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Quote: Originally posted by bourne31 on 20/8/2010

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Help please...!! We bought the zenobia 8 tent last year and had some really good camping trips in the dry... this year we have been out twice this year with the rain and today we have had to come home early because the tent is leaking everywhere...!! Mainly from the top of the tent. Getting different advice of tents should be waterproofed yearly to wondering whether the tent has just failed...!! So felt like chucking it in the bin today..!!

Can anyone advise whether new tents should leak like this or should they be waterproofed?? Appreciate any help!

 

Not clued up atall on these things but can you not take it back?

 

Would have thought if it was under a year old then is would still be under guarantee?

 

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Quote: Originally posted by bourne31 on 20/8/2010

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Hi, I would not say it was saggy, but maybe it could have been pulled a little tighter... I asked some of the other tent owners on the site this morning and none of them had waterproofed or had leaks..

Unfortunately, we have had the tent over a year, I think it was June last year, so gone over the guarantee year!! I will go back to Gooutdoors and ask though...

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I know you will be glad of an exchange but if they do swap for a new one put on a little sob story on how you had to come home early cause of the tent etc and how you lost cash due to this.

Trust me it worked with me and the good manager at GO gave me some freebies which i was more than happy with 

A one year old tent shouldn't leak. A synthetic tent should be good for 4-6 months of cumulative use depending on the quality of the flysheet fabric. (Hi-Gear is about middling quality.) How much did you use the tent last year? It wasn't an ex-display tent by any chance?

Secondly synthetic tents don't need waterproofing till they're on their last legs and even then, it's probably better to get a new tent. Exception to this rule of thumb...high tech cost-a-mint mountain tents.

Thirdly...has the tent ever got mouldy, been treated for mould or cleaned with any sort of cleaning solution other than plain water? All of these can damage the waterproofing.

Finally, where is it leaking? If it's through the seams you can seam seal these fairly easily. If it's through the fabric then your tent might need replaced. Is the flysheet milky, crackly or crunchy, showing white streks on the inside or generally just feeling a bit brittle? If so the flysheet is starting to degrade from UV exposure. The one year guarantee is fine but if the tent has been up for four or five months in this time, whether on site or in the garden, the tent has just basically worn out.

If it's none of the above then yes, try a complaint to Go Outdoors. They're good at returns. After a year and a lot of use though if they offer you a new tent at a discount that's not a bad deal and worth considering.

Just a bit of a stupid thought.

But i'm wondering if their could be someone of here with the same tent who has a receipt you could borrow???

Sure there could be away round it.