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Hi all,we are off on the bank holiday weekend for are third trip of are first year as new campers,so far we have been able to set up in the dry,but if it is raining really hard and doesnt look like stopping what do you do? we have to put up are inner first then the fly sheet and by the time its done the inner could be really soaked. would it dry out over a weekend? would it feel damp and cold the whole time? we do have another smaller tent that erects fly sheet first,but it seems a lot of hassle to take that as well just till the rain stops. happy camping.

We have an inner up first tent and pitched it in severe rain in July.

The only thing that you can do and I know it sounds obvious, it to pitch it a quick as you can. I wouldn't panic too much otherwise you may make mistakes and ultimately it could take longer.

Our inner is of a similar material to the outer and dries quickly. On the occasion above, our inner was wet on the outside, during pitching, but I didn't feel any damp on the inside and no water ingress.

Good luck.

We pitched in torrential rain back in July. I've got a massive tent which normally takes around 1hr to put up fully. Whilst in the rain it took 40mins because we were all soaked through. Once we had the fly sheet on I went inside and the whole lot was soaked! Took 2 bath towels to dry it out enough to put the gear in. It did dry quick though and wasn't wet after that.

Might try pitching under the fly sheet next time - might just work

Er ...at risk of being an irritation to some....

You have all just highlighted why NOT to buy a tent that pitches inner first

Sorry...but if It's pitching in the rain this weekend...I'll be sleeping in a dry pod

Quote: Originally posted by Victor Khyam on 22/8/2007

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Er ...at risk of being an irritation to some....

You have all just highlighted why NOT to buy a tent that pitches inner first

Sorry...but if It's pitching in the rain this weekend...I'll be sleeping in a dry pod

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Even all in ones with SIG's aren't foolproof.

Following advice from other Monty owners, we struck our last but one camp and left all of the doors un-zipped (to overcome the vacuum problem). The last holiday we pitched in a monsoon and water got into the tent quicker than you could imagine.

Or, here's an idea!

Campsite owners could keep a stock of giant easy-up gazebos for us to borrow in exeptional circumstances.

We could erect our tents under them, then past them on to the next poor idiot who thought that when they bought a tent it would never rain again until the end of eternity.

Oh yeh! and they could make a cup of tea for OH so she'll stop crying, get out of the car and hold onto this damn parachute before it whisks me off to the next county.

Quote: Originally posted by Carl at atompl.co.uk on 22/8/2007

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Or, here's an idea!

Campsite owners could keep a stock of giant easy-up gazebos for us to borrow in exeptional circumstances.

We could erect our tents under them, then past them on to the next poor idiot who thought that when they bought a tent it would never rain again until the end of eternity.

Oh yeh! and they could make a cup of tea for OH so she'll stop crying, get out of the car and hold onto this damn parachute before it whisks me off to the next county.

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Many a thing said in jest...

OK maybe the sites won't be doing anyone any favours, but it may be feasible to keep your erection (yes I know) with the inners attached under a tarp, say pegged down at one end with the OH standing up holding the other end getting absolutely lashed with rain and wind...while you finish pitching most of the rest of the tent under the tarp...5m x 5m plastic sheet anyone?

Quote: Originally posted by Carl at atompl.co.uk on 22/8/2007

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Oh yeh! and they could make a cup of tea for OH so she'll stop crying, get out of the car and hold onto this damn parachute before it whisks me off to the next county.

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Pitching under the flysheet sounds like a good idea - remember to peg out a couple of guy-ropes to stop the flysheet from 'flying' into the next field.

I would suggest that if it's not too cold, wear shorts, nylon type top & flip-flops when you pitch the tent. This will save you having soggy wet coats & jeans hanging around the tent causing loads of condensation when it's pitched.

Quote: Originally posted by JK98 on 23/8/2007

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I would suggest that if it's not too cold, wear shorts, nylon type top & flip-flops when you pitch the tent. This will save you having soggy wet coats & jeans hanging around the tent causing loads of condensation when it's pitched.

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