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Topic: Canvas door not zipping shut! Help!

montybegood

26/8/2017 at 11:55am
Location: None Entered
Outfit: None Entered

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Hi, on our first outing with Conway Crusader. Got it all set up, then came to close door and cant zip the last 6 inches of the canvas door...there is a gap between the zip of about an inch...it just wont meet! ..I have no idea what ive done wrong, any ideas please? Melanie

Marshmallowqueen

26/8/2017 at 12:48pm
Location: Nottinghamshire
Outfit: Pennine Countryman 2010

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My unit is slightly different with the door at the rear . However, when this has happened to me I have adjusted some of the poles that support the main canvas - either lowered the corner ones, or the diagonal ones but a couple of holes. Zip the door up and then adjust the poles again to take up any slack. My poles use the middle hole or one either side of the middle.

I also have elastic at the bottom of the canvas that I hook underneath the bed boards....try loosening / undoing that and then zipping door up before putting elastic back round the hooks.

Ideally zip door up before you start moving poles in to position .....but I normally forget until I go to zip door up at night. .

Hope this helps.

Enjoy your first trip.

Post last edited on 26/08/2017 12:56:04

Junior pullman

26/8/2017 at 6:07pm
Location: Lincolnshire
Outfit: Pennine Pathfinder FC.

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We have a Pathfinder that had the same trouble. After levelling off,We put a scissor jack under the door,to stop a drop at that point, near the wheel which does the trick.

scrumble

26/8/2017 at 8:36pm
Location: Cambridgeshire
Outfit: Moslty in a Pennine Pathfinder nowaday

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Also have a Pathfinder, don't know how they compare erection wise, but the canvas is held to the base with Velcro (wrapping it under neath an aluminium channel) if you don't make sure that he door is zipped shut first then it can easily it zip shut later

Kelper

26/8/2017 at 9:21pm
Location: Northern Ireland
Outfit: Sterckeman Alize Concept CP480

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When you first open it up ensure that the door is zipped up ... then settle the whole canvas unit on the poles ... fasten all down ... then unzip and open the door ... is how we did the Pullman.

montybegood

26/8/2017 at 11:33pm
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Thanks everyone..i'll try these and see what happens....currently have a screwed up carrier bag blocking the gap! :0/

Vivebunny

19/9/2017 at 2:46pm
Location: Worthing
Outfit: 2017 Pennine Pathfinder

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Hello, I was looking for a similar thread because we hit this problem, trouble was the zip door was wide open at 12.30 at night. What I realised is that the two zip pullers have to be at the top of the door and not the bottom!! I might even get some yellow sticky tape as a warning area that the zip can't go below! It was kinda traumatic late at night to have this problem. But yes, there's a couple of inches that the zip won't reach that worries me.

We have a countryman. I have a feeling that the whole canvas top part is very slightly out of alignment. Is this normal? The 90 degree angles at the kitchen end don't sit flush to the trailer when I'm trying to Velcro it all together.

Also, the inner white flappy attached to the inside canvas, should those white fabric bits be between the poles and canvas?? Some of mine didn't reach their intended spots.

Maybe I'm just not putting it up right?

Lobelia

19/9/2017 at 7:18pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Abbey Iona

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Hi again vivebunny, those 90 degree back kitchen bits can be difficult to tuck right into the corner and Velcro under. I worried about them on ours. Pulling downwards really hard then tucking under to Velcro worked a bit but they never went right into the corner. Lowering the height on the bed side at the back and the main uprights can help.

Whilst on a site we met a very friendly family with the same folding camper as ours, I asked if I could take a look at their kitchen and it was just the same as ours so I didn't worry about it after that.

There was a small gap that you could see down through from inside so I put a rolled up teatowel down the side to stop the draught. As time goes on, and you use the camper more, you will get to know little tricks to make these oddities better!!

Vivebunny

20/9/2017 at 7:22am
Location: Worthing
Outfit: 2017 Pennine Pathfinder

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thanks Lobelia, that's really reassuring. I bought the trailer without having a proper demo so most of the weekend I was worrying that 1. I'd done something wrong, 2. that I'd break it or 3. that i was sold a dud.

It's all good. I'm planning to take it out again this weekend and my set up with hopefully be a lot less stressful than last weekend!!

A good decision last weekend was to have a late departure, I'm really glad I did because we could have a leisurely lunch and then pack away gently, rather than in a big ole hurry.

Pipley

24/10/2017 at 8:13pm
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Outfit: Folding camper

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Hi. I realise the O.P is not still sitting in a field with a door that won't close lol but just thought I'd add my experience with this problem as I have a 2016 countryman.
As others have said, you need to zip the door up first before adjusting poles to their final positions. That way your door will always zip closed. But don't take the zip all the way to the bottom as it's a bugger to undo again if you do. I close it past the door so there's no gap for wind to blow through but leave a bit spare at the bottom.
With regards to the kitchen end, it's the same process - we lift the bars but don't click them into place. We then tuck the canvas under onto the Velcro, starting in the corners. This way you can get a nice tight fit without the gaps. Once that's done, we click all the poles into their final positions.
Hope that's useful for future reference.

-------------
There's more to life than work.

Bramidan

24/10/2017 at 9:42pm
Location: Bucks
Outfit: Sun Living S70SC

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I think the issue with the door has been well covered here.
Re the gaps around the front end I have these when I pitch my fiesta, as they are at the bottom water does not perculate and you will never achieve a complete seal of the tent on its solid base.
More to the point why would you seek to, the gaps provide useful ventilation and circulation of air. You are camping and do not really want to be enclosed in a hermetically sealed unhealthy box!

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