Folding the tent down

[dp]

It seems like it always just makes it inside the camper when I fold the tent down. Sometimes it is very tight. I have learned a couple tricks but wondered if you have the same thing going on. I learned if I put the cushions on the floor and fold the bench top down it gives me another inch or so. It's never just fold it down and that's it. Always have to work at it a little. I would love to just fold it up with room to spare but that never happens. Livin Lite could have gave us another 2 inches, lol.

[subaruwx]

The Bimini poles need room, so keep any other items away from the sides.  We pull the excess canvas out to the side to keep it from pinching between the Bimini poles. This past weekend we took our time to pull the excess out to the side as we collapsed the tent, and made sure to fold it neatly.  When we flipped the excess canvas over  and it fit much more cleanly into the cabin. The bunks folded over much easier.

[chuck893]

[quote source="/post/4341/thread" timestamp="1413856227" author="@subaruwx"]The Bimini poles need room, so keep any other items away from the sides.  We pull the excess canvas out to the side to keep it from pinching between the Bimini poles. This past weekend we took our time to pull the excess out to the side as we collapsed the tent, and made sure to fold it neatly.  When we flipped the excess canvas over  and it fit much more cleanly into the cabin. The bunks folded over much easier.[/quote]Yeah, second that motion! It's really important. If the tent is not folded properly it can lead to rub holes in the tent. If it is folded properly...well, our tent has 5 seasons and 30 camps this year alone, and not one single solitary rub hole. As Subaruwx describes, there are two keys: one is for each of two persons to be standing on opposite sides of one end of the coach, drawing the tent away from the coach as far as possible as the bars go down. That keeps the fabric from bunching in the bars. Two is to flop the excess tent over the top. There was a lengthy discussion in the Yahoo forum a while back: apparently some folks were doing some extraordinary stuffing of the tent in varying configurations, which is neither necessary nor desirable. Ron, I think you have a 10. I think LL still recommends taking the kitchen end down first on 10's and "straight" 8's (8.0) as it seems to fit better. We have an 8.1 and we find taking down the "short" end first works better for getting the bars and tent to lie as flat as possible. Striking camp with these simple things should take no more than about 8 minutes with two practiced people. I know there are folks who manage to camp alone in a Quicksilver. I can set up our 8.1 alone (that's easy), but I can't figure out how you'd take one down alone since it takes two people to (critically) draw the canvas away from the bars as they go down.[span]  [/span]

[dp]

Hey thanks, so the best way is to get as much of the tent on the side and fold it over.
    Ron

[chuck893]

[quote source="/post/4347/thread" timestamp="1413913249" author="@ron10"]Hey thanks, so the best way is to get as much of the tent on the side and fold it over.
    Ron[/quote]Yes, that is exactly it! 

[rob]

[quote source="/post/4345/thread" timestamp="1413898138" author="@chuck893"]Yeah, second that motion! It's really important. If the tent is not folded properly it can lead to rub holes in the tent. If it is folded properly...well, our tent has 5 seasons and 30 camps this year alone, and not one single solitary rub hole. As Subaruwx describes, there are two keys: one is for each of two persons to be standing on opposite sides of one end of the coach, drawing the tent away from the coach as far as possible as the bars go down. That keeps the fabric from bunching in the bars. Two is to flop the excess tent over the top. There was a lengthy discussion in the Yahoo forum a while back: apparently some folks were doing some extraordinary stuffing of the tent in varying configurations, which is neither necessary nor desirable. Ron, I think you have a 10. I think LL still recommends taking the kitchen end down first on 10's and "straight" 8's (8.0) as it seems to fit better. We have an 8.1 and we find taking down the "short" end first works better for getting the bars and tent to lie as flat as possible. Striking camp with these simple things should take no more than about 8 minutes with two practiced people. I know there are folks who manage to camp alone in a Quicksilver. I can set up our 8.1 alone (that's easy), but I can't figure out how you'd take one down alone since it takes two people to (critically) draw the canvas away from the bars as they go down.[span]  [/span][/quote]So I removed my tent to store the trailer.  I had been taught that on the 8.1, large side up first and down last.  With the tent off, the bars lay down better if it goes small side up first, down last.

I'm confused:-/

[chuck893]

[quote source="/post/15967/thread" timestamp="1444591707" author="@rob"][quote source="/post/4345/thread" timestamp="1413898138" author="@chuck893"]Yeah, second that motion! It's really important. If the tent is not folded properly it can lead to rub holes in the tent. If it is folded properly...well, our tent has 5 seasons and 30 camps this year alone, and not one single solitary rub hole. As Subaruwx describes, there are two keys: one is for each of two persons to be standing on opposite sides of one end of the coach, drawing the tent away from the coach as far as possible as the bars go down. That keeps the fabric from bunching in the bars. Two is to flop the excess tent over the top. There was a lengthy discussion in the Yahoo forum a while back: apparently some folks were doing some extraordinary stuffing of the tent in varying configurations, which is neither necessary nor desirable. Ron, I think you have a 10. I think LL still recommends taking the kitchen end down first on 10's and "straight" 8's (8.0) as it seems to fit better. We have an 8.1 and we find taking down the "short" end first works better for getting the bars and tent to lie as flat as possible. Striking camp with these simple things should take no more than about 8 minutes with two practiced people. I know there are folks who manage to camp alone in a Quicksilver. I can set up our 8.1 alone (that's easy), but I can't figure out how you'd take one down alone since it takes two people to (critically) draw the canvas away from the bars as they go down.[span]  [/span][/quote]So I removed my tent to store the trailer.  I had been taught that on the 8.1, large side up first and down last.  With the tent off, the bars lay down better if it goes small side up first, down last.

I'm confused:-/[/quote]Hi, Rob--- No worries. With the tent off it probably doesn't matter which way the bars lie, but when the tent is on, our experience at least has been exactly as you said with an 8.1: "Large side up first, and down last." The factory has also said that regarding an 8.1, but with the straight 8.0 and the 10.0 they still suggest the other way around. I've also seen at least one 8.1 owner state that his works better the other way around (that is, big or kitchen end down first), but on his advice I tried it with ours and for us it did not work at all.