Question for the hard shell RTT folks

[MaximusGradient]

What has been your experience with year-round installation/use on your vehicle?

I picked up a new hard shell last year and don't have anywhere to store the thing in the event it will be unused for an extended length of time. For me this length of time was the entire wet NorCal winter we experienced (roughly Dec-Mar). As such it sat up there for several months through a shitload of rain and a few snow storms without being opened, but I just assumed it would be weather tight and good to go.

Embarrassingly, I finally got around to popping it up for the first time since December just this past weekend and was greeted with a pretty gnarly scene - apparently water was able to freely penetrate throughout winter and the entire inside was soaked and pretty musty and visibly moldy. The fabric tent body was wet, the mattress was soaked and when pulled out water pooled on the bare floor of the shell, and the "carpeting" on the ceiling was soaked too. The mold/mildew was likely exacerbated after sitting through the sun and warmer temps since winter ended so I'm bummed I didn't pop it up earlier. Oh well...damage done.

The tent was broken down and latched properly (i.e. no tent fabric was obstructing the seal), so the weather stripping around the shell perimeter should have been good to go. There are roof racks and an exhaust vent on the top so there may be some possible entry points there. The ladder attachment points on the sides seem less likely due to A) their orientation and B) the sheer amount of water that had entered doesn't seem in line with that entry route.

Did I blow it? Am I crazy for expecting this tent to be weather tight?? Any suggestions on a path forward? I entertained the idea of just cleaning it but figured since it's still pretty much a brand new product I should at least hit up the vendor to see what they say?

 

[ttengineer]

It should not have leaked.

Did snow sit on it/vent fan for an extended period of time?


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[MaximusGradient]

Nope, the times it was snowed on I was sure to clear the roof ASAP; I'm one of those people that gets mad at others for driving around with excessive snow on their roofs so I try to practice what I preach!

 

[ttengineer]

Was the vent fan left on when closed? Could have created a negative pressure pulling rain water in when driving or if the fan was left on reverse could have pulled water in from the top.


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[MaximusGradient]

The fan was definitely not on; when I opened the tent this past weekend I switched it from "Off" to "On" to help vent/dry it out.

 

[gaap master]

Mine has been attached for 3 or 4 years. It’s parked outside, uncovered. We only get snow a few times per year, but I don’t make any special effort to clean it off. Haven’t had any problems so far.

 

[ttengineer]

The fan was definitely not on; when I opened the tent this past weekend I switched it from "Off" to "On" to help vent/dry it out.

Something definitely went wrong then.

If there was standing water in it the vent leaked. That’s a warranty claim if you ask me.

I assume it was James Baroud?

If so, call Adventure Ready. They are the new JB rep.

https://adventure-ready.com/contact/


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[jacobconroy]

Yeah, that's not normal. I leave my RTT mounted year around in MT. Plenty of snow and rain involved. This winter I'm going to have a "shower cap" made for it out of sunbrella for the winter to cut down on worry and fiberglass maintenance. it will look stupid...but I don't care.

My RTT is black and I've notice that during the parts of the year when it's over 80º during the day and below 32º at night there is a lot of condensation in the tent. I open it every couple of weeks on sunny days to make sure it dries out all the way.

No mold for me though. If it isn't too late, take a lot of pictures of the damage, try to figure out where the leak is, and contact your dealer.

Might try to leave it open for a couple of days to dry, then apply water with a hose while closed so you can pinpoint the leak.

 

[MaximusGradient]

Thanks for the replies, folks! This is all very helpful. I'm intentionally not disclosing the vendor's name since they've been so great to me in the past and I'm hoping that trend continues throughout this issue. I'll keep y'all posted!

 

[NatersXJ6]

I had a soft shell tent mold on me once when I couldn’t get it opened up soon enough after a wet weekend. Hit it with a dilute Lysol solution and a really soft brush then dry it out, find and fix your leak, and you’ll be good to go.

 

[Wallygator]

Hope you can get this resolved and start enjoying your tent.

 

[Adventure Ready]

If this is a James Baroud please contact us and we will get you taken care of. The previous distributor will not take care of you and I’d like to be sure it doesn’t tarnish the James Baroud brand if you aren’t helped. ?

 

[80t0ylc]

Sounds like you got the answers you needed. I agree that you must have a substantial leak in the vent to have found that amount of moisture ranging from the ceiling carpet to the mattress. I've got a CVT hardshell that I've had since 2012 that has set on my roof 24 x 7 since then, out in the Oregon rain, snow and sunshine with no leaks whatsoever - water or dust - when being used or just parked. It has no vents or anything penetrating the top half. The seal between the halves is not air or water tight and I truely believe that is necessary for the proper ventalation needed. An air and watertight seal would actually make it worse. And I consider my CVT to be mid range, quality wise, but well engineered. I've heard lots of opinions spouted that the seal needs to be air tight, but my experience has shown that to be nonsense. I've been wheeling down trails for miles with talc - like dust in Baja and barreling down highways in blinding rain here in OR, for hours with absolutely no intrusion of dust or water. My RTT is the "clam shell" type, that opens from the rear with a solid pivot "hinge" on the front side and that side is watertight. I've put my tent away wet, traveling for hours before opening it again with zero mold/mildew issues. When closed properly, and looking at the seal area from beneath, no tent fabric is visible on the left, right and rear sides. The top half overlaps the bottom evenly, but does not seal tight. And it seems to give the right amount of breathability to discourage mold or mildew, while keeping out dust. For what it's worth - that's been my experience.

 

[Dozer Dan]

Here in Ireland we are blessed with more rain than most and my JB has been out in it for 3 years straight now and it’s bone dry inside.
There is some black magic going on with the vents, you can pack the tent away soaking wet and when you open it a week later it’s dry! Don’t know how it works but it’s amazing.
Should probably add I don’t mean soaking wet on the inside! Only the outside

 

[junkyardog]

Sounds like you got the answers you needed. I agree that you must have a substantial leak in the vent to have found that amount of moisture ranging from the ceiling carpet to the mattress. I've got a CVT hardshell that I've had since 2012 that has set on my roof 24 x 7 since then, out in the Oregon rain, snow and sunshine with no leaks whatsoever - water or dust - when being used or just parked. It has no vents or anything penetrating the top half. The seal between the halves is not air or water tight and I truely believe that is necessary for the proper ventalation needed. An air and watertight seal would actually make it worse. And I consider my CVT to be mid range, quality wise, but well engineered. I've heard lots of opinions spouted that the seal needs to be air tight, but my experience has shown that to be nonsense. I've been wheeling down trails for miles with talc - like dust in Baja and barreling down highways in blinding rain here in OR, for hours with absolutely no intrusion of dust or water. My RTT is the "clam shell" type, that opens from the rear with a solid pivot "hinge" on the front side and that side is watertight. I've put my tent away wet, traveling for hours before opening it again with zero mold/mildew issues. When closed properly, and looking at the seal area from beneath, no tent fabric is visible on the left, right and rear sides. The top half overlaps the bottom evenly, but does not seal tight. And it seems to give the right amount of breathability to discourage mold or mildew, while keeping out dust. For what it's worth - that's been my experience.

I have a question for anyone who wants to chime in.
Have you ever driven with your JTT in a driving rain for several hours (the kind I should have really pulled over for)
Did everything stay dry?
I'm having some warranty issues and Adventure Ready is helping me out but I was just wondering. Actually, this question is redundant, sorry. My tent gets wet in the front. The serial number which is written in ink has blurred...darn, I want to love my tent.