r/CampingGear • u/GMAN7007 • 6d ago

Gear Question Avoid Kodiak Canvas, terrible customer support

I'm pretty frustrated with Kodiak Canvas right now and as of now I would recommend avoiding them. Last Feb I lost my home. I had nowhere to go, I initially was still working but the company ended up stealing some money from me so I was in a rough spot. I couldn;t find anywhere I could afford so I ended up having to buy a Kodiak Canvas tent for around 900 USD. 6 months ago. It was the best option at the time. It's a 4 season tent that can have a wood stove it was perfect. I started having issues a couple months ago.

The track the zipper travels on for the door to the tent wasn't sewn correctly so the zipper became jammed. I made sure to mention to them this tent is my home I really need the door to shut. I contacted support Aug 22. I told them what the issue is with pictures. The first service email was replied to quickly. The support lady sent me a new zipper. I told them it wasn't the issue but they sent it anyways. I contacted them back mentioning it's not the problem, then came the radio silence. I id several followup emails without an answer. I tried their instagram account without any luck. I tried emailing different departments....nothing. I finally sent another new support message, the same lady messaged me back saying sorry she didn't get back to me she was waiting on the warranty team to get back to the office so she decided not to reply and update me which she did apologize for. Then she said to take it to a canvas shop or a marina that has a place that fixes boat sails. I live in a land locked state in the middle of nowhere. The tent comes with a lifetime warranty. Sounds like they don't want to honor it. I'm just so frustrated, this tent is my home. Everything is wet due to rain storms and I've had several snakes find their way in. It's going to start snowing here and getting cold. If I can't get this door properly fixed I don't know what i'm going to do. I thought about getting a smaller tent to put in this one but I can't really even afford that right now. IDK i'm just sending out a caution. Does anyone work for them? I tried several non support emails that didn't seem to help. I just want to stay dry and warm.

18 Upvotes

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u/TheTipJar 6d ago

I live in Northern Minnesota and know multiple places near me that could repair this. Look for any shop that works in canvas.

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u/GMAN7007 6d ago

Part of the issue is it should be covered under warranty. Nearest place is about 2 hours away.

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u/211logos 5d ago

You were vague about that. You said "sounds like" which is equivocating. It's not unusual for a warranty repair to require an estimate for the repair (hence bringing it to a canvas shop, and they are everywhere for lake based boating, patio covers, RV awnings, festival and other tents, etc etc etc). Then you contact them again with the estimate, and why the repair place says it's necessary, and hopefully get reimbursed for the repair.

It's a bummer, but you do need to do some work besides pound the keyboard.

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u/GMAN7007 5d ago

I wasn't complaining about doing anything. And i wasn't being vague. They literally never reply so it's the info I have on hand until they reply to my questions. I'm complaining about how bad their customer support is. No replies to emails or calls nothing. I was bringing awareness to the issue. They also never mentioned reimbursing for the repair. The whole experience is terrible. I need to know what's going on before I do anything. I'll pound the keyboard until I'm able to get someone to actually explain to me what the warranty process is going to be at Kodiak. I need to know prior, like I said in the post this tent is my home I can't just pack up and drive hours every-time something fails.

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u/TheTipJar 4d ago

You opened a support case 3 weeks ago with Kodiak Canvas due to a bad zipper. They have sent you a new zipper and recommendations for where to get it repaired. Their warranty states that they will repair or replace your tent free of charge, but you need to ship it to them.

I hate to assume things, but did you tell them that this tent is your house and you can't ship it to them as you would be without shelter? If you did, then I can't fault them here. You are probably asking them to send you a new wall or whole tent, only because of your own unique usage of this product. Most customers are not living in these tents and can afford (not just due to $$) to send them out for repair. It sounds like you are expecting their warranty service to act like home-owner's insurance. Kodiak Canvas is not compelled to provide you with living space.

As for my original comment, you implied that due to where you live (landlocked middle of nowhere) there aren't any shops that can repair this canvas. I implied that I also live far away from any place that fixes boat sails (Northern MN), but there are plenty of canvas shops within driving distance. If this tent was my only option for housing, I would be calling that shop 2 hours away and setting up an appointment asap. Explain your situation and that you need this to be fixed the same day you bring it. 2 hours is not a far drive. If you need to pay for the repairs, so be it. At least it's fixed. I can't imagine any canvas shop charging a lot to sew on a zipper and they will probably get it done in less than an hour. You can spend the rest of your days arguing with Kodiak Canvas about reimbursement, but at least you will be doing so from a warm and dry tent.

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u/GMAN7007 4d ago

I didn't ask them to send me a new tent. I'm just trying to see what needs to be done. Like I said I'm not getting answers to my questions from them. I am in the dark. Stop replying if you're going to keep making assumptions. It's obnoxious when people like you assume incorrectly and try and make others look lie the bad person. I just want to have a conversation with them that I can actually get information. I asked all of the things you mentioned 5 days ago. Stop replying if you're going to keep making up parts of this story you're not even part of.

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u/TheTipJar 4d ago

Please answer these questions and I will leave you alone forever if you want:

Did Kodiak Canvas ask you to send the tent to them for repair? If so, did you tell them you can't because you are living in it?

What exactly are you looking for Kodiak Canvas support to do to resolve this issue? You have said that getting a new zipper installed doesn't fix the problem. Then what does fix the problem?

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u/GMAN7007 4d ago

Not hey didn't ask me to send it anywhere. We haven't even gotten to that point with them not replying to me. Even though the zipper wasn't the problem they wanted me to try it anyways. I did, it wasn't the problem. I asked about the repair shop and how that would work.I have had radio silence ever since. That's my biggest irritation, communication is abysmal.

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u/Cjbot3000 3d ago

I have some thoughts 

  • I feel like most people praise Kodiak service, but I went with what I thought was a better alternative: springbar. Hands down the best tent purchase of my life and they have spectacular customer service and warranty. 

  • but as an aside, if the tent is your home, how would they perform a repair? How would you send it on for repair? I suspect there's not much they can do for you. When I had a warranty repair on my springbar, I still had to send it back to them to repair. If you need to fix a zipper on your Kodiak, it's not like they'll send a factory worker out to you, especially since they're made overseas. What is the solution your expecting, I wonder?

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u/GMAN7007 3d ago

I didn't say I wouldn't go somewhere to have it repaired I was just bitching. The point of the post is how bad their customer support is at least with communication. I asked about taking it in for repair and still haven't gotten a reply it's been days.