Description
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION FOR VINYL TENTS
The 14, 16, and 18 oz. premium vinyl film we use for our round/oval tents was developed especially for us and has been improved many times since 1980. The 18 oz. premium was designed especially for commercial pole tents that endure rough use and inclement weather in remote areas. It is also ideal for other tough applications requiring exceptional strength in a medium weight fabric. The 14, 16 and 19 oz vinyl we use for our square/rectangle tents is of the highest quality.


Permanently fire resistant! It is tested by a certified indepentdent testing lab and passes all the requirementsdetailed by the NFPA 701 Large Scale Flame Test.It also passes California State Fire Marshal small scale test as well as meeting all requirements of the ULC S109M87 Large and Small Scale test for Canada. All tents have a large tag showing these tests sewn to each section of the tent top. Certificates of flame resistance are also sent with every tent shipment. If your fire marshal has any questions regarding the material or the test, please contact us, and we will provide whatever additional information as needed.
Cleaning the commercial pole tent top can be done any time the tent is up – or down – even just before putting the tent away. A vinyl tent can look new, bright, and shiny year after year. The vinyl’s gloss can be maintained indefinitely with an application of ULTRA GLOSS SEALER.
It cannot leak until cut clear through. An oil-based product, vinyl never loses its water-repellent character. The seams are permanently covered with 3″ wide vulcanized stripping.
Strike Resistance: In comparison with ordinary tent top vinyls such as we first used, the new vinyl laminate resists hard, sharp blows from objects such as wall pole spikes from 50% to as much as 500% better. This represents a major breakthrough in fabric design where that fabric must endure a variety of perils.
Vinyls of every quality are being made today. The characteristics described above relate primarily to the vinyl-polyester laminate designed by us and engineered especially to our specifications.
Weight in oz. per
|
14
|
14
|
16
|
19
|
18 (Premium) | ||
yd., +/-10%
|
|||||||
Tear strength (Tongue)
|
Warp
|
94
|
54
|
54
|
111
|
141 | |
FSTM 191 Method 5134
|
Fill
|
95
|
52
|
52
|
115
|
150 | |
Tensile (Grab)
5100 |
Warp
|
240
|
267
|
272
|
248
|
295 | |
Fill
|
222
|
255
|
260
|
227
|
267 | ||
Burst Resistance
|
388
|
350
|
400
|
424
|
517 | ||
(Hydrostatic)
|
Superior materials are used throughout
A unique vinyl laminate* made to our specifications in 14, 16 and 18 oz premium makes our tent a lot better.
The fabric (scrim) in the 18 oz premium laminate that provides much of the extraordinary strength of our tent, is a 1300 x 1300 denier polyester (Dacron). All our 14, 16, and 19 oz. laminates, are 1000 x 1000 denier polyester (Dacron). All have 18 rip-stop cords every inch, 9 each way.
We use this same vinyl to weatherproof every seam on all of our tents (except for the eave belt around the edge on our most affordable 14 oz round and oval tents). Water naturally rolls off there and our thick polyester thread will last long enough without it.
The vinyl has good color-fast pigmentation. All our colors should last for years without fading. The vinyl contains extra U. V. protection, including plenty of titanium dioxide, which enables this unique vinyl to exceed all others in sun resistance and length of life. The extra thick 18 oz. contains even more, which enables this unique vinyl to exceed all others in sun resistance, abrasion resistance, smoothness and length of life.

Polyester does not react very much to extremes of temperature or humidity. Its size, shape and strength are stable, unlike cotton, hemp, or even nylon. All the steel-to-steel connections, are hot-dip galvanized, like coated nails, for 30 year rust resistance!
The commercially manufactured pole tent top and side-wall are composed of nothing but the finest vinyl, domestic polyester, and galvanized steel hardware. What this means is that your tent is not only as strong as modern science and modern technology can make it, but it will not grow slack when cooling, soaking rains come, and then sag into “water bags” and come down. By the same token, it will not stretch too tightly (like nylon will) in the sun. It will not change noticeably from one month to the next.
Superior design and detail work may be found throughout.

The unique bail-ring (pronounced “bell-ring”) (38′ and wider
18 oz., 50′ and wider on all others) is suited to either “push-pole” or pulley raising with never a chance that the center pole could damage the tent through abrasion.
Unique hook and ring connectors (at tent top, eave, and in 60′ and wider tents, at the quarter-band) help the tent easily endure the enormous forces in storms that can destroy weaker tents.
Our triple stitch seams with #207 polyester thread are about four times stronger than a normal double stitch with #138 thread. And again, polyester is about twice as strong as cotton. This is the miracle of modern materials. This translates into a product you can depend upon.
The quarter-pole positions: In 60′ and wider tents, the quarter poles carry most of the wind load as well as the weight of the tent itself. We therefore make these points particularly tough. The quarter poles are naturally positioned where seams cross with their 5700 pounds-strong seat belts.
To that we add:
An extra seat belt for 4 feet on both seams where they cross. A small and then a larger piece of kite-shaped vinyl over the area. Three layers of our powerful vinyl laminate, adding over 300 lbs. per inch, each. Quarter pole domes on 60′ and wider tents have tough, aluminum “heads” of 28 square inches (a 6″ disk) built right into the tent at every quarter pole position. They articulate, staying flush with the tent at all times.
Double belting: To add strength and safety to every area susceptible to stress, we use two seat belts in the following areas:
The seam at each “end” of every tent. This means that if you elect to add one or more “middles” to lengthen your tent you can pull the tent from each end very hard without special guy lines. (The strength of this one seam is over 13,000 lbs!)
The center-band of every middle (from center pole to center pole) is a special belt. We use 2″ wide on our smaller tents. On our medium to large commercial pole tents we use a 3″ wide with 18,000 lbs. in breaking strength.
Our deluxe side-wall (curtain) is special in four ways:
1 1/2″ belt around edge.
Stainless steel snap hooks and zinc grommets that will never rust.
Bi-fold corners, 4 layers thick, so any one edge of the sidewall can absorb up to 1000 lbs. of stress if need be.
The vinyl scrim of the sidewall is as strong as any tent top material we’ve seen except our own. A score of significant detail items that cannot be enumerated here, but can be seen, used and appreciated. Continuous research and development, evaluation and testing, insures that Miami Missionary Tent Company will continue to advance the state of the art.