Our tent has mesh vents in the sides of the sewn-in groundsheet. One of these has ripped and has a hole in. I want to repair the rip in the mesh as the hole could potentially allow unwanted 'visitors' into our tent.
Has anyone done this before or got any suggestions about how to do this? Where to find a suitable mesh for repair? Glue or sew? What type of glue? Completely cover the vent with the same material as the groundsheet for an easier, more durable fix? Or just leave it alone?
What would you do?
Thanks
*EDIT*
Actually, I'm not sure it is in the groundsheet. It might be in the fabric just above the groundsheet. I can't quite recall.
Post last edited on 07/06/2023 23:17:22
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if it was my tent then i would repair using an old fly screen curtain mesh and glue in place. best done when away next in the tent as it would have several days for the glue to dry fully.
Any mesh in a ground sheet… even in the more vertical sides, as opposed to the floor itself… would render it nigh on useless! I suspect your afterthought of it being in the fly sheet just above is more likely.
Is the mesh still all there? (Ripped rather than an actual hole?)
McNett Tenacious Tape (clear) is excellent. Can be sold in patches or a small roll. Not cheap per sé, but I’ve only had positive results each time (x 3 uses). Just lay the mesh back in place, (ideally in a flat surface). Tape one side, then the other.
Will even work in an actual hole, where some mesh is missing. (ie 20mm or so, no problem!)
When cutting the tape to size, round off the finished corners, to help avoid it peeling back off.
My last experience was a 10mm hole in my ventilated ridge mesh on an almost new expensive tent. I was gutted! That same repair job is still in place today, over 8 years later, and I’m literally sat under it as I type… looking up and smiling to myself at a job well done!
Forgot to say… make the patches oversized. My 10/15mm hole is covered by a patch each side of about 40mm diameter or so, cut from a roll.
Can be more rectangular if needed to suit your rip(s)…but remember to round off those corners!
Apologies for the hieroglyphics! Editing on mobile does that on this forum, for some strange reason! 🤷â€â™‚ï¸ Post last edited on 08/06/2023 05:46:49
Tenacious Tape is brilliant - I've used it on a tiny hole in the tent fabric years ago and it's so effective that I can't even find the hole now!
You're right, I think the vent is sort of in the 'skirt' of the tent, just above the groundsheet.
It's a small vent with a large rip in the mesh. I did wonder about tape but wasn't sure if it would stick to itself when the tent was folded back up. I'd have to stick the tape back-to-back as you describe and be quite exacting to ensure that there were no sticky bits.
I wonder whether using the tape to fix a whole new piece of mesh over the top would work.
I had ripped mesh in my popup camper. Easiest cheapest fix suggested by my tent repair shop was clear Gorilla tape to both sides. Long lasting, strong and practically invisible
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Topic: Repairing a ground-level mesh vent
via mobile 07/6/2023 at 11:13pm
