Roof material leaking☹️

[T6 CFO]

Thanks all. That'll be a no then.


Mike

 

[Billabus]

We have an insulated popt cover made by Pucer. It is very good for insulating the van against cold, or heat, and makes a good job of keeping the canvas dry in bad weather. Excellent investment.

 

[Hotel California]

Afther some years it is adviseble to treat the canvas with the same product one use for tents and raincoats.
From new it is not necessary at least on T5 canvas , do not know the new canvas on the 6 ...they are diffrent but guess te same procedure.
Told to me by my VW Cali specialist ....

 

[SimonB]

If you have the cosi you don't even have to spend five minutes fitting it because it stays in the roof all the time. It does a really good job of keeping normal heavy rain out although the canvas gets wet. The topper is good for horizontal Cumbrian rain.

Also works well for the Snowdonian horizontal rain!

 

[SimonB]

I was up the lakes the other week and knew it was a bad forecast so left my roof up to test it out , after six hours of strong wind and horizontal rain it started beading inside near the back hinge with a pool soon running along the inside channel. Presume that due to the wind it was causing the fabric to constantly brush against the hinge. Also had a larger pool forming from the vent. I was on a hard pitch with van side on to weather. Have contacted the dealer and he was going to contact the " tech department " but he did state that the fabric is not water proof. I normally travel alone and wondering if I will be able to erect topper on my own ??

I travel to Snowdonia frequently, mostly on my own. I put the topper on by myself. I use an extending window cleaning pole to put the topper on at the front first and then gravity takes it down to fit at the back. Not as easy if it is windy, but you can usually find someone to assist if really needed. The pole closes down to 1¼ metres when collapsed so fits neatly on the floor in the gap next to the table.

 

[SimonB]

In the old canvas camping days, before ripstop nylon, you had to get the tent wet a few times before the canvas swelled a bit and became waterproof. The stitching holes need to close up, but you must keep bedding away from the bellows to prevent wicking of moisture from outside to inside.
I specifically asked about the bellows having read a few reports on here before the handover and was told that it does just need a bit of water to condition the canvas.
At first the canvas leaked a little bit, the horizontal rain in Snowdonia can be good at finding weakspots in everything. After a wet week in November and in December it now seems fine. January was wet too, but no problem with water coming through.

 

[Sp0_0k]

Are the windows practical on the roof tent topper?
I occasionally use windows in a roof tent but can't justify the windows cost for the topper yet.

 

[SimonB]

The windows are great in the topper. The plastic allows you to have the window open, (unzipped) in the rain, without the rain coming in, which lets a lot more light in.

 

[Brembo]

A rude awakening at 1am on Isle of Tiree
Van now in dealers for new bellows.
Anybody else had this problem?

 

[Ryemslie]

Why does it need new bellows? I’m assuming that there was heavy rain but the canvas is not waterproof. Am I missing something here?

 

[Alan Andrews]

Why does it need new bellows? I’m assuming that there was heavy rain but the canvas is not waterproof. Am I missing something here?

Yes I thought the same, surely it just needs to be left to dry out?

Having said that, I have literally gone and bought a Comfortz roof topper yesterday. This will be a lot easier to dry out!

 

[calimera]

Why does it need new bellows? I’m assuming that there was heavy rain but the canvas is not waterproof. Am I missing something here?

We have been in heavy downpours in our T6 ,no leaks
Thought T6 bellows is waterproof ,different from T5 canvas.

Never used a topper & completely dry in winds 30mph & driving rain

 

[Meoncoast]

We have been in heavy downpours in our T6 ,no leaks
Thought T6 bellows is waterproof ,different from T5 canvas.

Never used a topper & completely dry in winds 30mph & driving rain

The same here.

 

[Hotel California]

Remember that wind is a keyfactor when it comes to water coming thru the canvas .
There's rain , there's heavy wind but the combi of both can be a problem.

 

[GrannyJen]

The T6 bellows may be more water resistant, it is not waterproof. If it was then most of the interior of the van would be wet from condensation.

I was closing my "windows" in the roof on Sunday during the monsoon rains and high winds of storm Bronagh or whoever was next. I noticed if I rubbed the fabric then water would come through. Capilliary action, happened with every tent I have ever had including hi-tec high- altitude mountain tents,

If care is taken not to have items or people rubbing against the fabric then it should remain water resistant and there should not be water ingress. Bronagh or whoever did not manage to get through my roof so if it was not capillary action and simply water ingress then definitely a problem that needs rectifying.

 

[Brembo]

The T6 bellows may be more water resistant, it is not waterproof. If it was then most of the interior of the van would be wet from condensation.

If care is taken not to have items or people rubbing against the fabric then it should remain water resistant and there should not be water ingress. Bronagh or whoever did not manage to get through my roof so if it was not capillary action and simply water ingress then definitely a problem that needs rectifying.

Thanks Granny Jen.
Care was taken to keep bodies and items away from the fabric,but as per photo,water ingress was quite high up the sides of the bellows.Just hope the new bellows sort out the problem.It was also leaking badly along the rear of the sleeping area,at the roofs lowest point.
Regards,
Dougie.

 

[GrannyJen]

Thanks Granny Jen.
Care was taken to keep bodies and items away from the fabric,but as per photo,water ingress was quite high up the sides of the bellows.Just hope the new bellows sort out the problem.It was also leaking badly along the rear of the sleeping area,at the roofs lowest point.
Regards,
Dougie.

I hope it gets sorted well for you. That is severe ingress judging by those photo's. I'm not sure what technology has been applied to the bellows, I never noticed any beading on the outside when mine was severely wet on Sunday so I assume that no DWR coating has been applied, but then I was not particularly looking.

 

[Jabberwocky]

There is an interesting paragraph in the supplement manual which seems to be a catch all statement from VW. Last bullet point.

 

[Meoncoast]

If the anything was pushed up against the canvas will have a wick effect a draw water through as in a tent.

We had over 2 weeks in Scotland in the last 2 weeks with very heavy rain overnight on several nights with no issues of water ingress.(no topper used) If the pictures of the water coming in are not due to wicking then I would be interested in the actual fault in either the bellow material or its original fitting. If the material is at fault I would be surprised if only one was supplied to the Cali factory, If there is not a fault in the bellows and it is due to "normal" ingress why would VW pay to replace it.

 

[DavidofHook]

We had over 2 weeks in Scotland in the last 2 weeks with very heavy rain overnight on several nights with no issues of water ingress.(no topper used) If the pictures of the water coming in are not due to wicking then I would be interested in the actual fault in either the bellow material or its original fitting. If the material is at fault I would be surprised if only one was supplied to the Cali factory, If there is not a fault in the bellows and it is due to "normal" ingress why would VW pay to replace it.

We had a T4 Cali for 9 years and our present T5 for the past 6 and we have not experienced any water ingress problems, even camping on a cliff top site in North Devon in the rain. We camp for longish periods, a month in France at the moment. We don,t have a topper or an inner tent. Like a tent the Cali canvas requires wetting to get full water tightness. As others have said, accidentally putting bedding against the canvas will cause a leak, like a tent.