Hi Folks,
We've just taken delivery of a 2009 (i think ) Bear Lake 6 and I'm looking for a few pointers on pitching please.
We tried following the video on Youtube where they pile all the poles on top of one another then put the pins in the ends of the poles and walk it out.
The first issue we had was lifting it all upright, once we got that bit done it was very difficult for us to hold it all upright whilst trying pin all the poles.
The next thing was the horizontal bars.
On ours the material they pass through is like a string vest and the sprung locking pins between the bar sections kept snagging up in the holes in the material. In the video they seem to pass through with ease, not so for us.
Any pitching tips, do's and dont's would be very much appreciated as I thing Mrs KR and myself will struggle when it comes to doing it just between the two of us.
Many thanks in advance.
Hi
I used a slight variation on the cross camping method to pitch it on my own:
Peg 4 corners
Thread rear pole first. Do not assemble the whole pole, just feed it in assembling section by section as it goes into the sleeve. I found it easier to start at the back as there was less fabric on the first lift.
Guy back of tent.
Work forwards pole by pole, guying as you go.
Side poles snagging - I think the answer was to experiment rotating the pole so that the bump faces up or down into the seam of the mesh as you slide it in.
Jim
Definitely the Gary Cross method. Basically peg 4 corners. Fill the tent with air by opening doors and flapping a bit. Then (easier with 2) put a middle pole in, stand it upright - I use my foot to kind of lever it up - and add the pin. The tent is really heavy and it should at this point stand on its on while you add the rest of the poles. If windy you can also add guy ropes as you go along, but with a heavy tent it shouldnt be necessary.
We have a polycotton similar size to bear lake 6 and it goes up like a dream following this method!
Many thanks for the helpful replies all.
Cross Camping method is now well researched and I'm a lot more confident we'll be able to tackle it when the time comes.
Just the job !
I always saw the Gary method as particularly suited for a lighter polyester tent with SIG, where coping with a vacuum was a real possibility.
The thought of that weight of fly hanging off one pole, then shoving the rest of the poles (of that length) up into the air just made us shudder.
We pitch ZIG off (so instantly, lighter, and no vacuum), all doors zipped closed, and with bed pods off.
We orientate the footprint as best suits the pitch, then lay the tent on it with equal overlap all round. We peg the two rear ground level corners. We insert the poles flat on the ground pinning as we go.
When all poles are in, we gather them up front to back and lift. We walk out the first section (the bedroom end) and guy backwards. We walk out the remaining sections and guy the front.
It's then up and tensioned roughly along the length and pegged at 2 corners.
We then slide in the side tensioners taking care that the end pins do not snag the mesh. The tensioners are slide out and screwed up. We then zip in the groundsheet ensuring no wrinkles then peg the two front corners.
The tent is now up and fully tensioned along the length, guyed front and back and with 4 corners pegged and the whole thing squared up.
We then fill in the pegging and guying and fit the bedrooms.
Job done
All that said, after 20 years we're selling up and will look at safaris, statics, and cottages in future. We'll let someone else do the hard work. Chucking two bags and two bikes in the car and just going, bliss!
------------- Mike
My advice is worth no more than the price paid for it
First pitched ours the other week, think ours is 2009 -2010 model. Looked at a lot of youtube vids, there is one with a man doing it alone, he laid all poles out to start with and put the front one in first and the front 4 pegs. We did this on our first attempt and as newbie campers found it a doddle. Just gently feed the poles in one by one, don't be like a bull at a gate putting it up, relax and keep calm and it all falls into place.
Also forgot to mention pin the poles as you put them in one by one, then the ones that run horizontal feed in gently and using the adjusters to pull it out taut.
Lovely set up Mike, that's something similar to what were aiming for. I bought a tarp but didn't get chance to use it due to the breezy conditions on our last camp. We're thinking about a Montana 6P awning for the front though. Should be nice a roomy then.
Thanks BL6camper, stay calm, that's good advise hehe.
Wow Mike that must take you ages no wonder you're packing it all in! Our Kauai Reef is a similar weight to a bear lake and happily goes up with zipped in groundsheet and bedrooms in situ. The weight of the fabric actually helps keep the whole thing up and much, much easier than trying to walk the poles out which even without the groundsheet we found very difficult.
Quote: Originally posted by kennyrodgers on 08/9/2014
Lovely set up Mike, that's something similar to what were aiming for. I bought a tarp but didn't get chance to use it due to the breezy conditions on our last camp. We're thinking about a Montana 6P awning for the front though. Should be nice a roomy then.
Thanks BL6camper, stay calm, that's good advise hehe.
Despite searching from last summer to this, I couldn't find an Outwell tarp anywhere, let alone a polycotton to match. Nearest I could get was a small 3mx3m polyester Robens (same group as Outwell) really just to extend the canopy for more sunshade in France. That was first time using it, and it did OK
Katieep, Outwell ship the BL with ZIG off. I don't think we could lift the fly with ZIG and beds in.
------------- Mike
My advice is worth no more than the price paid for it
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Topic: Bear Lake 6 pointers please
