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I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

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  • #1

    I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

    ... to my much used and much loved 20+ year old Coleman dome tent. Littlepants and Tinypants talked me into camping out in the backyard with them last night, so we pulled out the `ol trusty dome. Worked great as always. This morning as I was taking the bedding out and looking it over, I noticed that the sides of the rain fly where the guy lines are is wearing out and starting to rip.

    *SOB*

    I bought "ol trusty" back when I was a fresh faced and eager beginning camper at 20 and gearing up for my first solo camping trips. `Ol trusty and I camped many many places, had many adventures and created a plethora of memories together. Heck, I've even loaned her out a few times and let others borrow a little piece of my sweet `ol trusty. She withstood rain, hail and vicious winds with grace, never leaving me high and dry... or high and wet, as the case may be. I am not ready to retire her just yet, but she is showing her age and the time I will have to say that final goodbye is looming ever closer.

    I am sad...

    Wait.... that means I can shop for a replacement tent!!!! :party: LOL!
    Married to Longpants, Mom to Littlepants (9) and Tinypants (5). Love Camping in New England!
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  • #2
    Re: I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

    I never seem to get rid of old gear. I tend to push it to the back of the outdoor closet.

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    • #3
      Re: I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

      A good old tent is like a good friend...Always welcome, and hard to say goodbye to...
      “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
      ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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      • #4
        Re: I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

        SP, maybe you can get a new rainfly and keep the beloved tent? At worst, you can get rainfly material (or find a deal on a larger one) and do some cutting and stitching to make it fit? I'd rather repair good old gear than to chuck it for new stuff that may not work as well. Or maybe I'm just a cheap SOB..... ;-)
        Longtime Motorcycle Camper. Getting away from it all on two wheels! :cool:

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        • #5
          Re: I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

          Great minds think alike, BD. When I went to take down the tent, I remembered a rinky-dink 11'x11' shelter we had. I grabbed it and threw it over the tent, used the poles to prop it up a bit, added a couple guylines, and staked it down. All in all it wasn't horrible for a half-assed first attempt. I hated that shelter anyways, so I was glad to see it maybe go to good use. LOL! I crawled inside the tent to check it out... and noticed the ripped screen near the zipper (dang kids are always in such a rush!!), the two holes in the floor hastily patched with duct tape, the stains on the walls that I just can't seem to scrub out, the fact that it kinda smells like an old gym bag (tried storing it with dryer sheets in it to combat the funk, now it smells like an old gym bag with dryer sheets in it. Lovely), and that in all reality it really is too small for our family now. I'll still keep it for me and the girls to backyard camp, but I think it is time to retire `ol trusty, at least from active duty.

          PS I'm a cheap... well, not SOB, but whatever the female equivalent is... too. Why do you think I've had the same camping gear for 10-20 years? LOL!
          Married to Longpants, Mom to Littlepants (9) and Tinypants (5). Love Camping in New England!

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          • #6
            Re: I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

            Yep, I guess there comes the time when the old gear finally has to be retired. Hope the new tent lives up to the old one's standard!
            Longtime Motorcycle Camper. Getting away from it all on two wheels! :cool:

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            • #7
              Re: I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

              I retired my old 12 x 12 dome tent this year. Bought it from Bass Pro Shop in 1992. It has been on many, many trips. A few years ago, a big windstorm broke the hub. I couldn't find a replacement, so I made one out of 1" thick UHMW. That piece would last forever.
              But, alas, the tent is just worn out. Many poles are bent, and I've not been able to straighten them. Most important, I can't stop it from leaking, with all sorts of waterproofing.
              So, I bought a new Kelty Palisades 6, and it works great. I can't part totally from the old tent, though. I'm going to salvage some of the poles and use them with a tarp. And, thinking about cutting a fitted footprint for the new tent from the floor of the old one.

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              • #8
                Re: I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

                Originally posted by Sbroadwell View Post
                I retired my old 12 x 12 dome tent this year. Bought it from Bass Pro Shop in 1992. It has been on many, many trips. A few years ago, a big windstorm broke the hub. I couldn't find a replacement, so I made one out of 1" thick UHMW. That piece would last forever.
                But, alas, the tent is just worn out. Many poles are bent, and I've not been able to straighten them. Most important, I can't stop it from leaking, with all sorts of waterproofing.
                So, I bought a new Kelty Palisades 6, and it works great. I can't part totally from the old tent, though. I'm going to salvage some of the poles and use them with a tarp. And, thinking about cutting a fitted footprint for the new tent from the floor of the old one.
                Good ideas about recycling the old tent.
                “I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”
                – E. B. White

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                • #9
                  Re: I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

                  Originally posted by James. View Post
                  Good ideas about recycling the old tent.
                  Thanks. I'm attached to that tent, and this way, I'll keep a little bit of it alive.

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                  • #10
                    Re: I think it's time to bid a fond farewell...

                    I just bought a new rainfly rather than trusting my current level of tent maintenance. More on my "monsoon summer" in a different thread.
                    2017:

                    July 3 to July 16- annual kiddo trip
                    Aug 2 to Aug 14- adult trip to recover from kiddos' outing. Bring on the Campari!



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