trouble setting up rainbow

I'm not sure what the problem is without photos, but rest assured it will get sorted. Didn't the tent come with any instructions? For instance, you're supposed to stake the four corners of the fly first, then grab the floor corners underneath and loop them over the same stake. You only need the poles if you're going to pitch the tent in free-standing mode, or to raise the rain fly. To use the rainfly you *may* need to add some extra guyline. The pole sleeves just loop around the handle or tip of you pole, rather than insert the handle or tip into the sleeves. Think of the rubber sleeves more as pull tabs…and take some photos!

Margo
If it makes you feel better, the first time I tried to pitch my Rainbow I could not find the sleeve for the pole, so, because I wanted to see it standing, I shoved the pole under the fly, it did stand up. That was early morning before breakfast and five minutes after I opened the box. (my post office opens at 7am for parcel pick-up so I was there at about 5 minutes to)
Now there are many picture on the net to show you what it should look like, inside and outside and you will note that as it is in the TT product page , most never use the poles. However , I also don't understand what you are doing that is wrong and definitely a few pictures will help. If I laugh looking at them I promise not to let you know…..
Franco

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqFmUGgQpgo

Haha Franco, I did EXACTLY the same thing. I didn't even realise there WAS a pole sleeve. I does take some practice to get up to speed with pitching this tent, but with practice it really does get fast.

. . . to see what I was doing wrong. OK, I get the line tensioning thingies now, I was trying to make a loop like usual line tensioners. But that wasn't really my problem. I can't seem to make it look like the pics. For instance, there is this pic:

[IMG]I can't open mine up like that cause of the way it is sewn under the vent.

The main thing is how the floor sags and how unstable it seems. I set it up like the poster above described, but with both corners going to the same stake the floor sags. It even sags when I used separate stakes but not as bad. Plus the floor is narrow no matter what I do, I did not see any loops to stake the floor out in the middle, by the door. Pulling the doors out didn't seem to make it any wider. I was unable to get it nice and taut so it could stand up to wind. And with the loose floor and narrow side I don't see how I can avoid brushing up against the sides in dampness.

I thought I had read somewhere that you could adjust the arch strap but I don't see how you can do that without cutting it.

I'll have to try again when I have more light and time to fuss with it. That won't be for another couple of days though.

I guess I expected it to be easier to get nice and tight, mine looks nothing like the pics of other peoples I've seen. Oh well, it has a 90 return policy, if I can't master it in a few more tries I guess I will send it back or something. Maybe I will call Mr Shires next week if I can't do it. I'll try and take pics of my next attempts this weekend.

Ring Henry!

Still can't really help without some photos. What do you mean "the floor sags"? It is important to make sure all four edges are parallel to eachother. the easiest way to do this is to stake first one side, then the other, with the tension on the tie-outs going at 45 degrees to the tent walls. You may need to readjust these as needed to get it all square and the tension pulling in the right direction, but once you get it figured it is easy. I admit I added a couple of side bungies to my floor to widen and tighten it, but the other edges should be fine as long as you have them hooked up properly. There is a trick to using the little hooks, and it's not the obvious way. Henry Has a PDF file somewhere showing the correct method. Not sure why you can't open the fly flaps all the way out, again a picture is worth a thousand words. Are you saying the top of the fly is sewn to the vent? The arch strap can be tightened on one side but not the other, so look at pole pole ends until you find this strap tightener. Don't be in a panic to figure it all out in under 10 minutes. Definitely worth calling Henry if you can't get it after a week or two.

I think part of the problem is I am thinking of it as more of a tent and less like a tarp, and the not so tight mesh is bothering me more than it should.

By floor sagging I mean the mesh part around the bottom of the tent is on the ground, not raised so air can actually go through it. That's what bothers me the most.

Hopefully when I am able to fiddle with it this weekend I can experiment with different configurations.

Ideas are apreciated.

Hmmm, you definitely don't have something right if your mesh is lying on the ground!

My old Rainbow, the mesh was so droopy — esp. on the door side — that some of it would touch the ground. I performed 'liposuction' and got rid of the droopiness.

Liposuction means cutting away excess mesh all across, then sewing the remaining mesh together. Do the cut just a few inches above the floor and once sewn back together, you won't notice the sewing line at all.

I am not sure that I understand you correctly but apart for the initial set-up problems it seems to me that you were expecting more of a tarp and less of a tent (?)
The plentiful pictures on the net and abundant comments about the DR should make it very clear of what one should expect. However your comment that you cannot get the look of the picture from the TT site suggests that there is something drastically wrong with the way you have set it up or a manufacturing error.

As Allison has suggested I would take a deep breath and get over the initial frustration and try again, but really only posting pictures taken from different angles will help us to help you.
Franco

I set up my Tarptent Squall very easily the first time but I did have difficulties getting the beak right and everything tensioned to my desire until I really played around with it. The instructions could be a bit better but once you get it, you've got it. You will undoubtedly have to unstake and wiggle the tent some to get it just right. I also leave my floor pretty loose which may be part of your difficulty.

I would suggest watching that youtube video linked above, it showed how simple it is once you get the hang of it.

My Squall is one of the best tents I could ever have wished for and judging by this tent, I would think that soon enough you're gonna be in love with your TarpTent.

>Ring Henry!

Yes, please do. I was out playing in the snow for a few days but am back now.

-H

I spoke with henry after another attempt at setting it up. It was a little lopsided but after some minor adjustments it looked a little better, still a little wrinkled though but a lot better than my first attempts. I have the vent hooked down but I think rain could still get in if it were blowing much.

Here is one shot by the door

Here is an inside shot at the end of one of the poles. It seems like rain could blow in but I didn't have time to experiment with staking the "fly" part of the tent down over the mesh.

Here is an inside shot of one of my corners, all of my corners look like this. As you can see I cannot use the bathtub hook loops as it is right next to the hook. In one or more of the corners both the hook and loop are on the ground. I took a pic but you can't really see that for some reason, I think the grass makes it look like there is depth when there is flatness.

It took longer than I thought to tweak it, at first the pole was lopsided and I had to unstake and restake before it was straight. I guess I should have taken a lopsided pic for comparison.

There seems to be a lot of space at the ends that could allow rain to enter but a lack of space at the corners, so I wouldn't be able to clip up the floor if needed.

My procedure was to insert the pole, then stake out the corners. I had to go back and forth because the pole waves from side to side a little making it hard to get square the first time.

Then I staked out the beak. At one point I had a loose beak but tightened it up by unstaking and restaking again. I think the challenge is getting it square so when you stake the beak out it is uniformly taut.

I looped the shock cords from the floor around the pegs, it didn't seem to matter at which point you do this.

Here is a shot of one of the beaks staked out like a porch. You can see my sleeping pad on the inside. I don't know if you can tell but the mesh and the floor are kind of bunched in a heap.

My main concern at this point is staying dry in my nice down bag in case of heavy blowing rain. I'm not so concerned about condensation as much as getting soaked. It seems like rain could blow under the ends and through the vent.

If anyone has any other tips on how to get it up faster or differant configurations I'm all ears. I will have more time to practice with it this weekend. I may seal the seams then as well if I am convinced it will keep me dry. This will be used as a two person tent, I already have a solo tent, and am also interested in any tips for doubleling up. It seems like we will be squished against the mesh, which may not be an issue. It also seems like I won't be able to use the clips like designed. I've read mostly good reviews, and a couple where folks got wet so obviously there is a right and wrong way to set it up. I really love those stakes, I would like to find more like it so I don't have to use the stake from other tents.

Thanks in advance!

"My main concern at this point is staying dry in my nice down bag in case of heavy blowing rain. I'm not so concerned about condensation as much as getting soaked. It seems like rain could blow under the ends and through the vent.

If anyone has any other tips on how to get it up faster or differant configurations I'm all ears. I will have more time to practice with it this weekend. I may seal the seams then as well if I am convinced it will keep me dry. This will be used as a two person tent, I already have a solo tent, and am also interested in any tips for doubleling up. It seems like we will be squished against the mesh, which may not be an issue. It also seems like I won't be able to use the clips like designed. I've read mostly good reviews, and a couple where folks got wet so obviously there is a right and wrong way to set it up. I really love those stakes, I would like to find more like it so I don't have to use the stake from other tents."

First of all, as I mentioned before, the way you should clip the floor to the hooks is NOT intuitive, and you should ask henry to send you the proper instructions. I had the same problem until I got these instructions.

Second, as a two person tent, we have founs that top-and-tailing works better than shoulder-to-shoulder in this tent. If you're a "couple" then you may have to put up with some pressing against the netting. This is not a big deal.

Third, the pshotos you put up show a tent quite different to the one we own, at least as far as the asymetrical vestibule zipper is concerned, and I don't have vent hooks (yet).

Fourth, I suggest you try staking out the 4 corners first, THEN inserting the pole. This will allow you to get the corners square first, then deal with the pole.

Fifth, ring Henry again. You may need some more modifications to your tent to make it better suited for your neeeds. Henry is very good at this.

Sixth, so far, in our experience, condensation has been a bigger problem than wind-blown rain, but we would not leave home without our bivy sacks in any event….

Part of numner 6 is to buy some more stakes. I agree these are great stakes, but I don't feel enough are provided without buying extras. Henry sells the tent (and stakes) as if it will be used in free-standing mode. If you use it in another mode, then you need extra stakes and guylines. If I'm wrong then I hope Henry will chime in.

Henry sent me the instructions, but what the picture doesn't seem to show is that the hook and the loop are both lying on the grass, so no matter what you do, the hook is on the grass and anything attached to it is going to be on the grass as well.

I'm not giving up yet. It doesn't rain every night and it will be nice to be able to look out the awning while lying in the tent.

I saw a video somewhere where someone pitches their rainbow by inserting the pole last, I'm going to try that this weekend. I may add longer cords to some of the tieouts, I would have more leeway tensioning it then.

A bivy would be too hot for wear we usually go, and extra wt as well. I have always thoughly tested gear in the yard so there are less suprizes when you are out. I'll seal the seams this weekend so I will be ready if and when it rains again.

If the slack clips are just the ones on the sides of the loor, then it's nothing to worry about. I have never seen rain bounce that far into the tent as it is well protected by the vestibule. As mentioned before, I HAVE added extra tie-outs to the side of the floor though, to enable me to stake the floor out to absolute full width. This also tightens up the mesh, and gives the tent a feeling of a lot more space. If it's the corner clips, that may be a problem…not sure. I find when the floor is piched tight that it stands up on it's own without much extra support needed. Maybe your tent is different.

Something I noticed on the first pic was that there seemed to be excess fabric along the ridgepole that could be wiggled down, and that once that was accomplished to restake.

One crucial item is that I think your floor is too tight. IMO the floor should be sorta loose and that the upper body of the tent should be staked out well without regards to how the floor is. Once you have the beak and sides, etc, in the proper form for the conditions, I would then adjust the floor with the tensioners. I definetly would not stake the tent out during set-up with the floor tensioners as tight as the wall lines. The floor must float first and be adjusted later.

I wish you luck. Learning the tricks of a new tent are half the adventure of buying a new product. It will come one day, just keep playing with it.

Today I layed the tent out, put my poles down as a guide to squaring the floor, then staked the floor, then put in the pole, then did the beaks and put the floor loops around the pegs.

It seems fine now. The corner clips are still next to the loops but the floor corners are standing up so I don't think it matters.

I added tent cord to the beak ends so all I have to do is insert my pole tips into the loop, then put the line out to the stake. I can tighten them with the line tighteners that came with the tent and I added a line tightner (the ordinary 3 hole type) to the other line.

I sealed the seams and we are supposed to get rain later on so hopefully I will get an idea on how weather proof it is.

Thanks to everyone for the tips, I'll post new pics later on!