Time to trash the tent?

[Nalgene Ninja]

Last year I bought a used ginormous (16x12) Coleman single-wall cabin tent  for car camping (early/mid-90s vintage). It seemed to work pretty good until the first thunderstorm last July when we were at a SP in Ohio. It leak like a sieve on the roof panels, the seals were good though (sealed by yours truly). Inspection in the daylight revealed lots of tiny holes on the roof panels and we had since used a large tarp on top as a fly. Also the bottom corners (near the stakes) were beginning to rip when we hoist the roof tight. Otherwise this is a great tent w/ all screens intact and good zippers.

Is this condition due to UV degradation? Is it fixable with spray-on type stuff? New roof fabric? Or should I see if I can talk DW into sewing a rain-fly out of Nylon? I've patch the corners with Kenyon Tape, is that a longterm fix?

[Lostsheep]

I'd think a tyvek ceiling would fix your issues. Ask a contractor for some scraps and they'll usually give you what they have. Not that tough. Get enough, sew a really large patch and affix it to the tent as a new roof.

DWR probably won't hold off much more than a light shower.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Lostsheep,

Tyvek is quickly becoming the solution for jobs too large to fix with duct tape! I've seen it used for all sorts of bizarre things lately, not including as a permanent siding solution.

[Lostsheep]

You better believe it. Unfortunately, it's getting more expensive to order anywhere. You almost have to get it from a used construction site to save money.

The one thing, you should wash it, and air dry it before you use it or modify it. It'll sound like your playing with aluminum foil if you don't.