Help my Awning is Wet

[PJay]

Our 2000 Coleman is a great camper and in good condition.  Except for the awning.  Rain, snow, moisture in general leak into the zipped cover.  Every time we open the awning "boot" water spills out of the rolled up awning.  The canvas holsters for the roof poles have finally rotted so pressure alone holds them now but I am constantly concerned about mold, mildew and generally rotting my awning.

Anyone else have this problem and what did you do to keep the awning dry inside its "boot?"

[justus]

Our 2000 Coleman is a great camper and in good condition. Except for the awning. Rain, snow, moisture in general leak into the zipped cover. Every time we open the awning "boot" water spills out of the rolled up awning. The canvas holsters for the roof poles have finally rotted so pressure alone holds them now but I am constantly concerned about mold, mildew and generally rotting my awning.

Anyone else have this problem and what did you do to keep the awning dry inside its "boot?"
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We have a similar problem on our 1998 Skamper. Our "bag" has a 2 inch hole where it attaches to the camper.

I took the entire awning bag off of the camper. There is just one screw to take out then we slid the bag (including the awning) out of the rail. I laid it out in the back yard and scrubbed  it with a brush and some soapy water. I was able to get most of the mold off of it. With the exception of the small hole I put in it when I dropped the hose on it  :mad:  it looks much better now.

I hung it out to dry and then put it away. Next week I am going to try to find some place in the metro that can make a new bag for me.

Most of the advice I have gotten was to check out places that do auto upholstery.  

Hope this helps  

[flyfisherman]

What I do is simply remove the awning and store it seperately in the garage.  Putting it back on is not all that difficult.



Fly

[PJay]

Has no one found a way to water proof the zippered enclosure?  
Is my only help to remove the awning and zippered pouch each time?

That seems like a lot of work and extra storage.

[ScouterMom]

I've done alot of sewing,  and have mended quite a few tents, too -

as far as i know, there is no way to 'waterproof' a zipper - water is going to work it's way thru the tooth area, even if the fabric part of the zipper is plasticised or treated somehow.  

You could try spraying it with tent water repellant or using the beeswax seam sealer on the fabric of the zipper - but it still would not be water tight, just more resistant to water.

What I would suggest, if possible, is to put some kind of flap OVER the zipper that is water resistant, so that water runs off of it.  If you sew something above the zipper that hangs OVER the opening, at least water won't pool inside it.

laura

[wernstriumph]

I too have water entering the bag on my new Shademaker, but the zipper is just on the bottom unlike the Fleetwood awning which has the zipper going up the sides. I think the water may be coming in via the seam where they sew the vinyl welting and the bag to the awning (the thread is quite large). I think the beeswax sealer sounds like a good idea.

[jmckinle1]

I checked the awning on my '97 Coleman yesterday and it is also wet from the bag leaking.

After cleaning and drying the awning, I found the awning and bag easily slides out of the track and stores in the PUP when folded down.