bricks to keep it up.
I have seam sealed every TT shelter in that spot (do so when it is windy or rainy outside) including the Hogback/Rainshadow and Scarp 2.

I dot my floors and stripe the mats but half stripe the floor for customers.
so something like this -_-_- so that it is still easy to sweep/wipe.

[Stephen M]

Spot on Franco, very ingenious.

I hope your wife does not complain when you have tents pitched in the house.

[doug thomas]

This is probably not real helpful, but I used a few nails. If you have a shag type carpeting it doesn't show and its been almost 3 yrs. And you can get a tight pitch.

[Stephen M]

Cheers Doug,

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