We get massive puddles on our ground sheet in our living area after torrential rain on our new Kyham ridgie dome classic XL - not very nice!! We pitched as instructed by our supplier. He said to pitch the mudflaps on the fly sheet out, but it was better when we tucked them under the ground sheet. We still had leaks through the little gap at the bottom of the zip of both doors. What can we do to stop this..other than not going camping in the rain!!? Is there a way to keep the flysheet tucked under the ground sheet.? If we peg them down then the we can't peg the ground sheet down..Apart from these problems it's a lovely tent.
------------- louisey cheesey
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We hav a khyam XL classic, with all tent even with SIG water will find a way in depending on how much rain you get. We have just been away for a few weeks and we had 4 days of none stop rain the ground was like a mud bath. I always put the wind skirt inwards. Even tents with SIG get like a mud bath underneath as the ground does not get chance to dry out, I dont use a foot print groundsheet, we just got a eco mat and i cut it to the foot print of the tent and just use cuts of tarp for certain area's, this helps the ground dry out in really bad weather, and yes after 4 days of rain we got water in the tent, only thing you can do is get some seem seal if they are sewn and brush it on in the dry weather.
Hope this helps, I'am sure others can give advice too.
------------- If Something is hard to do its NOT worth doing
We always peg the mudflaps inside, using short plastic dome headed groundsheet pegs, BEFORE we peg the outside. We have an old 2003 XXL with a Khyam footprint groundsheet and the mudflaps go underneath it no problem. What we tended to do early on when we had the tent was to make the webbing attached to each main pole as tight as possible and 'pull out' the walls of the tent to peg them, thus making too big a gap between the mudflap and the groundsheet. Since then we've not pulled the webbing quite so tight between each main pole, done the mudflaps first, then pegged the outside 'as near to perpendicular' to the ground as poss, making sure to cross peg both the main front door zips and the J door zip , then laid the groundsheet with no probs at all. There should a;so be an eylet in the centre front main outer door that should line up with a corresponding one in the webbing attached to the main frame poles and, if you have a khyam footprint groundsheet, there should also be a corresponding eyelet in that too, one peg though them all, leave it zipped up and buttoned down and use your J door. Also, if you have a Khyam footprint g/s, there should tabs attached to it that you pass under the flysheet and peg from the outside. Ours has one at each corner that we pass under the flysheet and share the corner pegs to anchor it, and also one midway along each of the longest sides that get pegged by the side of one of the plastic feet of the main pole system on each side.
We use our tent as often as 12-15 times per year and have never had any dramas like you have. Obviously the lay of the land will come into it too and we never camp on slopes of any sort for fear of putting undue sideloads on the rapidex joints, we usually camp on rough car show grounds and drag race track fields, we've only actually camped on one o' them there bowling green campsites once and very nice it was too. Hope that helps, Ridgidomes are damned near bomb proof, take care you pitch as level as poss and you shouldn't be getting puddles in there mate.
------------- You don't stop doing things because you get old, you get old because you stop doing things !
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I always peg the 'draught flaps' down inside and then lay the groundsheet over the top. If you have a 'Khyam' footprint groundsheet for your tent, you don't need to use the eyelets around the edge, just use the securing straps on the corners and side. Though it's a good idea to use the eyelets either side of the doors (to prevent tripping over the edge of the groundsheet). You should peg the 'hinge' side of the 'J' door flap away from the tent and try to make sure the rest of the flap is away from the tent when you 'zip up', but this is the only place where the 'flaps' should be outside...
I've never had any problems with water ingress, with either the 'XXL Classic' or the 'XL Classic' which I have used for the last six years... Our last camping trip to Norfolk last month included torrential downpours, thunderstorms and a gale, none of which resulted in leaks...
It certainly isn't necessary to use a tent with a S.I.G. to ensure a dry tent, you just have to know how to pitch your tent properly, which just comes with experience...
oh thank you..;I was regretting not buying a tent with a sewn in ground sheet but I love the rapidex system, and everything else about the classic XL .I can put it up and down on my own! My husband usually gets grumpy on camping trips as our last tent, a Gelert Lokon Vario 6 took forever to pitch..now he can help pitch it quickly or stay home!! I will certainly put the draught flaps under the ground sheet before laying it down. i am wondering whether to buy an annexe or a canopy too, as the rain just rained in when we opened the J door..our last tent had little porch to prevent this.
Quote: Originally posted by louiseycheesy64 on 24/7/2007
i am wondering whether to buy an annexe or a canopy too, as the rain just rained in when we opened the J door..our last tent had little porch to prevent this.
we hadn't been camping for years but our khyam classic xl has had 3 outings now. All on slopes to some degree. The first time out, we had a lot of water in the j door and drips from the hanging tabs!
Buying the annexe was the best thing we did. We use it as a giant porch and storage area. It keeps the rain away from the j door and makes getting in and out of the tent in the rain much easier. Also, the extra layer over the dome saved the front tabs from getting sodden and dripping water. We have the screen canopy too but that is huge and not so suitable for windy conditions. There is a picture of it here attached to a (staked down and delta'd) gazebo.
if you look at my homepage there are a couple of albums that show how we got on with the dreaded mudflaps. We have bought a footprint groundsheet but the first trip out with it we were just pleased to get the tent up in the gale and didn't get round to trying it out.
i still love the khyam despite the leaks and hopefully after a couple of trips to eweleaze farm next month we will get better at pegging out and stuff (i will have andy's intructions with me, as ever and i'll take barry b's post with me to read too!)
i suspect that we may have to pitch on a bit of a slope again but i have spare joints for my ridgipoles and i am confident we will be ok. We bought the tent primarily for camping on a hill in dorset so if it doesn't like slopes .. tough!
if all else fails.. i'll pop up a quechua
nb: i see someone is selling a screen canopy on this site
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The first time out, we had a lot of water in the j door and drips from the hanging tabs!
Buying the annexe was the best thing we did.
it just seems a shame to have to add the annexe..i only bought it for weekends away and ease of use. we have lots of drips from the hanging tabs..i thought it was because we didn't seal the seams before we used it. i bought it the day before going camping as the tent we had borrowed and erected in the garden had huge holes in it!
Seal all the taped seams next time you're out on a dry weekend Louise and it should be ok, snag is you really need to leave the tent up for 48 hours to let the seam sealer cure properly. Ours has just started leaking from the bedroom hanging tabs after 4 bloomin' years of snuff dry camping, can't complain I suppose mind you, the rain we were under was deafening ! We've got a new double height queen sized airbed that is a bit of a tight fit in our 2 berth inner and it's pulling on the hanging tabs just a bit... can I find a 4 berth 280m x 210mm double entry deluxe inner ??? I've found about 10 sets of hen's teeth, piles and piles of rocking horse doo-doos but no 4 berth Khyam inners, I've emailed Khyam, along with a mittfull of Khyam dealers but the silence is deafening, Khyam said they will reply soon, that was 4 days ago.. I've even emailed a woman selling a XXL with a 2 berth and a 4 berth inner on fleabay to see if she'll sell me the 4 berth seperately, looks like I've more chance of getting struck by lightening, I've never had to try so hard to spend money in all my life !
------------- You don't stop doing things because you get old, you get old because you stop doing things !
in the weather we have been having it is more likely that you will want the xl 'sitting room' for sitting in.. waiting for the rain to stop so it is nice to be able to keep it free from wet coats, muddy boots and general clutter. If the weather is fine, then just don't bother with the annexe.
as for the dripping tabs.. there are several threads on the subject ...
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Topic: help! big puddles in our Kyham Classic XL
We have bought a footprint groundsheet but the first trip out with it we were just pleased to get the tent up in the gale and didn't get round to trying it out.
and i'll take barry b's post with me to read too!)
I've even emailed a woman selling a XXL with a 2 berth and a 4 berth inner on fleabay to see if she'll sell me the 4 berth seperately, looks like I've more chance of getting struck by lightening, I've never had to try so hard to spend money in all my life !
