Im considering in buying this tent 2nd hand, i know this is an old tent and reviews on here are good, but as always im reluctant to buy a 2nd hand tent as cant take it back just in case!! Has any one had one of these it seems to offer the space we need with decent enough specs i just want to make sure im not wasting my money
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
The thing to be aware of is that a standard polyester tent has an effective life of about 6 months continuous use (some more, some less) before the flysheet breaks down from UV degradation (the flysheet becomes brittle and the waterproof coating breaks down), so the extent to which it has been used will determine what effective life it has left in it. Also the condition of the tent will depend on how its been treated - mould is a common issue with tents that haven't been fully dried before being put away.
Buying second hand will always be a risk so keep this in mind when deciding what you are prepared to pay and keep a copy of the advert (so if faults are identified when you pick up the tent but unmentioned in the advert you may have the ability to do something about it). Private buyers can be a bit fussy, although ebay feedback and Paypal protection offer some protection.
------------- Love our set-up and need no more tents or gear, so trying to stop looking!
We had a Sunncamp Magnum XP which was a very similar tent, mine was bought in 2004 and the Tourist 12 was around at the same time.
To be honest we hated the tent, but part of that is what I now know is an absolute aversion to sewn in groundsheets and tents which are too closed in!
The Tourist 12 is a really big tent and you need to be aware that there are many sites that won't have pitches big enough for you so you will be restricted in where you can go. You may find that you only use one or two sites and they are fine with it so it's OK but it's something to be aware of. Our Magnum was 7m x 5m without guys so by the time you've added a metre in each direction it was a pretty big tent and was difficult to get onto pitches because of the shape of it.
Our Magnum was an absolute pig to pitch, it's inner first which can be a problem in poor weather - we never actually had a problem with the weather but it was really really fiddly and was best pitched with at least 3 people. Getting the outer over the top in windy weather was tricky to say the least.
We sold ours to a friend and have ended up pitching the bleeding thing once a year ever since until this year when she had got fed up with it as well (and now there were only two of them it was too big).
The high point is that even up to last year when we last pitched it, the quality was great, we used it for three or four weeks in total - a couple of those weeks in France and then some long weekends in the UK. My friend had used it for a couple of weekends each year so the UV exposure wasn't huge but it had been put up and taken down quite a lot.
In quality terms, if it's been looked after and not had a huge amount of UV exposure it may not be in bad condition. In suitability terms, be aware of the size and the difficulty in pitching it.
I'm not sure how old the one your looking at is but I wouldn't want to pay very much for an old tent of this type, probably not much over £70 or £80 if I'm honest.
Thanks for your answers i bought a 6 man tent with a room either end and living in the middle, its fine for me my fella and little girl but when my oh son came this summer cos we had to use both bedrooms was squashed, 3 of us was fine in the one room. I suppose i had better say no, as its not exactly a good time of year to be buying a tent i suppose either
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes