Camping is among the most popular leisure and recreational summer activities anyone can participate in. However not too many people know what is a tent bathtub floor until it is too late. Generally speaking, tents are used to build temporary shelters on the ground. These shelters provide us with protection from the elements, the most important being sheltered from the rain.
A tent with bathtub flooring is particularly important if you are expecting some heavy rain. Now, when looking to purchase a tent, you may have come across one that has an added feature of having a bathtub floor. This is a very good thing and I will explain why within this article.
Once you are finished here you can feel completely confident in knowing that the tent you are buying is going to keep you dry during the heaviest of downfalls. With much of the water protection due to the bathtub style flooring. However, some flooring systems are better than others. So when buying a tent with bathtub flooring you need to consider a few of the following factors. It’s no surprise that very many folks don’t really understand what a bathtub floor is when they first look into buying a tent. So it’s a very good thing you found this page to enlighten you.
What Do People Mean When They Say Bathtub Flooring?
There are various kinds of camping tents available on the market today. Many of the double-walled camping tents are fitted with bathtub floors inside. But not all, which is why it’s important to know what you’re looking for to ensure a pleasant camping trip.
When a buying a new tent, bathtub floors refer to the waterproof fabric fitted on the floor. This fabric has been designed in a way that it extends up to the side walls of the camping shelter just by a couple of inches. In some cases 6 inches up the wall of the tent.
So as you can imagine, the tents floor is usually a tarp like material, preferably heavy duty. This material stops the water from soaking in underneath the tent and wetting your sleeping bags and gear. But with a bathtub floor, this heavy duty tarp material extends beyond just the floor. It also creeps up the sides of the walls a few inches as well.
Bathtub floors are fitted in camping tents to prevent any elements or water that is under your tent from leaking through the walls and spoiling your gear. But it doesn’t just protect the inside from water running down the side of the tent. When rain pools up around your tent, the water can seep in through the tiny holes where the floor has been stitched to the tent wall material.
If there is no bathtub floor, the seams are pretty much on ground level. So any pooled up water, snow or streaming water on the ground can penetrate in through the tiny holes. So by having the flooring run up the sides of the tent, this eliminates the chances of pooled up water from gradually entering in through the tents seams.
This means that bathtub floors do play a very key role in ensuring you and your belongings stay dry during a heavy down pour. A bathtub floor is just one element to consider when waterproofing your tent. The seams should also be regularly sealed using a high quality tent sealer.
What Are Bathtub Floors Made From
Tent bathtub fabrication can be done using a number of materials. The material that is most commonly used in bathtub floor fabrication is plastic. This is because, with materials such as polyethylene, fabricating these floors is super-easy. This is because plastic materials can be easily customized through plastic welding technology. This ensures that the floor material is way stronger than even the materials used to fabricate the tent.
To ensure that the bathtub floors made are puncture-resistant, the floor is usually designed to be thicker than the other walls. This is the sole reason why very many family camping tents are usually a bit heavy. Keep in mind that if your tent’s bathroom floor is thick, then there isn’t any need to add any footprint beneath it.
Bathtub Flooring Thickness Ratings
As mentioned earlier on, the thickness of the bathtub floors does vary from one tent to another. Yes, you can assume that the thicker the tent floor is, the higher the thickness ratings will be. In the simplest terms possible, when looking to acquire or purchase any kind of camping tent, be it for family use or any other application, check for its floor’s padding thickness rating.
Just like the thickness, it is necessary to ensure that your tent has good waterproof ratings. All these go hand in hand. Remember that the thicker your tent’s bathtub floor is, the higher its thickness and waterproof ratings will be. When picking your particular tents, always ensure that its thickness and waterproof ratings are good enough.
The thickness of the floor will be represented in a number followed by mm. For example; 1000mm polyurethane floor coating, or 2000mm etc. The higher the number, the more durable the flooring will be. This also means the tent will be heavier as well.
So if you are backpacking and treat your flooring well, then a lower coated polyurethane flooring can be used. This will help keep down the weight of the tent. But for typical car camping tents, a higher number will ensure you have a heavy duty floor ready for the kids and even the dogs to camp.
So, what are some of the benefits of having a tent with a bathtub floor?
At this point, it is clear that the main reason behind bathtub floors in camping tents it to provide a dry camping experience. On comparing a camping tent that has been fitted with a bathtub floor to the ones without, you will realize there are a number of advantages associated with having a camping tent that has a bathtub floor. These advantages include the following:
- It provides a comfortable ground that you can actually sit or sleep on.
- They ensure that no exterior elements can find their way into the tent.
- It ensures that your tent is water-tight patched thus no water will get into your space.
- It ensures a clean environment inside the tent. This is because dirt and other pollutants such as dirty water cannot find their way in.
A bathtub floor also plays a very significant and most important role in ensuring the interior of your camping tents stays completely dry. This applies independence of the weather conditions. Come rain, come sunshine, the interior of your tent will always stay dry. Keep in mind that this is also determined by the type, thickness rating and waterproof ratings of your particular tent.
Should You Buy A Tent With A Bathtub Style Base
While it’s not always necessary to buy a tent that has a floor like this, the advantages are certainly stronger than the negatives, which can only be the extra weight and slightly more expensive. For peace of mind, especially if you are buying a tent for camping with kids, the bathtub floor is a must.
However if you don’t want to invest in a bathtub floor, you are taking a risk. To minimize the risk you should consider a tent footprint underneath the tent. This will add another layer of protection between the floor of the tent and the ground.
These are just but some of the most common advantages associated with the use of camping tents with bathtub floors. This is pretty much all there is to know and you should now have a better understanding.