So we copped 100mm of rain. Leak solutions?

[NewieCamper]

We stayed in Gosford Sunday night. Popped the camper up as the folks house was fully booked. As we were coming from a camping trip it seemed the simplest solution.

All good. Dad said there was some rain forecast so I left the awning at a suitable angle to ensure it shed the water properly and settled in for the night. Come 3am we got some heavy rain, checked the radar and it looked like it would pass. As the night progressed it got heavier and heavier and ended up totally 100mm by 9am. By 6am the littlest had woken and had a wet patch on his bedding, I stepped in a small puddle fetching him to bring to our bed. By 7am there were several drips coming from each of the poles across the roof. After realising all the wet gear and people were evacuated and after another couple of hours I went back and found there was enough water inside to require a mop and bucket. Luckily I was able to to leave the camper setup as it isn't a public campsite and will head back in a couple of days to pack up and pick up.



I know this is extreme weather and the camper has stood up to rain before, including a good solid day of light rain and on other occasions a few heavy showers. Does the canvas need waterproofing, maybe just along the seams with a wax, or all over with a paint on product? It didn't seem to be leaking anywhere until there was a decent pool in the roof that had sat there for a while due to poor setup. Will the heavy rain re-season the canvas?

TLDR: with a well used canvas camper is re-seasoning necessary or will it require a waterproofing treatment?

[Mace]

IMO, in that kind of weather, the only thing that will prevent water ingress is a tarp over the tent.

It's a lot of water, and as you have said, spreader bars and other joins make a ready access point for it to pool and then seep thru.

We also find that in similar circumstances it will seep thru lower down adjacent to the mattress where the tent meets the bed edge.

It is a tent after all.

 

[Redcherokee]

After a similar experience, I used Snoseal on all the seams.  It definitely had a positive impact. 

However, the complete solution was the thermal blanket for the camper roof.   We got ours from Minlaton, as per this thread:
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=22013.msg340239#msg340239

We designed ours to overhang slightly on 3 sides, and go down the wall on the bed end where we don't have a window.  Not only does it remove the rain issue, but it also has an insulating effect and stops the camper getting moisture inside on humid nights.

[gronk]

If you said correctly that you had it setup slightly wrong and it pooled a bit on the roof, then that is your problem..

Once seasoned, canvas sheds water pretty good, but not if it acts like a dam..

[NewieCamper]

There was only one section that pooled as the rest of the roof was set up properly. the other pole sections leaked as well where there was no pooling, only stitching.

I'm not surprised, given the amount of rain, that there was some water coming in and do believe that the canvas is mostly ok. Not having a lot of experience with 'aged' canvas led to this topic. Does maintaining the waterproof qualities rely on the occasional wetting or after ageing does the canvas begin to require additional treatments?

[gronk]

 After being dry for a long time, MAYBE it needed another wetting ( which it got ) to swell the stitching again ??

When you get it home, set it up and set a sprinkler up to drench it again and see ??

I had a KK which didn't leak under any sort of rain, but I had a kwik awning that leaked for the 1st 5 times it got wet before it finally "took" up and behaved itself.

MAYBE your tent didn't ever get a good seasoning ? Ask the previous owner if it had ever been out in pouring rain ?

[NewieCamper]

The previous owners said it had quite a few good soakings.

I'm hoping it rains again before I pack it up on the weekend to see if it remains watertight for a 'normal' rain event.

[KingBilly]

After being dry for a long time, MAYBE it needed another wetting ( which it got ) to swell the stitching again ??

Sorry gronk, but seasoning a tent relies on "shrinking" the holes made by the needles to stitch the seams, not "swelling" the thread.  That is why synthetic tents need to use a seam seal tape during manufacture.

Seasoning shrinks the cotton in the canvas around the needle holes. Setting up and stretching the seams may stretch the seams causing the holes to reopen slightly and they may need to be shrunk again.  When you season canvas make sure you don't have the canvas under too much tension so that the cotton has a good chance of shrinking.

Over time canvas will need to be re-waterproofed with a suitable waterproofing product as exposure to the elements will cause the waterproofing to break down and the continual setup/packup will also effect the life of the waterproofing.  Bradmill make a good product.  Depending on use re-waterproofing should only need to be done every 5 or more years.

KB