RE: Breaking camp in the rain...

[George]

 
After a day with our new Coleman Taos, we had to break camp (well maybe the real term is breaking driveway) while it was raining to return it to the dealer for an issue (See GFCI problem under Mr. Fix It).  
 
 It has become clear that the dealer will not work on it for a few more days.  (I ordered a bike rack and they want to install that and fix the GFCI at the same time.)  So it will be closed up while wet for a little over one week.  Everything I ve read about PUs says you must immediately set them up and air them out after breaking camp in the rain.  So what can I expect?  Will I have a mold/mildew problem after this repair?  Or does it take longer for this to be an issue?
 
 
 Thanks,
 
 -George
 
 

[Gone-Camping]

 georger
I d set it up right there on their lot, and explain to them it was closed wet and needs to dry out, even if for just a day!!! They ll have to open it work on it anyway won t they?

[JemJen24]

 georger
I wouldn t even ASK!  I d TELL them that I could bring it but they d need to pop it up.  Mildew WILL gather quickly!
 
 I love my dealer, I love my dealer! LOL [&:]

[Tim5055]

 georger
I agree, get the dealer to open it up as soon as possible.

[George]

 georger
Yikes!  They ve had it since Wednesday evening (and are closed until Monday morning).  I ll call them first thing.  Thanks.
 
 So what do you do when you have like the last few weeks on the east coast... rain for days on end?  pop it up anyway in the rain?  wait until a sunny day?  In the last month or two, we ve had several long strings of rainy days...
 
 Is there anything I should do when I get it back (end of next week) to prevent/deal with any beginning mold/mildew?
 
 -George
 

[Jo Ann]

 georger
i am sooo lucky, my popup, which is big, popups in my garage....even with the car, truck, 1 cub cadet, 1 kubota subcompact tractor, motor cylce, funarce and som other stuff. []
 
 click on my happycamper tag and go to my camping page....there should be pix somewhere of thw wonder garage.
 
 its under the old camper page.

[kathybrj]

 georger
We pop up at home, even in the rain, after breaking camp in the rain. If nothing else, this gives me time to clean countertops, cabinets, the floor, vacuum the matresses, etc. We leave it up until it has time to dry out.
 
 After a rainy Memorial Day weekend, we opened the camper Tuesday morning to let it dry. Fortunately, it was a dry and breezy day. I did take a can of Lysol and gave the inside of the camper a LIGHT spray, after cleaning it. I had turned on both of our electric heaters to dry the air out in the camper also, during the day. When it was dried out and ready to be closed, I put a tub of Damp-Rid inside, just in case.
 
 No telling when we ll get our pole barn up, so until then, I ll keep popping it up after wet trips and doing what I ve been doing.

[tlhdoc]

 georger
If you pack up with the camper wet or damp, set it up as soon as you get home and wait for it to dry.  The Sunbrella material will not mildew, but any dirt on the material will, and the vinyl on the roof will mildew.

[Gone-Camping]

 georger

So what do you do when you have like the last few weeks on the east coast... rain for days on end? pop it up anyway in the rain? wait until a sunny day? In the last month or two, we ve had several long strings of rainy days...

 In a word... YES!!!
 
 Even if it s raining, pop it up and wait for it to dry, even if that s a day or two before the rain stops. This helps the inside to dry out as well.
 
 Also, when I close up in the rain, I take a couple of large bath or beach towels and try and soak up as much water as possible before folding it up. This works well if you push the bunk ends in, but leave the canvas hanging (but not on the ground) as the gravity helps drain off the water too!