an honest chat about rain and pop ups

[cbird]

Getting ready to buy our first popoup. The usual story, been camping for years in a tent, in all kinds of weather and with small children. We are a hardy crew. So I know about tents and rain and how after 24 hours of a good soak or a few hours of a driving rain that hits the side of the tent, they leak.

What I am wondering is how do popups do in these same situations? The one we are considering purchasing has "Sunbrella" tenting.

Thanks in advance for your input.

[wavery]

Getting ready to buy our first popoup. The usual story, been camping for years in a tent, in all kinds of weather and with small children. We are a hardy crew. So I know about tents and rain and how after 24 hours of a good soak or a few hours of a driving rain that hits the side of the tent, they leak.

What I am wondering is how do popups do in these same situations? The one we are considering purchasing has "Sunbrella" tenting.

Thanks in advance for your input.

The Sunbrella works excellent. Absolutely no leaks from the material or stitching. I used to build cockpit enclosures for yachts, using Sunbrella. I sailed mine around the world and spent a lot of time in pouring rain in the tropics and breaking seas in storms at sea. I never once had a failure with the Sunbrella in 14 years of using and building with it.

[cbird]

The Sunbrella works excellent. Absolutely no leaks from the material or stitching. I used to build cockpit enclosures for yachts, using Sunbrella. I sailed mine around the world and spent a lot of time in pouring rain in the tropics and breaking seas in storms at sea. I never once had a failure with the Sunbrella in 14 years of using and building with it.

This is great news! Can't wait to share it with my husband who has a knack for choosing the side of the tent that leaks.

[wavery]

This is great news! Can't wait to share it with my husband who has a knack for choosing the side of the tent that leaks.

This is the exact same material as used in the PU. Let me assure you that this sailboat gets a LOT more punishment than your PU will ever get. It stays dry as a bone inside (with the exception of some condensation in cold weather).

[cbird]

This is the exact same material as used in the PU. Let me assure you that this sailboat gets a LOT more punishment than your PU will ever get. It stays dry as a bone inside (with the exception of some condensation in cold weather).

 Nice boat...One other question. How long can we expect the material to last?

[AustinBoston]

We used to tent camp.  Nylon, canvas, etc. all "let water through".  We have been 95-99% drier in the pop-up than in a tent.

The moisture problems that can come up are:

• Condensation while in use.  Leaving a window open a few inches or turning on the furnace has always fixed this.
• Condensation while in storage.  If you live in a damp or humid climate (such as Florida or the PNW) using a moisture absorber like damp-rid can help.
• Setting up/taking down in the rain.  It's usually not difficult to get everything ready, wait for a lul in the rain, then do a "speed takedown" of the tenting and roof.  We can limit rain exposure to 3-5 minutes tops.  Open her up and dry her out as soon as possible after this, because the tenting is wet and will cause interior problems.

(Lowering voice so rain gods don't hear)

Getting out of the rain was one of several reasons for us to move to a pop-up.  The net result was a truly amazing string of good luck, where it seems like it almost never rains on our vacations any more.  After taking the Taj to more than 25 states and using it for more than 120 nights, I don't think we've had more than 8-10 rainy days or nights.

When it does rain, we are very happy to not be in a tent!

Austin

[beacher]

Nice boat...One other question. How long can we expect the material to last?

Not very long when in contact with Jarts, darts, marshmallow skewers, knives, and pointy writing tools.  The stuff also dosn't hold up well to direct flame.  Elephants and trees rubbing against the tenting can abrade it.

So, avoid sharp objects, rubbing things, and fire and you should be good to go for at least 15-20 years.  Assuming you have it Popped-Up and exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays about 90 days a year, and you store it in a clean and dry condition.

[wavery]

Nice boat...One other question. How long can we expect the material to last?

Sunbrella is vulnerable to 2 things, sun & chafe (not including knives & fire :p )

You could expect 3-5 years on a boat in the sun every day in the tropics. Therefore, I don't think the sun will be an issue on the PU for several decades unless you leave it up in your yard all year round . The awning, in front of my apt building is made of Sunbrella and has been there for longer than 7 years. I believe that it was a few years old when I took over this building. The umbrellas on the roof were made at the same time. They are up (in direct SoCal sunlight) 365 days a year and don't show any signs of wear.

Chafe is another matter all together. This material is absolutely the best choice for the PU but you must take care that it is not constantly rubbing against anything rough (like a tree branch), like when the wind is blowing. It does very well with rounded smooth surfaces. It does not like rough surfaces and will wear a hole in one outing if you don't watch it.

Nylon tent material is much more resistant to chafe but the drawbacks far out-way the advantages.

Here's a quick tip. If your Sunbrella ever does get a hole in it, burn a circle around the hole (preferably with a hot-knife). This will keep it from tearing until you can put a patch on it. Sunbrella should always be cut with a hot-knife instead of scissors. The threads are actually made of acrylic (plastic) it melts and seals itself when cut with a hot-knife. It unravels when cut with a scissors.

[GeneF]

The thing that you will enjoy about a popup when it rains is that you have a place to sit or move around.

Really nice to climb up on a bunk and listen to the rain and keep out of each others way.

We always kept a couple of board games in the camper just in case of rain.  Of course, Candyland was the favorite one when they were young.

Having the awning is also nice.  If it isn't heavy rain, another nice place to lounge.

If it is raining heavily, you may want to just move the pillows and sleeping bags a little away form the canvas.  Sometimes you can get some wicking which ends up with some damp spots.

Camping in the rain is really no fun no matter what rig you have but a popup does make it a lot nicer than a tent.

Good luck and happy camping.

[AustinBoston]

One thing I left out is that rain is quite a bit louder falling on our pop-up roof (made of ABS "plastic") than it ever would sound on a tent.  It's not an offensive noise, but it can wake me from a sound sleep.

Austin

[Used 2B PopUPTimes]

I remember one year we got out about 10 times, it rained every time and we never had a leak.
I agree with Gene, I like to hear it rain when I'm in the bunk.
D.

[tlhdoc]

So I know about tents and rain and how after 24 hours of a good soak or a few hours of a driving rain that hits the side of the tent, they leak.
 
What I am wondering is how do popups do in these same situations? The one we are considering purchasing has "Sunbrella" tenting.

We have camped about 250 nights in our current PU.  There have been times it has been left set up for 2 weeks at home.  It has Sunbrella tenting and other than a few dirty marks the tenting looks like new.  Sunbrella is warranted for 5 years form the factory (gee do you think that is why Fleetwood offers a 5 year warranty?).  It is water proof, breathable, mildew proof (although any dirt on the Sunbrella can mildew) and fire retardant.  If you clean the tenting with a solvent you can remove the water proofness, but it is easily reapplied applied using 303's Hi Teck Fabric Guard.  If you take good care of the tenting it will last for many years.  Good luck with the hunt for a PU.

[West Coast Canuck]

I usually bring a large tarp to cover our PU with when we camp. Although our PU doesn't leak, I cover it anyways if there is any threat of rain. When I do cover it, I drape over the PU with the tarp and then open it. I haven't had any problems with the beds or bedding getting wet. As far as condensation goes, I open a window a bit to ventilate.

[Camping Coxes]

One of our pop-ups had an aluminum roof and when it rained real hard in the middle of the night, it sounded like a herd of elephants running across the top!  But we stayed completely dry.  Well, I stayed completely dry.  DH was outside trying to get the chairs under the awning real quick to keep them somewhat dry!  

Our Coleman has been rained on for many hours in Lake Tahoe.  It was just a constant drumming on the roof.  We stayed dry and warm and played many rounds of rummy and Uno.
 
We live in sunny So. Cal., so we don't have to wrry about rain very much, but when we got rain, we stayed dry.  You need to read your manufacturer's directions about cleaning the canvas.  We don't use heavy soap on those occasions we feel the need to wipe down the canvas.  We use a soft car brush and a light spray of the house to wipe off all the gunk that might accumulate after a week of camping under a messy tree.  (Popup Gizmos takes care of that problem too).

[Kavoom]

We went through 8 1/2 inches of rain in less than 8 hours this last fall with nary a drop inside.  This was up in NW Missouri on the river across from Kansas (Leavenworth).  Morning came, clouds went away and the sun came out for a gorgeous day except for the flooding everywhere.  

It was amazing and I was frankly impressed with how dry we were with no condensation or anything.  I had lots of time to think since we couldn't sleep with the constant thunder.  What was interesting was the water that collected under the beds where the vinolon goes around and velcros on.  I just unhooked them and it fell out.  

It was the worst rainstorm (unforecasted of course) I have ever been in.  Imagine, a bad thunderstorm.  You know the ones that last for less than a half hour.  This one went on like that for 8 hours.