Everything here is free. Making it takes time and money. Everything here is free.

Buy us a coffee

Outdoor pursuits · OP-27

Tent Care and Repair Record

A free printable tent care record: one tent's fabric, poles and pegs, every trip and night pitched, drying, reproofing, seam sealing, repairs and spare parts.

First page of the Tent Care and Repair Record — Know the state of a tent before the next trip, not when it is half pitched in the rain. Every reproof, patch and new pole section is on one record.
Download Free · no sign-up

2 pages. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.

Print it and write on it

Fill it in type and save

The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.

What this sheet is for

Know the state of a tent before the next trip, not when it is half pitched in the rain. Every reproof, patch and new pole section is on one record.

Who it is for

Campers, backpackers and families who own a tent, and anyone selling one on with its history.

How to use it

  1. Copy the make, model, fabric and the number of poles and pegs from the tent and its label.
  2. Add a line after every trip with the nights pitched, and whether it was dried fully afterwards.
  3. Add a line for each care job at home: cleaning, reproofing, seam sealing or a repair.
  4. Keep the parts and spares table up to date when something is replaced.
  5. Run the storage checklist before it goes away for the winter.

What is on the sheet

2 pages, in this order:

Page 1

Printed under the title: One tent's life on one record: what it is made of and came with, every trip and night pitched, drying, cleaning, reproofing, seam sealing and repairs, so its condition and its spares are known before the next trip.

Write-on lines: Make & model · Type & berth · Colour · Bought: date, where · Fabric: fly / inner / floor · Poles: sets, sections · Pegs: number, type · Guy lines · Repair kit holds · Reproofing product · Maker's care notes

Use and care history — a line per trip, and one for each care job at home

Table, 14 rows: Date · Trip or job · Nights · Dried · Cleaned · Reproof · Seams · Repair, and where · Parts · By

Page 2

Use and care history, continued

Table, 6 rows: Date · Trip or job · Nights · Dried · Cleaned · Reproof · Seams · Repair, and where · Parts · By

Parts and spares — what the tent came with, and what is in the spares bag

Also printed: Part · Fitted · Spares · Size or part no. · Where from · Last replaced · number · held · maker, shop · date · Pole sections · Pegs · Guy lines and runners · Zip pulls and sliders · Shock cord

Before it goes into storage

  • Fly, inner and groundsheet bone dry
  • Mud, sand and leaves brushed off
  • Pegs cleaned; bent or rusty ones replaced
  • Guy lines and runners not frayed
  • Poles complete, no splits; shock cord springy
  • Zips run freely; seams and patches holding
  • Damage marked on the tent and written above
  • Stored dry, away from damp and direct sun

Questions

How often should a tent be reproofed?

There is no fixed figure: it depends on the fabric, how much sun and rain it has had, and the maker's care notes. Water that soaks in instead of beading is the usual sign, which is why the sheet keeps a history rather than a schedule.

Why write down the number of pegs and pole sections?

So a short bag is noticed at home, not on a campsite. Knowing what it came with also makes ordering the right replacement part much easier.

Related sheets

Group Tent Return and Inspection Sheet

Bring every tent home dry and counted, with damage written down while people still remember it. The quartermaster signs it off, so next camp's kit is known to be ready.

OP-26 1 page

Backpacking Gear Weight List

See where the weight in a pack really is, system by system, instead of guessing. The same list works as the packing checklist and, after the trip, as the record of what was never used.

OP-28 2 pages

Camping and Caravan Packing List

Pack the same way every time without relying on memory, and find out on the drive home that something was left on a pitch rather than next season.

TT-08 2 pages

Hiking Route and Trip Plan

Turn a walk you have in your head into a page somebody else can hand over if you do not come back, and make yourself think about escape routes before you are standing on the hill.

OP-05 2 pages

Everything here is free

Every sheet, binder, game and puzzle on Upkeep Papers is free to download, with no email and no account. Making them is not free: each one takes days of research, design and checking, and the site costs money to run. If something here saved you time, you can buy us a coffee. It is entirely optional: nothing is locked, and nothing changes if you don’t.

Buy us a coffee

Opens PayPal in a new tab. Any amount, and nothing changes if you would rather not.