Rooftents - Hannibal or Eezi-Awn ???
Jon
the mrs.
I was going to just take our telly-tubby style dome tent but then
after reading the recent article in LRO magazine I'm not sure now -
would I be better with a roof tent?
I am currently Looking for a 2nd hand Hanniabal or Patriot roof rack
for the trip and now quite like the idea of leaving the tent, sleeping
bags, pillows etc on the roof when not in use, thus freeing up space
inside.
Questions then:
1. What are roof tents like to live with compared to a normal tent?
These are my first thoughts:
Roof Tent: Less space than my 6man dome tent
Roof Tent: Cant drive off for the day without taking down
and putting back up the following night
Roof Tent: Quick to erect / fold away
Tent: Takes about 40mins to put up
Tent: Lots of living space (relitavely)
Tent: Cheap cos I already have one!
Tent: Tent, sleaping bags etc take up space in
Landy, not on roof.
2. I have read that the Eezi-Awn tents have an integral fly sheet and
that the Hannibal ones detach and can be a right pain in the arse to
attach????
3. General opinions on the roof tents - Which is best?
General opions please...
thanks
Jon
Jinx
The girlfriend and myself are in a similar position, we are going to morocco
next march and the roof tent is what we have decided to go for.
I'm fitting the tent on some rhino roof bars as the full rack option
wouldn't work for me, they are generally something you tend to leave on once
fitted which would mean I couldn't get into any of the carparks or the local
tip. If I was pushed I would have gone for the patriot, extremely well/over
engineered (British too) so you can strip each section off i.e. side rails,
then floor sections then finally the roof bars.
We recently had the opportunity to use a Hannibal 1.2 roof tent for 2 weeks
in France, once we were back I went and had a look at my mates 1.4 ezi awn
to compare. I'll list the good and bad points of each below:
Hannibal:
Good bits:
Protective cover very easy to remove and refit, zipped along lower edge then
strapped.
Fly sheet has side panels by exit thus shielding entry points from rain
better.
Base seems thicker and more stable!?
Has porthole entry meaning totally sealed panel once zipped up.
Side windows zip all the way round
Thick mattress, split in the middle which helps opening and closing
Bad bits:
Lower half of ladder is stored separately in side landy
Top support pole for fly sheet falls out of pockets everytime its folded
down thus you have to re fit this everytime you erect the tent.
no air vents, need to leave windows or doors slightly open to allow air flow
through tent
fly sheet is very thin nylon type material and prone to damage
Internal support bars need repositioning once tent is fully open
Stitching of seems and zips are poor.
When opening zip of protective cover tends to get pinched between the mating
parts of the base board.
Ezi awn:
Good Points:
Ladder is light weight aluminium and both section are part of the tent
Stitching of zips and seems are better quality but still no where near what
I would expect +£700 worth of tent to be.
Has continuous air vents to allow air flow through tent
Tent opens out well and internal support bars are in correct positions
Fly sheet is of a rip stop material and very hard wearing
Bad Points:
Door has vertical side zips but nothing attaches the bottom of the door
panel to the tent base: thus fly's (mozi's) can enter, gather the fix for
this is to add Velcro along the bottom.
Side windows only zip up on sides this means that in windy conditions the
sides balloon out/flap around.
Protective cover is completely removable and very difficult to resecure
around tent when packing up! There is a strap around the base of the cover
which has a ratchet on one side, this is tends not to pull the cover tight
all the way round.
Mattress is one piece which means that when opening the tent the joint of
the base board pinches the mattress meaning it wont interlock to gether
properly.
No side panels on fly sheet by entrances
Protective cover a tad thin and corners of the tent base tend to damage it
when it being secure up
Well I think that it!
Both tents are canvas made which means that even on the brightest days the
tent stays very dark inside! The ezi awn has alu section rails along the
bottom which makes fitting easier, Hannibal is bolt through the floor type
but I would bolt the ezi-awn through the floor I think if rough offroading
was to be encountered.
For a Tent costing + £700 you are not getting a very good quality built tent
but instead I believe you are paying to the concept, as I was told these
tents are made in south Africa and quality is very poor even when they sack
the workers and re-employ the quality soon drops down again.
The ezi awn is better made but has poor design for something that is to be
used in Africa (door/window sealing is very bad), all the issues on the ezi
awn can be fixed fairly easy but if you want a tent that works straight out
the box then Hannibal is in my opinion better.
I would recommend going to the LRO show in September and having a look at
them in great detail, also check the difference between the 1.2 and 1.4. We
were going to go for a 1.2 but after seeing the difference in the 1.4 I
think we shall be going for that instead after all we will be spending over
4 weeks in this tent and the 1.2 can get a little tight at times.
We had a look at a AUTOHOME overland at billing, there made in Italy and
have a good mattress, good ladder and the quality as I remember is very
high, only bad point that I saw was the material is not canvas so not as
hard wearing or as dark when inside. see BOAB.biz, chaps name was Chris I
think. we are going to the LRO show to have another look at these first
before we decide.
The only other make that I know of is Howling moon but seen or heard much
about these.
Hope this helps
Mark
e-mail me at mrg...@btopenworld.com if you want to ask me anymore questions
etc
Kip Kniskern
1. While I don't have any personal experience with roof tents, there was a
discussion recently on www.discoweb.org about keeping warm up there. Being
suspended with cold air between you and the earth/roof has been
problematic.
2. I have outfitted my 95 Discovery with a system of duffel bags that get
lashed to the rooftop carrier. I find this to be very satisfactory. Tent
(small dome type), 2 sleeping bags, pillow, foam pad all fit in one duffel,
which I just heave up onto the roof. When I get to where I'm going (just
got back from a trip to near Mt. Adams, here in Washington State), I pull
the bag off the roof, set up, and have the bag ready to pack again when I
go. Works great.
3. My system accomplishes what you say you want to, which is to keep the
truck free of camping gear. I also carry some misc. truck recovery tools
etc in another bag, freeing up more space.
4. Downsides of course are hauling the stuff up and down off the roof, but
I bet I would spend more time and bother climbing up there to sleep, nap,
change, etc, etc. anyway.
5. Yes I realize I'm talking about a Discovery, and you aren't, but it
would seem the principles are the same. I'm also talking about less gear in
general than you are (2-man tent vs 6-man, etc), but with some organization
it could work quite nicely (most essential gear in one bag, long term gear
in another, etc).
kip
ps my Posh Ted window sticker looked great with Mt. Adams in the background.
I'll try and post pics this week.
David_LLAMA4x4
"Jon" <jonatha...@nospam-linesurveys.co.uk> wrote in message
news:vc37j093ernj8arbo...@4ax.com...
It may be leaving it a bit late but if you can last till Sunday 13th Feb
for your answers why not come to the Indoor 4x4 Show at Donington Park race
track - most of the various rooeftents and accessories will be on display
all in the same hall so you can make on the spot comparisons and choose the
one you want there and then.....
David
www.llama4x4.co.uk
Disco Duck
(in article <rnRYc.6100$_g7.2955@attbi_s52>):
> Some quick observations:
>
> 1. While I don't have any personal experience with roof tents, there was a
> discussion recently on www.discoweb.org about keeping warm up there. Being
> suspended with cold air between you and the earth/roof has been
> problematic.
That is one problem I hadn't thought about. One I had thought about is how
well they stand up to the wind. I camp out on Big Shell ( near Corpus
Christi Texas) a lot and the wind will knock down most tents. I use an
Alaskan Guide Dome tent and it holds up. Nothing else I have tried will. I
was in West Texas once and the wind got so high it started to blow a tent
away with some one in it!
I don't know what they cost in the U.K. but for what one costs in the U.S. I
would put the tents and sleeping bags in water proof duffle bags and stick
them on the roof rack. It is somewhat of a pain loading it back up but it
leaves the rear area free for things like firewood.
Hud
Charlie Choc
>That is one problem I hadn't thought about. One I had thought about is how
>well they stand up to the wind. I camp out on Big Shell ( near Corpus
>Christi Texas) a lot and the wind will knock down most tents.
I have a safari trailer with a Hannibal tent (www.adventuretrailers.com) and
have camped both in moderate cold (35F in Yellowstone) and high winds (30+ mph
in the Florida Keys). The only problem I had was the rain fly not staying
secure in the wind and I fixed this easily with some nylon cord anchoring the
fly stays. The mattress and plywood base are good insulation from the cold I
have camped in so far. FWIW
--
Charlie...
GbH
Disco Duck <no...@noway.com> blithered:
> On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 21:28:39 -0500, Kip Kniskern wrote
> (in article <rnRYc.6100$_g7.2955@attbi_s52>):
>
>> Some quick observations:
>>
>> 1. While I don't have any personal experience with roof tents,
>> there was a discussion recently on www.discoweb.org about keeping
>> warm up there. Being suspended with cold air between you and the
>> earth/roof has been problematic.
>
> That is one problem I hadn't thought about. One I had thought about
> is how well they stand up to the wind. I camp out on Big Shell (
> near Corpus Christi Texas) a lot and the wind will knock down most
> tents. I use an Alaskan Guide Dome tent and it holds up. Nothing
> else I have tried will. I was in West Texas once
Isn't that Montana?
and the wind got
> so high it started to blow a tent away with some one in it!
>
> I don't know what they cost in the U.K. but for what one costs in the
> U.S. I would put the tents and sleeping bags in water proof duffle
> bags and stick them on the roof rack. It is somewhat of a pain
> loading it back up but it leaves the rear area free for things like
> firewood.
>
> Hud
--
If Your specification is vague or imprecise, you'll likely get what you
asked for not what you want
rast...@rogers.com
in Canada was letting go some Howling Moon tents at an unbeatable
price. However, I had just finished setting up my 110 to sleep in the
back, so felt the RTT would be a little redundant. Plus I don't have
a major road trip planned for a while, so thought it better to invest
the money in other things. In a 90, obviously a RTT would pay greater
dividends than in a 110, since you can't as easily sleep in the back
of a 90.
There's an excellent thread on this subject, including advice from
people who have used all kinds of RTT's on expeditions, etc., at the
site www.d-90.com, in the thread entitled "Hannibal the Cannibal" (in
Misc Chit Chat).
Have a look there and I'm sure many of your questions will be
answered.
In my case (I'm 48), one concern I had about RTT's is my frequent need
to get up in the middle of the night to you-know-what. THe thought of
going up and down that ladder was a little intimidating. Younger
folks wouldn't have that concern (unless they consume a lot of
alcoholic beverages before calling it a night and crawling up to the
tent! :-)
Bottom line: there are a LOT of advantages to a RTT, but they can be
bloody expensive (compared to a top of the line ground tent, I mean),
so consider your needs and intended usage patterns.
Cheers,
--Robert (Ottawa Canada 1987 110)
Disco Duck
(in article <4134a1bf$0$12556$ed26...@ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net>):
> In news:PaednXcY74T...@texas.net,
> Disco Duck <no...@noway.com> blithered:
>> On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 21:28:39 -0500, Kip Kniskern wrote
>> (in article <rnRYc.6100$_g7.2955@attbi_s52>):
>>
>>> Some quick observations:
>>>
>>> 1. While I don't have any personal experience with roof tents,
>>> there was a discussion recently on www.discoweb.org about keeping
>>> warm up there. Being suspended with cold air between you and the
>>> earth/roof has been problematic.
>>
>> That is one problem I hadn't thought about. One I had thought about
>> is how well they stand up to the wind. I camp out on Big Shell (
>> near Corpus Christi Texas) a lot and the wind will knock down most
>> tents. I use an Alaskan Guide Dome tent and it holds up. Nothing
>> else I have tried will. I was in West Texas once
>
> Isn't that Montana?
>
If I understood your question correctly, Big Shell is in the Padre Island
National Seashore near Corpus Christi, TX.
Hud
GbH
Disco Duck <no...@noway.com> blithered:
> On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 11:05:17 -0500, GbH wrote
> (in article <4134a1bf$0$12556$ed26...@ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net>):
>
>> In news:PaednXcY74T...@texas.net,
>> Disco Duck <no...@noway.com> blithered:
>>> On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 21:28:39 -0500, Kip Kniskern wrote
>>> (in article <rnRYc.6100$_g7.2955@attbi_s52>):
>>>
>>>> Some quick observations:
>>>>
>>>> 1. While I don't have any personal experience with roof tents,
>>>> there was a discussion recently on www.discoweb.org about keeping
>>>> warm up there. Being suspended with cold air between you and the
>>>> earth/roof has been problematic.
>>>
>>> That is one problem I hadn't thought about. One I had thought about
>>> is how well they stand up to the wind. I camp out on Big Shell (
>>> near Corpus Christi Texas) a lot and the wind will knock down most
>>> tents. I use an Alaskan Guide Dome tent and it holds up. Nothing
>>> else I have tried will. I was in West Texas once
>>
>> Isn't that Montana?
>>
> If I understood your question correctly, Big Shell is in the Padre
> Island National Seashore near Corpus Christi, TX.
>
> Hud
There used to be a standing joke that Texas had everything, someone said they were
going to work in Montana, which got that response from a Texan, Texans seem to
have a limited perspective of things non Texan, like they doubt they exist.
Jon
I spoke to the Lady at Trek Overland yesterday as they sell the
Howling Moon Tents. The lady was very helpful and made their tents
sound like the dogs do-da's. Clearly she will be biased buthas anyone
any experiances with them?
Thought I would go and see them all at Peterborough.
The other option I like (Cos its cheper) suggested by kip in his post
is to get some kind of weather proof box for the rack that will
accomodate my tent and sleeping bags - this way I can save money, keep
my "living space" and keep the equipment outside of the 90. The only
inconvenience with this is that I would need to climb up onto the roof
to unpack - hardly harsh though.
On this note, could anyone suggest where I could get such boxes (dont
want the expense of a Thule typre roof box or I may as well get the
tent (＃'s)!. The other option is get a box made from alli that will
hold the fold up table and chairs as well and bolt it to the rack.
Thanks
Jon
Paul S. Brown
I had a look at the Howling Moon ones at Gaydon and they look to be pretty
well made.
they use Aluminium C-Channel to mount to roofracks which may be a point
against them, but bolting through the bottom of them shouldn't be too
difficult.
The ladders on them are some of the sturdiest I've met and supported my 19st
frame without complaint.
One thing that impressed me about the Howling Moon ones is that the awning
actually covers the entire rear of the tent rather than providing a cubicle
below it, which means that you can get out of the tent and into the back of
the car without having to expose yourself to the outside conditions at all.
Also, the awning on the one I was looking at was sufficiently large to have
2 camp beds inside it on the ground giving you a 4 berth tent in the space
of a normal 2 berth one.
The HM roof tents look to be some of the best you can get.
The Technitop ones aren't *too* bad, but they have a few flaws, such as the
awning being suspended from the base of the tent and giving you a cubicle,
and they don't breathe very well giving you a rainstorm inside in the
morning.
If you want to try a rooftent then Allisport under the guise of "A Sense of
Adventure" hire the Technitop ones for £100 for 2 weeks and will give you a
£100 credit towards the purchase of one if you decide you like it. The
Technitops they sell are around £650 each, so towards the bottom of the
price range for roof tents. They also mount directly to rails with bolts
through the base of the tent.
P.
--
The email address above is real.
Disco Duck
(in article <3chdj098790p8edpo...@4ax.com>):
> Thanks for all the replies.
>
> I spoke to the Lady at Trek Overland yesterday as they sell the
> Howling Moon Tents. The lady was very helpful and made their tents
> sound like the dogs do-da's. Clearly she will be biased buthas anyone
> any experiances with them?
>
> Thought I would go and see them all at Peterborough.
>
> The other option I like (Cos its cheper) suggested by kip in his post
> is to get some kind of weather proof box for the rack that will
> accomodate my tent and sleeping bags - this way I can save money, keep
> my "living space" and keep the equipment outside of the 90. The only
> inconvenience with this is that I would need to climb up onto the roof
> to unpack - hardly harsh though.
>
> On this note, could anyone suggest where I could get such boxes (dont
> want the expense of a Thule typre roof box or I may as well get the
> tent (＃'s)!. The other option is get a box made from alli that will
> hold the fold up table and chairs as well and bolt it to the rack.
>
> Thanks
> Jon
Try this site
http://cabelas.com/
Look under camping/ luggage. I use the boundry water bags. I have driven
through some good Texas rainstorms with these on the roof rack and everything
was still dry at the end of my trip.
I decided I don't like boxes. Edges are too hard if you drop one on your
foot.
Hud
Aubrey
> Door has vertical side zips but nothing attaches the bottom of the door
> panel to the tent base: thus fly's (mozi's) can enter, gather the fix for
> this is to add Velcro along the bottom.
We don't have any mozi's in Africa.
> Side windows only zip up on sides this means that in windy conditions the
> sides balloon out/flap around.
We don't have any wind in Africa.
> Protective cover is completely removable and very difficult to resecure
> around tent when packing up! There is a strap around the base of the cover
> which has a ratchet on one side, this is tends not to pull the cover tight
> all the way round.
We don't have barins in Africa but labour is cheap ;-)
> Mattress is one piece which means that when opening the tent the joint of
> the base board pinches the mattress meaning it wont interlock to gether
> properly.
We never sleep in Africa.
> No side panels on fly sheet by entrances
We have no fl4eis in Africa either.
> Protective cover a tad thin and corners of the tent base tend to damage it
> when it being secure up
Nothing is ever African proof in Africa ;-)
Reg
news:ch0ha5$ml6$1...@titan.btinternet.com...
> We had a look at a AUTOHOME overland at billing, there made in Italy
and
> have a good mattress, good ladder and the quality as I remember is
very
> high, only bad point that I saw was the material is not canvas so
not as
> hard wearing or as dark when inside. see BOAB.biz, chaps name was
Chris I
> think. we are going to the LRO show to have another look at these
first
> before we decide.
At Billing 2003 we ordered and paid for a new Oztent from Chris
Simonds of BOAB. While pegging it out the first time we used it, I
noticed that the built-in PVC groundsheet was split at both rear
corner welds.
A replacement Oztent was eventually received, but this was also
damaged in the same places. It also arrived too late to be used, so
we had to go B&B.
The third Oztent arrived with a bent frame, so was also unusable. He
wanted me to pay about £80 for warranty repair work.
It is my opinion that Chris Simonds repairs customers tents with parts
exchanged from his stock of new tents and later sells them as new
tents. Excuses are used to explain the problems.
We are now attempting to have our payment refunded.
I can't recommend anyone to purchase anything from Chris Simonds.
Reg.
Neil
wrote:
>At Billing 2003 we ordered and paid for a new Oztent from Chris
>Simonds of BOAB. While pegging it out the first time we used it, I
>noticed that the built-in PVC groundsheet was split at both rear
>corner welds.
>
>A replacement Oztent was eventually received, but this was also
>damaged in the same places. It also arrived too late to be used, so
>we had to go B&B.
>
>The third Oztent arrived with a bent frame, so was also unusable. He
>wanted me to pay about £80 for warranty repair work.
>
>It is my opinion that Chris Simonds repairs customers tents with parts
>exchanged from his stock of new tents and later sells them as new
>tents. Excuses are used to explain the problems.
>
>We are now attempting to have our payment refunded.
>
>I can't recommend anyone to purchase anything from Chris Simonds.
>
>Reg.
By contrast though, I too bought an Oztent with fly sheet and side
panels, from Boab at Trentham 2003. On inspection of the side panels,
I found that some of the stitching had missed the Velcro pole
loops(which fell off) on both panels. After phoning Boab to inform
them of the faults, I chose to return them a few weeks later at the
Peterborough show because it was more convenient for me. Chris didn't
have any more in stock but promised to get replacements as soon as he
could.
OK, so it did take well over a month(probably nearer 6 weeks) for
replacements to come through. But before they did, he did offer me a
full refund for the complete tent if I wasn't prepared to wait for the
replacements.
So Reg, the chances are you may well get your refund as Chris appears,
from my conversations with him and Nichola, to value customer opinion.
Bottom line for me, is that I'm well pleased with the Oztent and the
only damage I have to repair is a very small hole in the groundsheet
caused by a sharp flint, due to my own failure to inspect the ground
thoroughly prior to pitching.
Neil
(Reply via NG please)
Reg
news:7f5uk01kkkmj3oin5...@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 00:18:43 +0100, "Reg" <ne...@g4ens.fsnet.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
> >At Billing 2003 we ordered and paid for a new Oztent from Chris
> >Simonds of BOAB. While pegging it out the first time we used it, I
> >noticed that the built-in PVC groundsheet was split at both rear
> >corner welds.
> >
> >A replacement Oztent was eventually received, but this was also
> >damaged in the same places. It also arrived too late to be used,
so
> >we had to go B&B.
> >
> >The third Oztent arrived with a bent frame, so was also unusable.
He
> >
> >It is my opinion that Chris Simonds repairs customers tents with
parts
> >exchanged from his stock of new tents and later sells them as new
> >tents. Excuses are used to explain the problems.
> >
> >We are now attempting to have our payment refunded.
> >
> >I can't recommend anyone to purchase anything from Chris Simonds.
> >
> >Reg.
>
> By contrast though, I too bought an Oztent with fly sheet and side
> panels, from Boab at Trentham 2003. On inspection of the side
panels,
> I found that some of the stitching had missed the Velcro pole
> loops(which fell off) on both panels. After phoning Boab to inform
> them of the faults, I chose to return them a few weeks later at the
> Peterborough show because it was more convenient for me. Chris
didn't
> have any more in stock but promised to get replacements as soon as
he
> could.
With experience of Chris Simons that extends more than a year with the
3 faulty tents suppied, he has never had any stock over that time ,
always waiting for more to arrive. As he is always taking longer to
do anything, I suspect that he orders a replacment as required.
> OK, so it did take well over a month(probably nearer 6 weeks) for
> replacements to come through. But before they did, he did offer me
a
> full refund for the complete tent if I wasn't prepared to wait for
the
> replacements.
He also offered me a full refund, and I asked for it about six weeks
ago, but am still waiting. I returned the 3rd faulty tent's frame at
Billing 2004. I was told that it would be repaired in about a week.
About a month later I had to to send an e-mail to remind him that I
was going on holiday. Then he dicided that he wanted to charge me
about Ł80 for the warrenty repair. He refused to send it until I paid
him.
We went on holiday with an old tent and found a new frame on our
doorstep when we got back home, probably as I had given him a
statutary limited period to provide the full refund.
> So Reg, the chances are you may well get your refund as Chris
appears,
> from my conversations with him and Nichola, to value customer
opinion.
That was my opinion for a good year, but he turned nasty recently.
> Bottom line for me, is that I'm well pleased with the Oztent and the
> only damage I have to repair is a very small hole in the groundsheet
> caused by a sharp flint, due to my own failure to inspect the ground
> thoroughly prior to pitching.
We were also very impressed with the Oztent, but with 2 Oztents with
holes in the rear corner ground sheet corners and 1 bent frame (with
him telling me about numerous problems he has had with bent frames),
we have lost all confindence in the Oztent being able to withstand use
for any reasonable period without major repairs to the groundsheet and
bent frames. His speed and ability to service is also very poor.
Incidently does yours have a loop handle for pulling up the front top
of the frame?
The 1st and 2nd Oztent had one, but was missing on the 3rd. He told
me that the manufacturers had stopped fitting them as users were using
the loop to hang heavy items and then bending the frame top. The 4th
frame however did have one fitted!
Reg.
Neil
wrote:
>With experience of Chris Simons that extends more than a year with the
>3 faulty tents suppied, he has never had any stock over that time ,
>always waiting for more to arrive. As he is always taking longer to
>do anything, I suspect that he orders a replacment as required.
>
>
>He also offered me a full refund, and I asked for it about six weeks
>ago, but am still waiting. I returned the 3rd faulty tent's frame at
>Billing 2004. I was told that it would be repaired in about a week.
>About a month later I had to to send an e-mail to remind him that I
>was going on holiday. Then he dicided that he wanted to charge me
>about £80 for the warrenty repair. He refused to send it until I paid
Reg,
To answer your last point first, yes, mine(an RV4) does have the
pull-up loop, but I do not use it, as I consider it a liability as it
is has a tendency to slip to one side and then you end up pulling up
the frame one-sided, which could easily bend the frame. I use a cord
through the two eyelets near the top corners of the frame top rail and
use two hands to keep the frame level. I will be completely removing
the fitted loop next time the tent's used.
It doesn't surprise me that the tents are coming in with differing
bits fitted, it seems the manufacturers in China haven't yet got their
production properly sorted. Chris does seem to have to find excuses
for these differences. Chris himself doesn't have the same
professional approach to selling the tents as does Nichola. I have
personally seen him open up sealed boxes to see what tent bits he's
got, and then neglect(or forget) to put them back in. It's not very
professional, but alas it seems that's just the way he is! Nichola by
contrast, is so much more organised, and would make a much better
person to take charge of selling the tents completely, being far less
slap-dash in her approach. Chris is probably better at arranging the
trips and raids they organise!
I can't think why Chris would be wanting you to pay for warranty
repairs unless it was to cover carriage costs. But I'm glad you've
got your replacement frame at last. I hope your tent will now serve
you well, as does mine.
Incidentally, it looks straight forward enough, but how easy is it to
remove and re-fit the frame, should I need to do so?
Lastly, my tip for a really good repair to any part of the fabric or
ground sheet, should the need arise: A tube of McNett's SeamGrip and a
small bottle of McNett's Seam Excel. I have successfully repaired my
ground sheet with these, and many other tents and awnings previously.