Pole Tents vs Tension Fabric Buildings: Which Fits Your Job?

Pole tents fit one-day events and short-term cover on open ground. Tension fabric buildings fit storage, regular work space and cover that has to stay up for a season or longer. From the road the two look alike, with a fabric cover over a frame, but they are built for different jobs, and buying the wrong one is an expensive mistake.

Covermore Buildings, in Chouteau, Oklahoma, sells tension fabric buildings, shipping-container shelters and container roof kits and ships them nationwide. A pole tent still makes sense for the right job. Here is how to tell which side of the line yours falls on.

When is a pole tent the right choice?

Pole tents are good for one-day events and short-term cover on open ground. Center poles hold the cover up and stakes and ropes hold it down, so a pole tent is simple, quick to set up and usually costs less. It fits:

• Events that last a day or a weekend
• Short-term shade or cover on open ground
• Jobs where you plan to fold it up and haul it away

Where do pole tents fall short?

Pole tents fall short on long jobs, in bad weather and around equipment. Center poles sit in the middle of your floor, so you cannot drive a tractor around them or park a truck in a straight line. Stakes need soft ground. The cover sits looser than on a tension building and can sag or twist over time.

Weather is the biggest difference between pole tents and tension fabric buildings. Wind is a pole tent's real enemy, and staked tents are often taken down when the forecast turns. A wet snow load can flatten a pole tent canopy that was never meant to carry one. If you get real winters, the risk of wet snow load alone may rule out a pole tent.

What does a tension fabric building do differently?

A tension fabric building pulls its cover tight over a frame and is meant to act like a building, not a canopy. It is the better fit when you need to:

• Store equipment, hay, materials or vehicles
• Work inside on a regular basis
• Keep the same shelter up through seasons or years

Before you buy any tension fabric building, from us or anyone else, ask how it is anchored, whether the floor is clear of center poles, and what wind and snow loads it is designed for at your location.

How long does the cover need to stay up?

If the answer is a weekend, look at a tent. If it is a season, a project or the foreseeable future, look at a building. A tent that keeps getting replaced adds up, and a job interrupted by a collapsed canopy costs more.

Does a tension fabric building need a foundation or a permit?

It may need both. An anchored building usually needs a prepared base, and a permit may be required, so check with your local building department before you order. That is more work up front than staking a tent. Plan the site first.

What if you already own shipping containers?

Covermore Buildings sells shelters and roof kits that mount on shipping containers you already have on site. They give you covered space without buying a separate building. Ask us about them if containers are part of your setup.

Which one needs more upkeep?

A pole tent needs more upkeep than a tension fabric building: regular re-staking, rope checks and taking it down before storms. A tension fabric building needs an occasional look at the cover and anchors and a cleaning now and then, so over several years it usually asks less of you.

So which one fits your job?

• Event, brief cover, something you will move: a pole tent.
• Working space, storage, long-term cover: a tension fabric building.
• Containers already on site: ask about a container shelter or roof kit.

Not sure which side of the line your job falls on? Tell us about it and we will talk it through.