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If you have the time, Scotch Guard and seal the seams -- it could help a whole lot.
I actually bought my Scotch Guard and seam sealer right in the outdoor section of Wal-Mart, but ended up picking up an REI tent from their online outlet section.
Like aq'drunk said, hit it with a silicone sealant (Kiwi Camp Dry is good too) and use seam sealer on the exposed seams. Make absolutely sure that you properly stake out your tent! Drive the stakes in at an angle so that if it gets windy, the force pulls the stake sideways against the dirt rather than pulling it straight out (sorry if that's unclear, best way I can think to explain it). You'll probably be fine, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep your dry clothes in plastic bags to be on the safe side
i bought one of those walmart ozark trail tents because my son wanted to sleep over with his friends and it ended up being setup for a couple of weeks and it did a pretty good job. the only problem was that a healty wind will blow the rain fly to one side of the tent. it stays attached but moves back far enough to let the rain come pouring in. we used zip ties to make it stay better
angle the point towards the tent, the top should be pointed away. that way the forces pulling on the stake (from the tent) pull it laterally. if the top of the stake is straight or towards the tent it will pull straight out.
I have a small Ozark Trail tent and it I didn't seal it or anything and it held up great through the rain at last year's Bonnaroo. Didn't have trouble with the rain fly either. The only thing I could say bad about it is that the stakes that come with it are really cheap and can bend, so I bought some stronger ones at Walmart for really cheap and they worked alot better when I used the tent again in the summer.
Post by mistergreengenes on Jun 13, 2006 23:35:14 GMT -5
Ozark Trail is the tent I'm sleeping in... The dude I'm going with picked up a 16x10 dome tent with some nice features (sewed-in "doormat", 2 gear pass-thru's for boots, etc..) for $25... at that price it simply cannot be beat.
Of course, we have seam sealed it and will spray it once we are on-site (weather permitting.
We set it up the other day just to check that everything was in the package and it looks as well constructed as my 1994-model Eureka (which lasted 5 years@5 trips per year but is now, sadly, retired)... I hate Walmart's politics (shop there only when there is no local option), but I'll be damned if they don't offer a bargain from time to time.
Plus, ANY tent, no matter how expensive, needs to be seam sealed and sprayed at least once a year/season, so this is not necessarily an undue burden.
I will be bringing my trusty Kelty just in case... doubt i'll need it, though...
what is this seam sealer you all speak of? Maybe I'll pick some up today, but I'm baffled.... does it involve sewing? is it some kind of spray? is it some kind of tape?