so we went on our first trip with our new sun valley 8 last week and it did brilliantly, we loved it, it stood up to severe downpours and gales, and was very roomy and comfortable,
our problems started when it came to pack away, we just could not get it back in the bag, so for those of you who have large tunnel tents, how on earth do you get them put away?
Usually, especially in this weather my tents don't get put away properly till we get home. Flysheet usually gets bundled into a bin bag and slung anywhere it will fit in the car. Once it's dry you need to be quite careful at folding it all neatly to get it to fit. My big tent has pods, so these get folded into the middle to make a square and then it gets folded from the edges into the middle and then edge to edge. You have to roll/fold it and keep squashing it, lying on it is pretty good every metre or so. Once i've got the flysheet done I use the groundsheet and inner bedrooms on top and above and fasten straps round the lot, sit on it and tighten the straps it usually will go in the bag at this point! and I need a drink and someone strong to help carry it into the house!
We have an Outwell Montana and based on advice from this site, paid careful attention to how it was folded when we first unpacked it. I assume yours is at least similar so I will do my best to explain without diagrams...
Our assumption that we were trying to get the tent folded widthwise to match the width of the bag was our first mistake - we have to fold it so it goes in sideways, if that makes sense. First we fold it in half longways, so side pegs together. Then, expelling air from it as we go, we fold the crease to the edge, ie the pegs stay on the outside. Then we roll/flatten it as narrow as possible, always going from the crease towards the pegs, until it is very long and thin, narrower than the depth of the bag, not the width of the bag. Then we fold it over into half, over again and I think maybe even a third time, put the bag onto the tent, flip it all over and it just fits !
Having said this, we have only done it the once and it might never work again !
Good luck,
Alison
Glad to hear your Sun Valley stood up well (we gave up on Sun Valleys after 3 different tents). To get ours back into the bag I had to keeping rolling on it to make sure all the air was squeezed out (yes, it did look funny). Also make sure you have left any internal doors slightly open to let the air escape.
I've managed to pack up a Sun Valley on my own and get it back into its bag, so it can be done. After a few trips you'll be an expert at it.
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Topic: re packing
