Quechua Air Seconds Base XL Shelter is made for VW

[GillianC]

Probably excellent having it stand behind the sofa since it is quite thin package?

Yes, it fits nicely behind the rear seat...

 

[California Dreamin]

Would one of these fit in it with room to move?

 

[CannonDale]

Just spent some quality time with my Cali, went down to Provence, lovely weather and have a great tan. Mt Airbase Seconds was excellent and I had no trouble packing up small enough to get back in the bag.

 

[California Dreamin]

Looks great CannonDale. Are the guy ropes necessary for daily use or just when there is a bit of wind?

 

[CannonDale]

Looks great CannonDale. Are the guy ropes necessary for daily use or just when there is a bit of wind?

It will stand up on its own but there was a Mistral blowing from Mont Ventoux so it was pretty windy. I am going to unload the van in a bit, I will post a picture of the size of it in the boot, 'it is not big'

 

[CannonDale]

Looks great CannonDale. Are the guy ropes necessary for daily use or just when there is a bit of wind?

Here you go, the Quechua is in the blue grey bag on the left, the second picture shows everything that I packed under the bed. 3rd picture of living space with fridge. tight but fine when you are on your own.

 

[reserves]

Thanks for this post and the pictures, off to pick one up.

Apart from the pump (https://www.decathlon.co.uk/52-l-hand-pump-id_8243066.html) is there anything else I need to buy, it comes with a groundsheet I believe, but what about extra pegs, or something to attach it to the Cali?

Decathlon is pretty far from us so don't want to drive there again

 

[DM]

Let us know how you get on with it and post some pictures. I'm considering selling my Khyam Hex Shelter in favour of one of these because it takes up so much space in the back of the van.

 

[CannonDale]

Thanks for this post and the pictures, off to pick one up.

Apart from the pump (https://www.decathlon.co.uk/52-l-hand-pump-id_8243066.html) is there anything else I need to buy, it comes with a groundsheet I believe, but what about extra pegs, or something to attach it to the Cali?

Decathlon is pretty far from us so don't want to drive there again

Mine had ample pegs, there are. I extras that I am aware of that you can buy. It does not attach to the awning rail, I think that the door will pull over the Cali but I did not do this, I used it stand alone. You need to order on line as the stores do not usually keep this. Home delivery would save you a trip

 

[reserves]

Mine had ample pegs, there are. I extras that I am aware of that you can buy. It does not attach to the awning rail, I think that the door will pull over the Cali but I did not do this, I used it stand alone. You need to order on line as the stores do not usually keep this. Home delivery would save you a trip

Many thanks, I'm passing by Lakeside Decathlon tomorrow so have reserved one.

I'm not too interested in attaching it to the Cali, but if it's an option I'd rather buy the bits I need there.

 

[Salty]

I've had a few Kyham pop-up awnings in the past, they’re great but, heavy and cumbersome. And, I’ve caught my finger in the struts once or twice, major ouch!!! Free is good, but its only a bargain if it works for you. On the flip side, they always command good prices on fleabay, so you could always move it on.

Like you I’m curious as to how it can be attached, although I’m not overly worried, in my experience anything rubbing against paint work is a bad idea. That's why I like the Decathlon one, as it can be free-standing. See the pic below that I found in a google search, that's what swung it for me.

In the meantime, there are some very good YouTube videos, it looks very easy to put up!

View attachment 19204

The Brandrup side panel costs £155, one sheet of polyester with fixing points. The Decathlon super duper tent £199, what amazing value.

 

[reserves]

Picked mine up, service was good.

Set it up in the Garden, instructions are not great but most of it is common sense. The ground sheet connections seem a little vague, a few gaps here and there, maybe that's how groundsheets are, I've not had many tents.

The bag is twice as big now I've folded in back up and squeezed it in. Maybe will get better with practice (and an extra set of hands).

All in all great value at £199

 

[CannonDale]

Picked mine up, service was good.

Set it up in the Garden, instructions are not great but most of it is common sense. The ground sheet connections seem a little vague, a few gaps here and there, maybe that's how groundsheets are, I've not had many tents.

The bag is twice as big now I've folded in back up and squeezed it in. Maybe will get better with practice (and an extra set of hands).

All in all great value at £199

It is a bargain

 

[2into1]

I was at the Stockport store today and noticed the 2 popular shelters were pitched alongside each other, and thought this photo may help anyone weighing up the two.

£139.99 on the left, pop up, no ground sheet but very slim package.
£199.99 on the right, blow up, with ground sheet.

 

[Highflyer]

Would one of these fit in it with room to move?

Yes, easily.

 

[Highflyer]

We bought a Quechua Air Seconds Base XL a year ago. It is very good value and very practical and versatile. It doesn’t look as good as the Vango Kela 111, for instance, but is only half the price. With its single inner tube it is easy to inflate and erect in just a few minutes, even in windy conditions. We use the tent for storage and cooking in rather than as a drive-away awning. We only need to attach the tent to the van if there is rain, just to keep the gap dry. I crudely attach the tent side to the Cali Topper awning rail thumb screws with rubber bands. We find that to pack the bedding and stuff into the tent and drop the van roof ready to drive away for the day only takes about 10 minutes. The down side of the tent is that its lightweight material can be ‘flappy’ in the wind and strong side winds force the sides against the inner bracing tubes which can bend. I have added extra guy ropes to the sides of the tent to hold off the canopy from bending the bracing tubes in strong wind.

 

[Canary Bird]

Highflyer, great photos.

TENTBAG: I have packed it up a few times and the bag seems too short on the ends for easy/fast put away. I tried it different ways and found it takes more energy than I like. I have tent camped for 30+years, so I feel like I have some experience with how to fold a tent fast & well. For an extended trip with LOTS of take downs, I am going to use the Ikea zipper blue bag (see photo) which is slightly longer (6 inches) and makes it much much easier/faster to put away. I have used 2 luggage straps to tighten the folded up bag up more quickly too instead of the supplied strapping/strings.

My next project will be to midge proof it
~ add additional velcro to the bottom end that has lots of gaps that can open up with rolling around boys??
~ strapping to attach to the extended out awning on sides??
~ add midge net to door netting needed??
~ netting or material for a tight seal around door to tent??

PS Photo from last weekend with tent not attached to van ... worked like a charm.

 

[DM]

Highflyer, great photos.

TENTBAG: I have packed it up a few times and the bag seems too short on the ends for easy/fast put away. I tried it different ways and found it takes more energy than I like. I have tent camped for 30+years, so I feel like I have some experience with how to fold a tent fast & well. For an extended trip with LOTS of take downs, I am going to use the Ikea zipper blue bag (see photo) which is slightly longer (6 inches) and makes it much much easier/faster to put away. I have used 2 luggage straps to tighten the folded up bag up more quickly too instead of the supplied strapping/strings.

My next project will be to midge proof it
~ add additional velcro to the bottom end that has lots of gaps that can open up with rolling around boys??
~ strapping to attach to the extended out awning on sides??
~ add midge net to door netting needed??
~ netting or material for a tight seal around door to tent??

PS Photo from last weekend with tent not attached to van ... worked like a charm.

View attachment 20770

View attachment 20771

What a fantastic setting

Great updates on the Airbase as well. very tempted.

 

[reserves]

We put ours up at the weekend for the first time, worked well.

I'm unsure if the groundsheet will stay water tight as it's disconnected from the sides, unless I'm doing something wrong here?

 

[RFH]

Many thanks for this info. This thread has been helpful and influenced our decision to order the Quesha base seconds air. We feel it will be perfect for our needs. Thanks again.

 

[Skylark2.0]

Highflyer, great photos.

TENTBAG: I have packed it up a few times and the bag seems too short on the ends for easy/fast put away. I tried it different ways and found it takes more energy than I like. I have tent camped for 30+years, so I feel like I have some experience with how to fold a tent fast & well. For an extended trip with LOTS of take downs, I am going to use the Ikea zipper blue bag (see photo) which is slightly longer (6 inches) and makes it much much easier/faster to put away. I have used 2 luggage straps to tighten the folded up bag up more quickly too instead of the supplied strapping/strings.

My next project will be to midge proof it
~ add additional velcro to the bottom end that has lots of gaps that can open up with rolling around boys??
~ strapping to attach to the extended out awning on sides??
~ add midge net to door netting needed??
~ netting or material for a tight seal around door to tent??

PS Photo from last weekend with tent not attached to van ... worked like a charm.

View attachment 20770

View attachment 20771

Are you sure that's a Beach and not a tardis!
Can't believe that you get it all back in there.

 

[Highflyer]

This was our setup this week in the Cotswolds. Now using an Isabella Shadow canopy between the Cali and the Quechua tent. The Isabella slips directly into the channel on the Cali, quick and simple and top quality product.

The ground sheet on the Quechua got muddy on a previous camp and was a pain to get clean, so now I place the tent on an old ground sheet which is much easier to clean.

 

[California Dreamin]

Just got one of these. We liked the decathlon having done a couple of trips with it but have decided to stick with the hex hub. Loving the speed of erection (9 mins), stability and space (family of 6).

 

[RFH]

We tried our new Quesha Air Seconds Base during the bank holiday weekend in Holmfirth Yorkshire. The tent was a joy to put up on the Saturday and looked neat and tidy. However strong winds on the Sunday afternoon forced us to take the tent down prematurely as the pegs provided were lifting out of the ground and one of the two inner poles blew or buckled out of its housing. I did consider hamering in some rock pegs that I had to hand however the tent would still have been vulnerable due to a lack of guy lines on the side of the tent, A design fault perhaps? I'm sure I will be able to fashion additional guy lines to the side for additional support however this base tent is certainly not cut out for strong winds!

 

[CannonDale]

We tried our new Quesha Air Seconds Base during the bank holiday weekend in Holmfirth Yorkshire. The tent was a joy to put up on the Saturday and looked neat and tidy. However strong winds on the Sunday afternoon forced us to take the tent down prematurely as the pegs provided were lifting out of the ground and one of the two inner poles blew or buckled out of its housing. I did consider hamering in some rock pegs that I had to hand however the tent would still have been vulnerable due to a lack of guy lines on the side of the tent, A design fault perhaps? I'm sure I will be able to fashion additional guy lines to the side for additional support however this base tent is certainly not cut out for strong winds!

Did you know that you can return it within a year of the purchase date if not happy with it.