Pole Tent Lighting

**jcander2** · June 11th, 2012, 06:45 PM

I tried to search the forum for this but had not luck. I'm getting into tent lighting and want to hear some ideas of how to handle the cabling when rigging on pole tents. Given the poles are in the center, what methods have you found to be effective in running power cable (without creating a visual mess of cords).

**gafftapegreenia** · June 11th, 2012, 07:08 PM

Depends on the tent really. Some tents have slide tracks that some shops custom fab hangers for. Other tents have a unistrut like channel ( but it mostly certainly is NOT unistrut compatible) that shops custom fab hangers for. Some tent roofs have straps that run along the edges you can pull cable through. Other tents are just poles or none of the above, in which case zip ties or tie line is your best friend. There is no easy way. I try to run my cables down one side of the tent and then run the cables up the ribs. Cable ramps are often also a necessity.

The Light Source also makes and will custom fab cheeseburgers to fit I the larger round tent uprights.

**jcander2** · June 11th, 2012, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by gafftapegreenia

Depends on the tent really. Some tents have slide tracks that some shops custom fab hangers for. Other tents have a unistrut like channel ( but it mostly certainly is NOT unistrut compatible) that shops custom fab hangers for. Some tent roofs have straps that run along the edges you can pull cable through. Other tents are just poles or none of the above, in which case zip ties or tie line is your best friend. There is no easy way. I try to run my cables down one side of the tent and then run the cables up the ribs. Cable ramps are often also a necessity.

The Light Source also makes and will custom fab cheeseburgers to fit I the larger round tent uprights.

Thanks for the info. All great points. I've come across a few tents with just poles and no channels to run cable. Those are the ones that can be a pain, and you're right about zip ties and tie line.

**FatherMurphy** · June 11th, 2012, 10:28 PM

Long hose clamps can be useful in tents, they can generate more holding power than zip-ties. Stocking up on cables the same color as the tent material can help with camouflaging them, but short of embedding cables inside poles and ribs, there's not much more to be done.

**AhClem** · June 11th, 2012, 10:52 PM

While it may not always be a practical solution, a piece of verticle truss (say about 6' tall) , with the cabling hanging inside, lashed to the pole makes it pretty easy to hang some camouflage material as a disguise for most "average viewer's" field of view. A folding truss piece that will allow you "wrap it around" tha hanging cables rather than having to thread the cables through a fixed triangle or square truss piece will probably be easier to handle.
Of course you could always get some fake vines and leaves and turn the tent pole/cable bundle into a "tree".

Ah Clem

**BillESC** · June 12th, 2012, 11:21 AM

About half of my gigs each year are in tents. Depending upon the load requirements I can have the tent contractor drop a 20 amp cable down the pole from the top.

My shop makes these tent pole clamps which are very handy for rigging fixtures.

If you need to run cables through the grass, sod staples will all but eliminate the trip hazard if installed every 2 to 3 feet.

**StNic54** · June 12th, 2012, 02:20 PM

When I worked tents regularly, our company used white power cords, white dmx, and we had everything placed before the tent was raised. We used brackets on the center poles that were fabricated to fit around the poles (with rubber matting to protect the poles), and then these brackets bolted together. Welded on these brackets were pipes we would slide our lighting pipes inside, and a set bolt to keep them from rotating. From there, tons of white zip ties to clean up the runs, and white pinspots and jr. zooms to keep the aesthetics for the room and, more importantly, for the photos that they'll be looking at for years to come. If the tent didn't have center poles, we used similar mounts on the perimeter of the tent. My advice: befriend your local tent companies, and remember that they sometimes sell lighting packages as well, but always stay on top of their schedules.

**Pie4Weebl** · June 12th, 2012, 10:07 PM

With century tents, which are the style with poles in the center, we typically will swag a cable from the center out to the seam in in tent itself and them zip tie that down to the side.

No cable ramps, no fuss, its perfect.

**bishopthomas** · June 13th, 2012, 10:46 PM

You can run a cable up the pole and trench the crossing, or you can run a cable down the pole from the top and the cable comes down the roof. Of course, the latter requires cables to be run before the tent goes up.

**Pie4Weebl** · June 13th, 2012, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

You can run a cable up the pole and trench the crossing, or you can run a cable down the pole from the top and the cable comes down the roof. Of course, the latter requires cables to be run before the tent goes up.

I don't understand, how do you run cables down the centerpoles of the tent and across the roof if you run the cables before the tent goes up?

**emoreth** · June 15th, 2012, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by Pie4Weebl

I don't understand, how do you run cables down the centerpoles of the tent and across the roof if you run the cables before the tent goes up?

I'm guessing the idea is for the cable to go up as part of the tent setup. Easier than poking it through the holes and feeding it down the roof afterward.

**Erik456** · June 21st, 2012, 11:17 AM

Yes, absolutely. Especially with big tents. You will end up having to feed upwards of 100' of cable up through the tent when (with a little preplanning) you can have drop tails down the pole holes.

**OTISDM** · November 27th, 2012, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by Pie4Weebl

I don't understand, how do you run cables down the centerpoles of the tent and across the roof if you run the cables before the tent goes up?

Hi ... most pole tents are made in sections ... for example, a 40' x 80' would consist of two end sections, each 40' x 20' and two mid sections, each 40' x 20'. The sections are laid out on the ground and laced together before raising the tent. At this point, extension cords can be laid into the seams before lacing, positioned so that the male end is at the side of the tent and the female end drops down a predetermined length on the center pole, allowing a power point on each center pole.

The pictures below are of a circular strip outlet for center poles, mfg. by Thorvation.com, distributed by tentwares.com. The next two photos are of the multi bracket, made by Otis Design & Mfg. and also distributed by tentwares.com Lots of options when using this gear.