Called “Walmart, the high cost of low prices” it will explain to you why the product there is so cheap. I called North Pole (the makers of Ozark Trail tents) not to get much help! Rather than continuing to wait for the company to come up with a soulution and stop questioning me on proper use or abusive weather conditions! It worked well that night and I got some rain in but nothing serious. Now a few years later I erected it in the backyard just for fun.
Feel free to check out the video below, or you can scroll on down and read more about the sun shade. This wasn’t the end of the world, but something I will consider with my next sun shield purchase. The last time I personally used the tent, I had a cot, a camp chair, and grand daughter’s air mattress and sleeping bag and a small plastic camp table inside. Still had plenty of room to move around and store my and my granddaughter’s gear (she was about 14 then). I need a break from the Pacific NW clouds and rain sometimes. I go out to the rural part of the state where it is hot and dry.
I think I will go shopping this week for another tent that I feel better about. Otherwise I like the tent but do not trust it to hold up in severe conditions. I actually made a great video that shows you how to set up the Ozark Trail instant sun shelter. Sometimes it’s easier to watch someone set it up and talk about it, rather than read a review.
So next time you go camping instead of relying on a Walmart special, use your head. I did not have these mounted in the photos posted with this article. The side curtains would function nicely for a windy beach setting. The product also comes with a tarp that can be put along the ground.
It was helpful that I happened to have a hammer to pound the eight stakes into the hard ground. I am all about saving a few bucks with Walmart’s camping gear. I’ve had great luck with the Ozark chairs, sleeping pads, and other basic camping items. These products are overpriced at name brand stores like REI. You are paying for marketing, not quality. You are buying the idea of being some cool, unique, outdoor person.
The structure is held up by foldable poles connected by an elastic band. There is glue on the ends of the fiberglass poles that keeps the ends of the poles in the required cap. This broke apart the poles ozark trail sleeping bag from the cap fitting. This effectively ruined the entire product. I couldn’t believe that the glue failed on both sides. Once the structure is up, all you have to do is attach the detachable sun shade.
So we had to pack up everything wet and listen to my kids complain about how much they hate camping!! I will never buy another product from ozark trail screen house you or another tent from WAL-MART. We just bought this tent over the weekend and put it up. It started to rain and every seem leaked.