Anyone solved Pahaque side tent issues?

AaronC

Hi campers, we love our side tent (2016 iteration), except the last time we set it up it took an hour to get the shock cord through the sleeve. It kept getting seriously hung up, then coming apart and being difficult to get the sections back together. We had a rainy few days, and had a big pool of water on the roof that started leaking. I'm wondering if anyone has been down this road and has some ideas about the pole and the pool! Thanks. 

Marceline

Is there too much slack in the shock cord? You might need to replace it or tighten it up. 

Olena

I was quite angry to find puddles in the corners of the tent after the first big rainfall and took drastic measures to fix the problem - I cut the middle out of floor and left about an 18" perimeter of floor around the edges! It may seem crazy to cut such an expensive tent but it worked great. I went out and bought an outdoor carpet, and now the tent functions just like the Walker tent. The carpet overlays the edges of the floor for a clean floor and any water can be "swept under the rug". Since then, I have sewn binding around the cut edge of the floor to finish the edge properly.

As far as the roof goes, you will find many discussions about it on the forum. The secret is to use all those guy lines to pull the roof as taut as possible and even then then fabric will sag a bit when wet, but you can minimize the pooling by doing this. Also, although the centre rod Pahaque added in the roof helps the top keep it's shape, the rod does tend to allow water to travel in and drip. My solution for that is to wrap foam pipe insulation around the rod - that alleviates the problem 100%.

Sorry, I have no advice for the shock cord other than patience.

As I always say - my two cents!

Sharon_is_SAM

My DH and I work as a team.  We assemble the pole, then one person pushes the pole and the other guides it and gathers the fabric to allow it to advance.  Never pull the pole.  

Regarding the pooling with rain, we use 2 PVC bases that DH made along with a Green Elephant telescoping pole.  The PVC is 1 inch and a 5 way to connect the PVC.  He removed the pole spike and placed a short piece of PVC to fit the 5 way.  The other end of the pole was wrapped with tape to fit the 5 way. When it rains we simply assemble the unit and extend the pole to create a peak in the tent roof.  No more pooling.  It breaks down and is easily stored.

Verna

I have found the fiberglass pole sections seem to dry out after about 3 years, and they become brittle and tend to break easier. 

 My solution was to purchase the approximate same length of aluminum poles from Amazon (no, I do not have the link, but it is here on the forum somewhere). I have not reassembled the visor with the new poles yet. That’s a winter job and it is low on my priority list right now. 

AaronC

Thanks all! That PVC solution is brilliant. My fiberglass poles didn't break, but wow, they are getting VERY hung up in the sleeve. I thought I'd ask my wife (who knows how to sew) to attach about six beefy loops around the perimeter of the front, which seems like it would be a heck of a lot easier to work with than that one long sleeve. I wonder if Pahaque changed the design in newer tents....

Sharon_is_SAM

The only design change that I am aware of is the center support pole that goes from the camper to the front edge of the tent.