1) the toggle on one of the bedroom pods came off our tent last year (vango Maritsa 700) - hoping to fix it with my trusty sewing machine - but im still a bit of a novice with it (only been sewing since last sept) - so what thread would I need? (have 100% polyester at the moment) and what needle? (have universal from 75/11 to 110/16 and ball point 80/12 and 90/14) and what stitch etc? want it to last and hate hand sewing and am absolutely useless at it lol
2) we have been known to pitch the tent in 40 mins before now - but its usually 1 hr+ - we pitch back to front (there are 5 poles in total) any reccomendations to get it up faster please? :)
thankyou in advance
------------- June 2015: seaview international 2 nights
July 2015: little winnick 2 nights
August 2015: lower polladras 5 nights
august 2015: tollgate farm 5 nights
august 2015: oakdown 3 nights
September 2015: tregarton park
family of 6 with young children
I usually hand stitch anything like that with a nylon thread as its stronger. Dont know about your tent, but you could have a look on u tube, I like to watch them pitch tents on there. We got a few tips watching them
If you do want to use the sewing machine, use a medium thickness universal needle plus the thread you have, then either zig zag or straight stitch backewards and forwards several times to make a strong join. (Haven't a clue what you are trying to stitch, but this should fix most things!)
Loosely peg the four corners
Make sure the door zips are open (not fully) on sides and front
Start with the MIDDLE pole - attach ring and pin and stand it up but do not peg any poles yet.
This is the largest pole and helps to get air into the tent.
Work outwards from this pole so that the next 2 poles are the ones either sides of the Middle
As soon as the tent is accessible inside go in and close the Middle divider between living area and porch
When all 5 poles are in shut all the doors properly and attach the black clips that join the tent to the poles
Peg in the front OR back corners (not both) properly at this point. This depends on how accurately your tent sits on the footprint.
Now working from the end you've just pegged, with one person either side of the tent, take each pole in turn and walk it away from the pegged side and peg it down. This gets any sagginess out of the tent.
After this you just need to finish pegging the end you've arrived at and then sort the guy lines
thankyou very much everyone for your replies - I really do appreciate it! I will do that with my machine - I'm a real novice with it still!
We are planning on pitching the Maritsa again tomorrow to check it before going camping next month so will try that loobywoof :)
Ill let you know how we get on :)
------------- June 2015: seaview international 2 nights
July 2015: little winnick 2 nights
August 2015: lower polladras 5 nights
august 2015: tollgate farm 5 nights
august 2015: oakdown 3 nights
September 2015: tregarton park
family of 6 with young children