Eureka, as a company, prides itself on creating tents and other equipment that are easy to set up and use. In size, they range from a small, one person Boy Scout tent, right on up through family-sized tents so you need to learn how you can set up a Eureka tent in the fastest way possible.
Eureka has been in the tent-making business since 1895 when they made wagon covers and store awnings, as well as large party tents. They made tents for soldiers during World War II. They put shelters over the 1963 Mount Everest expedition.
They continue to make tents for expeditions all over the world, as well as camping equipment for families around the world. Their tents are easy to assemble, are sturdy, and are available in different weights for different seasons.
How to Set Up a Eureka Camping Tent
Regardless of size or weight, Eureka tents have a basic, standard design. The floor, walls, and ventilation cap are sewn together in one piece.
They are given shape with poles, pegs, and stringers that help the tent remain upright. A rainfly fits over the top of the whole thing, giving the tent its ultimate shape.
Setting them up is pretty easy because once you have set up one, you have a good idea of how to set them all up.
1. Find a place where water can flow away from the tent. Even though all the tents are equipped with what Eureka calls a “bathtub bottom”, once you get water into these babies, it’s hard to get it out. If you can, dig a shallow trench around the area to encourage moisture to flow away from the tent.
2. Spread a tarp on the ground where the tent will be placed. This helps protect the bottom of the tent, adds an extra layer of insulation, and acts as an added moisture barrier.
3. Open the tent body and place it with the floor side down on the tarp.
4. Assemble the elastic threaded fiberglass tent poles.
5. Thread the tent poles through the support sleeves on the top of the tent body.
6. Place the ends of the poles into the pockets. On some models, there will be poles for the top of the tent, which will criss-cross, and create a dome. On others the poles will simply flex and bend, while on the one-man scout tents, they will form the classic A-frame tent shape.
7. When the poles are positioned, place them into the pockets or rings at the bottom of the tent. When they are all correctly positioned the tent will “PoP” up into place.
8. Stretch the bottom of the tent, and peg it down in all the indicated places. This will help keep it in place during a windstorm.
9. Place the rain fly over the assembled tent, making sure to position the door section over the door in the assembled tent.
10. Fasten the rain fly to the legs of the tent using the Velcro tabs that are located on the inside of the rainfly. This helps to position it and the legs, creating further stability.
11. Pull out the guy lines, and peg them a good distance from the tent. Hang bits of fluttery cloth on them to help keep people from tripping over them.
12. Put in the supports for the entrance doorway flap, and add the supportive guy lines for that. This will help keep drips off the tent door. Alternatively, if you’re tucking in for the night, the entry supports can be removed and the doorway neatly zipped down.
At this point, Eureka! You have a tent.
Now that you know how you can set up a Eureka camping tent, let us have a few words about the care and feeding of a Eureka tent. They are good tents. The bigger models, with their square sides, don’t do well in high winds. The lower models that hug the ground more closely, actually do better.
The Eureka website advises that correctly sizing a tent is important to stay warm in it when winter camping. Their blog says that you don’t want to have one person in a three-man tent, for example. The more people you have in your tent, the more body heat is generated, and therefore the warmer you’ll be.
If you’re camping alone (or even if you have a tent full of people) insulation is important. You’ll want a good, insulated ground mat, plus a winter weight sleeping bag to add layers of insulation around your body. Staying dry is important, too. So, pay close attention to where you’re pitching your tent and to what’s under it.
When it’s time to take your tent down, try to keep it as dry as possible. If you have had a rainy weekend, or if you have been camping in the snow, this could be difficult. When you get your tent home, spread it out in a dry location, such as a warm garage, and let it dry out completely before folding it, and rolling it up to put it back into its bag.
Before you leave the campsite, count all your tent pegs and your tent poles. When it’s time to put your nicely dried equipment away, check the ends of the poles for fraying or cracking. Fiberglass tent poles are lightweight and easy to assemble but sometimes split.
Now is the time to order new ones, before you need your tent again. The same thing is true of your tent pegs. Replace them as you are putting the tent away before it’s needed again.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Eureka puts out a good line of tents that are available in a variety of sizes. They are reasonably easy to assemble.
But, as one YouTuber suggested, try assembling your tent in your backyard a few times during pleasant weather so that if you need to put it up in a hurry in a rainstorm, you’ll know just exactly how to do it.
If you take care of your tent, it’s likely to take care of you.