How to raise and lower an 8.1 tent

[youngfmly]

When lowering tent which side first twin or queen? We are newbies and the tent on the trailer we just bought was not stowed correctly, in fact, one side the long bimini support was detached from it's retaining cup because, I guess, it wouldn't collapse enough to not interfere with the bed and platform.

[chuck893]

My mantra from the beginning has always been "small end first." When we got our 8.1 in 2010 we were lucky enough to pick it up from the factory (then in Wakarusa) and got hands-on tutoring right there. An 8.1 fits well in the box if you drop the small or twin end first, then the big or kitchen end. The small bed frame then goes over first to help hold things down, and finally the big bed frame. When dropping the tent all that need happen is that two people draw the canvas out well away from the bars as they fall so that excess canvas does not bunch in the bars. There is no stuffing required. I wrote the below awhile ago for another post; it's long but may be worthwhile as we have been doing this for hundreds of camps and thousands of miles and have NEVER had a rub-hole in the original tent:

Takedown and packing of a Quicksilver is ridiculously simple---IF you know how. If you do not know how and do it wrong you will get rub holes in you canvas while underway. These steps came directly from the factory.

I cannot speak to a 5.0 or a 6.0, but this should work for an 8.0, an 8.1, or a 10.0. And I only know how to do this with two people. I think it can be done alone but would require some workarounds.

Backstory: We were lucky enough to pick up our 2010 8.1 at the factory at a time when personal customer service was still the norm. We camped overnight at a nearby KOA and in the morning discovered that we had NO clue how to properly pack the thing. We had to tow it back to the factory with the bed frames sticking up so they could show us how. Indeed, the factory video is far too fast, and doing this chore right is critically important. Thanks to Mike at the factory we were experts in five minutes. Bear in mind that these steps came directly from the factory. They have worked 100% for us for 6 full seasons.

I'll try to go step by step from memory. In practice you can take a Quicksilver down in maaaaybe 10 minutes tops, not including repacking your personal gear. Key things to remember are that you DO NOT need to undo any of the Velcros or straps holding the bars. I've seen lots of bad advice about doing that. The whole point of a Quicksilver is simplicity---easy up, easy down. It takes far longer to explain it than to do it.

[ol type="decimal"][li]I always zip up all windows and storm canvas to keep it neat and avoid damage.
[/li][li]Remove and stow the center bar/brace
[/li][li]Lower and stow the upper kitchen cabinet
[/li][li]For the rest of your stowage nothing should be any higher than the top of the lowered kitchen or it will interfere with the tent going into the box.
[/li][li]Exit the camper and zip the door flap
[/li][li]Undo all snaps except two, one on each bed end, to prevent the tent from dropping prematurely
[/li][li]I think this tool is beyond price for saving your fingers, your snaps, your canvas, and your sweet disposition: http://www.amazon.com/Ironwood-Pacific-008-1-Top-Snapper-Snap/dp/B00GHU5PXO
[/li][li]Undo the Velcro under the bed frames (if you have it; I understand some no longer do)
[/li][li]When the tent is completely loose except for the two holding snaps on each bed end...
[/li][li]YOU AND YOUR PARTNER STAND ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE COACH, RIGHT AT THE END OF THE COACH. This is where the hinge of the bed frame is. There is a vertical seam in the canvas on each side
[/li][li]On a 10 or an 8.0 you should start on the kitchen/hitch end. LL advises that the tent seems to fit better in the box if the kitchen end goes down first.
[/li][li]On an 8.1 start at the "short" end, opposite the kitchen/hitch. The tent fits better in an 8.1 if you remember "small end first."
[/li][li]Undo that last snap on that end, AND EACH OF YOU DRAWS YOUR VERTICAL SEAM AND CANVAS AS FAR AWAY FROM THE SIDE AS YOU CAN. The tent will start to fall as you do so. You are drawing the canvas away so that it cannot become "bunched" in the bars as they collapse. It is completely normal for there always to be some canvas between the bars. You DO NOT need to start poking or pulling. Just let it be.
[/li][li]Proceed to the opposite end of the coach and repeat.
[/li][li]Now you will have the bars and most of the tent collapsed in the box
[/li][li]And the rest of the tent will be draped over the sides of the coach
[/li][li]SIMPLY "FLOP" THE SIDES OF THE TENT IN ON TOP OF THE COLLAPSED TENT.[/li][/ol]
That's it. Done. Done-ski. Simple. There may be a little poking and stuffing to insure that all the tent is inside the box and does not get trapped under the bed frames when they come over, but you DO NOT have to do a lot of that, or if you do you may have done something incorrectly. Most of the tent fabric simply ends up on top of the bimini bars.

Our experience (our VERY LONG experience of years, thousands of miles, hundreds of camps, to this day on Rosie's ORIGINAL TENT) has been that we have NEVER had a rub hole. We pretty much just reverse the procedure to put the thing up, and since we have not undone any of the straps or Velcros holding the tent to the biminis she goes up faster than I can 'splain it. Bed, bed, pull, pull, snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap &c aaaaaand UP!      

Incidentally, if the tent is wet when you strike the camp, go around the inside and smack the tent with the flat of your hand to knock off as much water as possible. If the tent is heavily wet you may want to towel it off when it is collapsed (one end at a time) to prevent water from pooling on the deck. Most of the time I get very little water inside.

If the tent is nice and warm it will go in much easier than if it is cold.

If you have supplemental mattresses or toppers (we do) it may take some finessing to get the beds to lie flat enough to do up the tonneau.

The vast majority of dealers seem to not know how to do this correctly. If you got conflicting advice from your dealer I would honestly question it, as the procedure I've outlined here came directly from the factory, demonstrated hands-on by a fella named Mike, and we have had zero problems for 6 full seasons.

Just try not to forget that the key thing about any Quicksilver is SIMPLICITY. From the beginning we were bowled over by how EASY it was, far easier than any tent on the ground, so that we camp far more than we ever did in tents.

[youngfmly]

Thank you very much Chuck893, your instructions on how to fold an 8.1 tent really helped us a bunch. My wife an I were able to fold up our 8.1 easily for the first time in just over a half an hour taking our time being careful and thorough, pulling, folding, pulling and folding like your instructions say and we ended up with a much more professional job than the way we received it from the dealer. We're sure it will be easier and faster next time and each time there after with your great instructions. Again, thank you very much, Fred & Bella (youngfmly)

[chuck893]

Thank you very much Chuck893, your instructions on how to fold an 8.1 tent really helped us a bunch. My wife an I were able to fold up our 8.1 easily for the first time in just over a half an hour taking our time being careful and thorough, pulling, folding, pulling and folding like your instructions say and we ended up with a much more professional job than the way we received it from the dealer. We're sure it will be easier and faster next time and each time there after with your great instructions. Again, thank you very much, Fred & Bella (youngfmly)

Delighted to help! It will get faster and easier! If I may I'll share another story: When we picked up Rose we took her straight back to the South Bend KOA to set her up for the very first time. We had watched the setup video several times. We read the book. We thought we had a pretty good idea what to do. It was chaos. I think it took an hour. There was another camper nearby who was quietly watching us sweat and swear until we finally got it up. She stepped closer and asked, "Brand new?" 

"Yes!" I said proudly. 

"Thought so," she said, letting all the air out of my balloon.    WE eventually did reach a stage where we could get her up and down in minutes.  (rofl)

[riotanga]

Chuck193 just curious, when you refer to the video and the book that you watched and read what book are you referring to? I got my 8.1 and there was really no directions on it...... I went online and downloaded the instruction booklet but it's pretty vague on most things. So if you have a book that you can recommend thank you

[chuck893]

[quote source="/post/22143/thread" timestamp="1465929824" author="@riotanga"]Chuck193 just curious, when you refer to the video and the book that you watched and read what book are you referring to? I got my 8.1 and there was really no directions on it...... I went online and downloaded the instruction booklet but it's pretty vague on most things. So if you have a book that you can recommend thank you[/quote]You probably have the same book I do, but there seem to be a couple floating around on line. The one I got when I bought the trailer was the hard printed copy of this one: https://www.livinlite.com/pdf/LLOwnersManual.pdf

The setup video was made by Scott Tuttle, the designer, at the Wakarusa factory about 2008 or 2009. He uploaded it to YouTube in 2011. It's on a 10.0 but most of the details apply to the 8.0 and 8.1 as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkFkMtlhMKA

The problem has always been the takedown video, which for some reason Scott decided could be speeded up, and had anyone ever asked me I would have said "bad idea." Repacking the rig is crucial to avoiding rub-holes in the canvas, but Scott kissed it off and so far as I know a normal-speed video was never made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZDB4mZuLqA

That's why I spelled out as carefully as I could the takedown procedure for an 8.1, but I just rewatched the video they made on the 10.0 and see that there are some differences, especially regarding the flopping in of the sides of the tent. On a 10 you flop the sides in as each end goes down, but that won't work on an 8.1, and probably not on an 8.0 either since both are shorter so the bars overlap. On the 8's (at least for sure the 8.1 which I have) the sides of the tent flop inboard after both ends are dropped. 

[riotanga]

Chuck 893 in the video on takedown it shows one door zipper left opening when closing? What do you do? I have an 8.1 thanks in advance

[peislander]

Chuck - you describe Scott as the designer. As the former owner of Livin'Lite, he built a company around his idea that small car towable trailers could have bimini-style tents to keep the weight manageable. It was a reaction to the relatively heavy hardtop tent trailers that were evolving to become so heavy they were requiring bigger tow vehicles than most potential buyers had. Although I have no doubt he came up with the idea of a quicksilver camper -- he wasn't the designer. For that he hired a local rv engineering consultant to design his vision. By the way the same engineer is the guy who first developed the slide-out mechanism so prevalent in the rv industry today.

[chuck893]

[quote timestamp="1466799484" source="/post/22489/thread" author="@riotanga"]Chuck 893 in the video on takedown it shows one door zipper left opening when closing? What do you do? I have an 8.1 thanks in advance[/quote]I close all zippers, including both sides of the door flap. Closing all zippers has never interfered with takedown and packing, and I figure the fewer things left loose the less likely to damage something. And that's worked well all this time. On another thread there is discussion of the black marks left on the interior canvas by oxidation of the galvanized Bimini bars. Those black marks are the only problem we have had, and I confess that while my wife has hated them I've just ignored them. If those marks can be considered "damage," well, we have that, but I think it's just cosmetic.