After much deliberation I recently purchased a Coleman Mosedale 5 for some family camping. This is a 3 hoop tunnel tent - there are many out there of similar design.
On the whole I am pleased with it; we were in the Lake District last week and it stood up to a variety of weather conditions, including strong gusting wind and a night of heavy rain (no leaks). We stayed at 5 different sites and, with the exception of the problem that I outline below, it is easy to pitch and take down.
The issue that I have with it is that the front fibreglass pole in particular is under a lot of stress - it takes a lot of force to fit it on to the locating pins at the base of the tent; indeed whilst pitching it at home, I managed to bend one of the pins. This is with the tensioning straps adjusted to full length.
The middle pole suffers from the same problem, but perhaps not to the same extent, whilst the shorter rear pole is just fine.
When pitched, because the tensioning straps are at full length, quite a bit of the sewn in groundsheet shows beneath the fly on that side, and it is hard to get a 'neat' pitch, even on a flat surface. You can see a gap below the fly at the front on the photo below.
I'm convinced that the problem is that the tent (the pole sleeve circumference) has been manufactured slightly too small for the poles, and that I need to shorten them by at least 5cm. Because of my remote location, I don't want to send the tent back, so I am considering shortening the poles myself; 2.5cm either side. I will be contacting Coleman directly before I do so however.
Has anyone else experienced similar problems with Coleman or indeed any similar pole tent?
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Another issue I had with the poles - one of the metal collars came loose and slid up the pole so that it did not overlap the joint - luckily I spotted this in time.
The dimples in the centre of the collar that were supposed to prevent the collar sliding up the pole were very shallow - easily corrected with a hammer and 4" nail!
Quote: Originally posted by richardh1905 on 16/4/2018
After much deliberation I recently purchased a Coleman Mosedale 5 for some family camping. This is a 3 hoop tunnel tent - there are many out there of similar design.
On the whole I am pleased with it; we were in the Lake District last week and it stood up to a variety of weather conditions, including strong gusting wind and a night of heavy rain (no leaks). We stayed at 5 different sites and, with the exception of the problem that I outline below, it is easy to pitch and take down.
The issue that I have with it is that the front fibreglass pole in particular is under a lot of stress - it takes a lot of force to fit it on to the locating pins at the base of the tent; indeed whilst pitching it at home, I managed to bend one of the pins. This is with the tensioning straps adjusted to full length.
The middle pole suffers from the same problem, but perhaps not to the same extent, whilst the shorter rear pole is just fine.
When pitched, because the tensioning straps are at full length, quite a bit of the sewn in groundsheet shows beneath the fly on that side, and it is hard to get a 'neat' pitch, even on a flat surface. You can see a gap below the fly at the front on the photo below.
I'm convinced that the problem is that the tent (the pole sleeve circumference) has been manufactured slightly too small for the poles, and that I need to shorten them by at least 5cm. Because of my remote location, I don't want to send the tent back, so I am considering shortening the poles myself; 2.5cm either side. I will be contacting Coleman directly before I do so however.
Has anyone else experienced similar problems with Coleman or indeed any similar pole tent?
I think the retailer should be contacted regarding the pole issues, it's not up to you, the customer, to deal with the manufacturer direct. One would hope they'd issue a new set of replacement poles as you can bet your bottom dollar that amendment of the poles by purchaser will invalidate the warranty.
The site looks great. Mind saying where it is please?
The problem is that I don't think that the problem is with the poles themselves, and as I live on Orkney, sending the whole tent back would be very expensive. I've contacted Coleman and will await their reply before I get the hacksaw and needle file out.
The site is my field, by the way.
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Sorry to hear you are having problems with your new Coleman...you should have taken my advice and gone for a metal poled tent
Nevertheless the poles should be fit for purpose and if they are that tight that the metal joints are bending or breaking then there has to be something wrong.
The problem with the flysheet not touching the ground all round is pretty common and does not usually cause a problem, just annoying when it happens...see the photo of my tent below. The pitch I was on in the photo was a little uneven hence the gaps around the bottom.
If the straps are fully extended and the tent still sits high with difficulty getting the pins into the ends of the poles then it is possible that the poles are slightly too long. If you can rectify that yourself it may solve the problem but if it doesn't work you may end up with even more of a problem.
I once contacted Coleman about a minor issue with one of their tents and all they said was speak to the supplier so they weren't too helpful. Hopefully the shop you bought it from will be more helpful but I can understand the difficulties with living in Orkney. I hope you can get it sorted.
Just a thought but I suppose you have got the right poles in the right sleeves...they may not be the same length? If they are colour coded there is always a chance they have coded the wrong poles.
Another thought...if the tent is sitting too high with the tension straps loosened off, tightening the tension straps will raise the tent even higher, so it does sound a bit odd.
Thanks for the reply, bob. I don't hold out much hope of Coleman being of much assistance, but I wanted to let them know of the problem. There are 2 long poles for the front and middle hoop, and a colour coded shorter pole for the rear hoop; no chance of getting it wrong!
I'll be getting the hacksaw out soon - the worst that can happen is that I need to buy a few new pole sections.
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Quote: Originally posted by Bob61 on 16/4/2018
Sorry to hear you are having problems with your new Coleman...you should have taken my advice and gone for a metal poled tent
After camping in the Lake District last week, I wish that I had gone for a bell tent with stove!
Quote: Originally posted by richardh1905 on 17/4/2018
Thanks for the reply, bob. I don't hold out much hope of Coleman being of much assistance, but I wanted to let them know of the problem. There are 2 long poles for the front and middle hoop, and a colour coded shorter pole for the rear hoop; no chance of getting it wrong!
I'll be getting the hacksaw out soon - the worst that can happen is that I need to buy a few new pole sections.
Shame it's been a disappointment. I have found Coleman tents to be pretty good and my present Sunncamp tent is very similar in design to the point of wondering if it is the same company.
Quote: Originally posted by richardh1905 on 17/4/2018
Quote: Originally posted by Bob61 on 16/4/2018
Sorry to hear you are having problems with your new Coleman...you should have taken my advice and gone for a metal poled tent
After camping in the Lake District last week, I wish that I had gone for a bell tent with stove!
Warmer weather later this week. The trouble with a bell tent is that it only has one pole. If that breaks the whole tent collapses
I sent a slightly modified version of my opening post to Coleman; here is their reply:
Hello sir,
Thanks you for your mail below.
We will forward this to our product development team, as we weren’t aware if this issue.
If you can shorten the door pole yourself to solve the issue that would be best option.
Please note you can also do a claim under warranty with the retailer if you suspect a manufacturing issue that isn’t solvable.
Time to get the hacksaw out! I'll let you know how I get on.
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I have taken the plunge and shortened the two larger pole sets by 4cm (2cm each side to keep things symmetrical). And I am happy to report that the tent is now much easier to pitch; less stress on the fabric (and on me!) as I attach the poles to their locating pins. And I can tighten up the tensioning straps now which reduces the gap beneath the fly somewhat.
The operation was actually quite simple -
1/ assemble the poles.
2/ pull apart the joint next to the end pole to be shortened.
3/ pull through as much of the shock cord from the rest of the poles as possible, and attach a clamp to it to prevent it from twanging back into the poles. There should now be plenty of slack.
4/ using a pair of long nosed pliers, fish out the knotted end of the shock cord from the metal tube at the pole end.
5/ undo the stopper knot and pull the shock cord out of the pole.
6/ measure, mark and cut the pole to the required length with a hacksaw. Cut the pole off square and take it easy towards the end of the cut otherwise the fibreglass may splinter.
7/ sandpaper the outer edges of the cut, and use a countersink bit or needle file on the inner hole to prevent damage to the shock cord.
8/ thread the shock cord back through the pole, and tie a stopper knot - I use a 'figure of eight'. A piece of copper wire stripped from electrical cable works fine for pulling the cord through, but any wire would do.
9/ release the clamp holding the shock cord.
10/ repeat for the other end of the pole set. Job done!
Sounds complicated, but it was actually quite easy in practice.
Glad you manage to sort it and you sound a lot happier now. Might still be worth trying for a discount from the shop after showing them the letter from Coleman, after all, you have had to repair a manufacturing fault yourself.
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Topic: Coleman Mosedale 5 issues
