It's More Than Just a License Plate

Tents for rent van with a license plate reading "Tents 4 U"

Our name is Tents For Rent. The license plate says Tents 4 U, but it's more than just a license plate. From the beginning to the end of your planning and event, we are there for you:

• As you plan, we are able to make recommendations on everything from tent size to lighting style.

• We use high quality tents that are safe and secure even during stormy weather.

• Our installation crew is professional, efficient, and pleasant.

• We give you peace of mind knowing that your event can go on even if it rains.

We're all about you. We bring your dream event to life in the outdoors.

How to Plan an Outdoor Wedding or Other Event

Tent wedding

So, you're looking forward to Fall with its beautiful colors and cooler temperatures. It's a great time to plan an outdoor event. But, where do you begin? I'd recommend starting here:

1. Create a guest list. You can expect that approximately 80% of the people you invite will attend.

2. Choose a location. It can be your backyard, a park, a bed and breakfast, the home of a friend or family member, or another venue.

3. Research vendors for tents, other rentals, catering, event planning and entertainment.

4. Expect the best weather, but plan for the worst. If you plan to have any portion of the event outside, have a backup plan to add another tent or move it indoors in case of rain.

5. Plan the details:

   1. Lighting

   2. Heating or cooling

   3. Tent layout

   4. Tables and chairs

   5. Linens

   6. Flooring

   7. Restrooms

   8. Power

   9. Enjoy your event.

We'd love to hear from you with your success stories, comments, suggestions or questions. Contact us to get a rental quote. 

Keep it Cool in a Tent

How is that possible in July and August? During the summer months, we get many questions about cooling tents for weddings, graduations, parties and corporate events. Two of the most common requests are air conditioning and mister fans also known as swamp coolers.

Air conditioning is a very excellent option. It keeps the tent cool and comfortable and works well in all types of summer weather. However, many people find the cost prohibitive. There are many variables, but the cost is often $3 - $4 per square foot to cool a tent for a single event. The reason for this is that tents are not at all insulated or air tight. So, massive generators and air conditioners are required to cool a tent. This requires a large amount of labor for installation and fuel for the generators.

Misting fans or swamp coolers are very effective at cooling in dry climates like Arizona. However, in the northeast where the humidity is high, we've had more limited success with them. They do provide some cooling. However, as they cool, they do increase the humidity. Also, they tend to make the people near them wet, especially when the humidity is high. If this is the desired effect, then it's a good way to cool off, but in some events, this may not be as appropriate.

The most popular way to cool a tent is to combine the shade of the tent with the natural breezes. In many cases, this is sufficient, but if you're looking for something more that is reasonably economical, small fans are a nice add-on that will help you have a cool party even in the hot summer. We offer two sizes and styles of fans. Our large 30" pedestal fans move the most air. The smaller 12" fans mount on the tent sidepoles. They are very quiet and unobtrusive. They are all white and work well even at a wedding. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact us. We want to make your event easy and comfortable. Enjoy the summer!

I Only Need a Tent in Case of Rain Video

Call us at 717.733.9700 or request a quote to be prepared for any type of weather.

Many people planning an outdoor event or wedding really love the outdoors. So do we. If you're an outdoors loving person, maybe you prefer to have your event outdoors with no tent at all. Maybe you like the full expanse of blue sky overhead during your wedding ceremony. Maybe you have visions of soft moonlight during your reception. Maybe you want to look up at the green canopy of trees overhead.

We understand this and we have a plan in place for you. Most summer days are lovely, warm and beautiful, but you need to plan for hot days with glaring sun or the stormy days with driving rain. That's where we come in. We allow you to reserve your tent and all the other rental items to go with it. If the weather forecast is beautiful, you can cancel the tent. There are several things you should consider when you're thinking of having a tent as a backup plan:

• Rain isn't the only type of inclement weather. Shade from the hot sun can help keep your guests more comfortable too.

• Even if you have your wedding ceremony outdoors, it's a great idea to rent a tent for the reception to cover the food, sound system and etc.

• If you're planning to light the tent, plan for how you want to light the space if you don't rent a tent. Not all types of lighting work as well outside a tent.

• You may want to rearrange your seating layout if you don't rent a tent.

• If in doubt, rent a tent. It's much better to rent a tent and not need it than cancel the tent and wish you had it.

So, how does it all work? When you reserve, we require a 25% deposit. This guarantees that your tent will be available in case of inclement weather. However, you may cancel the tent if the weather forecast looks beautiful. You may make this decision up until 9:00 AM of the business day before delivery and save yourself the remaining 75%. If you cancel after 9:00 AM, you save 50% of the tent rental cost. There are two exceptions to this: linens need to be cancelled one day earlier than tents in order to get a 75% refund and permits are not refundable at all. This gives you peace of mind knowing that your guests will have shade from the hot sun or cover from the rain. Yet, you have the option to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. So, reserve today to plan an event that will be beautiful no matter what the weather.

Have a great tent photo, win a free Kindle Fire

We're launching our photo competition again this year. If you'd like a chance to win a free Kindle Fire HD? Email your best tent event photos to tents@tentsforrent.net for your chance to win.

EventCollab Launches Showbook

EventCollab has just launched Showbook, an online collaboration tool for event planners. Whether you're planning a large wedding, a corporate event, or a fundraiser, it is a platform that can help you keep track of every detail. It's easy and flexible to use. You can share calendars and task to keep schedules on track. For a free 30 day trial, go to https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=ecshowbook&e=com.

George Washington's Tent Set to Go on Display

George Washington lived in what is known as the "First Oval Office" for eight years during the Revolutionary War. It was a 15' x 22' oval canvas tent that served as his sleeping, dining and meeting quarters. It was 9' tall with 5' doorways. It is being painstakingly restored to be put on display when the Museum of the American Revolution opens in 2016. Extreme care must be taken when handling the very fragile fabric. A frame is being constructed to support the tent without putting stress on the fabric, but this frame will be invisible to museum visitors.

George Washington's tent/marquee/oval office

Until then, a replica tent has been made at Colonial Williamsburg. It was hand sewn, since the sewing machine had not yet been invented in Washington's day. This replica will be a travelling exhibit.

Keep Your Construction Project on Schedule Even During the Winter

Commercial building construction tent

Tent for winter concrete pouring

Winter construction tent

40' x 260' winter construction tent

Winter concrete curing tent

When I think of a tent event, I think a beautiful spring day. The sun is setting and a soft breeze is blowing as a couple exchanges their vows. However, this certainly isn't the case for every tent event. In January 2014, ARCO Design/Build and Stief Concrete were working on a construction project that was running behind schedule because the cold weather was delaying the pouring of the concrete walls. Stief Concrete looked to Tents For Rent to supply tents, heaters, power and lighting to allow the construction project to move forward in spite of the unusually cold weather.

 The site presented some unique challenges. Parts of the tents could not be secured with traditional stakes. Instead, they needed to be secured with concrete anchors that could penetrate only 5 inches into the concrete. Yet, they had to be able to hold the tents in place safely and securely. Also, during this time there was a severe propane shortage that increased prices and made propane difficult to find at any price. We kept a crew onsite during days that concrete was being poured in order to open and close the tent walls to give access to the work crews. In addition, tents needed to be moved frequently as the project moved forward. Frequent changes in the weather and schedule required us to be flexible to keep everything moving forward smoothly.

All in all the project is moving forward smoothly and the tents are allowing this project to be completed much more quickly than otherwise possible.

What's going in next to Paul B's

View fullsize

Our new warehouse was featured in the local Ephrata Review

How Special Events Were Held 150 Years Ago

Outdoor special events are not new. Almost 150 years ago, the first official words fair was held. The Centennial International Exposition of 1876 was held in Fairmount Park on 450 acres of land. 10 million people attended from all over the world. Among the products that were first publicly displayed at the Exposition were Alexander Graham Bell's Telephone, the typewriter and Heinz Ketchup. It was an amazing display of the latest and greatest machinery and innovations of the day.

Main Exhibition Building

Today, this type of event would be held in a tent city, but in 1876, large tents were not yet available. So, over 200 buildings and 3 miles of fence were erected for this event. Most of these buildings were temporary and were dismantled after the event. The most amazing of these structures was the Main Exhibition Building. It was the largest building in the world at the time. Its construction began at each end of the building and met it the middle. It was completed in 18 months. Today, only four of the original 200 buildings remain, including Memorial Hall which now houses the Please Touch Museum.

Karl's Event Services/Arena Americas installed the world's largest temporary structure

I am amazed by the tremendous amount of cost, labor and resources required for the buildings for this event. Today, a similar event could be housed in a much more cost effective, environmentally friendly fashion. In 2012, Karl's Event Services/Arena Americas erected the world's largest temporary structure. It included flooring, lighting and much more. With the advent of large tents and structures, large special events have become much more economical and flexible.

Sources:

Wikipedia

Arena Americas

Planning a New Warehouse

  Having just completed the plans for our new warehouse, I can say that we’ve learned many things. It’s a daunting task that takes much more time and money than expected. We’ve been planning for at least eight years. Initially, we contemplated building onto our current warehouse, but some of the property restrictions made that a very expensive option. So, we began looking for another property. After we purchased a property, it took several years to get approval for the additional traffic flow that we would create. Then we encountered difficulties getting our tents classified properly so as not to require a ridiculously large, expensive sprinkler system. However, that is now behind us and construction is moving forward.

  So, what are the key takeaways for a rental company planning to build a new warehouse?  Plan ahead. Plan ahead. Plan ahead! This will allow you to have your new location ready before you outgrow your old location. Also, be sure to plan for any new types of inventory that you may add in the future. Another important item for us was the tent washing and drying area. Previously, we did most of our tent washing outdoors. We’re looking forward to being able to handle it indoors in all kinds of weather. We planned a space for our Teeco 5000 tent washer and a 50’ x 100’ area that is 40’ tall to hang our tents to dry. We also buried two large tanks to store rainwater runoff. This has two purposes: it saves on water costs and we are able to have “soft” water which is better for washing tents and trucks. The showroom is another important facet of designing a new warehouse. Be sure that customers can find it easily. This is your first impression for customers. Make it a good one.

One of two 50,000 gallon rainwater colletion tanks

  On the practical side, the details are important. The cost of heating and cooling is high. So, be sure to insulate the building well. Plenty of electrical outlets are also worth the cost. It’s much more expensive to add them later. Deciding on lighting can be another difficult decision with a plethora of options. LED lighting uses very little power, but has a high initial cost. Other types of lighting are cheaper to purchase, but more expensive to operate. We also placed large windows strategically to allow natural daylight to light the warehouse. Another option is Wi-Fi. It can reduce costs on cellular data if smartphones use Wi-Fi. It also gives you flexibility to add more computers later. However, it’s best to run network cables to computers instead of using Wi-Fi whenever possible. Pallet racking and forklifts are another decision that requires a lot of planning. Will most of your equipment fit onto standard pallets or will you need some wider aisle for oversized items? The width of your aisles can have a big impact on your building size.

  As the building begins to take shape, it’s a relief to have the planning behind us, and it’s exciting to look forward to a larger, more convenient warehouse. Feel free to contact me with any questions at https://tentsforrent.net or follow the status of our building here.

Daryl Sensenig

Tents For Rent LLC

110 Woodcorner Rd

Lititz, PA 17543

717.733.9700

3d Rendering of Our New Warehouse and Showroom

Our new warehouse and showroom are finally underway. Here is a rendering of the finished product.

Behind the Scenes Tour of the Tents

Tent Facade at New York Fashion Show

Thanks to The Special Event and Arena Americas for putting together an amazing behind the scenes tour of the tents for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Click here for more pictures and information.

Win a Free Kindle Fire HD

We appreciate your business, and we’d like to invite you to submit photos of your tent event. The person who submits the best photo will win a Kindle Fire HD tablet. Submit as many photos as you like. Each photo increases your chances of winning.

Please submit your photos by November 31, 2013. To submit your photos, email them to photos@tentsforrent.net .

For rules of the contest, see below.

2013 Photo Contest Rules

The 2013 Tent Photo Contest (the "Contest") is open to ALL photographers at least 18 years of age, except employees of Tents For Rent LLC and the immediate families of such employees. The contest is open to all participants regardless of residence or citizenship, so long as the laws of their jurisdiction allow participation.

WHAT TO ENTER:

We are looking for striking digital images of tents and the events held inside tents. You may enter as many photos as you like.

If you choose to include people in your submission, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary releases from the individuals depicted, and must be able to provide copies of those releases to Tents For Rent LLC upon request. Entrants must not submit images that involve human nudity or infringe on the rights of any other photographer or person.

HOW TO ENTER:

All images must be submitted as email attachments to photos@tentsforrent.net .

ELIGIBILITY AND JUDGING:

To ensure eligibility for the contest all entries must have a resolution of 3 megapixels or greater to be made available upon request. Images that do not meet this standard can still be judged, but may not be honored in the competition (at the judges sole discretion) if the photographer is unable or unavailable to provide the proper resolution when asked.

Previously published material for which non-exclusive rights were granted may be entered as long as you still maintain the right to grant us a license (see "Your Rights" below). You must be able to disclose when and where the photo appeared previously to Tents For Rent LLC upon request.

Submissions may be watermarked if desired, but the watermark should be inconspicuous enough to not interfere with the judging of the photo. A watermarked photo might not be honored by the competition (at the judges sole discretion) if the photographer is unable or unavailable to provide a pristine, watermark-free version of the image when asked.

Images will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact and artistic merit. The judges are a panel of Tents For Rent LLC staff members familiar with photography and responsible for selecting images. Tents For Rent LLC shall determine winner eligibility in its sole and absolute discretion. All decisions made by the judges are final.

DEADLINES:

Entries can be submitted until November 31, 2013.

Entrants may be asked to supplement their submission (such as the highest resolution version of their photo, or a watermark-free version of their photo).

The winner will be announced by December 15, 2013.

Tents For Rent LLC reserves the right to adjust any deadline(s) as the result of causes beyond its immediate control.

YOUR RIGHTS:

You will retain all rights to any photograph you submit -- including ownership if applicable. You grant Tents For Rent LLC rights (as described below) to your photograph for use in any marketing materials whether or not you win the contest. By submitting a photo, you grant Tents For Rent LLC a royalty-free, nonexclusive right, in perpetuity, to:

• Use the photograph on the      Internet in support of our mission.
• Use the photograph in Tents For      Rent LLC’s communications.
• Provide your photograph to      other individuals and organizations for use in news stories, newsletters,      reports, slide shows, displays, web pages, and the like.
• Use, in connection with the      Photo Contest, your name, city, state and country of residence in      promotions and other publications.
• Keep the files provided, and to      archive the images on CD or in other electronic forms, so that your photos      can be used to support our mission and be properly credited.

As conditions of this permission, Tents For Rent LLC shall credit photographs with the caption "© Person's Name" upon request.

New Warehouse

We're excited to announce that we've just begun moving dirt for a new warehouse and showroom facility a few miles from our current location. This new facility will allow us to serve you with a much expanded office and showroom. We will also have more space to increase our inventory and server you with a wide array of tents and other rental items.

Submit Photos, Win a Kindle Fire

Submit Photos, Win a Kindle Fire

Submit photos of your tent event for your chance to win a Kindle Fire HD tablet.

Please submit your photos by November 31, 2013. To submit your photos and for contest rules and information, send an email to photos@tentsforrent.net .

Submit as many photos as you like. Each photo increases your chances of winning.

Newly installed fabric hoop building

Green Fabric Hoop Building

We've just completed a semi-permanent steel and fabric structure.