Ozark Trail 15' x 9' 6-Person Family Dome Tent

My review is based on the newer 16' X 10.5' which has a useable floor space of 16' X 9'.

The tent is very spacious and seems to be a good value but it isn't. It's a very cheaply made tent and I've learned a lot by first tent camping experiences with it.

The tent floor is not in the same caliber as Coleman or other none Northpole tents. It's cheaply made and resembles a wax coated tarp. After being soaked, the coating literally comes off leaving a near transparent tarp with no weather protection. Also it punctures quite easily. I fixed that puncture hole with Seam Sealer 3 which did an excellent job.

The tent's rain fly is not seem sealed or TAPED as all other brands I've found. Don't let the Northpole's GoBeDry name fool you, it's crap. the floor has two large seams in the bottom which make the fact that it's a tub floor useless. The floor leaks at these bottom seams which are called inverted seams and seamedlocked. It seemed like the water was being drawn in even after I seam sealed these! Of course there were puddles of water under the tent after some thunderstorms.

Even though I seam sealed the none taped rain fly, it still leaked badly. The floor leaked at the seams and at the corners, badly. The windows leaked at the bottom seam very badly even after seam sealing. There's no amount of seam sealing or waterproofing that can keep this tent dry as I tried two tents, thinking the first was defective because of all the water. I've camped in this tent five times and two out of the five were in storms. Sleeping bags were soaked as well as standing puddles in the corners and around the sides. The Ozark Trail brand is made for Walmart by NORTHPOLE. NORTHPOLE makes many lesser name tents for other retailers. If you see Northpole or GoBeDry names on the tent, run, don't walk away from this tent.

Luckily for the money, I didn't lose a lot as I did use it for five trips. I'll be giving it to a buddy who doesn't mind the water leaks. I've already replaced it with a Coleman 13' x 13' 3 Room Ridgeview Tent which was just about twice the cost but worth it. It has all corners and bottom seems welded with no stitching, doors and windows are covered by rain fly, and all rain fly seems are TAPED (rubber tape that is melted over seams to prevent water leakage). I wish I would had bought this in the first place. I have yet to try it out but I'm sure it will be a winner judging by everyones excellent reviews of it's predecessor around the net.

We purchased this tent at Wal-Mart three summers ago. We were lucky the first summer we had it, as we never got rained on. Then came the rain last summer...and it leaked! These were not little wet spots, but were rather very large puddles throughout the tent. It seamed to leak more from the bottom and seams of the tent than through the top (which is mesh, but has a rainfly that covers the top only).

So, I sprayed it and sealed the seams again (as I had done upon purchase). Memorial Day weekend this year...it rained...and once again all of our things were soaked. So, I thought maybe from the tent being stored through the winter the waterproofing things were no longer effective. So, I went out and spent about $30 on repellant sprays and two different types of seam sealer (one of which was heavy duty stuff that looks like it could be used to caulk your bathtub!) I took a day out to set the tent up and seal each and every little seam, what a waste of time!

Last weekend while we were camping it rained and you guessed it...it leaked! However this time the only things to get wet were the airmattress and bottoms of the sleeping bags because I figured this would happen and made sure our gear was all stored in the car. I figure this tent is three years too old to do a return at Wal-Mart so either I am going to have to get a new one (now, finding a good one is probably going to be hard!), or make sure to take plenty of towels for soaking up the water!

First year used it twice, this year used it and the door zippers broke had to use safety pins. It is very cheaply made, I have not been in it during a heavy rain. After reading all the comments about these tents, I really think it would have things wet. I am going to buy a Coleman. That one lady is correct we could do better with a plastic bag and rubber bands. Is there any way to have the zippers fixed? I have upcoming camping trip! Also all the stakes bent.

First outing and we thankfully set the tent up and slept in the brothers 5th wheel, because the next morning there were puddles of water in the tent. Brought it home, cleaned it off, and painted the entire tent with water seal. I will hose it in a few days and see if it is as bad as the other reviews say it is. Thankfully it was a Walmart tent, cause I can return it and always go to Cabela's and pay twice the money for a tent that doesn't leak.

I purchased this tent from WalMart. I camp in November in Virginia during deer season and thereby experience rain and snow. The first year, during a light rain, there were leaks around the window seams. After re-sealing these it was satisfactory. The following spring, (this year, April 2004) one of the long poles splintered during a moderate wind. I have been searching (off and on since April) for a point of contact whereby I can get a replacement pole but I have yet to find it.

We had nothing but trouble form this tent. It leaks everytime it rains. We have put several products to stop the leaks and that would work but then a new leak would start. Then the last camping trip we took the zipper would not close, so we have to used pins to get our tent closed. Regard this tent does make a good fire. That is where my husband put it. DO NOT BUY.

We used this tent for two seasons. It was very comfortable and withstood the rains for the first year. Then this year it has lost some of its repellant for rain. The last time we had it out and the usual rainfall for the area came the floors seeped thru, and the top dripped a lot. But for overall preformance in warm weather, it withstood the wind pretty good.

This is a good tent for spring and summer camping if you are on a budget. But it is not recommended for heavy rains and wind. We had problems with the very small rain fly and even had one of the fiberglass poles break during the storm.

You get what you pay for.