Here are pictures of the problems my “new” Coleman 6-person tent has, and I’m wondering what went wrong (factory defects?), if I can fix things, or if I should give up and get a new tent. https://imgur.com/a/lA4m74b
Just before the pandemic, I bought a Coleman 6-person Instant cabin tent (with separate rain-fly) from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cabin-Instant-Camping-Seconds/dp/B004E4ERHA?th=1
Then the pandemic happened, and I didn’t get to use it or go camping at all for a full 2 years, thus passing the warranty period.
Once I finally used the tent last year, it rained and some water seeped through the walls of the tent. I thought maybe I didn’t put the rain-fly on correctly.
Last summer, I tried using the tent again, and it also rained. I was super careful to read the instructions thoroughly and put on the rain-fly correctly, and had all guy-lines in place and taught as possible. Rain still seeped though ALL four walls of the tent (see pictures) and made puddles on the floor, getting our sleeping bags and other gear wet throughout the night. This was light to moderate rain, not heavy rain.
It really seems like the tent is not waterproofed at all from the factory.
I’ve since set it up at home for careful inspection before camping again and noticed zipper teeth were misaligned, stitching was uneven in places, and stitching thread was totally loose in other places.
I know I’m out of the warranty period, but I don’t know if this tent is a lemon, or if its counterfeit, or if Coleman products are expected to have these sorts of problems. I am going to go camping again this summer, and I’d like to know if anyone has ideas whats up with this tent and if I can fix it.
So now I’m wondering:
Did I get a lemon tent that wasn’t properly water-proofed or pass quality control (or was potentially recalled)?
Did Amazon sell me a counterfeit Coleman tent?
Does Coleman generally make poor quality tents (in 2019, before the pandemic)?
I already fixed the misaligned zipper teeth with pliers, trimmed and retied the loose stitching, and used $25 or so of dry chain lube to make the zippers better.
Is there some after-market water-proofing spray I can use and trust to keep everything inside the tent from getting wet, like Scotchgard Outdoor Water Shield? Or should I consider this tent cursed and a waste of $175 (plus another $40 for the rain-fly) and get new tent (obviously avoiding Coleman as a brand)?