Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is an excellent tent and I do not believe there are any other truck tents quite as good for strength and durability as is found in a canvas tent. I am a believer in canvas having spent a career in the military and have spent a lot of time in tents and having lived in a canvas tent for as long as one year at the time. Military tents are of course heavier but canvas make great tents for longer life and structurally more sound. Let me be clear about the setup. I agree with the many reviews that state the difficulty of trying to set the tent up using only one person. I am both a hunter, fisherman and an avid RVer. I am retired and I purchased this tent to be used primarily in the late fall and winter months when weather permitting here in Maryland. I plan to use primarily for one or two overnighters when hunting or fishing at that time of the year. While my spouse loves RVing and fishing in summer and early fall during the colder months I am away by myself. Therefore, the need to be able to set the tent up without help. I have now set the tent up by myself for a total of 6 times. I must admit that the first four times were extremely difficult because as soon as I would get the poles mounted on top of the hooks or pins on the rail and then try and place the tent across them they would start falling over and it was simply a nightmare. The first time it took me perhaps an hour and a half and the following 3 times at least an hour. It was just a plain hassle to get the tent aligned and stable on the poles without a second pair of hands. So I agree with the many reviews that say it is extremely difficult for one person, not that it cannot be done but it is difficult and takes a lot of time. I have now solved this fundamental problem with the setup and the 5th and 6th time it was possible to set the tent up completely in just over 20 minutes without rush. I believe the problem for one person lies in stabilizing the primary three rail poles across the truck for the tent and for this reason I decided to use two pressure treated 2x4's and drill three 1/2" diameter holes in each 2x4 to be able to insert the poles. I mounted a 1 1/2" PVC pipe across the length of each of the treated 2x4"s for extra stability. In the PVC pipe I drilled a 3/4" hole in line with 1/2" hole in the 2x4. The reason the hole in the PVC is larger is because the pole begins to curve as it come up and across the truck bed. This make a very rigid structure on which you can simply place the tent across and not have the poles falling over or coming loose and scratching the truck finish or causing a tear in the canvas. I simply place tent across the three primary poles, line it up, hop down from the truck bed, raise the tailgate and insert the tent around the tailgate, insert the truck cab canopy rail in place, insert the tailgate canopy rail across the tailgate, tighten the straps around the truck and I am done. This works very well because the primary poles have been stabilized and allows an easy setup. This can be easily set up in very low light such as what you have during late evening when coming back from a day of fishing, hunting or anything else. The bottom line is it requires only one person and no hassle. As you can see from the photos I did use the metal rail and bolted to the top of the 2x4 because I have them and they eliminate having to dent the 2x4 but this is not necessary. It just that over time you would have a lot of dents in the 2x4 from each set up. Mounting the C-clamps on the metal surface eliminates this from happening. Forgot to mention I replaced the C-clamps that came with tent to larger ones which are 3" which are necessary because of the 2x4 used as rails. A word about weather. Here in Maryland we have had rain and intermittent rain for some two weeks during the latter part of December so the 6th time I put the tent up it stayed up for two days in the rain. It does not leak. I am truly impressed with quality and with the long bed truck you have the equivalent of ten feet of space which makes it more than ample for at least two people. A final word is the new modified railing is still one piece because the 2x4, PVC pipe and the metal rail are all bolted together making them always ready to set up. There are probably other ideas about how to make it a one person set up but this does work well and makes the process simple. The tent fabric is very strong and appears to be well stitched for pulling around the poles and especially for the cab and tailgate canopies. I am impressed.Kodiak Canvas Long Truck Bed Full-size Tent