This year I noticed a lot of people putting a tarp above their tent. Is there a specific reason for that?

Leaky tent or too hot to be in the tent with the sun hitting the roof.

global warming :)

Extra protection... like wearing two condoms.

I never did that, and always wondered why people did until a few years ago when I was camping with my daughter. It was pouring buckets in the morning when we had to pack up, and we and the inside of the tent got drenched as we were taking the tent down. If we'd had a tarp over the tent, we could have stayed dry, and kept the tent dry while packing it up, and only been exposed to the rain while taking down the tarp, which is a much quicker activity.

RTurner: "I never did that, and always wondered why people did until a few years ago when I was camping with my daughter. It was pouring buckets in the morning when we had to pack up, and we and the inside of the tent got drenched as we were taking the tent down. If we'd had a tarp over the tent, we could have stayed dry, and kept the tent dry while packing it up, and only been exposed to the rain while taking down the tarp, which is a much quicker activity."

This is generally the calculation that I make when deciding whether to set up the tarp or not. Sometimes it's also a question of how fast (and early) that I want to get out of camp the next day as to whether the tarp goes up or stays in the pack.

If there is significant rain expected I like to pitch a small tarp over the front of the tent to create a "porch" for cooking and hanging out without having to suit up in between.

I had one time when it was pouring rain and I had to put a tarp up first so I could set up the tent out of the rain.

If raining in morning, I pack up stuff in tent, haul it under tarp and put it in packs, then I unstake tent and move it under tarp, and take it down there. Inside of tent stays dry...just have to deal with wet rainfly. Tent must be a freestanding type to do this. Helps to pack up semi dry when not using the tarp over tent technique.

Depending on location, I either have the tarp over the firepit or my tent.

Firepit - nothing beats grilling first night steaks over a good fire while it is pouring buckets.

Tent - A lot of nights, especially hot muggy nights, I like just having a screen and not the rainfly on the tent. Having a tarp over the tent protects me just in case a rain event comes whistling through and I am not quick enough to roll out the fly.

This past Sept. I put a tarp over my tent because there was a strong posibility of damaging hail. I was not in the BWCAW, but at the Fall Lake Campground and I had a pretty good tarp in the truck. My reasoning was that the hail stones would at least be slowed down enough to not destroy the tent. Fortunately the hail did not materialize at Fall Lake, but I heard that it did not far away.

I’ve only had to deploy a tarp one time over the years. My buddy’s tent was leaking badly. Saved the trip for him. Another reason to get a hammock.

FYI, a lot (maybe all) of the Tarptents are designed so you can pitch or strike them in the rain without getting the inside wet. The outside of the tent will be wet but just roll it up and the inside stays dry. The trick is that there is no separate rainfly that gets taken off before striking the body of the tent. It is all connected.

I've never put a tarp up over our tent. Usually we are with 2 or 3 couples and the tarp is more of a communal spot away from the individual tents.

But I can certainly see a tarp over a tent as pleasant to have a dry spot just outside of the tent and that it could keep a tent extra dry. So, maybe someday I'll try that.

I put a tarp over my tent on a solo trip because of a cramped campsite and bad weather on the way. Since I only have a 14x10 CCS tarp it was plenty big enough to leave the rainfly off of my tent. Couldn't see the stars but it was cool to see around camp. Now when I'm alone I do it most of the time. YMMV

In fact, the setup is one of the reasons I'm looking at a hammock system for next year. :)

I like to keep the tent dry. I know it has a rain fly and it totally works, but the tarp keeps the tent dry, all my gear sits next to the tent, but under the tarp. The ground is dry when I wake in the morning. I've sat in the "front porch" and cooked breakfast many times.

I've never understood the tarp over the firegrate...how do you do it and not get little burn holes in it?

YetiJedi: "I put a tarp over my tent on a solo trip because of a cramped campsite and bad weather on the way. Since I only have a 14x10 CCS tarp it was plenty big enough to leave the rainfly off of my tent. Couldn't see the stars but it was cool to see around camp. Now when I'm alone I do it most of the time. YMMV


In fact, the setup is one of the reasons I'm looking at a hammock system for next year. :)"

Found this recent photo from a solo trip with the CCS tarp over my tent. Can't wait for spring!

I put a tarp over my tent once. It was end of Sept/early October and rained. My tent was over 20 years old and I noticed the water not beading/running off as it traditionally did. I had never added any seam sealing or waterproofing so it looked like it was time. But I was already camping so I put the tarp above. Then we experienced more rain, sleet, hail and snow. So I was glad I did that. Redid seams and waterproofing once I got home.
Otherwise, I don’t - but it is nice to have a tarp set up very close, like a nice big porch.

I tend to take two tarps for car and canoe camping. One is a nice nylon tarp that often shelters the entrance to my tent and the area in front. I also take a smaller(8 by 8 or so) cheap plastic tarp, aka a “Menards blue tarp”. This one gets the rough duty like 6a spot to unload to keep the gear from getting muddy or sandy, a spot to sit down for lunch if it’s mucky, and, on occasion, it is set up near the fire. Not directly over it, but maybe the fire pit is along the edge of it, so we can sit under the tarp and tend the fire. At night, we store dry wood under it to start the morning fire. I’ve been gradually moving away from using fires, using camp stoves most of the time. However, after a couple days of rain, the tarp near the fire is also sheltering clothes drying lines, so it’s an essential risk management tool in my gearbox. The extra plastic tarp is cheap, a bit bulky and heavy, but can be a shower privacy booth, all the other things mentioned above, and after it’s too damaged to be reliable, I cut them up into smaller 18” squares to be sat on or used on the ground as a table for lunch on backpacking trips.

I actually carry 4 tarps. One for the kitchen area and if rain is horrible I'll sneak it over the fire. Never had any issues so far. One is kept stored most of the time and I only have it along as a wind block. The other two go over our hammocks. I don't mind running lines as I don't move a the pace of the younger crowd.