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OK so my gorgeous new tent was delivered yesterday - an Outwell Oregan 5. I would have liked to have seen one 'in the flesh' so to speak but as the nearest camping showroom is over an hours drive away that was not possible.

So, bearing in mind I am a VERY new virgin camper, I set to work pitching it with my son - there will only be the 2 of us camping so needs must - I wanted a trial run (or 3!) before we did it for real. It took me...well..............erm..............AGES but I now have a better idea of where I went wrong so hopefully next time will be MUCH quicker (it had better be!). We slept in it last night  - neighbours probably think we're barking mad but it was too exciting just to take it down again and I wanted to play around with it today anyway.

Now for the really stupid questions - I said I was a novice so please forgive the numptyish nature of these - although I looked at the Oregon video I still was none the wiser and now reakise why it would have been so helpful to see one pitched before buying!!

• It has ring & pin fittings - do I have to peg through the ring too to secure?
• There's a loop at each main anchorage point - where the rings are - do I peg these too?
• Are the little elastic ring thingies placed around the flysheet at intervals also for anchorage with pegs?
• There were 2 sizes of tent pegs with it - don't know where to use the longer thicker ones for the best - I assume the smaller ones are for the living area groundsheet but there are more than just those.
• The inner tent (2 beds) was not attached when I pitched it - I got it all clipped on OK but there is a big clip on each corner and not sure where I attach it?
• Do the mud flaps go inside under the groundsheet to stop the draughts or outside to let rain run off?
• I'm really not sure if I've got the guys in the right places either - any rule of thumb ideas? I'll put a pic in my gallery of it so you can comment if anyone has a spare minute.

Told you they were stupid questions! I'm feeling really embarassed posting!!  Sorry for the length of this - having said all that we had a great night although it was very dry, warm and still - perfect camping weather!

Anne

Hello have you had a look on the Outwell site? it does a pitching video.

We peg through the loop.I think the little elastic loops are only to peg through if its really windy.I shoud say the longer pegs are for the guys.

Hi Anne

Glad you have bought a tent you are happy with.  We do peg through the rings on the ring and pin bits and do also peg down the elastic on the flysheet.  Having said that we were camping in 60mph winds a couple of weeks ago and our tent survived

Good luck with it all

Caz

We also peg through the rings - usually double peg them.

Can't say about the fly sheet as ours is all-in-one

Pegs - we use the thin one for the groundsheet and use bigger/rock pegs for the actual tent and Delta pegs for the guy ropes.

Mud flaps - we always argue (luckily you won't get that!) usually end up pegged inside.

Guy ropes - as above but wherever we put them I always think they look wrong.

You could do with Rex or Val or one of the more experienced campers coming along to help (there are quite a few off camping this weekend)

Quote: Originally posted by fostermum on 29/8/2008

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It has ring & pin fittings - do I have to peg through the ring too to secure? I always peg through these as these keep the poles firmly on the ground.

There's a loop at each main anchorage point - where the rings are - do I peg these too?  I peg these too.

Are the little elastic ring thingies placed around the flysheet at intervals also for anchorage with pegs? Thats right - peg them all.

There were 2 sizes of tent pegs with it - don't know where to use the longer thicker ones for the best - I assume the smaller ones are for the living area groundsheet but there are more than just those. Use the larger pegs on the main anchoring points and the smaller ones on the rest of the tent.  Eventually you will end up changing your main pegs for DeltaPegs - alot of tenters have done this and I am sure someone that has got some will tell you the advantages of having those.

The inner tent (2 beds) was not attached when I pitched it - I got it all clipped on OK but there is a big clip on each corner and not sure where I attach it? not sure about the big clips on the inner - are these on the bottom of the inner as my Sunncamp tent has some on the bottom that clip to the groundsheet so the inners don't move when you are walking in and out.  If not am not sure what they are but if it looks ok then I would not worry too much about them.  Also you don't have to take the inners out everytime you strike camp - they can be left in when pscking your tent away and so will make things quicker for you on your next trip.

Do the mud flaps go inside under the groundsheet to stop the draughts or outside to let rain run off? I tend to put the mud flaps under the groundsheet too.

I'm really not sure if I've got the guys in the right places either - any rule of thumb ideas? I'll put a pic in my gallery of it so you can comment if anyone has a spare minute. Normally most guy ropes are attached to points where the poles are helping maintain the tent shape with additionals I always have my guy ropes pulled straight out from their anchor position.  If you check out the Outwell website and view the Oregon video it should show you the final look and so you can check out the positions that they put them in.

Told you they were stupid questions! I'm feeling really embarassed posting!!  Sorry for the length of this - having said all that we had a great night although it was very dry, warm and still - perfect camping weather!

None of the questions were stupid Anne - as you have clearly pointed out you are new to the game and want to make sure that you are doing all things right.  I hope you enjoy your tenting experiences!!

Louise

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No such thing as a silly question, Anne. I'd suggest that you peg down everything. In fact, the more pegs the better, to start with at least. And if it moves,peg it down!

Mudflaps -well we tuck them under the groundsheet to make everything windproof. Not sure where the "mud" bit of that then comes into play, mind.......

Guys -straight out and down.

The inners -one of our tents has big clips on the bottoms of the inners. These clip to the rings at the bottm where the poles attach, for added "security". Could it be that?

Hope that helps.

Amanda x

I have an Oregon 5 and i clip the inner tent corners to the plastic rings on the inner tent.Then i always leave the inner attached when packing away so it pitches all in one.

My mud flaps go outside and pegged down as they keep rain well away from the groundsheet.

The more you use it you will find pitching  is very easy so don't worry about it and enjoy your new tent !

Thank you al soooooo much - what a great site this is and a fantastically helpful bunch of people - really appreciated.

I have done a bit of  'tweaking' this afternoon after getting all the tips & hints from you guys and it looks so much better. I emailed our nearest camping showroom and they have an Oregon 5 pitched so am going to have a little trip there soon to see one correctly pitched!  I'll be getting some Delta pegs too - anything else I might need while I'm there? I can see this could be the start of a very expensive hobby

Thanks again - I'll be back with more queries I'm sure (oh and Ben loved it so much we're in the garden again tonight!)

Anne