Just purchased a 2008 Sun Valley 6, £339 inc kids room & carpet! Bought now as it looks as though the SV range has been dropped from the Outwell 2009 range and many places didn't have stock left. Don't know why as it looks like this is a great tent range (hopefully).
Another reason for buying now was the prices of 2009 tents are sky high. It looks like the nearest equivalent to the SV is the "avantgarde" arkansas at £560!! (Plus comes in that rather attractive mocha colour - not)
Anyway can't wait for the weather to wam up so we can try out the new purchase.
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hey that sounds great. Our sun valley 6 2005 model died this year. I love the look of the arkansas 7 mainly cos it gives us similar to the sunvalley but with the steel poles. The fibre glass poles were partly to blame along with the wind in breaking out old sunvalley.
Whilst i actually quite like the mocha colour, I too am struggling to justify double the price just for the luxury of steel poles. I am seriously considering the sunvalley 8. Do you mind me asking where you got your '6' from? I am hoping if i can get the tent plus carpet and footprint for a great price it might be worth it until the arkansas' come down in price.
claud x
Claud - yes it was SK camping where we purchased ours from - over the phone. Very good prompt delivery. Had to get the footprint from PJ Camping (or intertent) though as none left with SK.
Good luck
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Hi Michele, In fairness we got a full 4 seasons out of our sunvalley, buying early 2005 and it passing away at the end of 2008 season. I have done the maths and we camped in it approximately 150 nights, which means at 4 weeks or less a year max, i estimate you will get about 6 years out of yours, assuming about 25 nights a year. I think I can be quite accurate about that given that it was UV damage to the fabric that was the main culprit.Even before the death, we had noticed a thinning of the fabric and a number of small tears in the tent due to UV damage.
What happened was we were erecting it in very strong winds and in order to try to control a billowing tent so we could get it into an upright position my husband, (now my ex) secured it at the back of the tent with just one peg right in the middle.
To cut a long story short, the wind tried to blow the tent away but part of it stayed pegged firmly to the ground which meant it ripped from corner to corner right across the back of the tent. A four metre tear that those 6 inch strips of repair fabric outwell give you didn't quite cover. we still managed to camp in it for 3 nights. I also partly blame the fibreglass poles because they didn't have the strength to keep their shape in the strong wind. They were snapping and making it harder to erect the tent quickly.
Ho hum, I still feel we got our money's worth out of it, and of course I am joking about divorcing my husband....I killed him!
Claud.
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Hi Richardandmary, a quick question about the sunvalley you got from sk camping, i know the kids room is included but does that mean that the original 3+3 inner is also included. I really want the 3+3, I'm not bothered about the kids room, but I don't want to buy the tent and find a kids room, and just a single 3 person inner as well included. Have you had it out the bag yet? Is the kids room just seperate or already installed in the tent. I have ummed and arrhed and decided that the 6 is a better tent for us. The arkansas 5 is too small and the arkansas 7 is too big. Also, looking at the prices, we will save 500 pounds. As much as I want the steel poles I am not going to pay that! Although if they bought out an arkansas 6, That would be perfect. But for now the 500 pound I save can go into my tentipi fund.
Claud x
We have had it out of the bag yet but not unfolded so cannot confirm 100% about the presence of the standard inner. The kids room comes in a separate stuff sack packed in with the tent. The box it came in (plus storage bag) are all marked "Sun Valley 6/with kids" so they are obviously packaged this way in the factory. Sorry I can't be more help - waiting for some dry weather to take to the local park to take a proper look, Try SK - they should be able to give you a definitive answer.
Also worth noting that the poles came in a separate box a day later; we were getting anxious when we unpacked the tent and couldn't find them.
Well, I've ordered a sunvalley 6 with kids room and carpet from sk camping. Decided on the smaller version since we have camped in a 6 for 4 years now with no size issues and as the kids get older we seem to use less space and spend less time in the tent. looks like we ordered just in time. The offer with the kids room and carpet is now saying out of stock, although anyone interested might still get a tent if they are not bothered about the carpet. I asked the supplier about the standard inner and he assures me it is all in there.
I'm all excited and seriously thinking about going camping this weekend.
Thanks for all your help and advice. I'm feeling decidedly smug about all the money I have saved on buying an Arkansas.
Claud x
We loved our SV6 when we used it last summer. It also took a battering from a strong wind and we thought we'd lost it, it bent over flat, but it then just popped back up righting itself. Couldn't believe it! The kids room does come in a separate box. When putting it in, you unclip the inner and roll it into a long sausage shape and then clip that down. The kids room is attached to the inner tent clips then. My children love the kids room and I like the cheery colours, just wish they did other versions for the other bedroom!
I was expecting to see other tent manufacturers following suit and doing their own kids room versions this year .... have any done this, do you know?
------------- Angie ~~
~ If you see someone without a smile give them one of yours ~
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Thanks Claud. 150 nights out of an SV8 sounds ok to me - works out at about £2.25 per night! I can live with that. We have had about 40 nights so far, so plenty more nights happy camping in our beloved tent hopefully.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Sun Valley
