James Baroud USA and fantastic customer Service, well maybe more OK4wd.

[SAC-CA-Runner]

Well...I'm getting ready to pick up a used JB hard shell and it is in great condition when I looked at it. Owner has taken VERY good care of it as he seems OCD like me with his belongings and only used it 15-20 days. I'm going to be using it almost every day starting in June as I start a "gap year" and travel from June till November so I hope it holds up. But from what I've heard OK4WD is great to deal with, I just hope the warranty transfers but I doubt it. Used they are still more than a new CVT so the things should last. But good to read about these things and keep an eye on it.

 

[Rugy]

We have had our tent now for 4 years. Only issue we had was the ladder issues.

 

[wildo]

Anyone with zipper problems? Loving my James Baroud Grand Raid XXL as well and my fan is also starting to make some noise. Purchased in 2014, I'd say, I had spent about 30 days total in it (which is about to change going forward).

My zipper is so tight around the doors, it takes both pulls and both my hands to get it down/up. I had broken-in the passenger side door as it's my main ingress/egress. The driver's side is above my awning so I rarely use it.

Recently, I wanted to vent my tent and opened both doors. I noticed that the zipper from the driver's side tent entry popped open behind the zipper head by about an inch (it just busted open).

I wasn't able to zip in reverse past this opening to open the driver's side tent door. I had to brute force it to go past. We are talking about 40+ pounds of force. Also resorted in using a flathead screwdriver to pry one side and the zipper head is pretty solid. Now, the teeth mesh together but at different angles; it should be flat. This means that with enough force from winds, it busts open the zipper again.

I have no idea how to fix this and it seems like a function of the zipper head.

The 'taughtness' of the fabric is great for windy situations but in my case, it seems like it may had put too much strain on the zippers to the driver's side door and I may have had a manufacturer's defect. Had I worked on this earlier, it would had been under warranty.

 

[acg]

I have had my Baroud tent for almost 5 years. Lots of use during the seasons each year, except winter. It is still a struggle with the zipper as you mentioned with the tautness of the tent walls. In fact, I have broken a few zipper heads in my struggle to zip up the panels.

 

[Skinny06]

On anything with a zipper over the years that has been tight I've always used a tiny bit of this. From boots, to tents, to suitcases, to dog beds - you name it. It works really, really well. Should help reduce the force required to zip/unzip.