Message Forums

great , now i have all your attention.......

hi all , weve just come back from 2 weeks at searls . i had 1 week& wife , friend & kids had 2 . to cut a long story short i wasnt there to help with the taking down of tt ( sunncamp 400 ) . as this was the first time weve used it  took a while to put up but when the heavens opened today the whole thing had to be packed away wet .  VERY WET . bedding , inside of tent ,sleeping bags , clothes , poles , the lot .soaked through. as i wasnt there i dont know how bad it is , but i was told that there was a certain amount of mud on the canvas involved as well . im now in position to say im a little concerned about what to do next . i know that the canvas has to dry out while on the frame , but what if it keeps on raining ? is it better to just leave it out in the rain and hope that one day it will dry out , or try to bring it into the house to dry it off ?

then theres the mud. should i try to wash it off with a power hose or should i try to let it dry & then brush it off . will it stain as the canvas is a light stone colour . me thinks what ever i do i'll have to reprof again . sorry to go on abit but this is starting to worry me alot . this was our first trip in our new tt & seems it might have gone horriably wrong .

many thanks , bernie

We've had to pack down wet 4 times this holiday - however we have put it back up as soon as possible and all has been well.  Get the trailer tent back up as soon as possible - things may not be as bad as described.  We've had mud on the skirt and once dry, either been able to brush it off or wash it off with hosepipe.  We have friends who use their power hose on their canvas - sounds a bit dodgy to me - but they swear by it!  I would stand by with the Fabsil just in case!

Is there not a wet/dry pack system - plastic sheeting to go over things in the event of a wet pack down - being wise after the event is never a good thing but...... Could your vehicle not have been reversed into the tt for loading? As for the taking down and loading up - we all (including offspring) have jobs and the trick is to know when to stand back and let them as knows - do it! 

Don't worry about the TT being up for the duration, our canvas was saturated earlier in the year (both Easter and Whitsuntide) it didn't take a full day to dry out at home.  Rain doesn't last forever it just feels like it!

Good Luck

Ahhhhh, Elvis, after how lovely you've been to dear irishrose and her brood, you really didn't deserve this!! (yep, she's been biggin' you up BIG time!!! and rightly so methinks)

'Fraid, I'm no use on the 'what to do next' advice but just wanted you and yours to know, that I feel for you and your dilemma!

Bringing back miserable memories of one particularly soggy fortnight we had near Brixham when our kids were much younger! Pitch, (and entire site!), there was like RED CLAY so, that made for very attractive patterns on van carpet, (not to mention the kids-lol), and ohhhhh, that refreshing shower you'd get every morning when you flung open the van door and swam out into the awning!!!!!!

Why did our old awning, (aged round about neolothic period!!!), only decide to take THAT holiday as the one it would start to LEAK from where every bl**dy pole touched the canvas???

We still had a wonderful time though even with the desperate, (unsuccessful), daily search to at least find another site with a vacant pitch minus the red clay....But lots of wonderful lobster sarnies in Brixham mmmmmmmmm and at least that holiday the wellies came into their own and it's where we as a family discovered the joys of sea fishing, so not a total wash out, if you'll pardon the pun!

Ahhhh, them woz the days -lol

Now having only limited experience of soggy filthy canvas with our old awning, (courtesy of Brixham site and every wet holiday after that), and when we'd had to pack it away damp and filthy, we always put it up against the garage wall on three hooks that hubby put on the outside wall as soon as we'd got it home before scrubbing it, leaving it to dry which could take days and then -reproofing the flaming thing! Don't have a scooby doo if that's any use for your t/t, but I just know that some sensible soul will be along soon with REAL help!

All the best Elvis1

hi all , thanks for the replys . i spoke to those nice people at pj camping where i brought the unit from . they sujested to use a hose and a soft brush to try to get the mud off if it didnt when dry ( which it didnt ) . the hose / brush combo worked a bit , but said i could try a power hose but from a distance as if it were to close it could damage the fibers of the canvas . i would also have to re-proof again if i did this which isnt a prob as we were going to any way ( any body know how many lts of fabsil it takes to do a sunncamp 400 canvas ?) i used the power hose on a low setting & cleaned it inside & out . theres still some stains but i suppose i'll have to live with it . i did notice however that that there was some clearer patches almost transparent by the kitchen area . could this be oil / grease and would it affect the water proofing ?

anyway thanks for all the help & thanks for the compliments hippy chick  . i hope sue enjoys it .

cheers all , bernie