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Subject Topic: Leaking Vango Inspire Groundsheet Post Reply Post New Topic
09/8/2015 at 11:54am
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 Outfit: Vango Inspire 500
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As anyone else experienced leakage through their Grounsheet. We've just discovered a large area at the front of our tent where water has soaked through our groundsheet, also at quite a lot of water ( whether this was condensation ) wet our sleeping bags and air bed.

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Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!


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09/8/2015 at 12:59pm
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Groundsheets can leak eventually if you are pitched in a puddle of water but at 10,000mm HH they are unlikely to leak during normal use.

I would be inclined to think that the puddles at the front of the tent could have run down from a leaking seam, or, since you mention wet airbeds and sleeping bags which I assume are inside your sleeping pod, a large amount of condensation.

You need to check for any leaking seams the next time it rains and take some seam sealer with you just in case. If it is a new tent quite often the stitching is dry and it needs a soaking to expand the cotton and fill the stitch hole, so the problem may not happen again. Taped seams on the inside aren't always adequate.

You also need to make sure that, regardless of the weather, all your vents are wide open all the time. They are there to prevent condensation. Cooking inside the tent, boiling kettles etc; all add to condensation problems but I believe I have read somewhere that a human expels a pint of water during the night just by breathing. If there are several people inside the tent that could be a heck of a lot of pints


09/8/2015 at 1:35pm
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Thanks for the reply. This was the first pitch and we haven't seen much in the way of rain, also we've kept all the vents open throughout. I've checked all the beams and there's no water ingress from there, it does appear to look like it's coming from underneath the groundsheet. I think the bedroom pods could be condensation but to wet our sleeping bag and air bed to that extent seems unusual.

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Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!


09/8/2015 at 1:50pm
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Cold nights and dew can create as much water as if it had been raining. Condensation on the inside of the flysheet can run down to the groundsheet causing a lot of pools of water.

Perhaps a test in your garden with a hosepipe might throw some light on the issue of leaking seams. Spray the tent and look for leaks. You could also thoroughly wet the lawn and see if anything comes through the groundsheet.

It is always possible there is a fault with your groundsheet but your airbed I assume is within your sleeping pod. It would be unusual indeed for both the main groundsheet and the pod groundsheet to be leaking.

You said it was the first pitch and you have had little rain. Surely the ground underneath your tent would have been dry...so where did the water come from to soak through?

Airbeds can get extremely cold at night unless they are very well insulated from both the ground and the air...in other words wrapped in blankets/fleeces etc. Body heat can then create large amounts of condensation on the airbed which will in turn wet the sleeping bag. Also, sleeping with your head inside the sleeping bag can cause it to get damp inside.

I am still going with the condensation theory


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09/8/2015 at 2:01pm
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The leak in the pod is from above and I think that could possibly be condensation though the amount of this is far more excessive than anything I've seen previously. As for the groundsheet I'm certain it's coming from underneath as its wet on the outside of this as well, again we've campesinos some pretty awful conditions but we've never seen leakage here before.

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Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!


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10/8/2015 at 3:48pm
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Back home and I can safely say the Groundsheet is leaking after a downpour early AM confirmed that water was breaching th fabric and we ended up with most of the living area wet. It is looking likely that wetness in the bedroom pods was condensation now as this remained dry in the downpour. Does anyone know what the HH of the groundsheet is as I've never seen water breach the fabric before and we've had a good number of tents used in some atrocious conditions. I've contacted Vango and the retailer but I did purchase this from Truro and we live in Blackburn so how or who'll foot the delivery costs is an unknown at this point.

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Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!


10/8/2015 at 8:19pm
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Most groundsheets are 10,000mm HH. I have never known one leak. Looks like you have a real dodgy one.

Are you 100% sure the seams aren't leaking and water is running down to floor level? I don't know anything about air tents but I have seen reports of leaks around the tube areas somewhere.

Either way it seems you have a problem and your first complaint should be with the seller.

Post last edited on 10/08/2015 20:29:41


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10/8/2015 at 8:26pm
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Yes no leakage around any of the seams or beams, I've never known a groundsheet to let water soak into the fabric like this one.

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Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!


11/8/2015 at 11:34am
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The more I hear about air tents the less I want one. They seem to be nothing but trouble for one reason or another.


11/8/2015 at 12:58pm
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I think in general they're great Bob, obviously I've got a rogue groundsheet but the beams were fine and stood up,well to some pretty windy weather without utilising Vango's TSB system. I think the main issue surrounding all tents is the decline in quality control since manufacturers decided to save costs and move East.

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Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!


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11/8/2015 at 6:50pm
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Let us know how you get on with the complaints


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24/8/2015 at 9:26pm
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Just received an email from Vango today stating I need to contact the retailer for either a refund, repair ( can't see that as it's the ground sheet ), or exchange. Now on Vango's Facebook page they did say they could replace the Imspire 500 with a similar model with the same spec, would that be an Inspire 600 bear in mind I bought 500 in the sales for £675.

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Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!


25/8/2015 at 12:44am
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If they say they will replace it, go for it! Can't be worse can it?


25/8/2015 at 11:35am
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I'm hoping they'll replace it with a 600, I was happy with the deign of the Inspire and ease of pitching. I'll let you know the final outcome soon hopefully.

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Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!


17/9/2015 at 10:01pm
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 Outfit: Vango Inspire 500
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Well after many weeks it finally turns out the Groundsheet did leak and it's been consigned to the rubbish bin. Unfortunately Vango couldn't upgrade me to another model much to my annoyance after they promised this on their Facebook page but I managed to locate this years Evoque 600 at a cracking price off £675 and a sun canopy for £85. Hopefully this will be fault free and give us many years of happy camping.

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Sunny days and starry skies, the polar opposite of UK camping!


18/9/2015 at 12:35am
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All's well that ends well.



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