Posted this in the DIY forum, but thought I would have a link to it here. Made a winter tent for myself and just completed it last weekend.

DIY Solo Winter Tent

Awesome. I would love to see the windows installed but what you posted is nice. What did you use for the door material?

Nice pitch by the way.

Nice work Craig!

Great plan! Putting the frame on the inside was good thinking. I've watched for these older tents and unfortunately even those are often priced high. It's hard to find the right size, or one worth using. If that was a canvas floor you might want to treat the skirt with a barrier to keep it from freezing down.

Good lookin tent. Congratulations.

SevenofNine, thanks. Don't have any pictures of the windows installed, but it is really nice to be sitting in the warm tent while being able to see outside. When I go camping with the setup I make sure to take some pictures then.
The regular door is made of canvas.

PortageKeeper, ya, I got this tent for a steal. It had some minor mouse holes and water damage that I fixed up. I also was seeing these tents go for a lot of money. The floor is a plastic-like material, not canvas. But that brings up an interesting question, what would you use to treat it if it was canvas, to keep it from freezing down?

Thanks much. I had a great time figuring it out.

Basically anything that repels water and will stick to the fabric. Even spraying the skirt with a water repellent tent spray will help keep snow and ice from sticking. My first thought was to use one of the old wax/kerosene canvas waterproofing recipes, but that would get too stiff in the cold.

Nice work turned out good. Sure looks like the Mounds Park neighborhood in the background.

Looks like something ill be wishing I had this weekend when im in my cold tent. But if I get my deer freezing will be a small price.

Man that looks fantastic. AWSOME JOB!!!!

Very cool. How much did everything cost you to put this together? Is the set up pretty heavy now that you are finished?

Well, I got the tent for dirt cheap. $30. And that included 5 coolers, 3 chairs, and some other gack. So I guess you could say I got the tent for 5 bucks. But lets say it was $30.
Cost of the stove jack was $30, extra canvas, snaps, lampwick-like ribbon and clear vinyl sits around $50, so all in all I would say I spent a total of $100 to $120 on this. Lots of machine and handsewing though.
As far a weight goes, I haven't put it on a scale or anything, but the canvas along with the poles I would estimate at 20 lbs. It feels half the weight of my 4 person Snowtrekker tent. I'll try and weigh it tonight.
That doesn't include the stove though, which I want to make smaller eventually, maybe make the .50 cal ammo can stove. My stove weighs 20 lbs.
So, by making this tent, I cut 30 lbs from my sled weight. Of course I probably make that up by including other camping gear that a partner would have carried.

Looks great!!!
Love the stove thermometer on the pipe!!!!

quote SevenofNine: I would love to see the windows installed but what you posted is nice.
"

Heyo SevenofNine,
Got some pictures for you of the windows installed. Right now they are applied with snaps, but I found that as they looked cool, I am going to change them out to velcro. Also, I kept the bug screen on the real window, as it helps keep the tent pitching nice and taut.

Minnesotan: Fantastic work on your tent. It looks great. As you fine tune it you may consider making the front door smaller? The tent will hold the heat better. If you would sew in a piece of canvas in the bottom of the doorway I think your tent would be a lot warmer.

Great job!

The window and door will make it nice during the day for sure. Great work on taking an old tent and making it better than it was! Happy camping.

quote whitecedar: "Minnesotan: Fantastic work on your tent. It looks great. As you fine tune it you may consider making the front door smaller? The tent will hold the heat better. If you would sew in a piece of canvas in the bottom of the doorway I think your tent would be a lot warmer.


Great job!"

Thanks for the suggestion. I did just that, sewed a small piece of canvas at the bottom of the opening and it helps. Thanks much!

Great job on the tent, should be a winter winner. I have access to this exact tent (rafters of my Dad's garage) and have thought for years about doing what you have done. Can you tell me what you had to do to modify the poles to fit internally? Did you just shorten the bottom poles or what else had to be done?

Hiya Cloznuff,
Welcome to the site.
I shortened the 4 main poles that go to the ground, as well as the 4 shorter poles that meet at the peak. I ended up taking about 2" from each pole. Then, after I cut out the floor (keeping a foot on each side attached to act as a snow skirt) I sewed in some canvas in the corners to make pockets for the 4 main standing poles.

Hope that helps, and let me know if you have any other questions.

Also, I found that a sewing awl was extremely handy: Sewing Awl

cool, makes me want to get out there. nicely done.

Excellent, proof that a DIY tent works. I have converted a few tents myself, getting out there is the most important part. Right on!

LL