Otter Hideout XT

[bubbagill]

So I bought a used XT Hideout last fall that I dearly love except for one thing.  The front of the skirt doesn't come down flush and lay on the ice.  I didn't assemble it, but I verified the assembly per down loaded instructions from Otter.  I covered the basics.  There's not to much fabric in the rubber attaching to the sled.  The poles still have factory stickers on them and appear to be correct.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  I am kinda at a loss with this. Thanks so much for your help. 

[Reinert]

Sounds like the canvas is too tight, not sure how Otter does theirs, but usually the rubber seal I screwed on that holds the material to the sled.  Take screws out and remove the runner seal. Then readjust the material so you have enough to let the front all the way down, replace the rubber seal and screws.

[Baetis62]

I had similar when I assembled the xt cottage last year.  My issue was binding of the fabric. Both on the front corners around the sled and/or the pole plate (for lack of a better term). 

[IceAddict87]

Had that issue with my xt650 lodge. Not sure how they fit to the tub on those, my lodge had preset seals that you couldn’t adjust. My Xover lodge and cottage don’t have that they are both the seal that allows you to adjust the canvas.

[hardwater diehard]

If the  previous owner added hyfax to the sled ...after the canvass/tent was installed that could be the problem with fit. If your planning the readjustment route ..use a flat surface ..note if the hoop poles rise or fall when seated ..and when the seat is moved back front middle ...weighing the seat/tub may be needed or have someone seated in the sled ..if their are holes in the tent after readjustment use Gear Aid tape.

https://www.gearaid.com/collections/gear-repair-patches

[bubbagill]

I appreciate the feedback thus far, I should clarify there's no hifax , the seat is a fixed position swivel mounted in the front of the sled.  And the fabric appears to half a 1/2" max beyond the top edges of the rubber mouldings. 

[matzilla]

remove tent attachments, set up the shack so that the bars touch the floor, and skirt is where you want - reattach tent to poles and sled

[bubbagill]

So I took all of your suggestions and got after her tonight.  Took the rubber stripping off on the rear first.  Then the sides and kept messing with the amount of fabric in the stripping until I had the desired effect one at a time.  Ended up putting the last two screws on each side through the wind flap to see if hopefully that helps her hold tight to the sled.  I'm debating on putting Velcro strips on the ends of the wind flap and the sled to see if that tightens her up.  Thank you all so much for your help.

[jrjach75]

I'm debating on putting Velcro strips on the ends of the wind flap and the sled to see if that tightens her up.  Thank you all so much for your help.

Do you have the skirt and fabric  extension pieces? Not sure if they fixed it in later versions, but the original Hideout had a kit available which were extra pieces to lengthen the side flaps in front where they come back to the sled. It also included a skirt that hung from the rounded cutouts on the end of the sled where the seat is. It was just a poor design that let a lot of cold air in, and the kit was sent out to try and fix the problem. I bought one new after it had been out a couple years and the problem wasn’t yet fixed, but the kit was included in the box. If you have an early one, maybe that would fix the problem and make the Velcro unnecessary (?)

[bubbagill]

I do not have the extensions,.