Canvas Trailer Top

[Waytec]

I was our and about the other day and when I was fueling up I saw a little Expedition trailer their. The Guy had a ½ inch plywood top and then a custom canvas cover that secured down with bungee cored type rope. I questioned him about it he said he had it all done for much cheaper then a bent metal lid. It keeps the water and dust out he was saying.
I was wounding if anyone else has gone this rout with sealing their trailers, and what results have they had?

:camping:

 

[highlandercj-7]

I covered my trailer with a canvas tarp last winter and it let the water through. I ended up sticking a sheet of presure treated plywood over it and it re directed the water over it. If you canvas over the wood it will get soaked. If your just fabbing a lid, I'd do the metal or fiberglass and it will be there forever. I been toying with the idea of cutting down a fiberglass truck bed cover.

 

[Bergger]

I've never used a canvas tarp for a trailer but I do have a heavy duty duck canvas tarp I use to cover my tent cot. It has done a great job keeping things dry, clean and it is very durable.

 

[jatibb]

ive thought of using that also but considering epoxy the canvas to the wood but leave the edges loose for tying...? only downside is no locking ability.

 

[compactcamping]

Instead of a sheet of plywood across the top you could also use boat cover slats to support the cover. The slat are available in wood and fiberglass. They fit into sockets and are easy removed for loading/unloading.

Then make a waterproof travel cover/tarp out of a number of different fabrics.

 

[cowboy4x4]

I have a shell for my big truck made out of canvas from can-bac. It does not let any water go through, the trick is ..it is vinyl backed canvas. a good quality tightly woven canvas will repel water but eventually soak through.

 

[Waytec]

Thanks for the feed back everyone.
I am also liking the idea of using the boat slates. That set up would look like a truck bed cover. Next week I am going to find a local canvas shop that dos tent camper repairs.
My only concern is price. If there is not a big difference in price I might as well go with the metal top.

 

[jagular7]

Take it to a boat canvas shop. They will have the correct fabric and inner structure support bars to retain a slope. To hold the cover over the trailer, use bungee cord sewn into the hem and have holes to pull it down to the hooks on the trailer. The corners will be sewn around the points on the trailer.

 

[socaljeeper]

The boat covers are made out of subrella material, which is not waterproof. I took my trailer down to a local awning builder and they made me a cover out of an 18 oz vinyl material that is very strong. I am securing it with button snaps on three sides and a fixed slide on the one side. They also sewed in a heavy rod on one side so I can roll it up easily and secure it with velcro straps. It turned out really nice and it was cheap, durable, and light weight. I will post some pictures when I get a few.

 

[highlandercj-7]

If you wanna go with the fabric cover I'd suguest going with a truck Toneau cover. They are water proof and easily cut down to fit. I've been going to cut down a S10 swb cover to fit my Jeep Trailer. The width on them is already correct, I just need about 10" off the length. The nice part is they are dirt cheap I've seen a ton of them for $50 or so on Craigslist.

 

[jagular7]

I didn't use a boat cover fabric to cover mine, just that the boat canvas shop had the right industrial tool to sew the fabric and bungee cord. I don't know what fabric was used, but it was black and water proof. It held water for weeks with no leaks to inside. I later added a bow to help with the surface run-off.