Rooftop tent longevity

[thallca]

I have a Hannibal tent on my 89 rover classic and it has been mounted on my truck for over a year now here in San Diego and the sun and elements are starting to break down the thick rubber cover that encloses the tent. I was wondering what other tent owners do to repair and or protect the covers on their tents? I don't have the opition of removing the tent and storing it when it is not in use because I have a condo and I could not remove the thing by myself anyway!
Is there anyway to protect these things?

 

[gjackson]

I have a similar issue. Our tent cover has holes in it and is very faded and brittle. This is on a Technitop. I didn't come up with a protective solution other than the car cover that keeps the entire truck protected. Christo Slee was nice enough to order me a replacement cover from Technitop which arrived last week! :wings:

cheers

 

[Scott Brady]

So far, my Eezi-Awn cover has held up well in the AZ sun. It is quite thick though. It is important not to use armor all on them.

 

[Martyn]

The covers really take a beating over time. Southern California and Arizona conditions give the covers a 10 year life span when they are outside all the time. I have replaced one Eezi Awn cover, and the tent was right around 10 years old.

 

[ntsqd]

Perhaps a Marine Canvas shop could make you a new cover from Sunbrella? A 10 year lifespan seem reasonable to me, but one year doesn't.

 

[Martyn]

Perhaps a Marine Canvas shop could make you a new cover from Sunbrella? A 10 year lifespan seem reasonable to me, but one year doesn't.

It's a difficult and possibly expensive one off, as the cover attaches to the base of the Hannibal and then has a 3/4 zip that closes the top 3/4 to the bottom 1/4. You may do best to see what the importers of Hannibal can do for a replacement, it may be a warranty issue if the tent is only a year old. Most covers have some sort of UV protection as does the webbing, but sometimes mistakes happen.

 

[Andrew Walcker]

For patching the cover or to create a new surface on top check into Hypalon. Think Avon and Zodiak inflatable boats. Any shop that works on these boats can provide materials and labor.

From Wikipedia, "Hypalon is a trademark for chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE) synthetic rubber (CSM) noted for its resistance to chemicals, temperature extremes, and ultraviolet light. It is a product of DuPont Performance Elastomers."

 

[Lost Canadian]

I use 303 Aerospace Protectant on our Hannibal cover. It has worked well, so far there is no sign of weather aging.