anyone else leave their PUP popped up at home?

[cndlzrus]

We almost never close up our pup.  We leave it popped up in the driveway all summer and into the fall.  Usually after mid September we start to  get it ready for winterizing since October is my busy month with craft fairs and that takes my weekends.  

So is this gonna cause a problem in the long run?  Or will things be ok?

[CajunCamper]

In my opinion your not doing your canvas a favor leaving it exposed to the elements. Just the UV rays alone will shorten the life of your canvas not to mention rain and other weather.

I always close mine while not in use.

[AustinBoston]

It depends.  We will leave it open if:

1) We closed it up wet.
2) There is an unfinished project to work on.
3) We're not done packing in/out, or have not finished leaning after a trip (this is rare)
4) We'll only be home a few days.

I doubt we leave it up for more than a week at a time.  I don't want to unnecessarily expose it to Minnesota weather, which includes things like 100

[wavery]

I used to own a business that designed and built canvas enclosures (and other covers) for boats.

I can tell you that the life of Sunbrella and most other materials is about 3 years in full sun on a boat. That is if it is washed regularly and waterproofed once a year. In 5 years, the stuff really starts falling apart.

One of the biggest problems on the PU is the size of the windows. The isinglass will start dulling after a year, browning in 2 years and will need to be replaced in 3 years of full sun exposure.

Now....having said all that, I assume that you get some shade on you PU (as apposed to a boat). Also, you are not talking year-round exposure. I would think that a little math may give you a reasonable life of your material.

I would recommend washing the PU with soap and water (Woolite works well) at least once a month (weekly would be better). You are probably exposed to a lot more dirt than a boat would be. Dirt has a lot of bacteria that will also degrade the fabric and waterproofing. I would also re-waterproof yearly.

I hope that helps......

[brainpause]

We kept our popup popped up almost all the time...in the garage. Even in the winter. Kept it smelling fresher, it seemed.

Now that we have the HTT, we would only leave it open if we packed up wet. Then we would go to storage and close it up.

Larry

[CajunCamper]

I think I might consider keeping mine open all the time if I had a garage to open it up in.

[MomboTN]

I have a barn that I could leave mine popped up all the time but I think keeping it closed when not being used will keep it in better shape for the long run.  That being said if all were equal I would ask my self "what would my neighbors rather see?"

[cndlzrus]

Well I closed it up and put in the garage...   makes me sad when I look out the window and there is no PUP in driveway...  But with the weather we been having in Michigan (rain too much rain) it safer inside the garage....  Only two more weeks and we will go camping again...

[backpacker3]

Open mine up a few days before a trip to air our and after a trip to dry and air out. Otherwise, it stays closed to prevnt sun damage.

[cndlzrus]

Open mine up a few days before a trip to air our and after a trip to dry and air out. Otherwise, it stays closed to prevnt sun damage.

I will pull it back out of the garage this holiday weekend to give it a good cleaning and stock it for the following weekend... I need to get some things from the camper store, I just got an email from them they are having a sale!  This could be trouble  they have their 07 campers on sale.  might have to do some window shopping..

[ddh2]

I have had mine for about 3 months now and and I rarely close it up, cause i am either unpacking from a trip or reloading it for another. it has only been in the driveway for 1 w/e. come to think of it, the next 2 months of weekends are already booked for camping as well

[munchkin]

Sometmes we leave it up if we know we have a trip within a week or so. Otherwise, we unpack at the cg and leave it down till a few days before next trip.

[wavery]

I will pull it back out of the garage this holiday weekend to give it a good cleaning and stock it for the following weekend... I need to get some things from the camper store, I just got an email from them they are having a sale!  This could be trouble  they have their 07 campers on sale.  might have to do some window shopping..

Just a tip......if you've had it open for quite a while, you may want to consider giving the fabric a good bath in Woolite.

That material accumulates a lot of dirt. Even the slightest breeze will cause the fabric to act as an air filter (trapping dirt). It you allow the dirt to stay in the fabric, the organic matter (which is the composition of about 90% of dirt) will decompose and turn to bacteria. The bacteria will do just as much harm (if not more) to the fabric and water repellent as the Sun's rays.

You may not have to add water repellent unless the fabric actually lets water through.