I thought you said the Maggiolina could be left out in the snow?

R_Lefebvre

Expedition Leader
So, I've got my Mag on top of my trailer, parked out in the driveway for the winter. We took a relatively glancing blow from the big storm, and recieved about 4" of snow, and then it rained. So, I had about 4" of really wet and heavy snow on top of it when I came home from work, and the lid was completely buckled in and the sides were puckered out not making contact with the seal on the bottom anymore.

Now, the wet snow was pretty dense but... really there wasn't very much of it at all. I couldn't believe what happened. I cleaned it all off, and it appears to have sprung back to shape, but maybe not quite completely. How can I tell if there's any damage?

When people say these things are fine in the winter... who's winter? I hate to think what would happen if I'd been sleeping in it and this was deposited overnight.
 

Martyn

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Rob

I'd suggest this is a matter you bring up with Mike S directly.

There are so many variables here that all we can do is speculate upon them, if you want real answers and you want the issue resolved deal with the importer directly. Once you have the answers let us know what the issues were.
 

Mike S

Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
Rob

If you bought the tent from AutoHomeUSA, please call me. Or call even if you didn't.

Mike S
888-852-2359
 

R_Lefebvre

Expedition Leader
Will do. I think this post is more directed at other people to be careful, because I recieved a lot of advice from other customers that everything was fine leaving it outside. And... that statement clearly needs a big asterix beside it.
 
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jrose609

Explorer
Will do. I think this post is more directed at other people to be careful, because I recieved a lot of advice from other customers that everything was fine leaving it outside. And... that statement clearly needs a big asterix beside it.

Thanks for the warning Rob. I just bought an Extreme last week for the very reason I could use it in the snow. Now I'm not so sure......
 

R_Lefebvre

Expedition Leader
I'll keep reporting back, as this was only the first test. I don't doubt it could handle about 6" of typical snow at a time. But definitely need to clear it off, don't let it build up, turn to ice, or get water logged. This 4" of snow was VERY dense because it was so wet. In fact, possibly the heaviest snow I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot!) Ie: I have a strong snowblower, it can power through 2' of powder no problem, but just 4" of this stuff brought it to it's knees.
 

Martyn

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Will do. I think this post is more directed at other people to be careful, because I recieved a lot of advice from other customers that everything was fine leaving it outside. And... that statement clearly needs a big asterix beside it.

Rob

Aren’t you scratching your head asking yourself if after receiving advice from other customers that the Maggiolina would be fine outside, that yours gets damaged?

Snow has never been an issue in the past, our snow load in the Sierras is 280 lbs a sq ft and tents have done fine with a couple of feet of snow on them. There has never been a widespread report of RTT's being crushed by snow, so anecdotally the majority of Maggiolina tents seem to handle snow load.

We know nothing about your specific tent, was it bought new, was it purchased used, how old is it, was it damaged and repaired, was it compromised in a roll over?

All you can state right now is that your specific tent has had an issue after 4" of wet snow was on it over night. I'd speculate that what you have is an isolated incidence of a compromised RTT.
 

Mike S

Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
Rob - I don't want to speculate on what happened. But I will say that the fiberglass in our tents is bonded with a special resin that will allow the tent to flex some under a load or impact. This is greatly reduces the chances of the fiberglass cracking in an impact or under load.

You did say that the tent regained it's shape when the load was removed. That is what I would expect.

I am not sure that we have even spoken, and I do not have you listed in my customer records, so I do not know what you have, or where you bought it. However, I would be happy to talk to you and plot a course of action, if any is now needed.

Thanks for the warning Rob. I just bought an Extreme last week for the very reason I could use it in the snow. Now I'm not so sure......

The Maggiolina Extreme has a top made of two layers of fiberglass with an injected foam core. It is designed to take substantial loads on the roof rack. Take it in the snow.
 

R_Lefebvre

Expedition Leader
Aren't you scratching your head asking yourself if after receiving advice from other customers that the Maggiolina would be fine outside, that yours gets damaged?

Yeah! I never expected this, or I would have kept it inside. I hate to be alarmist, but there's no reason to believe this tent is/was imperfect in any way. And this precipitation, which is unusual but not really too extreme, clearly took it past design limits. I should have taken a picture before I cleared it but I wasn't thinking about that at the time.

Mike, I bought the tent new from Autohome Canada this summer, which is why I'm not on your customer list. It's a Maggiolina Large Safari. It's been used a couple weekends so far. The box it came in was in good shape, no reason to expect shipping damage. It's never been damaged in any way that I'm aware of.

I will give you a call to discuss, haven't had a chance yet.

I estimate about 600lbs on the top of it, assuming that mess approached the density of liquid water.
 

jrose609

Explorer
The Maggiolina Extreme has a top made of two layers of fiberglass with an injected foam core. It is designed to take substantial loads on the roof rack. Take it in the snow.


Sweet. Thanks for the info, Mike.

Also, did you happen to locate a mattress cover?

Thanks!

Jason
 

Mike S

Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
Jason

Believe it or not, I got a swine flu shot earlier this week - and I have a nasty flu that started right afterwards. SO I did not get to the warehouse. I will be going there tomorrow, and will check for you.
 

jrose609

Explorer
Jason

Believe it or not, I got a swine flu shot earlier this week - and I have a nasty flu that started right afterwards. SO I did not get to the warehouse. I will be going there tomorrow, and will check for you.

Mike

No problemo. You make me worry because I'm getting the swine flu shot tonight when I go to work.........

Don't worry about the warehouse. I haven't picked up the tent yet. I was just curious. I am excited to get it though. Should be fun!

Jason
 

tdesanto

Expedition Leader
Jason

Believe it or not, I got a swine flu shot earlier this week - and I have a nasty flu that started right afterwards. SO I did not get to the warehouse. I will be going there tomorrow, and will check for you.

Hope you get to feeling better really fast, Mike.
 

Mike S

Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
Thank you all. I should have just said "NO!" when she started to tell me that I needed the H1N1 vaccine. Had a similar, but milder, reaction a couple of years ago.I hope what I have is not contagious.
 

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