Truman a 14month old Berner (currently ~110lb).



Truman joined our family about a year ago and with spring right aournd the corner I'm modifing my kit to be more dog friendly. Tent came first, I knew my lunar solo wouldn't be big enough and thought the netting would probably get destroyed. So I decided to pick up a mid. Golite SL3 seemed to fit the bill, low cost and I thought a floorless shelter was the way to go. Well last night I thought we would give it a test drive out in the back yard. Truman didn't seems to like being inside the shelter that much and the wind was blowing pretty good, so after a couple hours we went inside. In the morning Truman went outside to do his business (un-supervised, bad idea). Later in the morning I looked out the window and this is what I saw.



The rip is in the door so it looks like he wanted to get in. Thats great but the door was closed.




details

What is the best by to repair these rips? I thought duck tape on the back side then seam sealer on the frontside.

Any suggestions are welcome?

Edited by vlarivee on 02/26/2012 11:37:17 MST.

You could take two pieces of silnylon and glue them to either side, waterproof and it should be strong. Look at the "no-sew 10x10 silnylon tarp" thread.

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Edited by JasonG on 04/06/2013 16:32:34 MDT.

A couple of years ago, I set up a new car camping tent (old version REI Hobitat) in the backyard and left it up for a couple of days--big mistake. My Aussie pup was a little freaked out by it and stayed away until I slept in it one night with her. The next day I caught her trying drag the tent across the backyard, tearing a two-foot hole in the body.

I used McNett repair tape (they had some to match the tent body colors) and sealant to repair the rip. I taped both sided and then sealed the edges, and it's held up really well since then. With the Shangri-La 3 and the Silicone/Polyurethane coating, I'm not sure if it would be the right choice. I assume my Hobatat is PU coated, but the specs don't say for sure. Of course, I wasn't concerned with weight as the tent already weighed over ten pounds. Perhaps the tape on one side plus the silicone sealant. Doublesiding it felt overkill, but again, this is car camping not backpacking.

By the way, love the dog. He has really similar markings as our Aussie (in my profile pic).

If your dog isn't crate trained, I'd start now (use lots of treats and start with just a few minutes at atime) to getting him used to curling up and sleeping in his crate. It may take a few months, but this step will really help prepare your dog for sleeping and feeling secure in your tent. If your dog is already crate trained, try putting a tarp over the crate at night (leave room for ventilation and to see out a bit).

Crate training is, IMHO, by far the best way to house train a puppy, too.

Puppies, like children, need lots of supervision, as you've discovered!

Try the manufacturer first. They will do a much better repair job, and the charge will be a bargain for that.
If not that, maybe they will supply some of the same fabric to make the repair look good.
If not that, and assuming that is silnylon, Thru-Hiker's yellow is similar in color and of high quality.
After cleaning and drying all surfaces with first aid (91% Isopropyl) alcohol, use GE silicone glue to glue on silnylon strips the same way you did with the tape, but wider. Use plenty of glue, and a rubber roller - so you will need a good flat and hard surface (like a ping-pong table). Clamping is even better, but very few folks are willing to go to that trouble. (There is a recent post on adhesives on MYOG that describes clamping in detail). Clean off all the extra glue with the alcohol.
If that looks good to you after it dries (at least 72 hours), OK. If in doubt, you can sew large zig-zags on, keeping to the taped surfaces, like sailmakers do. The stitching will have to be resealed.

A dear departed shelty of mine used to let me know when she needed to leave the tent, and even figured out how to open the zipper on the net door with her nose (I swear). Mary is right about the crates. The shelty was crate trained, and couldn't wait to jump in the tent after it was set up. Shelties' claws never seem to be a problem on PU and sil-coated nylon floors, but they do get to the groomer for claw clipping at least every couple months. Consider leaving an opening in the canopy large enough for the dog to get in and out.

(Edited to correct type of alcohol)

Edited by scfhome on 02/26/2012 23:23:02 MST.

I agree with checking with Golite. They seem like a good company to deal with. My puppy chewed up a bit of my Rainshadow 2 and I sent it back to Tarptent for them to fix it. I told Henry to take his time as it was winter and I didn't need it for a while. Not only did he repair it for free, he even shipped it back for free because he had it so long even though I told him to take his time! Can't beat service like that.

I do use an SL3 most of the time now because I like floorless as my dog tends to be wet a lot of the time. He'll use the door if it's open otherwise he'll just snake under the edge. Which is not pleasant if there is any condensation so I try to pick campsites carefully. It was a big change from the RS2 where he was contained. Now I put an extra stake in and attach his long lead to it but since I don't want to keep it super short he still goes in and out under the sides.

That's a good looking Berner. Great dogs!

Edited by rlnunix on 02/28/2012 11:26:01 MST.