We have just spent 6hrs this afternoon trying to put up our new Coleman Columbia!! This included twice taking it down and starting again...eventually after three hours got the inner up but we could not get the flysheet right...gaps all over the place...not able to peg down the guy ropes...
Surprised you did not hear the arguements up and down the length of the country!!
We bought one last year as total newbies to camping. It took so long to put up that we were relieved once it was up to find that it had been incorrectly stitched and we had the perfect excuse to take it back!! We were only considering week-end camping, so it was too much faff for us, but if you are looking at a week's camping, I'm sure it'll be worth the effort.
had a go at putting a tent up for a friend as we had 30+ years tenting he asked us to have a go although a new tent never been used my friends lad bought it of the web and could not sort it out as although new and never been used he had no instructions with it,he had had it about four months, so we had a go after about half a hour and much head scratching we realised it had of some of the poles duplicated and missing some vital ones ,
------------- geoff & annb,--
never lost just on tour
your just jealous of the little voices talking to me
The first time we tried to put our tent up it took us ages and didn't get it completely up the instructions where useless, so the next day went to the shop and had another look how it was put up, looked at everything, how the poles where positioned, how it was pegged and there where some bits that had to go at 90 degree angle, anyway manged next time to erect it, used the tent for 6 years and got better each time at putting it up, so dont give up!!!
The Columbia goes up inner first...which was fine once we worked this out-the instructions don't actually tell you...but when we tried to put the flysheet over we could not get the flysheet to cover the whole of the tent...there were big gaps between the ground and the edge of flysheet...maybe should have taken a photo I could post for advice...but the instructions said to tie the flysheet to the poles before pegging which made this worse as the tied material raised higher off the ground...so then when we tried to peg out the guylines they were stretching the fabric of the tent but I think this was because the flysheet was not positioned very well...
There were three of us there so it was not a case of not enough hands...my dad has a large frame tent that he can throw up in no time...and I have been camping with him in that too many times to count...so we are not complete novices but this was the first time we had attempted such a modern built tent...
Six hours wasted was bad enough but we just dismantled the thing about an hour ago as you couldn't sleep in it the way it was...thank goodness we only went as far as my parents garden! Three very disappointed children though...they were promised a night in the new tent...
Flysheets don`t normally go all the way to the ground...there is a gap so that the rain can just roll off the flysheet. Anything up to four inches would be acceptable iMHO, more if there were places the ground dipped.
So if you look at the photo on my gallery image there is the black band round the skirt of the tent...so that black band does need to be flush all the way round the tent?...there was a gap of probably more than 4inches and all the poles and ties were exposed...
It was me, OH and my dad trying this afternoon...have left the tent and instructions with my dad and he is determined to study them tonight and get the tent up in the morning...
Original plan was to cook on the camping stove and pretend we were someplace else...then as time marched on the plan changed to be eating fish suppers in the tent...that never happened and I have just finished eating the curry that was delivered to the house...we never even stopped for food today!...and I have opened the bottle of wine that I was saving to toast the new tent with...
It does sound an awfully big gap. I`ve not seen this tent up, unfortunately...my local camping emporium doesn`t have them. Does the inner have tensioning straps to pull tight once the poles are threaded in and pinned?
Is this the one? It certainly looks like there ought to be a gap, but it is hard to tell from the picture. I made the presumption that the green was the outer and the black is the groundsheet of the inner.
tip dont tie the fly to the ploes tightly, why so you can slip the fly about when you pulling the tensioners to get the shape right on the fly, also you have the same tensioners for the inner make sure they all even as well.
there should be a gap all around the base for air circlation, and if the ground is not even you tend to put the tent upright so it looks odd and not right which it is not right away with the ground.
The black band you see around the edges is the pvc draught (draft? spelling) skirt. We are going up to United British Caravans this morning (SUNDAY) so will take my camera and take some shots if it is still on display and get them either on here or sent to you. daveb had no problems with his, said he had it up in an hour at first attempt, will post later.
Thanks for all your help...I went to my bed early last night...in disgust that I was not camping out in my new tent...
Yeah the main part of the flysheet is blue and then the black band around the edges is the draft skirt...well if you look at the photo above the draft excluder reached the ground around the main body but the point between the triangle window and the window with the name of the tent written below it was where the flysheet was creeping up and all the poles were exposed...it was the same on the other side at each of the parts where the bedrooms meet the main tent...
Not aware of any tensioners inside the tent...but we did try to only tie the flysheet to the inner in a couple of spots to allow us some room for manouvre as we tried to get the flysheet right...my dad is an old canvas pro and he kept shouting at me to lift that canvas higher!!...it did not matter how often I said 'It's not canvas'...he kept calling it that...we wondered if maybe we had the inner poles too steeply arranged and that made it too high for the fly sheet to go alll around?...
thanks for all your help on this sunny bank holiday weekend
Just phoned my mum to discover that my dad sat up most of the night studying what little instructions there were...he even attempted to put the inner up in their living room!...my presence is required this afternoon in their garden to give it another go...will let you all know how it goes...
I have heard people suggest on here that some tent manufacturers put instructions for pitching their tents on their websites...I even watched a couple of video clips when we were deciding which tent to buy...I have searched but cannot find a website address for Coleman...checked out their brochure and all I could find was an email address...
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Topic: 6hrs-gave up-tent back in box!!!
