Quote: Originally posted by Timmy T on 13/7/2007
In summary, Bob, do you feel I am over reacting?
Being new to camping, I assumed you would be provided with a water tight tent as nowhere does it state that you will need to re-proof your seams before use. Erect before camping, yes, check all the bits, yes, but do the seams, doesn't say a thing.
If this is the case, we do not have the space to erect and leave our tent in our garden to do this, as I believe seam sealant needs to be left for 24 hrs to cure. In fact, we only put our tent up once in the local park before we went away. If I'd left it there for 24 hrs it wouldn't have been there when we came back. This just isn't an option for many people.
It's difficult to say if you are overreacting without seeing for myself. You said you had about an inch of water in a bucket overnight, which doesn't seem a lot. If that amount was just left to drip on the groundsheet and run off or evaporate you probably wouldn't notice it much, but collect it in a bucket over a period of time and it seems a lot.
They wouldn't make seam sealant if all seams were waterproof because they wouldn't be able to sell it.
The reason why they say leave it for 24 hours is because if you fold the tent before it has dried it can stick to other parts of the material. If you can't do it before you go, then do it when you get on site before you add the inner tents. Only takes a few minutes to run sealant along the inner seams. As I said, I used a spray wax. It sprays on like foam so I sprayed it at the highest point of the seam and ran it along the seam with a 1" paintbrush.
As for telling you to seal the seams in the instructions, some manufacturers do and some don't. Perhaps they wouldn't sell many tents if they advertise the fact they are likely to leak.
Don't get me wrong...if you think you have a leaky tent then take it back and complain. They will either agree and replace it or advise you to seal the seams. Even if they replace it I'll bet you seal the seams next time - lol
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Topic: What should I expect from a budget tent?
