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View Full Version : Any hiking or camping dogs on the board? Tent rainfly question...



Interpolation_Dawg_EX
02-07-2014, 11:05 AM
I pulled my tent out the other night to get it ready for an upcoming hiking trip and everything looked to be in great shape, except for the taped seams on the rainfly. They appeared to be dry rotted and are flaking off. Has anyone had experience fixing this issue?

BeastMan
02-07-2014, 11:29 AM
Good question. I could think of a few quick fixed but id probably email the manufacturer first and see what they say. Even if you're not under any warranty, they may offer to fix for free or little charge.

Interpolation_Dawg_EX
02-07-2014, 11:52 AM
Good question. I could think of a few quick fixed but id probably email the manufacturer first and see what they say. Even if you're not under any warranty, they may offer to fix for free or little charge.
Good idea...it's a Marmot so I'm sure their customer service is legit.

godlluB
02-07-2014, 11:57 AM
You can buy seam sealer at Walmart. Without seeing it, I'm just guessing, but that might fix you up.

MS_half-step
02-07-2014, 12:13 PM
You can try the spray water sealer. That just happened to me on my last camping trip and it rained. Needless to say I got a new tent for Christmas. If you really like the tent you can always replace just the rainfly.

BeastMan
02-07-2014, 01:11 PM
Good idea...it's a Marmot so I'm sure their customer service is legit.

Ya, marmot is legit. Good suggestions by the other guys. Along the lines of what I was thinking. If you've got time to wait, seeing what marmot can/will do could be the ticket.

Interpolation_Dawg_EX
02-07-2014, 01:30 PM
You can buy seam sealer at Walmart. Without seeing it, I'm just guessing, but that might fix you up.
After looking online, this seems to be what most people suggest. They were saying they washed it really well and then taped around the seams to create a nice, neat line when they painted it on. I may try this route after I check with Marmot.


You can try the spray water sealer. That just happened to me on my last camping trip and it rained. Needless to say I got a new tent for Christmas. If you really like the tent you can always replace just the rainfly.
Sorry, I'm confused...are you saying you tried the spray sealer and it leaked? Which brand did you go with for your new tent?

MS_half-step
02-07-2014, 01:49 PM
Apologies for the confusion. Spray sealer works. I noticed the taped seams dry rotted AFTER I drove 12 hours to VA and setup the tent. Thunder storm followed soon after. I've got a Kelty for backpacking and a Coleman for car camping. Both have been great.

Interpolation_Dawg_EX
02-07-2014, 02:04 PM
Apologies for the confusion. Spray sealer works. I noticed the taped seams dry rotted AFTER I drove 12 hours to VA and setup the tent. Thunder storm followed soon after. I've got a Kelty for backpacking and a Coleman for car camping. Both have been great.

Reading you loud and clear now...did you remove the dry rotted seams when you used the sealer or did you just spray on top of them?

MS_half-step
02-07-2014, 05:40 PM
It was extremely humid when I discovered mine so the whole seams were falling off so I had no choice but to completely remove. I would think if there are areas that are still adhered well you could spray over those.

Interpolation_Dawg_EX
02-07-2014, 06:29 PM
Cool, thanks for the info. Did you use a water based or silicone based sealer? From reading it seems (no pun) that either work well, but the water based takes longer to dry.

Political Hack
02-08-2014, 08:15 PM
I've done the back country thing once. It was pretty awesome but it damn near killed me. I was in terrible shape and we went about 12 miles the first day in a rain storm that included scaling three big ass mountains. Being able to lift weights and hike like that are two very, very different things.

DawgHouseUnited
02-10-2014, 11:11 AM
I've done the back country thing once. It was pretty awesome but it damn near killed me. I was in terrible shape and we went about 12 miles the first day in a rain storm that included scaling three big ass mountains. Being able to lift weights and hike like that are two very, very different things.

I was in the Boy Scouts during my teen years. We spent about 12 days hiking in New Mexico- Philmont Scout Ranch. It was one of those "carry everything on your back" kind of hiking trips, and it was fairly grueling. Had a great time, but it was tough.

FlabLoser
02-11-2014, 08:40 AM
I was in the Boy Scouts during my teen years. We spent about 12 days hiking in New Mexico- Philmont Scout Ranch. It was one of those "carry everything on your back" kind of hiking trips, and it was fairly grueling. Had a great time, but it was tough.

Me too. That was one of the best experiences of my lifetime.

DawgHouseUnited
02-11-2014, 09:31 AM
Me too. That was one of the best experiences of my lifetime.

When were you there? I'm showing my age, but I went in '92.

rdnkkicker
02-12-2014, 06:03 AM
When were you there? I'm showing my age, but I went in '92.

I was there twice...did the regular trip with my troop in 00' and went back for the 3 week Rayado with random people from all over the country in 01'.

FYI my tent was a 2 man Eureka that is still waterproof to this day and has never been resealed.

fishwater99
02-12-2014, 12:03 PM
I went back in 84, it was a great time. We panned for gold, hiked Baldy Mountain and got chased by two bears..
Fun times..