Has anyone either tried or bought a Minnesota front extension for their Virginia 5? If so, I'd be interested in how it connects to and whether the fibre glass poles cause a problem being a different diameter?
Thanks
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Hello Ian.
I did consider getting one, but despite the Virginia being a 'lower cost' alternative, I seem to recall the Minnesota has 'connection' points for it. Whereas the Virginia has not.
So for me, I purchased a pair of King poles for the front door, to use as a canopy. (Image on the Website of my Virginia with poles)
But when windy, I disconnect them to avoid stressing the zips.
Perhaps someone has a more definitive answer for you?
Regards James
------------- In the beginning there was darkness.
Then I bought a tent.
I'm not destitute, I'm just poor.
I have got both the Virginia 5 and the Minnie 4 extension, and the good news is that it works fine.
The clips that connect the extension to the tent are designed to go over steel poles so they dont quite fit and it is a bit of a squeeze to get the extension over the top of the tent, but other than that it seems fine. Have only test pitched it in the garden so far but am away next week for a week so will try it out properly then.
Have got a pic but not sure how to upload it, will have a try later
Thank you for posting Tricky, that looks like it works really well. Does it put much stress on the fibreglass poles and the straps that attach to the middle pole, do they clip on quite securely?
The straps that attach the extension to the top of the tent do pull the middle pole forward slightly, but not to any great extent. I didnt think it was too much of a problem. They clip on really well. The clips that attach to the side fit less well but do the job. I left it all up in the garden for a week or so in May - and all was fine.
All in all, considering its not meant for the tent, I think its quite a good solution.
Hello again Tricky.
The advert was placed 29/04/2010.
Checked reviews, and hope this one was down to earlier design problems now sorted?
The bad points are essentially design faults that may owe more to penny-pinching than poor design. The straps that link the tent wall to the ring and pin fixing are too short and locating the pins in the bottoms of the frames is unnecessarily arduous and irritating as a result. Adjusters on both sides might help prevent trapped fingers, blood blisters, frayed tempers and brief (fortunately) domestic rows (entirely my fault), and stress on the fabric that can clearly be seen in gaping stitches. The straps that connect the rear of the extension roof to the middle frame of the tent are also too short (ours need to be eight inches longer).
Don't let it put you off Ian.
Kind regards James
------------- In the beginning there was darkness.
Then I bought a tent.
I'm not destitute, I'm just poor.
I saw that too, James, but thought that it would have probably been sorted out by now. i think if Tricky has tried it out for a week successfully then it must be a safe bet.
We bought a Vango Icarus 500 extension as this was advised by the guy at Yeomans. It fitted fine and worked well on a week long trip to the Lake District when we had rain and wind for most of the week. It cost less than the Minnesota extension (around £60) and worked fine.
We were told by someone at Yeomans that Outwell will be marketing the Virginia 5 themselves next year so there is a chance that there will be a dedicated extension.
The only downsides of the Icarus extension is that it is not the right colour, has the wrong name on it and the guy lines are not as intuitive to use as Outwells are.
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Topic: Minnesota 4 extension on Virginia 5?
