Tarp Over Tent Setup: How to Build a Tarp Shelter

A tarpaulin, or tarp, is an essential piece of camping gear with a high degree of utility in the field. Tarps are exceptionally waterproof and can, therefore, help keep your gear, clothes, and shelter dry. They are also lightweight, making them easy to carry over long distances during tarp camping trips.

Backcountry backpacking enthusiasts, car campers, or traditional campers should pack a tarp. This piece of equipment can then be ready to deploy as a campsite setup or in an emergency (for example, if you need a makeshift stretcher).

A waterproof tarpaulin, or tarp, can serve as a good shelter in certain camping scenarios; however, there are more practical reasons to pack a tarp before a camping trip. Here are just a few ways in which you can use a tarp as a survival tool:

1. 1. Emergency shelter: Use a tarp and a horizontal cord to build an A-frame tarp shelter to keep you warm and dry in inclement weather. If your tarp setup is in an area with high winds and your tarp does not have any grommets or holes for pegs, you can hold the tarp's corners down with large rocks. A tarp will also act as a windbreak, which can be helpful when you are trying to start your campfire.
2. 2. Groundsheet: Roll out enough tarp to cover your tent footprint and insulate the bottom of your tent. This technique uses your tarp as an extra layer of protection against ground moisture, which could otherwise soak your sleeping bags. A tarp groundsheet also reflects your body heat upward to keep you warm and comfortable against cold soil or moist vegetation.
3. 3. Hammock rain fly: A tarp can act as a rain fly above your tent or open hammock to protect you and your gear from heavy rain and other extreme weather conditions. Additionally, secure the tarp to the ground using cordage as guy lines (rope that secures a tent to the ground) or to make drip lines, which will divert water from gathering inside your hammock.
4. 4. Improvised stretcher: People typically use tarps for their lightweight, waterproof properties; however, tarp material is strong enough to hold the weight of an average human body. To construct an improvised stretcher, fold your tarp into thirds and place two poles in the folds on both sides of the tarp. You can use this same design to build a sled stretcher or to carry heavy supplies over great distances.

Consider these valuable techniques for rigging a tarp over your tent to improve the efficiency of your shelter:

• Build a ridgeline lean-to shelter. This is a rapid tarp deployment technique you can use to create a durable cover that will protect you from strong winds and moisture. You Create a ridgeline using cordage between trees or poles—this will help to deflect water droplets. Now situate the camping tarp to form an upside-down “L” over the ridgeline. The long side of the L should face into the wind or rain and be at roughly a forty-five-degree angle to the ground (give or take the angle of the inclement weather. Now connect the tarp’s four corners to the ground to block the wind or shelter your gear and fire from the rain.
• Hang your tarp with paracord. You can use paracord (short for “parachute cord”), rope, cordage, or bungee cords to hang your tarp shelter from nearby trees or other vertical attachment points. Some essential knots to learn for building a tarp shelter include the taut-line hitch, Prusik knot, and bowline knot. These specialized knots will keep your guy lines (the rope you use to secure your tent to the ground) taut and your tarp secure.
• Use tent poles to form the roof of your camping tent. If you plan to camp in a flat area without trees or other vegetation from which you can hang your tarp, you can use your backpack and tarp poles to prop up the roof structure of your tarp tent.

Certain outdoor activities carry an elevated risk of serious injury. Wilderness scenarios require extensive survival gear, including but not limited to food, water, maps, protective clothing, and first aid, along with mental and physical fortitude. This article is for educational and informational purposes, and is not a substitute for hard skills and expertise.

Prepare for any outdoor journey by grabbing a MasterClass Annual Membership and committing Jessie Krebs’s wilderness survival course to memory. As a former United States Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape instructor, Jessie can teach you everything you need to know about packing for a trip (neon is the new black), purifying water, foraging (crickets: the other white meat), starting a fire, and signaling for help (forget SOS).