Santa got us a bargain tent. After a trip to a camping shop I am now worried...

[princessProudmel]

Our tent doesn't have a groundsheet that is attached to the sides ( like every other one in the shop....)
The bedrooms are separate pods that hook to the ceiling , with connected floors iyswim. But the main room of the tent isn't connected to a base ground sheet . Is this a very bad thing ???

Santa got the tent on the Tesco Direct website reduced from £150 to £25. Deal was advertsised on Money Saving Expert.com.
We have never been camping before and fancied giving it a go. Dh has practiced putting it up and we have been given good advice re bedding, table, electric hook ups, cool boxes , pottys etc etc
Just WORRIED about the tent now. Will we get soaked?????
Tia

people have different preferences, we like to keep our shoes on in the main bit of the tent so prefer a ground sheet only in the sleeping bits (where we take shoes off).

some people take shoes off in the main bit so would prefer a ground sheet but this is too much faff imo unless it's very warm and you're in flip flops all day.

should say - main bit without a ground sheet WILL get a bit muddy, if you have a baby or toddler then maybe not ideal, bring one of those picnic blankets with a waterproof backing for them to play on.

We were going to put a groundsheet underneath the whole tent before its put up. I'm worried that if ( when) it rains , all the rain will seep inside :(

Prob flip flops in main room and nothing in bedrooms.

I don't think I explained it very well . the tent came with a groundsheet for the living area. but it is not attached to the sides. So effectively you could poke your hand out under the bottom of the sides. In the camping shop all the tents had the sides and bottoms joined together, sometimes with zips.
So we were going to put a large groundsheet down first, then the tent, and the provided sheet on top of that. Would that be ok?

our tent is quite an expensive one & it doesn't have a built-in groundsheet (the bedrooms do, like yours)

a loose one should be fine unless surface water is actually running across the ground - if you get one bigger than the tent's footprint you can fold the edges up (put the tent up first)

if your underneath groundsheet sticks out the sides then any rain falling on it will pool in the dips which could give you puddles in the 'inside'... i'd go without the extra one or make sure it doesn't stick out past the walls at all.. rain falling on the grass outside will soak into the grass quickly, rain falling on groundsheet will puddle.

also the advantage of the not joined one is that you can take it outside and shake all the bits off easier...

Thank you :) Dh assures me that he knows what to do and will keep the groundsheet inside the tent.
I just don't want the kids ( and me ) to get soaked in the night!!!!!!

Just don't leave anything on the floor of the main bit that you can't manage if it gets soaked iyswim. Most campsites have driers available so it wouldn't be the end of the world anyway.

It will be fine. Make sure the storm flaps are well pegged down and the groundsheet doesn't stick out the edges. We have had a tent for years with a loose groundsheet, I quite like it. I would go without the extra groundsheet as well, it could actually make it worse.

I have one like yours, well it doesn't have sewn in ground sheet in main area and came from Tesco! It's great. The downside of the not sewn in ground sheet is that if you have a crawling baby, they can see a way out at any point and don't need a door. Also, not good for leaving your bags in at night if it rains as sometimes the tent will drip over the groundsheet and you can end up with a puddle. Alright for the cool box or table and chairs etc. If it is cool at night, you may find it more comfortable to sit in the bedrooms with doors open than the main bit.

Enjoy!

We have what sounds like your tent from Tesco. We were camping last night in gusting wind and horrible rain and it was fine and lovely. DH did get a bit damp once, but he tried to get his fully inflated double air bed into the bedroom bit and put the sheet on drunk in the dark so I'd say that was his fault.

a tent shouldn't drip as long as you can manage to avoid touching the inside of the outer skin while it's raining

but it is hard to get children to remember!

Or husbands in my case

Up until a few years ago, most tents didn't have sewn-in groundsheets (or SIGs, as they're often referred to). Your tent will be absolutely fine. In fact, when you pack up, you'll be glad it's separate, as you can hose it down and lay it out to dry without getting your tent wet . Happy camping!

We have one like yours (a Euro Hike one from Millets) that we bought as a cheapy to see if the kids liked camping. We've not had any problems with the groundsheet being seperate but the tent itself wasn't great in the rain. I second the person who said just make sure you only keep stuff in the main bit that won't be damaged by a bit of water.

We've now got a bigger better tent for our main camping tent but still use the other. e.g. we used it the other weekend when the weather was so lovely for an unplanned one night away.