Are you looking to combine tents with friends or family for more space?
Do you wish there was a simple way to connect tents to make an awesome mega-tent?
You’re not alone. It’s logically one of simplest things in the world, but in execution, it’s a little tricky to figure.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help. After doing some research (and failing on our own many times), we came up with this guide on how to connect two tents together.
Connecting two tents together doesn’t have to be complicated if you know what to look for. Common methods include buying tents meant to connect together, zip or binder clip the doors together, create a tarp hallway, and using a larger canopy to hold part of a smaller tent inside.
Read ahead for more details on these different techniques and what they need.
Table of Contents
4 Ways To Connect Two Tents Together
This section goes through point by point how to connect two tents together using our simple methods.
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Use A Tent Meant For Connecting
This is the easiest and best method.
Some tent manufacturers make tents which are specifically designed like pods.
These tents connect perfectly (usually through zipping).
It’s even possible to buy tent pods designed similar to rooms.
This way, you get to set up the tents like you want.
There are two bigger downsides for this approach.
First, you wouldn’t be able to use this with random friends and family unless they bought the exact same brand of tents.
Second, these tents tend to cost more.
Not that they aren’t high quality as a rule, but they do have a higher price.
A good example of this is found with the company called PodTents.
All these folks do is make these kinds of tents.
A more affordable brand is found with the Coleman Connectable tent bundle.
Check out the best dome tents for first time campers.
Zip Or Clip Doors Together
The most common and one of the easiest options is just to zip or clip the doors together.
The works best if the tent doors are the same size.
You will need at least one of the tents to have two doors to allow access to your tent complex.
If the brands are the same or the sizes of the doors are close, you may luck out and just need to zip the tents together.
This is the ideal option as all you need is to clip the excess door material out of the way.
This way will also prevent a lot of leaking.
If the doors don’t fit perfectly, don’t give up. It’s still possible just to use binder clips to clip them together.
The more you use, the better in this case.
The biggest problem with using clips comes from potential leaking or bug invasion.
Reduce this by overlapping the rain flies from each tent or draping a tarp over where they connect.
Any binder clips will work, but if you want a good seal AND you don’t want to damage your tent, you’ll need something a little extra.
I use these 2-inch binder clips for teaching and for camping.
The plastic is gentle enough to prevent tearing, but these guys are strong (and affordable!).
You may also enjoy learning about the best rainfly for tent camping.
Tarp Hallway
Without any kind of clips or if the doors aren’t close in size, it’s still possible to connect tents with a large tarp.
For this method, all you’ll need is a large tarp and a cord or line. (Click to check current pricing on Amazon).
Place the tents with doors facing one another about 5 feet (1.52 m) apart.
Run your cord over the top of both tents and pull the line tight.
Consider using a tent stake on each end.
Drape the tarp over the line between the two tent doors to create a makeshift hallway.
Stake down the edges of the tarp where possible to make sure it doesn’t blow away.
Depending on your tent’s shape, it’s possible to run two lines between the tents.
This would let you create a boxer hallway shape with more room to move in.
Many campers will use this method if they want to connect to other tents but still need a little privacy.
The hallway may be made longer, but this puts more stress on the tarp and has more sag in the middle.
If you want a longer hallway, you may need to find large branches to help prop up the tarp and displace the weight across more objects.
Related Reading: What Materials Are Tents Made Of?
Cover Over A Smaller Tent Door
The final method works just fine, but it has more specific requirements.
However, it is possible to use this to create a more hub-like unit with multiple tents.
For this method, you’ll need a much larger tent or canopy set up in the center.
We recommend the one below.
Place the tent door just inside the wall of the larger tent or canopy.
Drape the wall over or use a tarp with clips to seal it in.
Repeat with other tents to create a larger communal center area with smaller sleeping tents connecting to it.
The more removable or draping walls, the more tents able to fit.
Also, keep in mind you may want to use rainflies or tarps to prevent dripping.
Why Would You Want To Connect Two Tents Together?
It’s fun when you combine your tents, but some of you may be wondering why you would want to attempt this in the first place.
Here are a few common reasons people combine tents:
- People have their own rooms.
- People can sleep on their own time schedule (works great for kids).
- Keeps gear and items separate and organized better.
- Gives you more space for larger groups of people on bad-weather days.
- Provides a more stable feeling home area when camping.
Why Wouldn’t You Want To Connect Two Tents Together?
This being said, there are some reasons you may not want to connect tents together.
It’s not right for every situation, and here are some reason you may choose not to:
- Larger and connected tents are more likely to be affected by wind.
- More tents cost more money.
- Takes extra time to set up.
- Puts you in closer proximity to others (if you value privacy and space more).
- It’s more likely to leak (unless you choose a connecting tent design).
Another Option: Multi-Room Tents
If you and your immediate family are the ones who want to connect tents, you may find it overall cheaper and easier to buy a multi-room tent.
Multi-room tents work just like pod tents or connected tents.
Unlike pod tents, they cost a little less overall, and you don’t have to buy multiple tents to stick together.
Unlike just connecting tents, they won’t leak or require clipping because they’re designed to be together.
On the other hand, multi-room tents are heavier and require more work to assemble than a single room tent.
Then again, if you’re already going through the effort of connecting tents anyways, you may just be better off getting the multi-room tent.
These tents may not be necessary if you only join up with friends on occasion, but if you find yourself connecting regularly, a multi-room tent may save you time and frustration.
We like this one by Ozark. It lasts a long time and has 3 rooms for different uses.
Conclusion
We hope you found this guide on how to connect two tents together helpful.
Some of these 4 methods work better than others, but they’ll all do in a pinch.
The two most people will use are the clipping doors together and tarp hallway methods.
Whichever you decide to use, just give it a shot and enjoy the time spent with friends and family in the outdoors!