Ive got a cabanon tent. Its got afew damp patches its not very old should i put waterproofer on it. Or avoid like the plague. If i do will it stop it from breathing will it go crusty on the windows and skirts can i just do the damp bits HELP i dont know what to do
Does the water drip in and cause a problem or does the canvas just look wet when it's been raining? If it's dripping into the tent you might be best cleaning the tent with tent cleaner then reproofing the whole thing. If it doesn't cause any problems leave it alone.
I always find opinion slightly divided on this one. Considering its probably not a cheap tent, I'd also email Cabanon themselves for more specific advice.
As mentioned, if it's not letting water in you might be better holding off as it could be perfectly happy the way it is.
You say its not very old. Might be worth getting the whole tent thoroughly soaked before you do anything, just to check that it has been weathered. It might just be it hasn't had a chance to tighten up properly yet. If still unhappy, I'd agree with SoggySteve, speak to Cabanon first, you've got a great tent, would be terrible to do the wrong thing and spoil it.
The guy in the shop I bought my Trout Lake 4 from said not to touch it for at least five years. Basically, leave it be until I felt it might need some help.. (leaking through the fabric).
If you don't talk to Cabanon about it and get their view, then it might be worth purchasing some treatment in case you're on a site when you really feel you need it..
My experience with 'Polyester' tents is to treat them when the water stops running off and the 'blobs' of water turn in to small soaked patches. As i've mentioned before, I did this with a Kyham tent (one of the best i've owned) when this happened and it never leaked in the many years fine service it offered us..
I'm new to polycotton so i'm going to take the good advice i've been given and wait for any signs of leakage before I hit it with any chemicals..
I would feel disinclined to apply Fabrasil or tent cleaner unless absolutely necessary and if you can put up with the mark and the tent doesn't leak, leave it alone.
If you can't live with the mark and you think it's probably grease of some kind, it might be worth trying to remove it (carefully) with an iron and brown paper.
Otherwise mix up a bucket of disolved soap flakes (not detergent)and work into the fabric paying special attention to the marks and then rinse off for a long time with the garden hose. The tent will leak like a sieve.
Leave the tent to dry completely and then give it another thorough wetting with the garden hose and allow to dry.
Repeat this procedure lots of times until the tent stops leaking. Allow a hot weekend or if possible longer for the wetting and drying process.
It will be clear from the foregoing that this is a lot of hassle and not to be undertaken lightly!
I had this problem with my Cabanon Calais.
Use a camp bed and Sim to sleep on.
The bed only just fits in the pod which means that the sleeping bag is above the plastic skirt.
During one wet and windy weekend in North Wales my sleeping bag pushed the inner against the canvas and the water wicked through.
Resulting in a wet sleeping bag.
On later camps after any rain, I noticed that the canvas was a different shade and felt wet inside, although no water leaked through.
So I sprayed Fabsil on the outside of effected area.
Problem solved.
------------- 2021
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Your tent won't let water in. Your tent will weigh less when wet. Your tent will dry faster and better. Mildew will be easier to combat. Your tent will live longer. Your tent won't sag under it's wet weight.
Why not try pouring some water on the patches from the outside of the tent and see if the water beads off the area you mentioned. Also check its not a dirty mark that perhaps needs cleaned and the canvas is clogged - that'd cause some seeping.
Fabsil should really be a last resort for any tent. I know there are people out there that use it like car polish, but its honestly a solution rather than a prevention method - even for a canvas tent.
------------- FyneFest -1st June - Fantastic!
Pillaton Hall Farm - 5th July
Woolacombe Bay 7th July
Quote: Originally posted by canvascomfort on 12/8/2012
Why not try pouring some water on the patches from the outside of the tent and see if the water beads off the area you mentioned. Also check its not a dirty mark that perhaps needs cleaned and the canvas is clogged - that'd cause some seeping.
Fabsil should really be a last resort for any tent. I know there are people out there that use it like car polish, but its honestly a solution rather than a prevention method - even for a canvas tent.
Wise words....Cabanons should never need reproofing for the first 15 years or so. Warm water and a light scrubbing brush on the affected part is probably the solution to your problem
I too have 'soggy spot syndrome' so share your dilemma.
I'm dead curious as to what causes this condition. I suspect the symptoms apparent on my extension were caused by giving it a thorough clean over the summer!
I am interested in this thread because I contacted Outwell for their advice on cleaning the extension for our Yukon River, followed said advice and now have two patches just as OP describes. The tent's only a year old!
The way I see it, my options are:
1) Live with it (possible but difficult because I'm a bit finnicky like that).
2) Fabsil whole panel or just the affected spots?
3) Buy whole new tent and extension as YR's are no longer available (unlikely to get this one past the missus).
Personally I can't understand how a bit of brushing and wiping could've cause the problem but reading gulliver7952's post above, it sounds posible.
But then as SGThomas suggests, surely you wouldn't expect this to occur in quality tents of this age?
Reading through other threads, 'soggy spot syndrome' does seem to bother tent owners.