The minimum distance needed depends on the model you choose. There are easy ways to tighten the floor right up to the tree trunk if necessary, but a rough guide is 4m for our smaller tents, and 5m for the larger ones. See our handy Comparison Chart for the sizes. The maximum is only limited by the length of your ratchet straps. Each Tentsile comes with 3 x 6m straps, so the distance is about 14m, which combines two straps and the side of the tent. This is usually enough but if you need more, we have extra straps and ratchets to help configure the perfect pitch!