waterproofing

[Shelly]

Hello.  I am from Beautiful (but WET) British Columbia, Canada.  My husband & I bought a 2001 Palomino last Spring & camped over the summer.  Most of my friends have TT or motorhomes so I am finding myself a minority.  Can anyone tell me how to care for my vinyl outside?  I bought a cleaner (canuba wax cleaner that a dealer recommended) and spent days carefully washing & waxing the vinyl.  On our first trip it poured straight for two days and I found that each (all 4) outside corner of the beds had gotten wet.  I couldn't find any holes and am wondering if the leak could have come from the stitching in the corners and edges?  There was some condensation(?) on the inside of the vinyl above the sleeping area but no drips or anything.  As it does get wet up here a bit we spent the rest of the summer tarping.  Is that normal or can I somehow trouble shoot this?  I am looking forward to getting out and camping again this summer but want to get this straightened out as much as I can.

Thanks in advance!

[tlhdoc]

Welcome to PUT.  It is very probable that the seam is leaking and needs to be sealed.  You can use seam sealer, a liquid that comes in an applicator bottle, or camp dry a spray on water sealer.  Happy Camping.

[SpeakEasy]

I'm a bit confused by what you are calling "the vinyl." The reason I'm confused is that I see three different things that you may be talking about. There is the clear vinyl that is used over some of the windows. There is the tent roofing material which on some popups contains some vinyl-like material. And then there is the tent wall material, which is used for the sides and ends of the popup. This material is something more like canvas. Which of these did you clean? If you cleaned the canvas-like tent material you probably took off its waterproofing. You can buy a spray waterproofing at most sporting goods stores. You can use pure silicone, which I like, and which can be purchased at hardware stores or sporting goods stores. You just spray a coating of this waterproofing stuff on the entire outside of the tent material.

tlhdoc is correct that the leaking could be at the seams, and if so, the seams need to be sealed.

[HersheyGirl]

I have a Pal too and it is probably the seams, the threads leaking.  The same thing happened to mine.  I applied liquid seam sealer and then sprayed it down real well is Camp Dry.  I now have a very dry camper.  Spray all the stitching with the camp dry several times and you should be good.  Welcome to PUT and hope that this works for you.   One thing to note, that not all popup campers are the same, similar, but not the same, so don't get too confused if someone offers advice who doesn't have your brand of camper.  Palominos have all vinyl tenting, whereas Fleetwood has a combination of vinyl and sunbrella tenting.  Jayco, I believe also has all vinyl tenting,  and I am not sure what Starcraft and Viking uses these days.  But anyway, they all work well in keeping you dry.  Good luck.

[Shelly]

Thanks so much.  Now I know what to look for.