GP Large "modified" tent questions

A guy I work with has a brother in law that has a "GP Large Modified Military Tent" that he wants to sell. It's 19'x28'. He says it has no mildew at all, but has one hole in the roof that needs to be patched and it's in "good" condition. $200. He wants it out of his garage asap. Guy I work with called me as soon as he heard it was for sale.

If all of this is true, and assuming it comes with all of the equipment (poles, ropes, stakes, etc.?) it's a good deal from what I find for sale online for similar tents. It would be a bad-ass hunting camp setup and I've been kinda looking around for one for a few years, but not seriously.

Are these a gigantic PITA to set up? Can it be done with one guy or are 2 needed at a minimum? Should I just be happy with my big ass family tent and forget about this thing?

Sounds like a pretty good size and a really good price. Definitely a 2 person minimum job. The canvas tents are great for hunting when you get the wood stove going inside.

They're not horrible to setup if you lay everything out (if there are different sized poles etc). A little spray paint to color code the poles and the inserts they go into works pretty well.

Two minimum, four people is ideal. I can remember being a member of "tent parties" in a former life putting GP tents up. They aren't hard to put up but it is a lot of tent and a lot of stuff to haul around for it.

Both responses are on the money. We could do it with 2 people once you've set it up prior, then marked what goes where.

Never set up a GP large but set up more GP mediums than I ever want to think about.

If you get it, use the wooden stakes for firewood. We had endless problems with the stakes themselves splitting apart or pulling out of the cold ground in Germany. I think a decent set of 18" - 24" re-bar stakes would work better, take up less space and be more rugged.

No floor so either be OK with putting your feet down on the bare ground or figure some kind of flooring system if you plan on being in it for a while. Is there a stove jack (the metal part that the stove chimney goes through?) If not you'll probably want to have one installed.

I always hated setting up those big tents. By the time I got to Bragg we had the frame tents (ARFABs) that were much, much easier to set up and could be moved once they were set up.

GP tents look great in WWII movies but they are crazy heavy and IMO a ton of work to put up.

I'd pass, personally. As others have said, pain to set up. Old tech. Too heavy.

If you want something like that, save your pennies and get a more modern frame tent.

Great tents once they're set up. Take up a lot of storage room and heavy.

It looks a bit big to pack on a horse if you go there. Thats a huge tent we have a 12x12 and sleeps 4-6, plus a kitchen addition. Good Luck

You better have at least a full squad to set up a GP large and cool weather. A GP medium is possible with 2 - 3 people.

On the GP large, the center beam takes 3 to comfortably hump into position before erecting.

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Originally Posted by Great-Kazoo

Both responses are on the money. We could do it with 2 people once you've set it up prior, then marked what goes where.

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And look at you now........ [Tooth]

Are you sure you are not thinking of a GP medium ?

Thanks guys. I'm going to pass on this.

We used a GP Small with liner for several years as our bunk tent for 4 to 6 guys. Plenty of room for all of us and our gear. Just moving the tent was a 2-person job. Setting up was pretty quick with 2 or 3 guys. I can only imagine how heavy a large is. It made for a comfy camp, though.

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Originally Posted by SideShow Bob

And look at you now........ [Tooth]

Are you sure you are not thinking of a GP medium ?

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I notced that too. Yes, he is thinking of a medium. A GP large doesn't have a ridgepole, a GP medium does.

Many years back, our hunting party had a GP Small for winter camping. A small propane stove would turn it into a very warm place fast in very cold weather but if it wasn't cold enough, that thing was hot. I recall it took three to set it up. Plenty of space, I can't imagine trying to hump a GP Large nor how much trailer space it would take up.