First trip in the rain

[mikeelawson]

I would be most grateful for some tips / advice regarding the rain, this will be our first trip with showers predicted this weekend (Bourton on the water)

1. If it is predicted to rain, at what level do you decide not to take the risk and sleep downstairs?
2. Are the Pop tops waterproof?
3. Is it ok to fold down a wet pop top? Should you wipe it down to get rid of most of the moisture?
4. How do yo ventilate but still keep dry inside?
5. Any tips for keeping things dry inside (raincoats etc)?
6. Another advice?

Newby seelking advice for this weekend.

Regards,

Mike

 

[Trudi]

The wind deflectors on the front door windows mean you can open the windows about 1 inch without rain coming in if you have time to order them. Easy to fit. Even I did it .

The 6.1 pop top is thicker than the others so should withstand a fair bit of rain. But in all honesty not been able to try ours out yet. I'll let you know after Saturday

To dry it, pop it up as soon as your able when it's dry. They dry pretty quickly.

 

[Meoncoast]

For us. Rain doesn't stop play.
Wind may stop us from putting the roof up but not rain.
No water ingress on our roof when up when wet.
Just fold down the roof if wet and put it back up to dry asap.
Use wind deflectors for ventilation.
coats in boot.

 

[Velma's Dad]

We'd never sleep downstairs just because it was going to rain. (High winds forecast would be different, then we'd keep the roof down because the buffeting can be noisy.)

You get a tiny bit of spray through the air vents in the pop-top, but hey it's only water... and much less than the condensation from your breath if you keep the van all stitched up.

 

[ThomasHJ]

Yeah I agree with @Meoncoast that (when you're thinking of the pop-up-roof) rain really isn't anything to worry about, unless perhaps it rains days on end or the rain is part of a storm, when really wind is the real problem. Although some people might be woken up by the sound of rain.

I have only once chosen to lower the roof because of wind. It was recently and the winds were 8 beaufort (40 knots, 46mph, 74kmh). It helps when you turn the roof with the lower part (back of the van) into the wind.

Of course the roll-out awning is something to keep an eye on. Make sure it's tied down well and if it does rain a fair bit, make sure one of the legs is set much much lower then the other. If it rains really hard, you'll want the awning to be quite diagonal to really allow the water to flow out. In some cases consider winding it in (especially with strong winds). We never leave the van with the awning out and never go to bed with the awning out if there's serious winds or rain coming. (came back once to find the awning trashed because rain build up).

It's ok to fold the pop-top down when wet, but a good idea to give it a chance to dry when the rain stops.

We ventilate by using the ventilation roster that goes into the sliding windows. Under the awning rain usually won't come in and often rain comes from either the back or the front so you can also use the roster in the other other sliding window. (kitchen)

Drying stuff inside the van is not easy. Raincoats and wet shoes go under the awning and under the van respectively. You can dry stuff (shoes, clothing) when you place 'm in or above the doorstep at the sliding door. The heater can help to dry it and if anything leaks,` its in the doorstep.

Take shoes or boots that you can get into and get out off very easily (no laces, etc) so you can leave them outside the van. Make sure you think about where you pack stuff so you dont have to go out into the rain a lot (tail gate access) Bring games or books or alcohol ;-) and have fun

 

[GrannyJen]

Rain will not affect your Cali. Pop the roof down wet, just remember to air it out as soon as you can. If the rain is horizontal then spray may come in through the vents.

 

[flying banana]

Best tip already mentioned is wind deflectorsand open the windows an inch. That reminds me I need to buy some more of them as I broke my passenger side one . Heko are good

 

[Elly Swanson]

If you have some cash to splash the internal isotop insulation is fabulous. It’s very thin and made out of a geotechnical material so is waterproof. Keeps us warm and snug and shuts out the light. The weather’s been so pants we haven’t tried it in the heat but people say it keeps the van cool too.

Only time so far we‘ve put the top down and slept downstairs was during storm Frances last year, on a Pembrokeshire cliff. Top down wind out awning in and driveaway doublepegged and extra storm straps.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

I would be most grateful for some tips / advice regarding the rain, this will be our first trip with showers predicted this weekend (Bourton on the water)

1. If it is predicted to rain, at what level do you decide not to take the risk and sleep downstairs?
2. Are the Pop tops waterproof?
3. Is it ok to fold down a wet pop top? Should you wipe it down to get rid of most of the moisture?
4. How do yo ventilate but still keep dry inside?
5. Any tips for keeping things dry inside (raincoats etc)?
6. Another advice?

Newby seelking advice for this weekend.

Regards,

Mike

Hi @mikeelawson We’ve slept upstairs in our 6.1 when it rained all night with no problem at all. As others have said if you close the roof when wet, open it as soon as you can on a dry day.
We have a Pucer pop-top cover but haven’t used it yet. Bought it for winter camping but I guess it would also be a good barrier in really heavy rain?

 

[Ozzy Pete]

When it comes to rain we have had some beauties. French downpours are the best. Don’t forget it’s only a tent with a hardtop. And only one thickness. You will notice some droplets on the inside but that’s no big deal. Every so often we spray ours with a good waterproof spray and it works wonders and makes all the difference.
You can’t expect the original waterproofing to last for ever.

 

[SusiBus]

There is a lot of difference between the fabric on a T6.1 and a T5.
The T5 fabric does tend to let the rain in, and keeping the bedding off it to stop it getting wet can be a problem. As Ozzy Pete said, it's only a single skin tent, so an application regularly of a good waterproofing spray is a sensible idea.
With the latest T6.1, finally VW seem to have have got it right. Darker fabric keeps the light out in the mornings, and fabric where the water just runs off. The fabric also folds up much better, will less of the dramas of it possibility getting caught in the scissors.

 

[Kemper-van]

Darker fabric keeps the light out in the mornings, and fabric where the water just runs off.

We faced some very heavy thunderstorms this summer (the kind with up to 60-70 L/h for a short amount of time) in a 6.1. This kind of weather can still lead to some trickles of water through the new fabric as well, especially on the side that is facing the wind and also mostly only the lower section. I assume because it runs off the fabric, but was just too much around the bottom of the fabric.
At the backside, we also had some water seeping through at that time, I assume it came through the fabric a little because all the water on top of the roof runs off on that side and splashed up onto the fabric.

Given the circumstances, it held up better than I could have hoped with such weather!

 

[LTW]

I've recently returned from a 9 day trip to North Cornwall and experienced some heavy downpours in the night. There was also fairly strong winds at times and no rain came in. I have the isotop fitted which works really well, except I find when lowering the roof the extra fabrics causes worse creasing in the VW canvas and therefore I pull the isotop off the side velcro back in line with the start of the mattress to help with closing the bellows.

I also have the cali topper which I store inside one of the camping chairs in the tailgate. I couldn't use on this trip because I had roof bars on and used the van daily and removal is awkward.

The biggest problem I've encountered sleeping in the rain (I sleep downstairs) was the dripping off the roof once the rain started. I've experienced this several times recently and thought the solar panel was preventing water from passing down the roof channels and collecting on the outer channels. The SP is now fitted so that all roof channels can allow rain to flow and the experience is just the same.

The constant dripping is torture especially when you've locked onto the sound which is quite loud. I will experiment with the hose on the driveway to see whether the curly cable is causing the problem because it seems worse on the left side.

 

[Amarillo]

We are in south Cornwall right now.

We have two boys up, two adults down. It would take extreme weather for us to pop down the top and all sleep downstairs.

Cornish drizzle is fine, but in heavy rain the roof topper goes on. And then the problem is condensation. We have front window vents, and leave the driver’s side sliding window open. In strong winds when the rain might blow through the sliding window, condensation is less of an issue so it can be closed.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

I've recently returned from a 9 day trip to North Cornwall and experienced some heavy downpours in the night. There was also fairly strong winds at times and no rain came in. I have the isotop fitted which works really well, except I find when lowering the roof the extra fabrics causes worse creasing in the VW canvas and therefore I pull the isotop off the side velcro back in line with the start of the mattress to help with closing the bellows.

I also have the cali topper which I store inside one of the camping chairs in the tailgate. I couldn't use on this trip because I had roof bars on and used the van daily and removal is awkward.

The biggest problem I've encountered sleeping in the rain (I sleep downstairs) was the dripping off the roof once the rain started. I've experienced this several times recently and thought the solar panel was preventing water from passing down the roof channels and collecting on the outer channels. The SP is now fitted so that all roof channels can allow rain to flow and the experience is just the same.

The constant dripping is torture especially when you've locked onto the sound which is quite loud. I will experiment with the hose on the driveway to see whether the curly cable is causing the problem because it seems worse on the left side.

The one thing you really notice is when you sleep upstairs with your head to the narrow end is the exact second it starts to rain. It’s like being inside a drum. Haven’t had the experience of hail but that must be even better..

 

[dave6779]

Not sure if anyone’s mentioned it yet but it’s worth prewetting the roof, I heard it causes the canvas to tighten up. Otherwise it’ll do it the first time it rains and you’re away, which is fine but if you get a heavy rain the first time, a little might get through.
It’s only water at the end of the day though.
I did ours and it’s been fine, we’ve been in some pretty heavy rain storms on holiday and it’s never leaked.

 

[Karlos]

Hi Mike

Use it & enjoy it then raise the roof when you get home to dry it out if it gets wet..

As @Velma's Dad said high winds are the concern.

 

[Hantshog]

If you put the roof down when wet is there a high possibility that the damp will soak through to the mattress? I’m a bit paranoid about getting the top wet so put the roof down when we leave the van at a campsite for the day. I think It also prevents the canvas from being damaged by the sunlight.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Not sure if anyone’s mentioned it yet but it’s worth prewetting the roof, I heard it causes the canvas to tighten up. Otherwise it’ll do it the first time it rains and you’re away, which is fine but if you get a heavy rain the first time, a little might get through.
It’s only water at the end of the day though.
I did ours and it’s been fine, we’ve been in some pretty heavy rain storms on holiday and it’s never leaked.

One thing you can do if you see a lot of water on the outside of the canvas is give the material a good slap all the way round it will definitely knock most of it off until you get an opportunity to dry it out properly.

 

[Amarillo]

One thing you can do if you see a lot of water on the outside of the canvas is give the material a good slap all the way round it will definitely knock most of it off until you get an opportunity to dry it out properly.

Or just use a roof topper.

 

[soulstyledevon]

The one thing you really notice is when you sleep upstairs with your head to the narrow end is the exact second it starts to rain. It’s like being inside a drum. Haven’t had the experience of hail but that must be even better..

Your sleeping the wrong way round…
O/P, just remember to keep away from the canvas when it rains, to prevent wicking.

 

[Peter Bucknell]

I would be most grateful for some tips / advice regarding the rain, this will be our first trip with showers predicted this weekend (Bourton on the water)

1. If it is predicted to rain, at what level do you decide not to take the risk and sleep downstairs?
2. Are the Pop tops waterproof?
3. Is it ok to fold down a wet pop top? Should you wipe it down to get rid of most of the moisture?
4. How do yo ventilate but still keep dry inside?
5. Any tips for keeping things dry inside (raincoats etc)?
6. Another advice?

Newby seelking advice for this weekend.

Regards,

Mike

Obviously too late for this weekend, but I really recommend buying a Pucer screen. It is the most useful accessory I have bought and not excessively pricey - mine was £130. Unlike toppers, the Pucer screen wraps around the bellows and the two eyelets at the back are secured with a small bungee, so it is secure but super easy to put on and take off. It keeps your bellows dry even in driving horizontal rain and it also provides insulation, making the roof bed much more comfortable in cold and windy weather. As well as insulating you from the cold, it also provides some sound insulation and being reflective on the outside means you can have a lie in without being woken by early morning sunlight and keeps you cooler in hot sunny weather. Finally, it does not interfere with solar panels like some toppers.
As others have said, wind deflectors are great for allowing ventilation when it's raining.
Hope you're having a great weekend - looks a bit brighter this morning.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Your sleeping the wrong way round…
O/P, just remember to keep away from the canvas when it rains, to prevent wicking.

Thanks for that, I’ve always needed someone to tell me which way to sleep in bed. Also when there are 2 of you ( But not if you are Billy no mates) We try not to hold our faces against the canvas but when there’s 6 of you up top it’s difficult.

 

[Cali Phillip]

Wind defectors and we have a home made one of these https://www.brandrup.de/en/brandrup...accessories/vw-vehicle-exterior/vw-airscreen/.
Allows the window to be open at night and for cooking
Cost me about £20 total to make.

 

[Cali Phillip]

We faced some very heavy thunderstorms this summer (the kind with up to 60-70 L/h for a short amount of time) in a 6.1. This kind of weather can still lead to some trickles of water through the new fabric as well, especially on the side that is facing the wind and also mostly only the lower section. I assume because it runs off the fabric, but was just too much around the bottom of the fabric.
At the backside, we also had some water seeping through at that time, I assume it came through the fabric a little because all the water on top of the roof runs off on that side and splashed up onto the fabric.

Given the circumstances, it held up better than I could have hoped with such weather!

I think thats impressive as it appears not to have sealing on the seems as all good tents do.
Proper Scottish storm rain and wind which seems to be more common in the summer now will come though the vents, topper advised or roof down. Proper full winter storm seek shelter, roof down or go indoors, often structural damage occurs !
I speak from being out every week of the year on the west coast of Scotland, it gets marginal for camping beyond measured gusts of 50MPH in terms of sleep quality from van rocking so much, nit good for work next day !