WHAT  TO  CONSIDER  WHEN RENTING  A  CLEARTOP  TENT

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The information on this page is part of POLICY-SOP and a contract requirement. Please read carefully.

Cleartop tents are frame tents with a gorgeous clear vinyl top instead of white or colored vinyl. They allow you to take in the beauty of your surroundings, like a sunset or the stars. You selected your venue for a reason— so don’t let it go unnoticed! Mild temperature months are best for cleartops.

While probably the most beautiful and awe inspiring tent choice, cleartops are not glass and can get hot unless proper care is taken. While plastic windows are also made of clear vinyl, clear tent tops are made by sandwiching layers of clear vinyl and other materials together for strength and flexibility. This means they are not quite as clear and can appear to have a blur or cloudiness that increases with time. In BA and A grade cleartops (wedding grade), this is minimal. Cleartops can also cloud in humid or wet conditions but this typically "burns off" in sunlight. Probably the biggest issue people have is with cleartop tents becoming hot. Remember, they are basically giant greenhouses. Sunlight readily comes in, but the heat it carries may not be able to escape. Proper planning and use of the following techniques will help minimize this.

What to consider in warm months:

AVOID PAVEMENT. Asphalt, concrete, paving stones and the like may seem an ideal setting for a cleartop tent. While they do provide a great base and can be carpeted without the need for commercial event flooring, they also store heat and radiate it back into the tent throughout the day and evening. If possible, set up your tent on soft grass that has been cut short similar to a golf fairway. It's comfortable to walk on and even provides evaporative cooling. In fact on sunny days, surface air temperatures over lawns stay 10^o-14^oF cooler than over asphalt or concrete.

POSITION YOUR TENT UNDER SOME SHADE. Cleartops provide an impressive view during the day and even more so at night. But, light a glass greenhouse, they collect and store heat. One of the best solutions is shade. Have your tent set under a canopy of trees or in the shadow of an beautiful building. Choose the site based on the shade available. Request sun-block covers be installed that you can pull down off the tent before you begin using it.

AIR CIRCULATION. Make a plan for air circulation - don't expect the tent company to do it for you. Your layout and cooling are directly linked. If your layout blocks ventilation and entryways, warm and moist air will be trapped inside. Maximize airflow. Your main aisle should run through the tent from the main door, allowing warm air to pass through and escape. Keep guest seating away from heat sources such as audio-visual equipment, cooking equipment and lighting. Get the right size tent or even larger. A  small, overcrowded tent is almost impossible to keep comfortable inside. One of the lowest cost, most effective cooling options is to install tent joist fans that hang from the tent. A slightly more expensive option that is also more beautiful is to install tent ceiling fans. These provide a unique permanent structure look to your tent. Either of these fan options will keep air circulating throughout the day. Standing floor fans are almost a necessity inside any clear top tent. They improve circulation while reducing overall temperature. Floor fans can also help to eliminate condensation that can develop without adequate ventilation.

What to consider in cold months:

TOO COLD. Cleartop tents can shrink in weather below 48^oF and this may impact your use. Always expect issues if rented in below freezing temperatures and only white top tents are recommended for cold weather use. It may be possible to work around some issues and not others. In either case the RENTER is responsible for the extra costs, labor and damages incurred. In cold weather the clear vinyl will strink, get brittle and crack, potentially causing thousands of dollars in damage and leaving uncoverable gaps. If you have rented a cleartop and cold weather is predicted, a white top can be substituted. An ecredit for the difference in cost will be issued and that you can cashout as explained in POLICY-CC. If you refuse or fail to do a substitution you are responsible for any costs, labor and damages incurred, any loss in appearance or quality and any loss of use and/or comfort.

HEATERS. Make sure you have enough heaters and LPG (liquid propane gas) for the LOWEST EXPECTED temperature and highest LPG vaporization rate during your event. The default temperature is 48^oF, but if the temperature falls below 60^oF you MUST follow the LPG vaporization and heater guidance given next to the fuel line items in your event order. If LPG gets too cold, the vapor pressure will be too low for tent heaters to operate, the gas regulator may lock or freeze or the LPG low pressure switch will trip off. Tent heaters are fairly basis pieces of equipment with very low failure rates but if find your heater operates correctly for 5 or 10 minutes then shuts down for no apparent reason (and the little red light on the side of the heater next to the on/off switches is flashing) this means you have a low propane vapor pressure and are vapor locked. LPG tanks take heat from ambient air to warm (boil) the liquid propane in your propane tank to a gas to feed the regulator and then the heater. If too cold, the liquid propane will not boil fast enough and the heater's low pressure sensor will trip the heater off. Think of this like boiling water on a stove - if you turn down the heat the boiling stops and nothing is vaporized.

WIND BREAK. Tents are not sealed structures but you can add on items that can help reduce airflow into your tent. These are optional and do add to your cost. Consider adding sidewall anchors that connect to the bottom of sidewalls to minimize movement as well as an inner valance at the top of the sidewall to help seal the top. An extreme measure of temporary taping down of the tent top, valance and sidewall is also possible. Again, each option will add material, labor and clean-up costs.

ACCUMULATIONS. Snow, ice, sleet and water cannot be allowed to accumulate on any tent. The additional weight may cause the tent to weaken and collapse. The renter is responsible for removing this and for any damage that occurs. See: https://www.amerevent.com/ponding for more information.

There is no guarantee against weather...

REMEMBER there is no guarantee against weather and all costs, losses, damages are the RENTER's responsibility. We do recommend purchasing the CDW waiver so damages can be capped at a  20% deductible and you can receive an ecredit for items you cancel before delivery.