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Hi,

Could anyone give me some advice on the best product to use, and how you waterproof your TT.

I've never owned a tent before so all advice greatly received.

Thanks all ....

Usual questions first..

1) Does it need waterproofing? By which I mean is it leaking, or the canvas looking thin or you know that four or five years has passed since it was last waterproofed?

2) Has it been waterproofed at all before now?  Good quality cotton canvas is naturally water proof (the little fibres swell up in the wet and close the canvas) and needs no extra treatment. However if you do start applying waterproofing the silicone actually interferes with this natural ability of the canvas and replaces it with a silicone skin, which wears off after a few years. Conway was a top manufacturer and used the best canvas. It shouldn't require waterproofing till the canvas wears very old and thin, after 25 years or so of use.

If it's never been waterproofed and it isn't leaking then you're wasting your time and money  if you start to proof it. It doesn't need it.

Hi ....

Many thanks for your great knowledge and advice, I've just bought my TT, and the lady I bought it from said that it would need waterproofing by next season, so not sure if she had waterproofed it or just assumed it needed it as she had never done it during the time she owned it... 

Its a 1995 Conway Camberley, and we have just come back from St Ives where it rained quite a bit .. after the rain, the canvas in the bedroom area did feel damp and cold, and the air in the bedroom area did also feel a bit damp where we were freezing .. !!!   But I'm not sure if that all canvas tents feel a bit damp and cold after a bout of rain ... as I say I've never camped before so a bit of a novice ....

Can you phone her up and ask her if she'd ever reproofed it? Would be handy to know.

Was it the first outing for a while for the Camberly? I ask because when cotton canvas has been stored for a while in a dry place it can get really dried out and need reweathered. This basically means putting it up, hosing it down and letting it dry fully ...it might leak a wee bit during this process but when it subsequently gets wet the fibres will have plumped up a bit and will do their job properly next time out. Of course camping in the rain will weather a canvas just as effectively, so you don't need to worry about doing it now.

Yes, if it rains the canvas will feel cold and a bit damp inside..in fact if you stand there and keep touching it, water will start wicking through the canvas and you'll get a leak. This is why it's important to train the family not to touch the canvas inside when it's raining, or let chairs, tables & bedding etc come in contact with the outer canvas. (That's what the waist height guylines around the cabin are for...to hold the canvas away from the bedboards.) It's normal, and we all fall foul of it once in a while.

TBH though if the air outside the tent (synthetic or cotton) is cold and wet, the air inside is likely to be pretty similar. I think it always takes camping newbies by surprise as to how cold it gets outside at night in the UK, even in summer. More clothes and bedding required! Also, a 1kw fan heater if you have EHU?

And...remember you need to air bedding out every day while camping, in any tent. Otherwise it will feel damp the next night. Sweat and condensation results in a lot of moisture in your bedding.

Back to the reproofing. If it didn't leak during your last trip when you say you had a lot of rain then it probably doesn't need done as yet. Reproofing a trailer tent needs a lot of quite pricy proofing solution and a place to erect the trailer tent, spray or paint on the proofer and let it dry for 24 hours. You can't do it on campsite because of the smell and damage done to the grass. you can't sleep inside it either till it's dry, because of the smell. It's a hassle hence my advice of not doing it till you have to. My old 1989 Camargue (see profile pix) has never been proofed and it's still perfectly dry.

Hi Val,

Prev owner has confirmed they bought it 6 yrs ago, and that it had been waterproofed by the then owner.  They have also said that they never reproofed or needed to reproof, whilst the owned it,  but that bearing in mind its last coat was over 6 yrs ago, we may want to reproof before putting away for winter season ready for next summer.

When we were away, I must admit that I didn't see any water penetration at all from the canvas - so bearing in mind what a job you explained it is ... would you suggest just leaving as it is, and only reproof it if  (when) we start to see any rain water actually invading ?

Many thanks for all your advice ....

Abs xx

Quote: Originally posted by Abby25 on 27/8/2009

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When we were away, I must admit that I didn't see any water penetration at all from the canvas - so bearing in mind what a job you explained it is ... would you suggest just leaving as it is, and only reproof it if  (when) we start to see any rain water actually invading ?

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Next time you're out in it and it rains take a look at the outside of the canvas. If the raindrops are beading on the canvas then it's still got a good level of proofing on it. If the rain is soaking into the canvas and making dark patches, especially on the roof, then it's time to reproof. The easiest way to see dark patches on the roof is to unhook the roofliners and look up from inside. Six years is a fair old while to go without putting a new coat of proofer on but if the TT hasn't been used a lot in this time and the job was done well then there's quite probably plenty still on the canvas.

TBH it won't start leaking instantaneously one day, more like you'll start getting the odd soggy patch. A soggy patch on a weekend trip is no great disaster but if you;re going away for a month to France? Perhaps it might be worth proofing before you went!