Message Forums

Hello

We have just spent 6hrs this afternoon trying to put up our new Coleman Columbia!!  This included twice taking it down and starting again...eventually after three hours got the inner up but we could not get the flysheet right...gaps all over the place...not able to peg down the guy ropes...

Surprised you did not hear the arguements up and down the length of the country!!

Anybody offer any words of wisdom?

pinkzinfandel

Yup, that sounds about right, Try again tomorrow and it'll only take you about 5 hours 

Seriously though, it really will be much easier next time.

We bought one last year as total newbies to camping.  It took so long to put up that we were relieved once it was up to find that it had been incorrectly stitched and we had the perfect excuse to take it back!!  We were only considering week-end camping, so it was too much faff for us, but if you are looking at a week's camping, I'm sure it'll be worth the effort.

CP

I think six hours must be close to the record for persisting with a tent...you`re obviously keen born campers.

I can`t imagine what you were doing not to be able to peg down the guylines though. Problems with the sliders?

Hi

The first time we tried to put our tent up it took us ages and didn't get it completely up the instructions where useless, so the next day went to the shop and had another look how it was put up, looked at everything, how the poles where positioned, how it was pegged and there where some bits that had to go at 90 degree angle, anyway manged next time to erect it, used the tent for 6 years and got better each time at putting it up, so dont give up!!!

Hi Valk_scot

The Columbia goes up inner first...which was fine once we worked this out-the instructions don't actually tell you...but when we tried to put the flysheet over we could not get the flysheet to cover the whole of the tent...there were big gaps between the ground and the edge of flysheet...maybe should have taken a photo I could post for advice...but the instructions said to tie the flysheet to the poles before pegging which made this worse as the tied material raised higher off the ground...so then when we tried to peg out the guylines they were stretching the fabric of the tent but I think this was because the flysheet was not positioned very well...

There were three of us there so it was not a case of not enough hands...my dad has a large frame tent that he can throw up in no time...and I have been camping with him in that too many times to count...so we are not complete novices but this was the first time we had attempted such a modern built tent...

Six hours wasted was bad enough but we just dismantled the thing about an hour ago as you couldn't sleep in it the way it was...thank goodness we only went as far as my parents garden!   Three very disappointed children though...they were promised a night in the new tent...

Thanks for your advice

pinkzinfandel

Hi Val

So if you look at the photo on my gallery image there is the black band round the skirt of the tent...so that black band does need to be flush all the way round the tent?...there was a gap of probably more than 4inches and all the poles and ties were exposed...

It was me, OH and my dad trying this afternoon...have left the tent and instructions with my dad and he is determined to study them tonight and get the tent up in the morning...

Original plan was to cook on the camping stove and pretend we were someplace else...then as time marched on the plan changed to be eating fish suppers in the tent...that never happened and I have just finished eating the curry that was delivered to the house...we never even stopped for food today!...and I have opened the bottle of wine that I was saving to toast the new tent with...

thanks for your advice

pinkzinfandel

It does sound an awfully big gap. I`ve not seen this tent up, unfortunately...my local camping emporium doesn`t have them. Does the inner have tensioning straps to pull tight once the poles are threaded in and pinned?

Is this the one?  It certainly looks like there ought to be a gap, but it is hard to tell from the picture.  I made the presumption that the green was the outer and the black is the groundsheet of the inner.

Hope this is of some help.

Quote: Originally posted by Vectratot on 30/4/2006

---

The black band you see around the edges is the pvc draught (draft? spelling) skirt.

---

Oooooopps!  Can see that now - in fact it's obvious when you know

Hi Everybody

Thanks for all your help...I went to my bed early last night...in disgust that I was not camping out in my new tent...

Yeah the main part of the flysheet is blue and then the black band around the edges is the draft skirt...well if you look at the photo above the draft excluder reached the ground around the main body but the point between the triangle window and the window with the name of the tent written below it was where the flysheet was creeping up and all the poles were exposed...it was the same on the other side at each of the parts where the bedrooms meet the main tent...

Not aware of any tensioners inside the tent...but we did try to only tie the flysheet to the inner in a couple of spots to allow us some room for manouvre as we tried to get the flysheet right...my dad is an old canvas pro and he kept shouting at me to lift that canvas higher!!...it did not matter how often I said 'It's not canvas'...he kept calling it that...we wondered if maybe we had the inner poles too steeply arranged and that made it too high for the fly sheet to go alll around?...

thanks for all your help on this sunny bank holiday weekend

pinkzinfandel

Hello Again

Just phoned my mum to discover that my dad sat up most of the night studying what little instructions there were...he even attempted to put the inner up in their living room!...my presence is required this afternoon in their garden to give it another go...will let you all know how it goes...

I have heard people suggest on here that some tent manufacturers put instructions for pitching their tents on their websites...I even watched a couple of video clips when we were deciding which tent to buy...I have searched but cannot find a website address for Coleman...checked out their brochure and all I could find was an email address...

thanks again

pinkzinfandel