I'm hoping someone here can help! We've just bought a bell tent and put it up for the first time this evening in the garden. It has a separate groundsheet and I'm worried there's a problem with it... I'll try my best to explain!
The loops to peg the bottom of the tent down with (between the canvas and the storm flap) are on the inside rather than the outside of the tent. This means we can't tuck the storm flap under the groundsheet, instead it sits out the way. This doesn't seem very waterproof and from everything I've found online it looks like the pegs are on the outside of the tent so the storm flaps can tuck under the groundsheet.
Can anyone shed light on whether the tent is faulty or if I'm missing something obvious?
Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me!
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Hi there - we actually just sold our bell tent on eBay (along with some other bell-tent equipment). Ours was fine but it did confuse me a little the first time I put it up. Off the top of my head I can't quite remember how we pitched ours but after researching it, the method we used worked well for us. (I'll try to find pictures).
Certainly the rubber hoops at the bottom of the "wall" section were on the outside when the tent went up so that was never a problem.
Just checking - you didn't pick the tent up from Rugby did you? (I'm sure there are loads of bell tents sold on eBay but coincidences do happen). Either way - the one we sold had the loops on the outside!
Get some photos online and we can take a look - I've had a fair bit of experience with bell tents.
Quote: Originally posted by Scarybez on 23/4/2015
Haha I did think about that Tynxuk! :) but the zips for the windows are all on the inside so I think I've got it the right way round.
Do you know the make of the tent?
We have a mycooltent.com brand bell tent with sewn in ground sheet and they went out of business due to a design flaw I believe! Many people complained that it leaked around where the canvas connected to the mud skirt at the bottom and by simply tucking it under it has caused us no problem.
Some tents are designed to be like this and work well, our cheap canvas tent has the mud skirt on the outside and it wasn't the big problem I expected it to be.
Quote: Originally posted by Scarybez on 23/4/2015Don't worry, it wasn't from Rugby Loydall, ours was delivered
Ah cool. Get some photos up if you can and I'll take a look. Certainly the zips for the windows are on the inside and the rubber hoops at the bottom of the fabric wall (where it meets the plastic skirting) are on the outside.... or at least they should be.
Ok, photo number 1! This just shows the inside of the tent (you can see it's the inside because the labels are there) with the peg loops. I'll get some better ones Ina bit once I get it outside.
Hmm - those loops could be to tie up the sides when you want the sides rolled up and the tent open all round. This is the one I sold:
If you look at it, the guy ropes are attached to an overhang section at the bottom of the "roof" and the "walls" are attached at the bottom with a loop of fabric with a rubber loop built into them.
So - the loops in your photo look like they're at the bottom of the "wall" but certainly look inside the tent. Have you got a link to website of the company that makes this model?
Quote: Originally posted by loydall on 23/4/2015
Hmm - those loops could be to tie up the sides when you want the sides rolled up and the tent open all round. This is the one I sold:
Just what I thought, loydall. Those don't look like pegging points to me, but more like where you locate the ties, to fasten the sides up.