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 Topic: Help! Can`t get this tent pitched right!
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14/9/2015 at 11:48pm
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We recently downsized from our massive Vango Colorado to a Coleman Mackenzie Cabin 6L. I spent a lot of time noseying at other people's tents before deciding on this one, and it's just perfect for my needs... but I can't get the tension right on the front section, however hard I try. Whenever it rains (and there's been a lot of that since we got it), water pools on the roof. As you can see from pics, I've added extra guy ropes to give the front section some much needed support (the guys on the tent material, especially the top ones, just seem to create channels for the water to pool, unless you leave them fairly loose). I've played with all the tensioners on the frame and base. But looking at the pics, it seems to me the problem may be that the front frame sits slightly higher than the middle one? But maybe I'm imagining it. Any suggestions as to how I could solve it? Anything obvious I'm doing wrong? Or is it just poor design?
Looking nice and dry when first pitched
  [/IMG]
Much less happy after a downpour
I've got it pitched in the front garden now, and still playing around with the tension, trying to get it right...
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15/9/2015 at 11:46pm
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Arsenaldes, I also think that the first roof section is too long, but I really hoped that Coleman would have enough experience to know how far they could push it, and there might be something I was doing wrong.
Bob61, I think the poles are all the same length and it is an optical illusion, but I tried your idea to tilt the front ones back a little at the base. It did make a slight difference, but put a visible strain on the upper parts of the pole, which I have tight guys attached to, to try and keep the front section out. Without the extra guys I attached to the front frame, there is no way to get any decent tension.
I'm going to contact Coleman - as it stands, this tent is not fit for purpose. The weight of water pooling on the roof caused it to dip down onto the front sleeping pod last trip, meaning that condensation wicked onto the ceiling. So disappointed, as I thought I'd chosen really well.
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16/9/2015 at 12:41pm
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Thanks for the suggestions! JasonandClare, the angle of the guys was constrained by the integrated wind break, but I've removed that, and put as much distance as I can between the front and middle section, and made the guys longer.
 [/IMG]
There is an improvement, but it looks like guy rope central, and you are absolutely correct, Bob61, there are way too many ropes at the front, making the front door unusable unless you go straight forward, however the guys that come with the tend are attached to the material, and there is no way you could put this much strain on them without damaging the tent. Also, if you pull these tight, it just creates channels of tension in the roof.
Although the right hand side of the roof looks better now, the left is still dodgy, and if I go inside the tent, the roof is clearly not taut, and flaps in the wind. There seems to be too much material - I really couldn't pull the front poles out any further without risking damage.
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16/9/2015 at 1:48pm
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Thanks for the link to the video, Maddie. I did watch it when I first got the tent, but hadn't since. It was very informative, not least of all because their demo tent, in most of the shots is set up much worse than my own, with plenty of flappy sections! I also noticed that they moved the front guy lines, depending on what angle the shot was, so you didn't get the impression that they are in your way when you go out the front door (which they are. The side door ones are too...)
Now I am convinced that the problem is indeed poor design. Don't think they make this tent any more, which figures. It's a shame, because the flexibility of the inside is just brilliant, and apart from the tension issue, it is a doddle to pitch.
I admit, I do suffer a bit from OCD when it comes to tensioning the tent properly, and I'm always walking round making adjustments during our trips, but this one has got me beat 
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