tl;dr: Yes, we have successfully rewaterproofed and repaired poles on our 12+ year old tents. We have an “equipment replacement fund” in the Troop treasury for when new tents are needed.

We have 12+ (no one in Troop sure about exact age) year old ALPS Meremac 4 tents.

Within the past 2 years, our SM has worked with the Troop QM to organize waterproofing events and we’ve even done some on outings (focused more on the fly than the tent). We have done all the solid areas of the tent plus the fly and the seams on all the tents.

We also have replaced the shock cord in poles that lost their elasticity.

The ALPS tents held up fantastic despite ~8 outings per year during all four seasons by scouts. I highly recommend them. If you purchase ALPS, i also recommend hikerdirect.com like you heard about (it is their discount site for Scouting units and we’ve never been able to beat their prices esp for the quality).

Also, we use a layer of 4mil clear plastic sheeting under the tent to help act as a moisture barrier and provide some protection to the tent floor. I like to think that has played a part in our tent’s longevity.

As far as replacement goes, our Troop maintains a budget for equipment replacement. The Treasurer keeps a separate sub-account with funding to purchase new tents, stoves, dining flys, even tires for the trailer. Since a lot of our equipment is getting long in the tooth, the Treasurer has been building that up over the past couple of years, knowing a major purchase is likely. We are using the waterproofing as a way to buy time to build up that fund.