Wenzel Klondike 8-Person Waterproof Tent with Convertible Screen Room - Spacious Family Camping Tent for Outdoor Adventures, Backpacking & Beach Trips

Purchased The Wenzel Klondike 11 x16 tent through AMAZON, arrived as expected on time, and in good shape (over-packed carton actually, everything that was suppose to be there was. No visible problems with the tent material, attachment points, or poles/stakes and bags everything comes in. We liked the reviews, the 10 year warranty, and the fact that it is a proven tent line.#1 We proceeded to lay down some 6Mil plastic sheeting from Lowe's 10x18ft on the ground, and set the tent on it#2 We staked out the main stake tabs of the base, leaving a little slack to make it easier to adjust the poles when it came time for them.#3 we assembled and ran the fiberglass poles through their respective tent fabric tunnels (our fabric tunnels was a kind of off red color). And at this point we tied the tent center tie loose enough, to give some slack for lifting the poles.#4 we assembled the steel poles for the four corners uprights and put their attachment hubs on, and fastened the tent to the respective hook space provided in each hub; and inserted the fiberglass poles in each hub (took some moving of the steel poles at various angles to get this done). Also if poles have been exposed to the sun for very long? They will get very hot, and we recommend using some "Gripper" type inexpensive gloves to handle them without getting burnt . . . yes I said burnt, they are extremely hot to the touch, for tender hands. You can find versions of them for somewhere between $2.00-$20.00 bucks and may even have some from gardening or working.#5 With the back two poles ready, we lifted the tent's steel poles at the ground end and put them in their pins.#6 Repeating the same process for the second set of fiberglass and steel poles, in their pins.#7 Then time for the front fiberglass/steel polls set up, and this is where it was important to have some slack in the tent-stake tabs (all of them), as it takes some "LIFTING" to get all the poles in their respective pins, and having them too tight would make this frustratingly difficult.#8 With the 6Mil sheeting from Lowe's down and tucked in as needed (Note: two feet out pass the entrance end, we could now adjust the tent-peg tabs down tighter.#9 We then went into the tent and tested all the zippers and made sure things were working and not binding, laid down cuts of the same 6Mil sheeting "inside" the two rooms of the tent; so the floor would be easier to take care of. A camper next to us did NOT use any ground cover and tore a hole in their tent floor scooting things back and forth over the INSIDE of their tent, and the outside bottom was a mess too two days later.#10 We then brought in our Queen Size 18in tall Air Mattress (with built in AC inflation) and ran the #14 25ft electric cord into the tent to inflate it, and NO, our tent did not come with a access port to pass a cord through. Thinking of doing a DIY application for this where the tent rooms meet.#11 We were then ready to bring in bedding, chairs, etc. and the wife wanted to lay down a blanket in the screen room area for the dogs (a 11yr old blue-healer and 2yr old Pomeranian) to lay on. At this point we had not yet put on the rain fly . . . just enjoyed the unzipped windows and gentle breeze as we sipped some ice tea.#12 Time came to check out the Rain/shade-fly. So we unfolded it, and the Guy-lines and holding it at the midway point, we attached the plastic clips provided to the back rings on the poles, and walked it forward and reaching high we were able to bring it forward to the midway point, and attached the plastic clips, to their respective pole-rings. Note: The shade this provides when the suns up? Is really decent, and yes, you will feel the heat coming through some, but not nearly as much as if it were not there at all.Now you can leave it like this or continue to bring it forward to the "Over" the entrance fiberglass pole and clip it on the steel pole, but don't forget there is a short black hook/loop piece in the center between the front support material, (our tunnel material is off red color) you can use, to help keep it positioned.Note: on the adjusters that came with the tent on the guy-lines? There are two ways of using these . . .the right way and the wrong way; the wrong way will not hold when pulled on at the stake look end, the RIGHT Way is to use the loop on the opposite side of the knotted plastic piece, as the loop that goes around your stake, and it will hold fine.Still, I do recommend having some extra tent adjusters around in case one of these break, as these don't look all that durable. So I ordered some Liberty Mountain Aluminum Guy-line Adjuster 10pk from Amazon and may even switch them out for the ones that came with the tent.I am also considering some different guy-line, maybe like the type that is very reflective, such as the 3M Reflective Braided Nylon Cord (ELW401, also sold on Amazon#13 After all this, we went around the tent and attached various ties, and hook/loop in their respective places to help keep things more shipshape. Some of these, may have even worked to our advantage, if we had connected them, when we were preparing the tent poles to be lifted; will have to do a follow up on that some time. Follow up: Found it best to tie them after raising the poles.#14 Definitely consider getting some form of MSR Groundhog tent stakes, for harder ground, or as appropriate for your intended camping, as the ones that come with the tent just don't generally do the job, except on "softer" ground without gravel or hardtack.#15 I really did like the way the little vent at the back of the tent helped with air drafting, and the dogs seemed to like to sleep near it; so don't block it if you can help it . . . unless its with a small AC unit LOL.#16 We have bought and intend to use at some point, our old favorite PTFE Tent sealer from Star-Brite; I usually buy it in the Gallon size for use on any sealing projects around the homestead, I consider it the best of the best out there.NOTE:ZIPPERS! this tent does use smaller size zippers and pulls; and they should do the job, if handled well, and not abused. Important thing to know and remember when using zippers in general? Don't run them up and down "fast", as in a hurry. The pull can develop a heat-sink between the upper/lower part that makes the zipper "ZIP Together" that will make it stop working and cause a repair, that could have been prevented. Also, this tent will have a tendency to catch material in the zippers unless you hold the material out of the way of the zipper as your opening and closing. Not paying attention to how you handle the material could/will cause a zipper malfunction or end in ripped material or loss of waterproofing at such points.IF, you have children and pets? You just know you can't depend on them to watch out for such things, and you may want to just keep the door zipper up a bit prevent problems of trying to push through the door. I even thought about installing some Magnets along the door edge to let it close but still allow a push through as you may have seen on some TV Commercials, with the dog running through them, and closing immediately afterward.There are NO ties at the top of the front screen room windows after zipping them up, this does not have to be a problem, but it would be nice to have a separating zipper on the center of each window cover to help prevent the windows from being blown through in a windy/raining downpour. I may yet install these at some point.Also, there are NO tiebacks for the front flaps, when the entrance screen is zipped closed, that is another area a pocket such as provided for the tent diver has, would have come in handy for each side. Here again is a DIY project that you may find handy.Followup! Discovered the top of the flaps can fold/roll forward into the bottom of each screen room window, as well as for the sleeping area windows. Also we decided to keep the dogs from nosing open the screen room entrance we used a set of inexpensive 2 for $1.00 D-Ring/Carabiners to connect the three pulls together, or you can add some cording to make it easier to thread the D-Ring through inside and outside when not in the tent.Some DIY you may try to make things easier? Remember the shock-cord in the fiberglass poles can allow the poles to come apart, so don't jerk them when pushing/pulling, or maybe even put some "Duct" tape around the joint for easier handling; I even thought about putting some sticky-back Loop on each section where it meets and then using the hook part to keep them together.As always, it is important to care for everything; and that means clean and dry after every use, tucked away in their proper bags/pouches, and not letting anything come in contact, that might poke a hole, or tear material if handled roughly.