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Some women have a fancy shoe collection…

I’m collecting tents! 🏕🏕 🙅‍♀️🏕🏕

I’ve developed an addiction. It’s intense…….. 😉🙄😁

As Lowell’s tent continued to show signs of wear & tear, I ordered a replacement on Amazon. I decided to get the next size up of the same tent because I want to be able to stand up straight in it. The 6 person tent isn’t much more expensive than the 4 person size, so it was an easy decision for me. By the way, I don’t know how 6 people are supposed to camp in this tent. 🤔

I ordered the tent to be delivered to what I thought was the closest location available, an Amazon locker in Lake Havasu City, AZ, 80 miles away. It was scheduled to arrive in 4-5 days.

I also ordered 3 or 4 additional things from Amazon. A few days later, I received an email that the order had been divided & the tent would be arriving early!

Unfortunately, things went downhill fast & not in a good way. The rest of my order arrived on 12/10. Customers have 3 days to retrieve their orders from a locker, so I had to get to there by Monday, 12/13.

Then I received a second email from Amazon. The tent couldn’t be delivered to the locker. 😳 After 2 days & multiple, extremely frustrating calls to Amazon, I finally learned that the tent wouldn’t fit in the locker, so it was in storage at the UPS Customer Service Center in Lake Havasu City, AZ. The UPS facility closes at 1pm on Fridays & is not open on weekends. By that point, I didn’t have time to drive there by 1pm, so I’d have to wait until Monday. 😫

With heavy rain & high wind in the forecast, I needed a secure tent! We could sleep in the car, but I’d have to move everything from the tent back into the car to keep dry.

On that Saturday, I drove an hour to Parker, AZ to the closest Walmart, to buy a tent. If I could get one there, my plan was to cancel the Amazon tent, for a full refund. I called Walmart to confirm a tent was in stock, but nobody was available to check for me. 😟

Tent #3 was the only possible choice at Walmart. The others were all too small. I bought the tent & returned to the campground.

The next day, it took me 2+ hours to set up. 😥 The directions were poor & I couldn’t find any videos on YouTube to help. I quickly discovered several flaws in the tent design. I was very cold that night because this tent doesn’t have a solid back wall! It’s just netting, very loosely covered by the rainfly. With the strong wind we’ve been experiencing, this tent offers very little protection or warmth. It’s got a lot of serious design flaws. 😠

The storm arrived on Tuesday with heavy, sustained wind, strong gusts & blowing rain. I didn’t feel safe sleeping in the tent, so Maddie & I spent about 24 hours in the car. 😳

When the storm finally subsided, I discovered that I’d been right to be concerned. The rainfly pole had shifted & torn a hole in the top of the rainfly. I was actually “happy” about the damage because now I could return it.

It’s a Coleman tent & I have to offer kudos to the Coleman company customer service staff. 🤗 When I emailed them, their response was immediate. I had to submit a claim with proof of purchase & photographic evidence of the damage. After a series of emails, they promptly honored their warranty & offered a replacement tent. When I politely declined getting the same poorly designed model again, I requested my original choice. That was an acceptable solution for them. 😊

The next issue was the timing. I was originally told the replacement would take a minimum of 10-15 days to ship, plus delivery time. The holidays were also going to affect the delivery schedule. 🤷‍♀️

I’m pleased to say that they apparently pushed my order through because it arrived here last Friday at a local delivery location 5 miles away! Thank you, Coleman!

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In the meantime, I was still required to retrieve the rest of my original order from the Amazon locker in Lake Havasu City, 80 miles away. I considered rejecting the order for a full refund, but then I received an email from Amazon. 😁 To close out my complaint ticket, they told me in the email that I could keep, donate or dispose of my purchase! It was a form letter, so I hoped the tent was still sitting at the UPS Customer Service Center in Lake Havasu City. 🤔 I couldn’t contact anyone at UPS, so I gambled & decided to pick it up, hopefully, along with the rest of my order.

With the clock ⏰ ticking, I drove through the mountains 😳 on that Monday, 12/13. I retrieved my package from the locker & then proceeded to the UPS facility. The tent was still there! The UPS clerk sincerely apologized for the delivery problem, but they had no way to contact me directly. In a few days, it would have automatically been returned to Amazon.

If you’re keeping score, but understandably confused, let me recap it for you. 😁

Tent #1: Back in May, I returned it to Walmart for a refund.

Tent #2: Lowell’s tent. 💕 I’ll be taking it down this weekend. 🥺 I might try to donate it to the Salvation Army thrift store in town or give it directly to someone in need. Sadly, there appears to be a growing homeless population here & I’m sure someone could use it for awhile. I believe in Paying It Forward, so I hope that works out. 🤞🏼

Tent #3: Janet & I have been using it for storage. The screened area has been a nice shelter for us to sit in & visit, while being protected from the almost constant wind. Coleman never mentioned returning it.

Tent #4: Maddie & I are FINALLY in the tent I wanted all along! 😁

Tent #5: This new tent will live in it’s box, until I need it, hopefully long after the conclusion of this roadtrip!

To summarize, I believe that I have legitimate reasons for having all of these tents, but I readily acknowledge that it’s absurd! 🙆‍♀️

Awhile after Janet threw some trash in the dumpster last weekend, she told me that she’d seen a tent in it. She didn’t mention it until much later. I think she was afraid I’d go dumpster diving for it. 🤨