Issues with my Eezi-Awn

[Martyn]

I'm a pretty tall guy, and the distance from my brain to my fingers is rather long. My brain said "case", and by the time it got to my fingers, it came out as "cast". Lost in translation.

The case itself was too spendy, so they dropped it. There, that's better.

Good thing you don't type with your toes Paul. :xxrotflma

 

[Redline]

I have had many of the same niggles that other have experienced:

-Gummy/goo on ratchet Velcro cover
-Hardware came loose/fell out after many miles of washboard
-Hinges were bent/not up to the job
-Needed a third support bar to bring the middle of the tent down so the tongue & groove would line up upon opening without a big push from my shoulder underneath (this was the biggest irritation on my first few trips)
-Rain fly bar holes not drilled deep enough

BUT overall the quality is good! Personally I love the mattress, but I don't weigh a lot and prefer a firm bed.

The AT & Equip boys are the right guys in the right businesses, I hope they can continue to make a go of it. They are willing to take care of things without a fuss to make their customers happy and are trying to improve the product.

 

[articulate]

-Rain fly bar holes not drilled deep enough

That's an interesting one. I've lost two of the metal sleeves that insert into those holes, though. Easy fix.

 

[Scott Brady]

200 nights in my 1200 without a failure. I did glue the metal sleeves into the base as they were sliding out. No other issue of note.

 

[FlyingWen]

We just received a replacement cover for our 1600. This cover seems to be thicker and the flap where the ratchet is has been changed. This cover does not have the messy glue issue as the previous.

I feel confident that Paul of Equipt is relaying our comments and concerns to Eezi-Awn and they are addressing every issue.

Bottom Line: Eezi-Awn is still a high quality product and I swear by ours.
:tent:

 

[Bergger]

Nic

When you deploy the tent on a hard surface, like your drive way, to stop the ladder from slipping out attach a ratchet strap around the base of the ladder and then around the base of the tire. If the ladder slips out with someone heavy inside the tent it may bend the hinges.

I love our 1800 but wish this was not necessary on such an expensive tent. I would like to see a ladder design that has a lock to prevent it from slipping out. This would also get rid of the stake that has to be driven in the bottom on softer ground.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Since this thread and an email with Paul, I have fixed the frayed straps with my soldering torch :smilies27 , made a promise to myself to be more careful with the ratchet on the cover (still need to re-sew it though) and realized I need to live with the floor bowing and make sure it seats properly every time I open it. Some of the spots on the cover that are showing some wear I will keep an eye on.

Paul has made generous offers to either replace my cover or loan me one while mine gets fixed. I'll take him up on it if need be, but in the meantime will be more careful and keep an eye on things. Thank you.

Great customer service Paul and Martyn!

 

[Redline]

Do you have three bars on your mount and still have a bowing problem?

I had this issue until I added a third, center bar to my Chaser.

Since this thread and an email with Paul, I have fixed the frayed straps with my soldering torch :smilies27 , made a promise to myself to be more careful with the ratchet on the cover (still need to re-sew it though) and realized I need to live with the floor bowing and make sure it seats properly every time I open it. Some of the spots on the cover that are showing some wear I will keep an eye on.

Paul has made generous offers to either replace my cover or loan me one while mine gets fixed. I'll take him up on it if need be, but in the meantime will be more careful and keep an eye on things. Thank you.

Great customer service Paul and Martyn!

 

[MaddBaggins]

Do you have three bars on your mount and still have a bowing problem?

I had this issue until I added a third, center bar to my Chaser.

3 bars and firmly mounted. It's not the mounted part that bows, it's the upper board. I need to push up on the center of it to get it to seat right.

 

[pygmyowl]

I really like the build quality & ease of set up on the EA 1800, mounted on my AT Horizon, but if I had to pick one nit, it would be the design of the mini awning over the door. It is real functional as long as it isn't windy, but if you have a strong wind it flaps all night long. If it isn't raining or you are in warmer climates, you just leave it extended or you can roll it up, but with windy, cold weather, storm conditions, and you try to button the thing down, the wind gets under it and lifts it up to the extent of the toggles and then it snaps back down - this goes on all night long.

Really wish they would have had it designed more like a North Face mountain tent, and use a small pole/sleeve along its sides to totally secure it - really annoying in the wind, and I see this as a significant weakness in the tent design.

 

[ddog45]

I just spent a cold rainy weekend in my EA 1800 and have a few of the same complaints that have already been mentioned. My biggest complaint is that the rainfly it really stinks. If it is raining and you want to get in or out of the tent you have to plan on getting wet. The rainfly sags so much in the middle that there is a puddle at the bottom of the ladder or the in the back of your pants. Seems to me the rainfly needs another bar that could run between the two flimsy poles that are already there. I was excited to not have to use tent stakes but I may be have to figure out a way to tie the darned thing down to make things tight.
If anyone has any pointers for me please feel free to share. Im just glad I dont live somewhere like the northwest where it rains often.

 

[Martyn]

I just spent a cold rainy weekend in my EA 1800 and have a few of the same complaints that have already been mentioned. My biggest complaint is that the rainfly it really stinks. If it is raining and you want to get in or out of the tent you have to plan on getting wet. The rainfly sags so much in the middle that there is a puddle at the bottom of the ladder or the in the back of your pants. Seems to me the rainfly needs another bar that could run between the two flimsy poles that are already there. I was excited to not have to use tent stakes but I may be have to figure out a way to tie the darned thing down to make things tight.
If anyone has any pointers for me please feel free to share. Im just glad I dont live somewhere like the northwest where it rains often.

Yeah, rain and camping makes things a bit of a drag.

I have seen people run a PVC pipe between the two sprung steel poles that hold the fly out. This stops the bowing at the center of the flysheet.

If water has collected in the fly I just push the fly up with my hand, and have it run off the fly to the outside. Never been a real problem.

I like the sprung steel used to hold the flysheet out. In heavy winds it gives a little when gusts hit the tent. It absorbs the shock rather than having something break.

 

[Yuman Desert Rat]

Bringing this back from the dead.... I was doing some research on the "Alu-Top tent and acme across this thread...
Has anyone over the past 5-6 years had any issues with their Eezi Awn tent or Awning? Seems like no one has has issues since this thread petered off, which speaks volumes! I will amplify the accolades given to the AT Team, Paul/Equipt and Jess Stuhler and Eezi Awn. Any of the issues I've encountered have been due to wear and tear/abuse from the previous owner. I did however, replace all of the hardware on the poles that attach at the hinges with stainles steel. When doing this I used home made nylon washers (between each layer) to reduce friction while allowing for maximum torque on the nylock nuts. Kudos again for a great product with superior materials, quality craftsmanship and world class customer support... (literally)

 

[Equipt]

Thank you for the very kind words. We try our best.

Cheers,