Soft floor in wet weather

[Spacely Sprocket]

Hi all, we are new to the ct world & I'm just wondering what happens on say a touring holiday when you cop some wet weather in a soft floor camper. We have a new Aussie made camper with Aussie canvas but if it's raining when you pack up & still raining when you've done a days travel will it be ok to set up a wet ct? I have a plastic cover over the bedding but what about the canvas? Will it be ok to sleep in & will it keep us dry?
Thanks in advance Pete

[trevc]

Hi Pete

We spent a year touring in ours and no dramas packing-up/setting-up in the rain, we covered our bed with some cheap blue tarps which kept the bedding dry.
We had no problems with the canvas 'not working' when packed wet - and it's about 16 years old.

Happy travels

Trev

[Desert lover]

Hi Pete.  We have a soft floor Challenge Meridian and have got it wet a few times.  We have a couple of ways of dealing with in....
1. hopefully know the rain is coming and put our 20 x 30 tarp over the top... covers the whole lot and acts like an annex over the tail gate kitchen too.  We have put the camper up under the tarp and we have completely packed it under the tarp in pouring rain....   We like the tarp scenario best but if we get caught out we
2. Have a waterbed mattress liner from a solid sided waterbed which was finally retired.  This mattress liner fits completely over the mattress and bedding and so far we havent had any problems keeping the bed dry.

Yes, the canvass will still be ok  - hopefully you get through the rain and can put it up early enough to get some good airflow....
Rain hasn't become a problem to our travels however we have on a couple of occassions when heading home resorted to a caravan park cabin if the weather looked really dicey and the camper was already nice and dryas w don't have a great space to dry it out when we get back home.
Cheers,   
 

[BigJules]

My experience is that the canvas doesn't leak, it's when water pools on it that you can get wet inside the tent. We have a canvas bed bag and love it. More for dust than water actually, as the floor gets thrown over the bed regardless of the weather.

Lots of people worry about the tent going mouldy, and it can happen if you leave it wet, but not if you're traveling and putting the tent up each day or at least often.


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[Redcherokee]

Some canvas will work better if you season it to close up the needle holes from the stitching.  To do this, just set it up at home and wet it down very thoroughly with the hose, let it dry and repeat. 

If in doubt, I carry a tube of snoseal which can be applied if any seams let a little water in.  Snoseal is a wax used to waterproof boots, and you can get it from camping shops.  Haven't needed to use it for an awfully long time.

Packing up wet is no fun. If you can, put a set of dry clothes, shoes and towels in the truck. Don't bother wearing a raincoat, shoes etc to pack up - just get wet and muddy in minimal clothing.  When you are finished, go to the amenities/ loos and dry off or shower and change into those dry clothes.

Oh, and moisture inside the tent can often be caused by condensation rather than leaks.   Make sure you have some good ventilation, especially if in coastal area. Use your awning and open the windows under the awning.

[Fizzie]

My experience is that the canvas doesn't leak, it's when water pools on it that you can get wet inside the tent.

So what's your answer for water pooling on the roof, Jules?

We've only had our CT just over 12 months now, so only been away a few times. Last time it rained a bit overnight & water pooled in one spot (directly over our young blokes bed  ) & dripped through the canvas.  Next morning, we were able to push the pool over the side of the tent, but how do you stop it pooling in the first place?

We thought about a cargo net between the tent frame & the canvas but not sure if you'd be able to leave it in place when you collapse the tent again, or if it would have to be put up every time?

Thanks

Graeme

[BigJules]

Ah, that's a different issue and come back to the quality of tent design and how you set it up. If you find water pooling make sure the tent is sitting evenly on the internal bows. If you need to, adjust the length so that there is a good fall on the roof the keep the water running off rather than sitting. If this isn't possible with your tent, look at using some spreader bars internally to hold the roof up, whilst you browse the For Sale section for a camper that doesn't do this.

I was referring to water pooling as you collapse the tent to pack it away.


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[chester ver2.0]

sometimes when new they will pool a bit as the canvass is a bit loose

The canvass will shrink a bit as you use it

As said above wetting it down at home will help with this

Set it up on a hot sunny day then get your hose out and soak the crap out of it. Let it dry for a couple of hours then do it again a couple of times even leave it out overnight in the back yard and dot it all weekend

You will find as well as the stitching swelling the canvas will shrink a bit which may solve your water pooling problems

[stabicraft]

At xmas time we were at Forsters when the big storm hit.
The river came up and the rain came down.
The ground eventually became totally saturated and we found ourselves walking in ankle deep water.

We have a hard floor, so a quick dip in a bucket, wipe the feet and we had no issues.
Next to us was a serious soft floor camper, I mean this thing was four times the size of our camper.
He got no water in, the camper took the wind and rain well, but the water flooded the whole site and there was no way to keep it out.
Some of the cabins leaked and one lost its roof, Tents were abandoned and caravans leaked and were damaged.
Cars were bogged and some campers had to be rescued from rapidly rising water.

My opinion of campers.
Hard floors are great, but they still have anexes that will get soggy once the water rises.
Soft floors have the same problem, just slightly more.
The wind and rain was as bad as I have ever seen it and yet neither our hard floor of the soft floor next door suffered any leaks or damage.

But every tent in the park was stuffed, no matter how good, big or tarped they were.
Packing up was a chore and we both would have to dry out our tents, but at least we slept well.

[oldmate]

I've never seasoned canvass at home with the hose. My theory is, just go and use it and when it rains then drys then rains then drys again, that should be better then the hose. Never had any problems, just take an extra towel and keep an eye on the seams the first few down pours.

[Fizzie]

Thanks everyone for thoughts 

CT is third hand for us & started life as a rental, so well & truly seasoned!

We're going away in a couple of weeks so we'll have a look at how the canvas sit's on the frame - thought it was fairly taut but we'll have a fiddle with poles etc 

[chester ver2.0]

Thanks everyone for thoughts 

CT is third hand for us & started life as a rental, so well & truly seasoned!

We're going away in a couple of weeks so we'll have a look at how the canvas sit's on the frame - thought it was fairly taut but we'll have a fiddle with poles etc 

If the main poles are adjusted with those screw in things that just forces itself against the pole, we found with ours that they would slide back in eventually no matter how hard we tightened them

Gave up and drilled some holes through them and but some small bolts through with a butterfly nut to solve the problem