Tarptent Double Rainbow modifications

Thanks so much Lynn you know I've been eagerly awaiting these.

1) The only part of the fly you extended was the rain porch, correct? By about how many inches of fabric?

2) Does anything hold your inside trekking pole, which braces the strut in bad weather, in place besides just tension?

3) Which brand/size/weight of plastic toggles did you use? Did you get them locally or mail order them?

4) Do you have a photo of the extended rain porch fastened down to the ground to get a sense of how extra much room it offers? About how many sq ft would you say it adds to the vestibule?

I have the new 2010 DR and my vestibule go low to the ground (touching really) and they have plenty of Velcro to take any strain off of the zipper. Plus my velcro ties for rolling up the screens seem to be less "catchy" because they aren't tearing up the screen at all.

Thanks Lynn!

Lynn:

Cross staking makes the DR look all buttoned up and secure… but I recall Henry Shires cautioning against doing that. Can't remember exactly why, but maybe pulling the flaps down to the ground puts undue pressure on the pole??

Ha, Benjamin…I mentioned that exact same thing to Lynn yesterday in another thread.

Hey, great minds think alike… :)

Just so we're clear, I DID say it first! :)

Hey guys, as I mentioned in that other thread, Henry may advise against cross-staking (don't know why), but in reality, at least with our version of the DR, it really is necessary when the wind is howling. Maybe Henry will come along and comment as this may have changed with the 2010, but the leading edge of the fly is just too floppy when pitched as recommended, plus the fly doesn't come down close enough to the ground without cross-staking it. If this has been modified in the 2010 model then all the better!

Keep in mind that we first started cross-staking the vestibule when we got the original DR which had no zippers on it. The velcro that closed the vestibule didn't stand up to gales (nor was it designed to), but we found ourselves in an accidental gale the first time we took it out. Although Henry post-modified our vestibules to add zippers, the fact tat we had seam sealed the area means the zippers were sewn through thick silicone glue and the stitching is not as robust as it probably is on new ones.

Franco, maybe I'm just a clutz, but aside from the Velcro doing bad things to our mesh, I find them really difficult to operate. A toggle is just sooo much easier. I salvaged my toggles off an old tent.

EJ, the extended rainporch merely goes all the way to the edge of the vestibule instead of stopping halfway on the off-the-shelf version. When buttoned down in storm mode it doesn't add any more space as the rainporch is only designed to work when propped up with poles or sticks. It's main intention is to make it easier to get in and out of the tent without getting wet, and also improves ventilation in the rain. Because the added rainporch is black silnylon, it's also offers some shade on really sunny days. What would be really sweet is a DR made from aluminized silnylon! hint hint…Though we do find the optional liner reflects some heat on hot days.

But really, the extended rainporch is just a luxury, hardly essential to the function of the tent. Think of it as more of an add-on tarp than part of the vestibule.

Thanks Lynn, comparing your photo to the stock photos at Tarptent I see exactly where the piece of black fabric goes – on my screen the black fabric looks gray, just a tad darker than the original fly gray.

Frank or anyone else who has the 2010 – does the fly actually touch the ground without digging a hole for the struts and ridge pole, or is the fly a few inches off the ground? The photos of the 2010 on the site show the fly several inches off the ground.

"Hey guys, as I mentioned in that other thread, Henry may advise against cross-staking (don't know why), but in reality, at least with our version of the DR, it really is necessary when the wind is howling."

Well then, let the record show that Travis was the first to get this wrong! :)

Kidding aside, considering the flaps only come about 2/3rd of the way down toward the ground, pulling them closer to stake will put continuous downward stress on the pole! As for that being "necessary" to keep out the draft — that actually points to the inherent limitation of tarptents — they really are optimal for temperate climes with low to moderate humidity.

A freak storm, who cares, the Rainbow is plenty tough. But if I know that I will be camping at places with cold, strong winds and I don't like the constant draft, then I would take a different tent.

"pulling them closer to stake will put continuous downward stress on the pole!"

Not really, as we only cross-stake when using trekking poles to support the arch pole (ie really bad weather), so the stress is transferred to the trekking poles and NOT the arch pole. Perhaps Henry's original advice referred to the DR before he added the grommets to accept trekking pole support? Those grommets were also added after purchase to our tents as they were not part of the original DR. We complained about our arch pole collapsing in a serious downdraft situation and henry came up with the trekking pole patch. Anyway, it's a moot point, as we have proven to ourselves at least that cross-staking DOES increase the stability and wind-shedding abilities of our DR model.

EJ, best to shoot Henry your questions, unless Franco is willing to set up a 2010 model and take some photos for us???

Lynn that makes perfect sense.

I'm pretty sure that the DR fly doesn't reach the ground, but that's ok for how we thought about using it. Any DR 2010 users please correct me if I'm wrong.

Lynn:

Good point about the trekking poles assist.

Lynn, re your tarp tent wish, aluminized silnylon, here's something I came across recently regarding adding IR emissivity controlling coatings to the outside of a single wall tent or tarp fabric to reduce condensation.

http://windowoutdoors.com/WindowOutdoors/Dew%20Frost%20Condensation%20and%20Radiation.htm

"I came across recently regarding adding IR emissivity controlling coatings to the outside of a single wall tent or tarp fabric to reduce condensation."

Yeah, and Stephenson's WarmLite tents have been using this for a long time now (aluminized silnylon on the inside) for that reason. They also offer it as an outer material (for extra $$$) to reduce UV damage, and it makes the tent a lot cooler and darker, which is good for us oldies who sometimes like to stop for an insect-free nap during the day :)

RE: keeping the trekking poles in place. There are at least two options we've tried successfully: One is to make a small hollow or hole for the handle of the pole to sit in. The other is to run the pole handle to the inside of the tent, closing the zipper around the shaft. This keeps the pole in place and also
makes the pole more upright.

I bought a dome tent over ten years ago by a Canadian company called Outdoors which had a reversible nylon fly deep purple on one side and silver on the other. In hot weather the silver side was out to cool the tent . In cool weather it was reversed to refect heat back in. A great idea that really worked . We had it in Canyonlands and it really stayed cooler. That fly never UV degraded either.

Hi
I will post a quick video of the 2010 version in a few hours.
Franco

A few hours? I don't get it. Aren't tarptents supposed to set up fairly quick?

Franco's gettin' a little rusty with the setup times…

Don't need no stinkin video – mine arrived today!

Heading out with it this weekend : )

Will post pics

"I bought a dome tent over ten years ago by a Canadian company called Outdoors which had a reversible nylon fly deep purple on one side and silver on the other. In hot weather the silver side was out to cool the tent . In cool weather it was reversed to relfect heat back in. A great idea that really worked ."

That's a great idea alright, and would be ideal on something like the Haven, or any of the silnylon tarps around. Maybe even good on a reversible poncho???