How to Make a Wooden Tent Platform | Gone Outdoors
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How to Make a Wooden Tent Platform

Sep 24, 2011
1 minute read

Tent platforms are ideal for elevating a tent when camping -- portable platforms are particularly useful if you are traveling to different campsites. These structures keep tents off the ground, thereby keeping campers dry, especially if it rains. They also provide a solid surface on which to walk and make pitching a tent more like a home away from home. These platforms can be built to custom fit your tent's dimensions.

Items you will need

  • Plywood sheets

  • 2-by-4-inch lumber beams

  • Hinges

  • Stainless steel screws

  • Screw gun

  • Circular saw

Step 1

Lay two sheets of plywood directly on the ground, abutting one another. Fasten three hinges along the seam using stainless steel screws and a screw gun. Space the hinges evenly, placing one on each end and one in the middle.

Step 2

Turn the adjoined plywood sheets over, with the hinges touching the ground.

Step 3

Fasten 2-by-4-inch lumber beams to the borders of both plywood sheets using stainless steel screws, creating two skirts. A skirt is the box under the plywood that helps to frame the reinforcement studs.

Step 4

Cut several 2-by-4-inch lumber beams to fit snugly inside the skirts, using a circular saw.

Step 5

Fasten the 2-by-4-inch lumber to the plywood, between the skirts, using stainless steel screws. Space each 2-by-4 about 6 to 8 inches apart to form the reinforcement studs.

Step 6

Turn the entire platform over, and fold it in half to transport it.

Owen E. Richason IV

Owen Richason grew up working in his family's small contracting business. He later became an outplacement consultant, then a retail business consultant. Richason is a former personal finance and business writer for "Tampa Bay Business and…

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