Does your tent go all the way to the ground?

[Pixel]

Sounds daft I know, but ours has a four-inch gap all around the bottom. We used it for the first time last summer and assumed we'd put it up wrong. This afternoon we put it up in the garden to check it over and it seems there is no way to avoid a gap. Is this normal? After all the sleeping pods are enclosed with their own groundsheets so maybe it's just something we're meant to put up with? It's a bit draughty though and I'm not sure we're supposed to have starlings wandering in and out at will first thing in the morning, even if that was the highlight of dd's holiday! this is our tent .

Something wrong there, Pixel - not sure what but a)have you put the right poles in the right slots and b) have you walked them out as far as they'll go before you peg down?

lol at starlings coming in for breakfast

yep, i had that. Its so the rain can run off i think... and why you dont put tents in long grass! its just he groundsheet and inner bits that have complete coverage...

some tenst have sewn in ground sheets on both inner and outer tents...but if you have 'just' the walls and roof for the outer tent (which we have always had)..then yes, there will be a gap between end of 'wall' and the floor...although 4 inches sounds a bit much...try pulling the poles further 'out' IYSWIM?

They should look like this, roughly - yes there may be a small gap but no more than an inch or so.

Well, it's hard to explain but the tent material is attached to webbing straps at the bottom with a little ring that has pegs like little keys, The little keys go in to bottoms of the poles and then you peg down the ring. There are more webbing straps running around the bottom of the tent so that when you pull the poles out as far as they will go the tent is square if that makes any sense. The thing is, the little bit of webbing from the bottom of the tent material to the ground ring is about 4 in long and can't be shortened to bring the whole thing lower.

Quootiepie, you have put my mind at rest a bit. I was beginning to think we had bought a duff tent! We always had frame tents when I was a kid and they have that little skirt around the bottom so maybe that is why this one looks strange to me.

lol@ duff tent.

Definately not adjustable but it was only a cheap tent so I suppose I can't expect perfection. At least it didn't leak or anything when we had a terrible storm one night. I spent half the night lying awake wondering if the tent was going to blow away and wishing we hadn't camped under a tree so I should be grateful!

I think we might be upgrading to a tent with built-in ground sheet for next year .

Thanks for replies, now really must go to bed.