Sagging bed end canvas

[John McNamara]

The rear bed end canvas on our 1996 Coleman Key West droops noticably. Water pools quickly when it rains, particularly on the right side of the end support pole. This does not occur on the front bed. Do we need to replace the canvas? Is there some way of tightening it up? The bed seems to be fully extended, so does the end pole and the support pole.

[wavery]

The rear bed end canvas on our 1996 Coleman Key West droops noticably. Water pools quickly when it rains, particularly on the right side of the end support pole. This does not occur on the front bed. Do we need to replace the canvas? Is there some way of tightening it up? The bed seems to be fully extended, so does the end pole and the support pole.

Pictures might help (inside & out).

It's not like your canvas can stretch. There must be something wrong in your set-up.

Are you using the "Shepard's hook" pole on that end?

[austinado16]

It's the metal frame out at the end and the shepard's pole that provide all the shape and stretching force to the canvas.  So as long as the canvas is secured up inside the roof correctly and the shepard's pole and end frame are the correct shape and dimension, you should have a tight roof.  Check out these parts and let us know what you find.

[AustinBoston]

It's not like your canvas can stretch.

He has a '96 Coleman, which would have had Sunbrella (sp).  Would 11 YO Sunbrella stretch?

Austin

[AustinBoston]

Ah, is the tenting connected properly on the underside of the bunk (the bungies properly attached)?

Austin

[wavery]

He has a '96 Coleman, which would have had Sunbrella (sp).  Would 11 YO Sunbrella stretch?

Austin

No Way. It may sun-rot and come apart (over time) but it will not stretch.

[PattieAM]

Well, as the canvas/sumbrella doesn't stretch, it's gotta be either the shepard poles, bungee hookup underneath the bunk end or maybe even the bunk end supports that go from bunk bottom to the frame of your trailer.  Are they 'locked in' and is the bunk fully extended?  Another thing to consider, might be the channel on the roof where the tenting is attached - has it pulled loose?

What about the u-shaped tent end bar -- is it warped?

My shepherd pole somehow got resized on one trip (just one hole off) -- and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why the bunk end looked so funny!

[John McNamara]

Just got back this afternoon from Fort Wilderness. While we where there, rain water puddled up again on bed end. I will put camper back up and get some photos. The bunk end supports are firmly locked in place. The tent end bar doesn't appear to be warped. The shepard pole is at the same notch we've used since we got the camper in May; same notch as the other side as well. Itr might be an inch or so longer because we replaced the clip that slids into the roof bracket. The clip was broken about three-quarters of the way down. We had to replace the bungee cords on both ends (dry rot), but the end that sags actually seems to have a tighter fit. I'll try to shoot roof channel where the tent is attached to see if anyone can see an abnormality. It looks all right to me, but this is the only camper I've got to judge by.

[wavery]

I just thought of something :yikes:

 :sombraro: Lay both of the "Shepard's hooks on top of each other and see if the "U" part of one of them is bent.

[srds]

Look at the seams and see if they have come unglued,around the top area.My friends camper 97 coleman started puddeling on top of both the bunks,he went as far as putting bungie cords across bottom bunks to tighten up.When he was about to give up his wife told him about lit'l flakes being on the bunks,sure enough the cavas all had loosen because seams had come unglued.We glue them back with super weather strip glue(dries fast do only a couple of inches at a time) and no more puddles. We did this 6 months ago and they still holding up good.

P.S
   You said a while back you had some type of water problem in your roof,make sure when you set bed support in there's no movement in front area,could have some damage from water.

[fishingdan]

We have a 1997 Keywest.  I noticed that our bunkend canvas was a little saggy on our last trip (actually, the whole year that we have owned it).  On our last trip, we were camping with some friends.  My friend saw the sagging and told me to adjust the shephard's poles.  I previously didn't even notice that they were length adjustable. Da!!  

We extended them a bit and our bunkends are nice and tight.  Unlike me, you probably already tried that, but just in case, I thought I would mention it.

[Barry Smith]

I have noticed a similiar problem on the 2000 Coleman Fleetwood I've just purchased.  In my case it seems to be caused by an irregular bend in the tent end bar. It appears the previous owner must have put too much pressure on the  end bar with the shepherds crook when trying to extend the canvas !!!  This results in the crest of the canvas being extended too far and the corners not enough when errect.

I'm in the process of trying to bend  it to the correct shape but have no way of knowing what the correct shape is - unless both end bars are supposed to have the same shape. The tent top over the smaller bed is fine but the shapes of the end bars are  different. This appears to be in the design as  the one has to lift more canvas over a greater length than the other.  Has anyone definite knowledge as to whether the shapes are intended to be identicle or not ?

[sewserious]

We have the same problem with one end of our 1993 Coleman Roanoke.  It just happens to be the end where the previous owner let the runoff from the air conditioner puddle.  So far, we haven't been able to find a fix, but we believe part of it is the roof not raising quite far enough up on that end due to the weight of the air conditioner.  The tenting isn't as tight on that end as the other one even on the sides.  DH is going to adjust the eyebolts this winter, as the easy adjustment underneath has already been tightened as far as possible.

And yes, the vinyl coated fabric on the top of the bunkends WILL stretch and sag if there is enough weight on it.  (I am a seamstress and have worked with stuff like that before in other applications, and without stiff reinforcement of some sort, it can stretch.)

[AustinBoston]

I have noticed a similiar problem on the 2000 Coleman Fleetwood I've just purchased.  In my case it seems to be caused by an irregular bend in the tent end bar. It appears the previous owner must have put too much pressure on the  end bar with the shepherds crook when trying to extend the canvas !!!  This results in the crest of the canvas being extended too far and the corners not enough when errect.

I'm in the process of trying to bend  it to the correct shape but have no way of knowing what the correct shape is - unless both end bars are supposed to have the same shape. The tent top over the smaller bed is fine but the shapes of the end bars are  different. This appears to be in the design as  the one has to lift more canvas over a greater length than the other.  Has anyone definite knowledge as to whether the shapes are intended to be identicle or not ?

On the Coleman/Fleetwoods I've seen, both end bars are shaped the same.

There may be a different shape for the very smallest bunks, but I would expect it's easier for the manufacturer to just have one size end bow.

In any case, if the end bow is bent toward the camper, it needs to be straightened so that it is flat (when viewed across the end of the bunk).  The corners of the bow should not angle in at all.

Austin

[wavery]

I have noticed a similiar problem on the 2000 Coleman Fleetwood I've just purchased.  In my case it seems to be caused by an irregular bend in the tent end bar. It appears the previous owner must have put too much pressure on the  end bar with the shepherds crook when trying to extend the canvas !!!  This results in the crest of the canvas being extended too far and the corners not enough when errect.

I'm in the process of trying to bend  it to the correct shape but have no way of knowing what the correct shape is - unless both end bars are supposed to have the same shape. The tent top over the smaller bed is fine but the shapes of the end bars are  different. This appears to be in the design as  the one has to lift more canvas over a greater length than the other.  Has anyone definite knowledge as to whether the shapes are intended to be identicle or not ?

I would not recommend strying to staighten that material. If you re-bend that tempered aluminum tubing it will merely serve to weaken it farther. If you get into a strong wind, the Shepard's hook could collapse completely (do to it's weakened condition) and there is a possibility of it poking a hole through your top.

I made a new Shepard's hook out of galvanized electrical conduit. I used my good one as a pattern. I cut the straight ends off of my old Shepard's hook and pop-riveted them inside the new piece that I made (to preserve the correct sizing).

The trick is having a tubing bender. If you know an electrician, he should have one. Otherwise, they are only about $20 at Home Depot. That's still a far cry from the $50 that the dealer wants for a new one and it is far stronger.