How to Prepare Your Event Tent for Bad Weather

Make sure your event tent is set up and staked properly
Read Time: 3 minutes
Dec 5, 2022

Renting an event tent is a great way to protect your guests from any inclement weather that could arise during your outdoor event. However, you can’t just set up the tent and hope for the best. It’s important to take the following steps in order to prepare your tent for any bad weather.

Rent a Tent with Sidewalls

a white event tent with sidewalls and an entryway set up for an outdoor event

Sidewalls are a must in preparing for bad weather. They can protect your guests from rain, snow, or any other weather conditions that could arise. Sidewalls also help to regulate the temperature within the tent. You can use air conditioning, fans, or heaters within the tent when you have walls set up. Not every event tent comes with sidewalls, so make sure to plan ahead and ask for one that has them.

Ensure Your Tent Rental Is Wind Resistant

Strong wind can wreak havoc on an outdoor event just as much as rain can. Different tents have different wind ratings, so it’s important to rent a tent with a higher wind rating. It’s hard to guess in advance what the wind might be like on the day of your event, so it’s important to rent a tent with a wind rating higher than what you might actually need. That way, you’re prepared for whatever might come up.

Rent a Large Enough Tent

a wedding event tent with lots of tables inside waiting for guests

If the weather is nice, your tent could be used just for a single purpose, such as eating or entertainment. Depending on what you have planned, many of your guests could be outside of the tent at any given time. However, it’s important to have enough space for all of them to be under the tent at the same time. Sudden weather could necessitate taking shelter under your tent and you’ll want to make sure the tent you rent can accommodate everyone, whether they’re attending or working at your event.

Make Sure Your Tent Is Set up Properly

A tent’s weather resistance typically depends on how well it’s set up. If you’re renting your tent from a company that offers set-up services, like iRentEverything, then you should take them up on that offer. They’re professionals who set up tents for a living and have more expertise and experience in doing it properly. An incorrectly set-up tent could be a hazard and won’t stand up as well in strong winds.

Stake Your Tent to the Ground

a white event tent with sidewalls and stakes in the ground

When your tent is set up, make sure that stakes are used. Stakes are a part of what makes a tent safe for use in bad weather and they should be set up from the beginning to ensure that your tent is ready for any sudden changes in weather. Setting up the tent is typically done by the rental company, so make sure to ask that the stakes be used.

How to Stake a Tent

If you do need to stake the tent yourself, you’ll need to do the following:

  • Make sure the stakes are vertical
  • Leave the stakes with 6” sticking out of the ground at the top
  • Use a tent stake driver to drive in the stakes (to avoid having to use a sledgehammer)
  • Use the optimal guy rope angle:
    • 45 degrees for balanced resistance against lateral and vertical wind lift
    • Steeper angle if you don’t have sidewalls
    • Shallower angle if you do have sidewalls

Plan Ahead

It’s always a good idea to have a plan for unexpected weather. If your event takes place entirely within your tent, then you may already be good to go. However, if your guests are entering and exiting the tent and moving around outside of the tent, you’ll need a plan for if the weather turns bad. You may also need to communicate this plan to everyone else so they know what to do if there’s a sudden downpour, for example.

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For informational purposes only.