Common tent

[Southern Cal]

I've used the seach tool and found the regulation size for the common tent (wedge tent) measured 6'10" height, 6'10" length, 8'4" width. I've looked up vendors from expensive to reasonable and found no such dimensions, even when rounding the measurements off to 7' X 7'X 8'. Have I missed a vendor selling a wedge tent closest to actual specs or will this need to be a custom job?

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Yakima Tents will make it for you, just tell them to make it to QM specs.

[Southern Cal]

Thanks Ross.

[TheQM]

Yakima Tents will make it for you, just tell them to make it to QM specs.

To echo what Ross said. I purchased my Yakima Common Tent, when I got into the Hobby twenty years ago, and it's still going strong. It's about the only piece of my original equipment I'm still using. The tent gets used ten or twelve weekends every year and survived the the Spotsylvania wind storm without coming down.

[GreencoatCross]

Geez, I didn't know anyone was making them to QM specifications. Dan Wambaugh and I ended up making two for our business, plus our fly and all of the correct octagonal poles.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

I can commiserate Brian, as I've made three handsewn to specs, and I'll never make another one.

[Southern Cal]

I've seen many tents with round poles, fewer octagonal. Some poles painted, most not. Maybe I missed something in the search about actual tent pole length. So, if I run 3"X3" 'sticks' on the flats through the table saw with the blade at the correct angle I'll then have correct octagonal tent poles? Ridge post as well? I thought I ran across a thread in the search indicating posts were painted green? I think I'll look at search more.

[TheQM]

Geez, I didn't know anyone was making them to QM specifications.

The Yakama tent isn't made exactly to QM specs. It has sewn stake loops and brass groments for the pole's pins to go through, but the size is very close to the specs.

Maybe Ross could discuss the possibility of replacing the loops with foot ropes and replacing the brass groments on the top of the tent? Going by memory, I believe the specs called for a sod cloth. The Yakama tent doesn't have that feature either.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

The Yakima tents will come with a sod cloth if you request it, but I've known a couple of guys who were mildly disappointed when their tents did not. There are some glaring issues for the purists as Bill mentioned, particularly the tent pin loops and metal grommets on the ridge. These are correctable, but with some sewing. Keep in mind that CW common tents were handsewn, and YT's are machine sewn. No way around that one, as folks who handsew tents charge from $500 to $800 for them due to time and material. The cotton loops sewn onto the bottom of the tent can be removed and replaced with two corded or reinforced grommets with a rope loop of about 12 inches. The metal grommets at the ridge are rarely seen unless you've invited an NBA team to your camp, but those can be pulled out and replaced with two more corded grommets sewn by hand. Once you see one of these tents, you realize just how far off every other sutler-row tent is in size. The spec tent is wider but shorter than most, but you can see how they were easier to lay more men in, as they were designed to do.