If it’s in the awaiting test category I’m not that worried!
I have just sold my T6 and swapped it for a T6.1. In the four and a half years I owned my T6 not one drop of water leaked thru the canvas material, seams, zips or stitching etc. during something approaching 100 days/year of up-top sleeping, Neither did we have a problem of wicking from canvas to bedding, even if the bedding was up against it. So what changed? VW introduced, for reasons I am not aware of, a new canvas material which is clearly different from the old and not fit for purpose. I am now on my third canvas for my T6.1, the first two leaking in unacceptable ways. I have yet to test my third canvas but will be trying to do this between showers over the next couple of days.
Assuming you managed to find some rain, how did the replacement bellows perform?
And...does i look any different?
Mine look maybe marginally darker on the outside but I might be imagining it
I don’t really interpret that as good news - if glistening water is appearing then it’s getting through and I expect would start dripping given a little while longer (did you stop your test at the point above or keep going?). Yes, better than before, but doesn’t sound resolved. Unbelievably.
It’s binary in my eyes; it either works or it doesn’t. Yes I don’t expect it to withstand an industrial pressure washer or being submersed in the North Sea, but I doubt a normal hose on any setting other than the jet/narrow will exert any more (probably less in fact) hydrostatic head than normal rain in moderate wind (and I am referring to seams and joints still as I know the HH head of the new material itself isn’t in question).
And what are VW doing to get this nominal improvement? We need that info to understand if those improvements will give long term protection. No point having an effective bellows for a couple of years only to fail outside warranty. Any type of topical sealant will eventually fail, especially given the stretchy properties of the fabric and tensions put through it with the lifting mechanism. Same goes for seam tape.
I had to stop test because I wanted to be sure I could dry everything before folding roof away. For my second test I will need daylight with a wet morning and a clear dry afternoon/evening for clearing up/drying etc. So probably not this week.
The supplier of the pre MY23 bellows might be in Ukraine/gone bust/unable to supply for any number of reasons. The fact they are unavailable even as replacements for early vans supports the supply chain problems.
Indeed, this seems to be the most likely conclusion. It actually exacerbates the problem for VW, but presents a fantastic opportunity for an independent manufacturer to "get it right".
Who makes the bellows that are fitted in conversions? I’m assuming it’s a selection of independent manufacturers.
I assume so as I've seen many different variations (unless it's just one or two manufacturers producing multiple products). I've always though the Cali bellows seems better quality though than any of the conversions. Well, until now anyway. To be fair, a bin bag would perform better.
Unfortunately, that’s correct
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