Kodiak flexbow floor frame?

[astrowolf67]

We have had the Kodiak 10x14 flexbow for a little over a year now, and, really love it. However, there have been a few times, we've had problems getting the tent situated on a campsite to avoid tree roots/rocks at stake down points. I've seen a couple of videos on you tube, where a conduit frame has been placed around the outside of the floor, allowing some of the stakes to be omitted. This would also come in handy for putting the tent up in the back yard for a quick cleaning, or to allow drying. Does anyone know where I can find more detailed descriptions or pics/vids, of how this frame is assembled?

Thanks,
David

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Kodiak flexbow floor frame?

could you relocate the stake with some rope? make loop in one end of the rope. Feed the looped end through the tent stake loop. use the non looped end to move the stake to an area away from the tree root?
That would be cheaper and take up less space than a floor frame.

[Mike]

Re: Kodiak flexbow floor frame?

could you relocate the stake with some rope? make loop in one end of the rope. Feed the looped end through the tent stake loop. use the non looped end to move the stake to an area away from the tree root?
That would be cheaper and take up less space than a floor frame.

Right - a very traditional method of setting up tents - using extenders at the pin-down points. It is often the case that the floor layout will have at least one of the pin-down points will have a root or stone to obstruct the peg.

People tell me that the Flexbow is some kind of new and magical kind of canvas unlike all the canvas of yesteryear. I have had and still have many large old canvast tents, but I do not own a Flexbow. HOWEVER, common wisdom of yesteryear canvas was that it stretched and shrunk throughout the camp trip do to moisture, drying, temperature, etc. So many canvas tents had springs that hooked onto the guy lines and onto the floor pin-down points to allow for this change in fabric tension. You MIGHT find this to approach to have some advantages to your canvas Flexbow as well.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Kodiak flexbow floor frame?

People tell me that the Flexbow is some kind of new and magical kind of canvas unlike all the canvas of yesteryear........ but I do not own a Flexbow.

Think of the comparison this way. Take a 1982 corvette and a 2014 corvette. Both stock. Put them in a drag race or a road race. The 2014 is going to had the 82's a$$ to it. The 2014 has more technology, more engineering, and is all around better. Same with just about everything else these days. Carb's to fuel injection. Manual transmissions to automatics. Manual windows to electric. Dial up internet has given way to high speed internet. Home phones are giving way to cell phones. Ice boxes to electric fridge/freezers. When is the last time you seen a typewriter?


Same thing with canvas. The tents of the 60's, 70's and 80's are antiques and they can't compare with canvas tent's of today.


Plus there are no external guy lines for the Kodiak, except for the awning. He is having problems with the stake loops on the ground.

[astrowolf67]

Re: Kodiak flexbow floor frame?

Mike, this is my first canvas tent, so, I don't know how the modern canvas in these compares to those of the past. If you've not seen a flexbow, or Springbar in person, they rely on the stake downs to "spring" the structure of the tent to shape, and provide it with it's structural integrity and rigidity. I don't know that springs at the stake downs would work with this tent. It's just the way they are designed. Every design has it's pros and cons, we just have to learn to work with them.

05King, I see in your sig, you have a flexbow as well. Have you ever had the need to relocate a stake point using a rope extension? If so, how did it work out as far as the tent holding it's shape and rigidity? I'm all for cheaper, however, space isn't really an issue. We keep all of our camping gear in a dedicated enclosed 5x8 trailer, ready to go.

David

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Kodiak flexbow floor frame?

Never have used a rope, buy I did upgrade the stakes to the monk industries 12" tent pegs. Those things are stout. Goes through the Rocky Mountain soil like butter. Well worth the money.

[coloradowalt]

Re: Kodiak flexbow floor frame?

I think the issue with using "extensions" for the stake loops is the Kodiak tent depends on the tension created by the stretching of the wall between the stakes and spring rods. The upright poles would have to be lengthened to accommodate the stake loop extensions.

I think that is where the conduit comes into play. It becomes a spring rod for the bottom, creating the bottom "hold" in place of the stakes.

It would seem simple to try (conduit is cheap), place a length of conduit through the stake loops. Stake down the conduit using the hook portion of the stake to tie down the conduit. May need to use two pieces of conduit to cover the length.