I have an Vango Icarus 800. We are going to Wales in 2 weeks' time. When we checked it today, there is a hole in the floor of one of the pods which I would like to repair before it gets any worse. Can anyone give some advice, please?
If I can't repair it, do you know if we can get a replacement pod?
You don't say how big a hole but if it is only small then you can buy some Tenacious Tape and just stick it on both sides. Cut it so it is circular with no corners that can start peeling off.
If it is too big just for Tenacious Tape then you may need to patch it with groundsheet material and tape that in the same manner.
New tents will often come with repair material or you can cannibalise an old peg bag or pole bag which are often made from the same groundsheet material. Failing that, any waterproof patch will do but better of course if the colour matches the existing groundsheet.
Thanks, everyone. Any suggestions as to how I stop the patch from sticking to the groundsheet underneath. I had thought of putting duct tape on, patching the other side with Tenacious tape or Gorilla tape and then turning over and double patching. Would that work?
Double patching would be ok but perhaps not necessary. How big is this hole? Tenacious Tape is quite expensive and you don't get a lot of it. If you have a large area to cover then perhaps Gorilla tape on both sides would be best.
Use a Tenacious Tape patch on both sides and it will hardly be noticeable. I did this on my tent 6 years ago and it is still holding firmly, my son and his fiancé now use the tent.
On the other hand if it is a cheap tent and £5 is too much to pay for Tenacious Tape, then use duct tape and see the patch stick out like a sore thumb every time you use the tent in future.
We had a frying pan sized hole in our porch bathtub groundsheet.
I bought a cheap footprint of the same quality, it was an outwell one, and we patched either side of the hole. Gorilla glue to stick it down and tenacious tape on the edges on both sides.
The hole is about the size of 2 ten pence pieces and is shaped almost like they were lying side by side (ie not an even shape). I want to deal with it before it gets bigger and to make sure that we don't get water coming in if we have really bad weather. The tent is not cheap and is otherwise in good shape so it is worth spending a bit to make sure it lasts a while.
Thanks, again, everyone for your advice. I think I will try Tenacious tape on both sides (one pack should be enough) and will buy a spare pack for future repairs.
Just bear in mind that Tenacious Tape is usually clear so with large holes and no patching you will be able to see daylight through the mend. If you cut a patch of groundsheet coloured material and stick it down on both sides with Tenacious Tape, the mend will be almost invisible
Alternatively, given the size of the holes I think I would go with the Gorilla Tape on both sides remembering to round off the corners. I have only seen pictures of it but I believe Gorilla tape is pretty much the same colour as groundsheets.
As it's the floor of the bedroom pod and we have a groundsheet underneath, I'm not too worried about being able to see through it although that would be an issue if it was on the tent all.
That's no problem then. I once discovered a small hole in my tent roof. Possibly caused by a birds claw or maybe a spark from a bonfire. The tent roof was a light grey colour and I used clear Tenacious Tape. It obviously sealed it perfectly and I couldn't see the tape but could still see the hole through it which was a little annoying