ZIPPER ISSUES

A very common problem is zippers not zipping properly or failing.

9 times out of 10  a  zipper problem is caused by rafters being too long which prevents the door from zipping easily.

If you have a tight zipper you must take a minimum of 1" off of the rafters nearest the door. If your entire roof is tight take 1" off each rafter.  If after reducing rafters by 1 inch, and the entire roof is still tight, you must take off another 1" off each rafter. 

Having too long of rafters will eventually destroy your door zippers and weaken the seams due to constant pressure on them. Extreme pressure on zippers can also cause the zipper to come apart.

When putting your tent over the tent frame always have your door and screen door zippers unzipped. Unzipping zippers takes off the pressure on your zipper. When pulling the tent over the frame ends there is tremendous strain on the zippers until the tent is completely over the ends.  This same pressure occurs when taking the tent down and it is strongly recommended that zippers are unzipped.

 If there is any unnecessary difficulty when unzipping your door zippers you need to fix the problem as soon as possible. Every time you unzip the zipper you are weakening the stitching. Eventually the zipper stitching will fail and the zipper is not serviceable. Replacing a zipper will require a person to take a tent to and from a repair shop. Repairs are expensive.

If quick repair is not possible do not use the problem zipper if weather allows. Hopefully, your tent has a storm flap also known as a Colorado door.  All  Wilderness Wall Tent Shop canvas tents have a storm flap with buckles that close the door openings. 

There is no warranty on zippers if you have too long of rafters causing the zippers to fail. 

If your zipper fails we offer replacement zippers. Insure you purchase a YKK #10 zipper if repairing or purchasing a zipper locally.  The YKK #10 is the industry standard.  Purchasing a less quality zipper often requires another zipper repair when failure occurs again. 

We will gladly take care of the issue if the zipper problem is not caused by rafters cut too long. 

Rich