Ron -

I will agree with you - I should probably give it a second or third chance.
Afterall, I was trying to get it up all by myself (...b'dump)  - I would
imagine it would be much easier and more pleasurable with my lovely wife's
assistance.

thanks for the encouragement and happy weekend!!  : )

Scott

----- Original Message -----
From: "The Bus Depot" <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2003 11:01 AM
Subject: Re: Side Tent on EBay/personal experience

> > You could put it back up on eBay..............
>
>
> Heck, it might go for $600 the second time around. :-)
>
> Seriously, I would make these comments about the tent, having used it
> myself as well as sold it:
>
> Advantages:
> 1)  Price - at $199 with sleeping cabin, it's half the price of the next
> cheapest alternative. (Heck, the sleeping cabin alone is worth $100.)
> 2)  Extremely lightweight and compact - since it's vinyl and has
> flexible poles, it packs so small that it easily fits under the rear
> bench.  Most heavier-duty tents (partially due to their heavier
> construction) are 3-4 times as big when packed down. Yet when assembled,
> this tent is actually bigger than most.
> 3)  Easy to assemble. I'll have to disagree with you on this one, Scott.
> Having owned a number of both VW and aftermarket side tents, I find this
> to be the easiest one to set up by far. Basically you just slide the
> polls through the pockets as on a dome tent. It took me a while to
> figure it out and set it up the first time I tried it; half that time
> the second time; a quarter that time the third time. By comparison, my
> other tent takes me forever every time, with the multitude of poles etc.
>
>
> Disadvantage:
> Quality control. The materials are fine. Nylon tents are commonplace in
> camping stores because nylon is sturdier than it looks and very
> lightweight. And mine has been set up in several very heavy storms and
> fared well. But I am not impressed with the stitching quality. It seems
> that the vast majority of them have some place or other where the
> stitching is uneven or loose.  I would recommend going over any weak
> areas with a bit of thread just as a precaution.  Also, we have had a
> higher percentage of out-of-the-box defects than with other products we
> sell. Not a lot, but more than normal. I mean completely obvious things
> like a pocket for a pole being completely missing. (Of course we
> exchange the product.)
>
> Summary: This is not a $500 tent (Or at least not unless you buy it on
> Ebay. :-)  It is $199 with sleeping cabin. So you have to keep your
> expectations in line with the fact that it is half the price of the next
> cheapest alternative. This is the Hyundai of side tents, not the
> Mercedes.(Or Audi.:-) But there is a place for that. If you plan to use
> it only a handful of times each summer, it will probably hold up well
> for a long time with moderate use. And if you won't be using it heavily,
> perhaps you can't justify the price (and packed-down size) of a more
> expensive tent. So this is for you. On the other hand, if you plan to
> use the tent heavily (camping every other weekend, etc.) you probably
> should spring for a heavier duty tent. (I do sell a much nicer one at
> $299 plus $100 for the optional sleeping cabin.) That one is practically
> bulletproof and could be used every weekend for years without any
> deterioration. (On the other hand it's also more than twice as big when
> packed down.)
>
> Most customers have seemed to agree with this conlusion. We have sold a
> ton of these. We've had several comments about the stitching quality.
> But in virtually all cases, the customer has concluded by saying that
> while this disappointed them, they would just fix it themselves as it
> was faster/easier than sending it back, and that overall they were not
> dissatisfied with the tent given the price.
>
> Incidentally, if you don't have a side tent, you really should consider
> one. My family has been using one for years.  It's like
> doubling/tripling your living space when you camp. The biggest advantage
> is being able to take all of your junk out of the van and keep it under
> cover in the tent, so you have room to move around, cook, make the bed,
> etc. in the camper without tripping over stuff.  And on a rainy day it's
> a godsend.  Also our 5 year old loves playing in it!  Plus, since it can
> be used free-standing (you just zip up the access door to the van and
> it's a freestanding tent), we can use it to mark our camping spot if we
> drive off for a while.  I've had about six or seven different side tents
> over the years. They were all different and had their advantages and
> drawbacks. But I wouldn't live without one.
>
> Our part number on the cheap tent, incidentally, is A0097. If you search
> it on busdepot.com there's a picture there too.
>
> - Ron Salmon
>   The Bus Depot, Inc.
>   www.busdepot.com
>   (215)  234-VWVW
>
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