Product Experiences

Easy Camp Huntsville 500 Tent

CAMP DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

I have not received compensation in any way for the video or this blog post.  I put this up because I could not find a non company post or video about this model of tent.  I want to provide useful information for those considering buying one.

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Another addition to Camp Down the Rabbit Hole is the Easy Camp Huntsville 500 5 Person Tunnel Tent.  It’s a 10′ x 15 1/2′ tunnel tent.  The tent comes in three pieces, the outer part of the tent, considered the rainfly, the floor and the interior enclosed room.  The rainfly is made from 190T 100% coated polyester with taped seams, the enclosed room from 100% uncoated polyester, the floor is 100% polyethylene.

There are five windows, two doors and vents.  The main door has two zippers with Velcro tabs to attach the bottom to the rainfly and a double zipper screen panel.  Both parts can be rolled up to the top of the entry and be held in place with toggles and loops.  There are two grommets on each corner of the door so that it can be held open with poles to act as a shade over the screened area.  On either side are small mesh screen vents that are held open with foam and fabric arms.  The side door also has a two zipper closing system where the bathtub floor can fold out flat.  There is no mesh screen.  The back or rear of the tent has a screened window that zips closed from the outside.

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Main entry, ventilation sleeves, vinyl window

Four of the windows are vinyl with no screen or way to open them.  Fabric covers for privacy can be opened or closed by separating them from the Velcro tabs.  The interior room insert is meant to create a separate room in the back section of the tent.  It is held in place with toggles attached to rings with elastic.  While it can offer privacy and an alternate to the open floor plan I don’t like it much.  It is not snug fitting to the sides of the rainfly.  When put in place there is about 6″ of space on the sides, top and back.  That is a lot of space lost.  Sometime in the future I may disassemble it so that only the door side attaches to the tent.  Then it would be useful.

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Main entry open, view to back of tent, ventilation vents

LS AID STATION

There are several reasons I choose this tent.  My main reason was to set it up as our heated or air conditioned in camp aid station.  There is enough space for two cots or stretchers on saw horses, medical supplies and equipment.  The side door floor folds out flat so that if hard plastic or plywood flooring was added a gurney could be wheeled in instead of carried.  And, it makes it easier to hand carry without having to step over the fabric threshold of the main door.  The vinyl windows don’t open making it easier to heat and cool without modifying them.

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View of interior room insert

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Room divider

I have changed a some things and added a few.   Two 8″ ventilation hose sleeves were added to facilitate use of a heater or air conditioner.  Velcro was sewn across the bottom of the rear window closure to reduce air exchange.  I sewed the floor onto the rainfly walls to keep the insects and unwanted wildlife out.  Velcro was also placed at the bottom of the side door.  The retaining straps that ran across the floor to hold the sides in place were removed so that the floor could expand and pull tight.  They had been placed there to prevent the sides from splaying before the floor was sewn in.  The tent seals up good.

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View of side door with floor folded down

Set up is easy enough that one person can do it in about 30 to 35 minutes.  There are 14 stakes for the tent and 14 for the guy lines.  I’ve had the most success setting it up by my self by laying the tent out so the footprint is mostly in place, staking the back corners down, then staking the front entrance center guy line.  Once those are in place the three fiberglass color coded poles are pushed though the sleeve then the ends are put over the metal pins connected to the tent body.  Moving from back to front the tent will begin to stand up and stay in place.

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Front entrance, taper is visible

Next the tent body stakes are placed.  To keep the tent in line stake and connect one side then move to the other.  Note the front entrance corners are tapered from the place where the poles connect making it a little difficult to line up without them shifted to one side or another.  I leave the front for last.  It seems easier to line the front up with the sides.  Although this tent is not heavy duty it will work well for the occasional use.  I’m satisfied how the modifications turned out and the tent itself.  Questions and comment are always welcome.  Check out the video below.  -13

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Bass Pro Eclipse 6 Person Cabin Tent

I have not received compensation in any way for the video or this blog post.  I put this up because I could not find any post or video about this model of cabin tent.  Plus I want to provide useful information for those considering buying one.

CAMP DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

I purchased two of the Bass Pro Eclipse 6 person cabin tents for a couple of reasons.  One, Camp Down the Rabbit Hole could offer quarters for housing one or two individuals for our alliance of like minds for camping.  Two, to be prepared with temporary quarters in the event our home was damaged in a natural disaster or we had evacuated for any reason.

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The tent is constructed with 190T polyester with a 600mm PU coating.  It has a bathtub style floor made with 120gm polyethylene.  There are two triangle mosquito net ventilation panels in the roof.  Four mosquito net windows with zip up privacy shades including the door.  The door has a double zipper and is roomy enough to walk through wearing your load bearing equipment.  There is also a port on the door side for electric power.

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Window with privacy panel down for demonstration. Panel is usually neatly rolled up.

The footprint is 9′ x 10′.  The propaganda states that the floor plan is big enough to house to queen size beds and 6 persons.  When I’m in the tent it seems to me that it is more suitable for one or two adults, one maybe two camp chairs, a roll top camp table, some personal gear and a portable heater or air conditioner.  Not much else.  This would depend on how everything was organized.

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Fabric plenums.

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Vinyl window panel in place.

I made a few modifications to make it more usable.  Two fabric plenums were added for interior or exterior air conditioning or heating.  Vinyl panels were added using Velcro to quickly and easily attach or remove them.  The window coverings allow the privacy panels to be lowered providing a way to see outside and keep the heated or air conditioned air inside.  The triangle roof panels were also covered with the clear vinyl so they would seal up the tent yet allow light to pass though.

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Pole elbows

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Roof crossmember tie off point

The tent is set up using four metal and two fiberglass shock corded poles.  The fiberglass poles are used on the roof to give it strong arch support. While the metal poles support the fiberglass roof poles and sides of the tent at each corner with a plastic elbow.  Each corner elbow is marked with a 140° mark.  This is where the metal poles go.  The other end is too small for them and where the fiberglass poles attach.  The fiberglass poles cross at the top and are tied in at the center.  When putting the poles in place there is a metal pin attached at the corners that goes into the end of the pole.

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Corner pole pin

The rainfly has a quick release buckle at each corner that adjust the tension of the fly.  There is also a pole that attaches to the rainfly over the door to maintain it’s shape and to offer an awning like structure.  The floor outline requires 6 stakes, the rainfly needs 7.  The rainfly must be used for stability.  It has all the attachment points and guy lines.  It takes about 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted time for one person to set the tent up.  Also of note is that the only place there is seam tape is the rainfly.  None of the seams on the tent body are seam taped.  I’ve only experienced mild rain and cannot tell how it performs in a heavy storm.

This video has mostly the same information and footage of the set up.  If you have experience with this tent or have questions post them here.  -13

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Booster Bath Tub and Petsafe Ramp Product Experience & Modifications

Bathing dogs is a necessity.  That doggy pond water smell isn’t welcome here, it’s too much.  It’s always been a strain on my lower back bending over to give our dog a good scrubbing.  I looked at various tubs but didn’t like them for several reasons.  Some were at ground level requiring me to bend over, while elevated tubs were fully enclosed requiring me to lift the dog over the rim.  I did find a tub that had an opening that a dog could walk into.

The Booster Bath large elevated tub is configured so that steps could be attached at the opening.  It looks good but the steps didn’t look as if it would work very well.  There were 3 steps that would be difficult for a larger dog to navigate.  My dog would jump off them.  I decided to go with a ramp that I would modify to attach to the tub.

I like the tub itself but do not like the leg design.  The way the legs are designed they want to push out and away from the tub.  The tendon part of the leg wants to come out of the slots.  The first time I used the tub my dog jumped out just as one of the legs pulled out.  I replaced the leg then continued with bathing.  My dog wants to sit down in the middle of the tub.  This pushes down making the legs move outward as I’m scrubbing the dog.

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While the dog was sitting in the tub I looked at the underside and noticed a gap at the connection point.  I thought if I don’t support the tub the legs would pull out and the tub would collapse with the dog in it.  It first I wasn’t sure what might work then remembered I had a shower chair/bench in storage.  I took off the back and arm rest adjusted the height to fit.  It worked the chair fit perfectly without interference.

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Now when the dog is washed the tub is very stable.   Our dog is relaxed, calm and seems to enjoy the bath.  I’m not the only one who has had issue with the legs.  There are many customer reviews on Amazon reporting the same problems.

To get the dog into the tub I went with the Petsafe folding ramp.  I liked that it is lightweight, folding and fits into the tub when finished.  It had a semi flat area that would allow me to attach it to the tub with clevis pins.  Drill a few holes, push the pins in and done.

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When I used the ramp the first time as the dog reached the hinge the tub began to tilt backward from the dogs weight.  I attached the front of the tub to the ground with a strap the had the dog walk up.  The ramp was very shaky as well as flexed as the dog passed over the hinge.  It looked like there was a lot of pressure being placed over the hinge portion.  To counteract the forces I put a concrete block and some wood under the hinge.  That eliminated the flexing and made the ramp much more stable.

I knew the block and wood was temporary.  It was a hassle that looked like an eyesore.  I looked at many options and didn’t like any of them.  One day while checking out a Harbor Freight mailing it dawned on me that 3 ton jack stands might work.  I purchased a pair and they fit perfectly without any adjustments.  All I did was all some nonslip matting.  Now that ramp is very sable.

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The other issue I was having getting the dog up the ramp was that she would jump off.  I couldn’t understand why.  I thought it might be how the darker colored ramp is perceived.  Maybe it looks like the slots in a cattle guard to her.  A shadow that she can’t see well or at all.  After adding some light color towels I was able to walk her up with no problems.

Seems like the ramp does have an issue near the hinge.  After my experience I went though every one of the one star reviews at Amazon.  I noticed a pattern where the ramp broke at the hinge.  After viewing several photographs from customers it was plain to see a consistent in the breaks.  The all looked nearly identical.  I think there is a flaw in the design or plastic.

My opinion of the tub and ramp is that if I wasn’t able to add the chair and jack stands I would not use them again for fear of them collapsing.  Anyone who has either of them currently may want to look into the solutions I’ve had success with.  Anyone considering purchasing them should also factor in the additional cost of the supports.  Since I’ve had success with the solutions I’ll keep using the ramp/tub combination with confidence.  The video has all the details.  -13

 

 

 

 

 

 

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