Rust: How to Get Tarp

Here's how to get tarp in Rust.

Tarp is not obtainable directly from most standard crates, despite a common misconception among players in Rust. Some crate loot can be recycled into tarp, but the item itself does not spawn inside them directly. Anyone farming crates specifically hoping for tarp will end up disappointed no matter how many get opened.

Farming Barrels

The most reliable way to get tarp is by breaking yellow or blue barrels found along roadside trash piles and near various monuments. Each of these barrels carries roughly an 8% chance of dropping tarp when destroyed.

Since this comes down to random chance, results vary a lot between runs. Sometimes the very first barrel broken gives tarp right away, while other times several barrels in a row need to be smashed before one finally drops. Sticking with it and breaking through a decent number of barrels in one sitting tends to average out to a steady supply over time.

This method also comes with an added benefit - barrels are common enough along roads and monument surroundings that farming tarp this way doubles as general resource collection, since other useful loot tends to drop from the same barrels.

Staying alert for grubs and other threats while doing this is still worth keeping in mind, even though the barrel method itself avoids any direct combat.

Killing Dwellers

Tunnel Dwellers, found patrolling underground tunnel networks, and Underwater Dwellers, found in Underwater Labs, both carry roughly a 15% chance of dropping tarp when killed. This gives a slightly higher per-encounter chance than barrels offer individually.

That said, this method requires combat and, in the case of underwater dwellers, proper diving gear to reach them safely underwater. It's a decent backup, but between the travel time and the fighting involved, it's not necessarily any faster overall.

Which Method Is Better

If you just want tarp quickly and without much risk in Rust, sticking to barrels along roads and monuments is still the way to go. It requires no fighting, no special gear, and barrels are common enough across most maps that a farming route can be built around them without much extra planning. The dweller method is worth trying only if already in the area for other reasons, since the higher per-kill odds don't make up for the extra risk and setup on their own.

Also, check out our other guides below :

• Rust: How to Complete the Launch Site Puzzle
• Rust: How to Generate and Store Electricity
• Rust: How to Build and Defend a Base
• Rust: How to Run the Dome Monument
• Rust: How to Fish Without Breaking Your Line
• Rust: Every Way to Get Cloth
• Rust: How to Destroy Turrets While Raiding
• Rust Beginner's Guide: Tips and Tricks for New Players
• Rust: How to Get and Use Blueprint Fragments