Features
The Coleman WeatherMaster Tent Series offers 2 relatively economical family cabin tent designs with a long, rectangular shape and large interiors.
These cabin tents feature 6'6" to 6'10" (2 to 2.1 m) of ceiling height, which will appeal to tall campers.
Doors
Coleman WeatherMaster Tents feature 2 doors to improve access to the spacious interiors.
One of these doors is a hinged, D-shape and uses flexed poles around its perimeter to keep its shape when unzipped. The door swings open on a fabric hinge and is held closed by short strips of velcro.
The hinged door offers convenient and easy access to the tent body. The zipper can be left open during the day, greatly easing opening and closing the door--especially for children.
Windows
WeatherMaster tents have several large windows on the upper tent body for good ventilation on warm days, as well as for a view of the campsite surroundings.
Moon shaped windows in the upper wall of the ends of the tent slope back into the tent at a inverted or negative angle. This allows the top of the window to overhang the screen, so the window can remain open in vertical rain.
A zippered storm flap seals all windows against wind or wind-driven rain.
Poles
The WeatherMaster is a large cabin tent with heavy-duty steel poles. The u-shaped poles stand inverted along the tent body, and the tent fabric attaches via sleeves and clips.
The poles are equally spaced along the tent body and neither cross nor attach at a hub.
Unlike dome tents, these cabin tents are non-freestanding, and the tent floor needs to be staked down, in order for the tent to stand upright and not collapse.
The WeatherMaster tents feature steel poles to support the tent in moderate winds or stronger. These poles resist the downward compression forces resulting from wind blowing against the large, flat tent-body walls and the pull of the guy lines.
Note that this tent model must be guyed out well, in order to perform in more than a slight breeze. Campers should make certain that they use secure stakes to keep the tent standing in the wind.
Other features
A bathtub floor keeps ground water out of the tent body.
A small zippered e-Port on the back wall of the tent allows an electrical cord to pass through.
The WeatherMaster tents are oversize tents, too large for a 15' by 15' tent pad and will need to be pitched on open ground.
Due to their size and large poles, these cabin tents are fairly heavy.
The WeatherMaster is fairly economical for the large size and sturdy frame it offers.
Coleman WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent Walkthrough
The WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent offers a screen room integrated into the side of the tent.
The total dimensions of the tent are 17' wide by 9' deep by 82" high (5.18m x 2.75m x 2.1m).
When facing the wide front wall of the tent, the screen room is on the right.
A hinged door accesses the tent in the center of the front wall.
Brow poles extend the rainfly to form brims over the front entryway and the back window opposite it. The brims allow the tops of the windows to remain open in vertical rain.
Main tent body
The main tent body, not including the screen room, is 11' wide by 9' deep.
The 99 square feet of floor space is rated to sleep up to 6.
A removable hanging divider divides the tent body into a center room and a side bedroom to the left for privacy. The divider zips down the middle, draws to the sides and ties off to remain open.
The WM6 center room
Standing in the doorway, the center room is about 4 to 5' wide x 9' deep.
The center room has the two windows mentioned above, one on the door and the other opposite it on the back wall.
This room can be used as an enclosed sitting room or as a small bedroom.
It can hold 2 to 3 camping chairs or a single twin air mattress or perhaps a couple of self inflating pads against opposite walls.
This room will sleep 1 camper comfortably.
The WM6 bedroom
Behind the divider, the bedroom has 3 windows, 2 opposite each other and 1 small moon window in the upper inverted wall of the end of the tent. This moon window can be left open in vertical rain.
Facing the front of the tent, the back bedroom is about 6 to 7' wide x 9' deep.
The bedroom is large enough for a queen air mattress or several self inflating pads.
There is a storage pocket sewn to the wall below the moon window.
The bedroom will sleep 2 campers comfortably.
The door from the tent body to the screen room
On the right wall of the center room, an inverted T screen door leads from the center room to the screen room.
This door has a zipper down the middle and one across each bottom half of the door at the bathtub floor. The screen door zips to the bathtub floor to seal the tent body completely against insects and some standing water.
A large fabric storm flap covers this screen door for privacy and to block weather. The storm flap zips down the middle, but does not attach at the bottom.
The unzipped screen door and storm flaps draw back to each side and tie off.
The WM6 screen room
An attached screen room offers WM6 owners a bug-free place to relax without leaving the tent.
Facing the wide front wall of the tent, the screen room on the right is 6' wide by 9' deep.
The 54 square feet of room is enough space for a camping chair for each person who can comfortably occupy the tent.
The screen room is designed for fair weather and perhaps light to moderate vertical rain, so it has neither storm flaps nor fabric floor.
The screen room cannot be closed off against rain or wind.
Any rain passing through the screen room walls will fall onto the ground and not pool on floor fabric.
The floor-less screen room is suited to camping chairs, because the chair legs cannot damage any floor fabric. Any spilled drinks or food fall onto bare ground, reducing cleanup.
Sod cloth flaps bordering the bottom of the screen room walls extend over the ground a few inches to eliminate gaps, keeping most insects out of the screen.
The top of the screen room is covered by the rainfly, so campers can enjoy a light rain in the screen room. However, in wind-driven rain, campers may prefer to retreat to the main tent body.
During rain, the screen room also serves as a covered entryway into the tent, keeping rain from getting through the main doorway.
An inverted T screen door leads from the screen room to the outdoors on the right wall of the WeatherMaster Tent. This door has a zipper down the middle. The screen panels separate and tie off to the sides. The screen room door does not have storm flaps.
The WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent has 4 poles and weighs 33 lb.
Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent
The Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened is identical to the standard WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent described above, but offers a ceiling light, roll up windows, different colors (blue and white with red trim), and 4" less of ceiling height (78").
The 6'6" of ceiling height will still suit tall campers.
Self rolling window flaps in the door and on the front and back walls of the tent automatically roll out of the way when the zippers are opened.
An interior ceiling, battery-powered LED light with floor level switch is included, so campers do not have to get up and down during the night to turn on the light.
The Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent weighs 42 lb.
The WeatherMaster 10 offers one large enclosed truss-style cabin tent to maximize sleeping space.
Campers looking for a screen room can bring a large, separate one.
From the wide front wall of the tent, the floor dimensions are 17' wide x 9' deep x 80" high (5.2m x 2.75m x 2m).
The roughly 150 square feet of floor space is rated to sleep up to 10.
2 doors in the front and back center of the tent offer access to the tent body.
The front door is hinged and swings open. It can be zipped closed in the evening or when campers are away.
The back door is not hinged. It unzips, rolls back and ties off, like most cabin tent doors.
Inside the WM10 tent body
The WM10 tent body has 6 windows. One in each door. One in the upper tent wall next to each door and a moon window in each upper, inverted tent end.
A removable divider divides the tent into 2 equal 8'6" wide by 9' deep tent ends.
Each room has its own outside door with window, a window on the wall opposite the door and a hooded upper tent-end window.
Each room can comfortably sleep 3 tall adults, so the Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent can sleep 6 adults, or a larger family with young children.
The WeatherMaster 10 utilizes a 3-pole truss cabin tent design and weighs 35 lb.
Large families or camping groups looking for a single tent can consider this model from Coleman.
The rainfly covers the ceiling mesh, extends part way down the wall and hugs the upper tent body, which is one reason why the tent is called the WeatherMaster.
This should keep most wind-driven rain from being blown under the rainfly and through the ceiling mesh.
The fabric is coated to only 450 mm HH, so it may eventually wet out in long bouts of moderate to heavy rains. The fabric should still perform, even when saturated, however the walls will be damp.
It may be helpful to lay a tarp over the tent, if expecting a lot of rain for a long period of time.
A 1000 denier bathtub floor keeps standing water out of the main tent.
The WeatherMaster tents do not feature an extended rainfly canopy or wings around the doorway, which might catch wind and destabilize the tent in rough weather.
Steel upright poles support the WeatherMaster tent in the wind. The force of wind against the walls of the tent and the pull of the guy-lines translates mainly into downward pressure on the rigid poles. Steel poles do a good job of resisting this downward pressure on windy days.
However, it's important that the tent is securely staked and guyed to the ground, in order for it to resist wind. The large, flat walls may result in a lot of wind force to resist.
Large ceiling mesh panels allow air to exhaust from the tent. However, the rainfly hugs the tent ceiling -- especially on the WeatherMaster 10, which may reduce ventilation from the ceiling mesh. The upper moon-shaped tent end windows can instead be opened to allow are to exhaust from the tent body.
The WeatherMaster 6 has brow poles to extend the rainfly over the doorway and back window, which will allow more air to flow under the rainfly.
The windows on the walls can be closed off to reduce any drafts in the tent on cool evenings. The tight fitting rainfly may also help with this.
However, the large tent body and non-closable ceiling mesh can not be expected to retain heat on cool evenings, so campers may need to take extra measures to stay warm.
WM6 Screened Tent
For a ground vent on warm nights, the storm flap on the door from the tent body to the screen room can be turned into a ground vent by zipping it closed and gently staking it away from the doorway.
The author hooks a small bungie cord through a hole on the zipper pull, if there is one, and stakes out the bungie cord (to the ground in the screen room). Opening the door involves first reaching under the flap and releasing the bungie cord hook from the zipper pull.
The zipped screen door will keep out insects, while the storm flap is being adapted to a ground vent.
The storm flaps, when zipped closed, are designed to normally lie against the screen doors.
The WM6 tent body is large enough for three cots along the walls with room in the center for foot traffic and some gear.
The divider can be removed, offering one large sleeping space. With the divider removed, the tent should sleep 4 campers comfortably.
The WM6 would be a very comfortable tent for a camping couple.
The tent might be shoehorned onto a 15' tent pad with some ingenuity. Campers may want to avoid the very ends of the tent floor, if doing this.
The CoolAir Port ground vent in the rear center wall of the WM6 Screened Tent has been removed.
WM10 Tent
At 17' wide, the WM10 will need to be pitched on an oversize tent pad or on a large stretch of fairly even ground.
The WM10 has neither screen room nor covered doorway. Campers expecting a lot of rain can improvise and rig a tarp to cover the front and back doorways.
The upper moon windows on the tent ends of the WeatherMaster 10 are supported by a separate brow pole, increasing the tilt and overhang of the window top. This will allow them to be opened in most rain.
The tilt of the windows, along with a rainfly that hugs the top of the WeatherMaster 10, allows the tent to better resist wind-driven rain.
On cool nights, the WM10 tent, with its tightly hugging rainfly, should resist drafts fairly well for a large tent.
In warm, still weather, it may be possible to remove the rainfly for more ventilation. However, the guyout points are sewn to the rainfly, so the rainfly will need to be in place in more than a slight breeze.
The CoolAir Port ground vents on the lower ends of the WM10 have also been removed.
Both WM6 & WM10
Campers should keep an eye on the rainfly over the tent ends to see that rainwater does not pool there.
If water does pool on the rainfly, it may drip through the ceiling mesh into the tent.
If necessary, campers should be able to cut a DIY fiberglass pole kit to span the length of the rainfly, in order to form a ridge pole along the center and keep any fabric from sagging in the rain.
The fiberglass ridge pole may need to be lashed to the supporting poles to stay in place.
Coleman WeatherMaster Tents utilize the classic cabin truss tent geometry, with 3 or 4 large inverted u-shaped poles that suspend the tent body via sleeves in the ceiling.
The truss design allows the tent to offer a large interior at a reasonable price.
Because the tent poles are independent of each other, the tent is non-freestanding, and the floor needs to be staked down for the Coleman WeatherMaster to stand.
The tent will also need to be guyed to resist wind.
Due to their size and design, the WeatherMaster cabin tents may take a longer than dome tents to set up. An extra pair of hands will come in handy. However, a little more set-up time will result in a much larger tent to enjoy.
75 denier, 450mm coated polyester fabric offers reasonable protection against light rain, while keeping the tent affordable. This fabric is a bit heavier than the 68 denier fabric of most Coleman tents.
Windows and ceilings feature heavy duty, 68 denier mesh screening.
All WeatherMaster main support poles are 19 mm (3/4") steel.
The tent body attaches to the poles with sleeves and clips.
The poles attach to the tent base with ring and pin connectors.
The WeatherMaster 4 model has been discontinued.
General setup for a truss style tent
To set up the tent, campers need to stake down one end of the tent floor.
Square the floor from the other end.
Thread the curved ceiling poles through the tent ceiling sleeves and attach the upright side poles to the ceiling poles.
Then lay all of the poles down so that the tops of all of the poles face in the same direction towards the end of the tent that is staked down.
If you prefer not to throw the rainfly over the tent later, you can now lay the rainfly over the tops of the poles.
If the weather is windy, get someone else to help at this stage.
Grab the top of the pole closest to the unstaked end of the tent and pivot all of the poles up, suspending the tent body fabric and standing the tent.
Square the floor and stake the opposite end down to hold the standing tent in place.
Attach the poles to the corresponding pins on the tent floor loops.
Clip the tent wall fabric to the poles.
Do any tweaking to square the floor and straighten the tent fabric now, if necessary.
Stake all floor loops to the ground.
Adjust the rainfly and set any brow poles over doorways or windows.
Tension and stake the guylines from the rainfly to the ground.
Load camping gear into the tent and enjoy.
Conclusion
The Coleman WeatherMaster Tent is a popular, large, economical cabin tent for family camping. WeatherMaster tents offer a lot of floor space and ceiling room. Sturdy steel poles help the large tent resist wind.
Disclaimer
Please note that Campetent does not own this tent model. Campetent strives to research and to provide accurate information for site visitors, but cannot guarantee every detail.
Tent models are subject to feature changes over time. Tent campers should always perform due diligence to verify any important features before purchasing a tent.
The author hopes that the information provided in this article will go a long way towards that goal.
This tent is not rated for wind. In moderate to strong winds, campers themselves will need to judge when the tent has reached its limit in resisting the forces of nature.
The tent has a limited warranty that covers defects in materials and workmanship. As with all tents, campers should carefully examine the materials and workmanship and make sure that they are satisfied before using the tent.