D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
Wow!!!! Thats epic customer service. :clapsmile
I thought you said the Maggiolina could be left out in the snow?
- Thread starter R_Lefebvre
- Start date
Wow!!!! Thats epic customer service. :clapsmile
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
We talked about the situation, but there's really not too much to be done at this point. I get home at dark'o'clock and can't see any cracks. It seems to have regained it's shape. I'm not too worried anymore, but I will religiously clean the snow off it after ever snowfall.
We got the H1N1 shot as well. My wife and I were fine, but it really hit my son hard. He was really sick for 2 days. Fever up to 102, no energy, etc.
D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
I just gave like 70 H1N1 shots this weekend...lol
teotwaki
Excelsior!
Maybe put some dense foam blocks inside to give the top panel some temporary support?
Lemsteraak
Adventurer
Hi Rob,
Maybe I can help. The Maggiolina Sahara took the place of the Maggiolina Top Line and before that the On Line. These tents were designed with a lighter roof than standard. If a heavy weight was placed on the roof for a long period of time, the roof would go from convex to concave and stay that way, pretty scarry. Not to worry though, if it is like it's predecessors it is really easy to fix and it doesn't hurt the tent.
The fiberglass used is heat sensitive. With a little use of heat, the roof will remember its original shape. On a hot day, or in your case, warm place, put something in the tent and close it so the roof assumes its original shape. You can also tie a rope around the middle to bring the roof's sides in so they will fit snug over the bottom shell. We would leave the tent in the sun for a couple hours but you can do the same thing with a heat gun. Warm the roof with a heat gun, a hair dryer might even be able to generate enough heat, doesn't take much probably about 120 degrees. Be careful, some of the epoxy resins will soften at 270 degrees. Leave it to cool and it will be back to its original shape.
I'm surprised you were able to find a Safari. I didn't think they were imported to North America. I believe that model is designed for Africa and Australia.
I bought an older Large Maggiolina Adventure from PG&E when they went bankrupt years ago. I got it for $400 because I couldn't inspect it nor could I get it until spring. Yes, it was under about 15 feet of snow in the Sierras. When the snow melted enough to collect it, I was surprised, it was like new. Only trouble was it was so beefy it was really heavy, probably around 190 pounds, way to heavy for normal use. I sold it to a fellow to put on a trailer. I saw it again because he asked me to repair the lift mechanism. He tried to lift something like 400 pounds and stripped one of the acme screws that lift the roof but the tent itself was fine.
Let me know how it goes, there are other ways to fix the roof and you can retrofit it to carry weight or snow up there too.
Rich H
Maybe I can help. The Maggiolina Sahara took the place of the Maggiolina Top Line and before that the On Line. These tents were designed with a lighter roof than standard. If a heavy weight was placed on the roof for a long period of time, the roof would go from convex to concave and stay that way, pretty scarry. Not to worry though, if it is like it's predecessors it is really easy to fix and it doesn't hurt the tent.
The fiberglass used is heat sensitive. With a little use of heat, the roof will remember its original shape. On a hot day, or in your case, warm place, put something in the tent and close it so the roof assumes its original shape. You can also tie a rope around the middle to bring the roof's sides in so they will fit snug over the bottom shell. We would leave the tent in the sun for a couple hours but you can do the same thing with a heat gun. Warm the roof with a heat gun, a hair dryer might even be able to generate enough heat, doesn't take much probably about 120 degrees. Be careful, some of the epoxy resins will soften at 270 degrees. Leave it to cool and it will be back to its original shape.
I'm surprised you were able to find a Safari. I didn't think they were imported to North America. I believe that model is designed for Africa and Australia.
I bought an older Large Maggiolina Adventure from PG&E when they went bankrupt years ago. I got it for $400 because I couldn't inspect it nor could I get it until spring. Yes, it was under about 15 feet of snow in the Sierras. When the snow melted enough to collect it, I was surprised, it was like new. Only trouble was it was so beefy it was really heavy, probably around 190 pounds, way to heavy for normal use. I sold it to a fellow to put on a trailer. I saw it again because he asked me to repair the lift mechanism. He tried to lift something like 400 pounds and stripped one of the acme screws that lift the roof but the tent itself was fine.
Let me know how it goes, there are other ways to fix the roof and you can retrofit it to carry weight or snow up there too.
Rich H
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
I thought the Safari was exactly the same as the Airlander, just with the special colours? I wish this stuff was in litterature, if the Safari has a "lighter" (ahem, weaker) roof than the others.
What is the retrofit you speak of?
What is the retrofit you speak of?
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Rob
Autohome USA does not import the Safari, I guess they made that decision based on the variations in conditions that we experience.
Autohome Canada are the only ones who can answer your questions as to why they imported the Safari tent, and if it's a suitable tent for the conditions you experience.
Mike & Rich have a wealth of experience and information that they can share with you, but you didn't buy the tent from them so anything they do is above and beyond.
Autohome USA does not import the Safari, I guess they made that decision based on the variations in conditions that we experience.
Autohome Canada are the only ones who can answer your questions as to why they imported the Safari tent, and if it's a suitable tent for the conditions you experience.
Mike & Rich have a wealth of experience and information that they can share with you, but you didn't buy the tent from them so anything they do is above and beyond.
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
Yeah, I know. I never asked them to respond to this. They volunteered to discuss it with me. I posted this with nothing to do with AutohomeUS, this is an international website. This has to do with Maggiolina tents. I really don't know why you're even writing this.
Rich suggested the Safari has a thinner top than "standard". I'm just asking for clarification on the point. Is the top of the Safari the same as the Airlander?
Rich suggested the Safari has a thinner top than "standard". I'm just asking for clarification on the point. Is the top of the Safari the same as the Airlander?
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Rob
I write this because in my opinion the first thing you should have done was contact the company you bought the tent from to find out what was going on.
Your first post was alarming for owners of Maggiolina tents, and it broadly put suspicion on all of their models. The facts seem to be that you have a Safari model and it has a softer flexible top, that doesn't hold up to snow load.
This is an international site, so there does need to be some differentiation between regions. This would appear to be a Canadian issue, as the model you own is not imported into the USA. American customers can rest easy. Canadian customers need to check to see which model they have.
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
Let's let Rich answer the question of whether or not the Safari is exactly the same as the Airlander or not, before we decide if this is an issue specific to the Safari. It looks the same, same exact dimensions, same exact weight.
This is not just a Canadian issue. Even if it is only the Safari, the Safari model is sold in the UK, France, Germany... all countries with potential for similar snowfall.
This is not just a Canadian issue. Even if it is only the Safari, the Safari model is sold in the UK, France, Germany... all countries with potential for similar snowfall.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
That is very strange.
As some may have seen from my past posts, my FJ Cruiser is parked outside 24/7, and last winter a week before Christmas we got really dumped on with snow that stuck around for more than a week.
I had a good foot on top of mine for a few days, then some blew off from driving, then the rest froze on top for a good week.
The roof of the tent never moved, and come last spring when I opened up to wash the sheets and fluff the down comforter, it was bone dry inside.
Second week of snow, got more the next day that totaled up to about a foot.
pic 1
As some may have seen from my past posts, my FJ Cruiser is parked outside 24/7, and last winter a week before Christmas we got really dumped on with snow that stuck around for more than a week.
I had a good foot on top of mine for a few days, then some blew off from driving, then the rest froze on top for a good week.
The roof of the tent never moved, and come last spring when I opened up to wash the sheets and fluff the down comforter, it was bone dry inside.
Second week of snow, got more the next day that totaled up to about a foot.
pic 1
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Corey
This has been our experience in the Sierras as well.
The point here is that your tent is not a Safari model, there would appear to be a difference in lid construction in the Safari model that makes it unsuitable for snow loads.
Rob made the mistake of assuming that the Safari was identical to the Airlander.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
I see
http://www.autohome.it/file_gb/magg_safari.html
The front of the roof looks a little different shaped than my AirLander.
Very impressed with the fiberglass though.
My gets a ton of spooge on it from the two huge fir trees you can see in my picture.
I wash the rig spring through summer, but not during fall or winter.
Come late spring I break out the Porter Cable sander and use a good marine wax on the whole shell after washing it good and getting the caked spooge off, and it looks better than the day it left the factory.
The wax I put on it has good UV inhibitors in it too.
http://www.autohome.it/file_gb/magg_safari.html
The front of the roof looks a little different shaped than my AirLander.
Very impressed with the fiberglass though.
My gets a ton of spooge on it from the two huge fir trees you can see in my picture.
I wash the rig spring through summer, but not during fall or winter.
Come late spring I break out the Porter Cable sander and use a good marine wax on the whole shell after washing it good and getting the caked spooge off, and it looks better than the day it left the factory.
The wax I put on it has good UV inhibitors in it too.
Lemsteraak
Adventurer
Hi Rob,
I'm sorry, my last post was confusing, I hope this is better. When I said that the Safari's roof is "light", I didn't mean weak, it just isn't reinforced in the same way as the Extreme or the Adventure to carry the load on the roof section itself. It is designed to carry the load on the sides of the roof. There are reinforcements in the sides to bolt on roof bars so you can carry more weight if you so wish and still have a tent that weighs less.
Here in the US, the rules are different. Our large "AirLand" weighs in at 150 to 155 pounds, this is the maximum we can go. Thule sets a maximum weight of 165 pound to be loaded on their bars here in the US. In Canada, these same bars are rated for 100 Kg or roughly 220 pounds so you can put on an additional set of bars on your tent's roof and carry another 50 pounds or so on the upper bars. Our large Airland doesn't have these reinforcements like your large Safari.
Ziffer in Italy actually builds these tents to order so the specifications of each tent may be a little different. It is a rather amazing little factory, everything is just in time, built to order. It is confusing because neither the Safari nor the Airlander tents are sold in the US, we have the Maggiolina AirLand. This is a tent we have worked on and developed with Italy for over ten years. I don't want to infer that there are "US" spec tents and "International" spec tents. Mike and I have been at this for a long time now and like to think the tents here are just plain better suited to what you will encounter in the US. The AutoHomeUS website doesn't have any links to the International site for this reason, it can get confusing, even for me. Used to be you could say Maggiolina and it was one tent, now you almost need someone to guide you through all of them.
I hope the part about how to repair your tent is clear. These tents are engineered to bend and not break. We just need to bend it back. You may wish to call Italy and speak with them. I know they will really want to hear what happened and probably have a more sophisticated way to repair your tent.
Rich H
LoftyShelters (formerly)
AutoHomeUS (on extended leave)
I'm sorry, my last post was confusing, I hope this is better. When I said that the Safari's roof is "light", I didn't mean weak, it just isn't reinforced in the same way as the Extreme or the Adventure to carry the load on the roof section itself. It is designed to carry the load on the sides of the roof. There are reinforcements in the sides to bolt on roof bars so you can carry more weight if you so wish and still have a tent that weighs less.
Here in the US, the rules are different. Our large "AirLand" weighs in at 150 to 155 pounds, this is the maximum we can go. Thule sets a maximum weight of 165 pound to be loaded on their bars here in the US. In Canada, these same bars are rated for 100 Kg or roughly 220 pounds so you can put on an additional set of bars on your tent's roof and carry another 50 pounds or so on the upper bars. Our large Airland doesn't have these reinforcements like your large Safari.
Ziffer in Italy actually builds these tents to order so the specifications of each tent may be a little different. It is a rather amazing little factory, everything is just in time, built to order. It is confusing because neither the Safari nor the Airlander tents are sold in the US, we have the Maggiolina AirLand. This is a tent we have worked on and developed with Italy for over ten years. I don't want to infer that there are "US" spec tents and "International" spec tents. Mike and I have been at this for a long time now and like to think the tents here are just plain better suited to what you will encounter in the US. The AutoHomeUS website doesn't have any links to the International site for this reason, it can get confusing, even for me. Used to be you could say Maggiolina and it was one tent, now you almost need someone to guide you through all of them.
I hope the part about how to repair your tent is clear. These tents are engineered to bend and not break. We just need to bend it back. You may wish to call Italy and speak with them. I know they will really want to hear what happened and probably have a more sophisticated way to repair your tent.
Rich H
LoftyShelters (formerly)
AutoHomeUS (on extended leave)
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
Rich, this is where I have been confused before.
Since I bought mine from you guy's and see the AirLand on the US site, I saw it referred as the AirLander on the Italian site.
I did not realize they were a little different from each other.
Learn something new everyday.
I have referred to mine both as an AirLand and AirLander.
I know now to refer to it as an AirLand.