Hi all, just got back from a great 2 weeks in Cornwall. First week, wall to wall sunshine and generally fantastic weather. Second week, the turn around. Lashing winds and gales. Used our brand new Royal Bordeaux 6 XL ZG. It leaked in all four corners and the 2 sides where the partition is from kitchen area to lounge is. Really spoilt the second week as I spent a fair bit of each night ensuring that we did not get wet bedding and lost the use of my shower towels. The rain also got into the high elevated pockets where I stored my mobile phone and car keys!! Phone was a write off though keys salvageable.
Anyone else here had this problem or am I the unlucky one that got the Friday afternoon tent? Would like to know before I take it back to the retailer, as I will no doubt have a choice between a replacement, choosing another tent or my money back.
Ideally I would like to think that it was a one off manufacturing error and a replacement would solve my misery, however if I discover that it is a common problem and it is a design fault, then money back it will have to be, shame!
------------- Chalky
It's not a beer belly, it's a fuel tank for a sex machine!
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If yours was the Friday afternoon tent then I think they must have made mine afterwards. We had about 9 leaks in total whilst camping in Devon last week. The majority of the water was coming in down the back seams and falling from the eyelets that hold the bedrooms on.Result? Huge pools of water under the bedroom pods. There were other leaks where the side doors are and the adjoining section to the kitchen section.
We have also just got back from a 2 week break in devon. have been back to the retailer because the back pole twisted the front canopy ripped from the tent and we also had leaks in the kitchen area the seam between the kitchen and living area and when we packed away found pools of water under the bedroom area and to the left hand side of the tent. We also think this is the only tent built on a friday afternoon but the retailer assures us its not. We took photographic evidence of how the tent was pitched and where it was pitched. i.e a sheltered spot as we knew that as soon as we approached the retailer he would say it was down to the weather. he does not even want to see them. He is going to erect the tent and investigate for us, so will keep you posted on the outcome... our friends have a royal pescara which was next to us and they had no problems. also had other bordeaux on site which seem to have no problems unless it was you. Where did you stay?
------------- Thanks Mandy
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Blimey Mandy, that is the exact description of all the faults with ours!! Ripped front canopy, leaks in the kitchen area & the seam between the kitchen and living area and when we packed away we found pools of water under the bedroom area and to the right hand side of the tent! We had no bother with PJ Camping, they simply took ours back & they exchanged it, no quibbles. We erected the replacement in the back garden for a few days, just to check, as I did not want to go away again and find any nasty suprises. Guess what? It leaked in the kitchen area and the seam between the the kitchen & living area!! Have taken this one back and got a credit note for my £430 from PJ Camping. To their credit they have given me options:
1) Take another one from the next manufacturing batch in case it was a build error from a certain period.
2) Offered to give me a Vango "Nile" which is similar in spec, but for me not an option. The Royal had the seperate kitchen & Storage area which is why it won our vote in the first place, (two kids 9 & 3 and a cooker in the same area of a tent at the same time is a catastrophe waiting to happen).
3) Wait until the end of September, when they will have been to the tent trade exhibition, (1st week or two of September, in Warwickshire I think), where they believe "SprayWay" will be exhibiting for the first time. PJ Camping think that "Sprayway" will be bringing out a very similar tent. Flysheet first and a complete inner lining as well? If they can't manufacter a waterproof tent then who can? After all they have been making waterproof jackets for years! This is their first year at tents I am led to believe, though I may be mistaken.
We stayed in Cornwall on two sites, both small & friendly, Heath Farm near Coverack and Little Treginses in St Keverne on the other side of the Coverack Bay. Only 2.9 miles apart from each other. Both great but for different reasons.
------------- Chalky
It's not a beer belly, it's a fuel tank for a sex machine!
I have just returned my second Sprayway Valley 8. First one tore/came unstitched in one of the main doorways. The second one tore along the guy line points on the sun canopy and the tab where the guy line is tied on ripped clean off the canopy too. We had two nights of pretty blustery weather along with torrential downpours but the tent didn't seem to leak anywhere. My youngest son's sleeping bag was a bit damp where I hadn't closed the air vent and the rain was blown straight into his bedroom. I found a few storage bags and bits blowing around the site because the storage area at the back of the bedrooms doesn't have SIG and the wind blew the bags out from under the fly sheet. Also, the tension straps along the front and at the rear corners would not stay tight once they were wet. Pegging the loops was the only option, but there aren't enough pegs supplied for all of those as well.
To sum up, no leaks but does not stay taut in wind and rain and needs more strength at the pegging and guy line points, especially around the sun canopy. I would not recommend the Sprayway at the moment. They obviously have a few teething issues which need to be ironed out. However, I do still really like the clever design and space provided. Some people have criticised the amount of draughts caused by the air vents, but I prefer a bit of fresh air and anyway, they all velcro shut if you can be bothered to loosen the guys! Hopefully Sprayway will take note of the many criticisms (many on this site in the Tent Review section) levelled at their range of Valley tents and improve for next year. Their reputation does rather depend on it!
We are now looking at the Vango Nile 800 which is very similar to the Valley 8, and also the Royal Bordeaux 6 XL, although I'm not so sure about splitting the living area up into sections unless they can be opened up if you want. It seems rather restrictive to me, and we have never had any issues with the kids (9 and 7) and cookers...we do however peg the cooker stand to the ground to make it more stable which we would not be able to do if we used the utility area of the Royal Bordeaux 6XL to cook in!
Hi chalky. i hope our retailer is as understanding as yours. somehow i dont think so, as he really didnt want to listen. but you never know he might surprise me... did you buy your royal this year? we brought ours in june and used it twice before our 2 week holiday, both glorious weekends, a bit windy in one and we had no shelter!!!!! i think this tent is not designed for rain!!!! We stayed in dawlish.... so it wasnt you we saw then.
------------- Thanks Mandy
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Hi Mandy, yes we bought ours at the end of June, but didn't use it untill the end of July on our 2 week holiday in Cornwall. We did put it up in our garden first, just to check that it was complete and we knew what we were doing. Unfortunately the first real test was the middle of our 2nd week, when the rains came in with the gusting winds. Mostly overnight and came in in a way that only the Cornish peninsular can produce. In light showers the tent appeared fine! As you say, "this tent is not designed for rain"
------------- Chalky
It's not a beer belly, it's a fuel tank for a sex machine!
sorry to hear about your royals, we have been looking at this tent recently and yesterday went to local tent display and it was covered in big puddles of rain and not 1 leak. This tent has been up for a while in all weathers and was dry inside.
Oh dear everytime i make my mind up about a tent i then hear bad about it!
hope you all get your problems sorted.
------------- KIM.
2013 Season.
Upgraded from a TT to a caravan.
Loving it!
Roll on summer :-)
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
I ended up buying a royal toledo,i have just returned from a very wet and windy trip with my sister and family who also have a royal,and none of us had a problem.
We have a Royal Avignon 4 Select SG tent and have been in some heavy rain but not experienced any problems.
I think all manufacturers have some dodgy batches you only have to look on this forum to see the number of people who have had leaky Outwells but they are still considered one of the best makes.
I have read a lot of good reviews about Royal tents and have heard their customer service is very good so I would contact them and see what they say. Looks like you may have unfortunately got that Friday afternoon tent.
Hi everyone just thought i would update you on our outcome from our broken Bordeaux..... DW Camping in West sussex has just called me, they have had the tent for approx 3 weeks now. He told me he has been to the tent shows and spoken to Royal about the tent. Apparently they are changing the poles as they dont feel that the exisitng poles where suitable for that tent. so are upgrading them. he has offered us a brand new one when they come out in March he is also changing our carpet for us as also got teared through being damp... When we go and have a look at it in March if we feel that it is not sturdy enough then we can go for a different make.. He has been very helpfull and also told us that tents are going up by 30% next year.!!!!!
So be aware that the poles on this tent are not suffient for this tent!!!!
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Topic: Royal Bordeaux 6 XL ZG, leak problem?
