repairing tents

[merritt]

any sources for getting tents repaired? we have several 6 year old tents with major camping experience - broken zipper, torn seam.

[red feather]

Not knowin your brand of tents. You might want to check out local awning companies, saddle/boot makers, etc. Good post. welcome. If you can give some details you will probably get some good info.

 

YIS

[Bob Russell]

Check with your local outdoor equipment stores. They will often have lists of local individuals who do good work at a fair price. We have used the same woman for many years and get great service. we got her name from our local REI store. If you give us your location, someone here may have a local reference for you.

[buffalo2]

You might be surprised at how reasonable the manufacturer can be... We've had one of our Eureka tents re-floored at a reasonable cost, and I'm told that the Kelty folks will work with you as well.

Our tents are of this vintage and I wouldn't hesitate to have most of them repaired instead of replacing them.

Might be worth a call to the factory?(This message has been edited by buffalo2)

[SagerScout]

No one's grandma sews? Torn seams are not hard to patch, broken zippers are more of a problem but not all that hard. You're not looking for beauty, just performance.

 

However, that said, in my area and climate, six-yearold fabric can fall victim to dry rot and if that has occurred, don't even waste the time to thread the needle, it's replacement time. My parents in North Texas used the same heavy canvas tent for 20 years but I've had newer tents literally disintegrate in 4 or 5 years after a few beach outings and being stored in a moldy garage (the only kind of garage available on the South Texas coast).

 

 

[james_clegg]

sometimes you can fix a ziper on a tent. I the part that moves get bent out a little bit it will not force the teeth to engage all of the way. So squizing the outside pats of the moving part of the ziper may return a broken ziper to functioning.

I have found that a Bit of carpet inside the tent near the door makes the floor last longer and a piece outside the door cuts the dirt by 800%

 

James

[Bob White]

I highly recommend going back to the manufacturer every time or buy a new tent if you can't. I have had very bad experiences with tent and awning guys working on tents. They're fine with the big old canvas jobs but seem to lack the finesse of working on modern style tentage.

 

I'm sure that do fine on awnings and larger equipment. after seeing one job of zipper replacement on a nylon tent an ASM commented "it's like going to a butcher shop to get your appendix removed".

 

Bob

 

[SagerScout]

Bob - that makes me realize the difference, the new tents are more like fashion fabrics and any decent tailor should be able to work on them. You used to have to go to the awnings guys because they had the heavy-duty machines but my Sears Kenmore can handle the new tent fabrics just fine.

 

The manufacturer would certainly be the most reliable choice ,as they would have access to the exact zipper for the replacement.

 

But I have to repeat my warning about dry rot or UV damaged fabric. If it won't hold a patch, don't waste the time or any money. Tents are one of the items that have gotten more affordable in real dollars over the years, I know that the 3 man dome tent we got for a wedding present 19 years ago cost well over 100 bucks then - and served us well for many years, until the afore-mentioned moldy garage got to it. A similar good tent is similarly priced now - but I make one heck of a lot more money now and so do most folks.