Ursa Minor Pop-Top Jeep JK

[rubicon91]

Fellow J30 owners, I could use some advice if you have a second. In August we upgraded to a Ursa Minor J30 after 9 years of running an ARB Simpson 3. Unfortunately this weekend, after about 5 hours of rain we noticed that water had worked it's way through the lower stitching and zippers of the J30. By the morning, the wife's pillow and head area of the mattress was soaked.
I talked to John and he's going to send out some seam tape and see if that solves the problem. So my questions is has anyone else had this issue and if so how did you solve it?

I live in SWFL and it rains constantly down here. I had talked to John about this as well and put Seam sealer on those areas and so far I have not had any issues at all. This is what I got and used that was recommended. Hope this helps

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O71L6Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[sbly]

rubicon91, thanks for the info hopefully that will do the trick. If not I might have to entertain the idea of making a rain fly/skirt for those times when we know it's going to be a heavy rain.

 

[Two Jeeps]

I am considering purchasing a Ursa Minor for my next Jeep although the first question I have is why are they not using a more appropriate material?

Maybe a fabric similar to what James Baroud uses?

"All of our tents utilize a proprietary aluminized polyester with acrylic coating that is 100% waterproof, breathable, UV-resistant, no-perishable, and solar-reflective."

The problem isn't the material but the seams. Anything that is sewn together will have hundreds of holes where the needle punches through. On my J30 top there are some big needle holes in it in a couple of places. Sometimes in strong winds I can feel a draft from the wind. Unless they glue or weld the seams together all tents, including Baroud have to be seamed sealed either the manufacture does it or the consumer.
With the James Baroud I'd be skeptical of anyone's claim that their material is both waterproof and breathable. And if they have managed that then every outdoor clothing manufacture would be trying to use it.

 

[Two Jeeps]

Ursa Minor uses Sunbrella Marine Canvas. I wasn't able to find out much from the Sunbrella website but from Outdoor Fabric Central I was able to find the specs for the material
Please note I cherry picked from the specs so this is not a complete list of the specs.
Description: Woven fabric, made of 100-percent acrylic fibers
Very resistant to ultraviolet rays and color degradation
Surface: Plain weave. Excellent breathabilty.
Abrasion Resistance: Good.
Mildew Resistance: Excellent. Fabric will not support growth of mildew
Flame Resistance (FR): Not flame-retardant.
Water Repellence: Excellent
Sunbrella is not coated but has pores that allow air and moisture to escape. Because of its outstanding breathability, condensation is never a problem.

Based on my experience the last two are basically saying that since the material is not coated, it is then not waterproof but more like water resistant. The material is also breathable with pores (gaps in the weave?) also means that it is not waterproof. And that would also explain why the two times I've camped in strong winds I can feel air movement.

 

[Two Jeeps]

Hello TJ - I will limit my reply to my first hand experiences since I have slept every night for the past six months in my James Baroud. This includes recently when the remnants of Hurricane Michael came through our area with sustained 30-40 mph winds and gusts up to 60 mph along with very heavy rain at times. Not a single drop of rain was able to penetrate the fabric or any of the seams. Now I must disclose that a few times during other rain storms I had drops of water come in through the solar powered vent on top but James Baroud USA did an exceptional job at fixing the problem permanently.

In summary - I sleep in my James Baroud RTT every single night and have never experienced any water or wind penetrating the fabric or seams. I am not quite sure of what James Baroud does but based upon my first hand experience they do it well.

Good for them if they have mastered this and you are happy with it. I've not seen or used a James Baroud RTT so I have no point of reference to it. All of my experience with outdoor fabrics comes from hiking, camping and backpacking gear. I used so many different types of rain gear and tents since the 70's and I have yet to come across any of them that are truly both waterproof and breathable.

 

[rubicon91]

Wow, the material used looks really good. I do recall reading about another owner being advised by the factory to clean and treat the fabric every few years with a waterproofing agent. Thank you so much for sharing the material specifications. If you are going to be at Expo East in a few weeks let me know and we can compare gear.

I also backpack and camp parts of the AT during the weekend and the past year had really opened my eyes regarding materials used.

I will have my J30 in the Goose Gear booth at Expo East.

 

[sbly]

rubicon 91, just curious how many coats of seam sealer did you apply to your seams? Also, with the Goose Gear system do you use any type of step to get up into the tent?

 

[rubicon91]

rubicon 91, just curious how many coats of seam sealer did you apply to your seams? Also, with the Goose Gear system do you use any type of step to get up into the tent?

I think I only did 1-2 coats on the seams total however it has been a while since I did it also. I carry the seam sealer with me just in case I need to add a coat or anything. As far as the system goes I did not add a step. I have the single seat if I decide to hop up that way or if I go in on the delete I just put a foot on the top rail of the drawer system to assist in getting up if I need to. I am almost 6'2 so really do not need much to get up top.

 

[sbly]

rubicon 91, thanks for the info on the seam sealer. Just curious have you run into any issues (besides the seam leaks) with your Ursa Minor?

 

[rubicon91]

rubicon 91, thanks for the info on the seam sealer. Just curious have you run into any issues (besides the seam leaks) with your Ursa Minor?

No and I didnt have any issues with leaks I just wanted to be proactive as I am usually out in the rain in FL unfortunately. I didnt want to have the issue knowing others had it so I added that. I even did a 5100 mile round trip in July to Moab UT and CO and slept in it 15 days straight without any issues at all.

 

[rustypayne]

Reading about the water issues and wind coming through surprises me, we've spent an even 50 nights in ours since mid-July with no problems. I've been out in driving rain and high winds but just park nose into the wind and it's been fine.

 

[sbly]

rubicon, I hope the seam sealant brings this issue to a close and we can go back to loving our J30. We did a 10 day trip from Oregon to Virginia and had no wind or leaking issues but we only had one day of light rain. As far as the J30 goes, we love it (leak and all). We spent 9 years camping in a ARB Simpson III RTT that we took everywhere from the Dalton Highway, Trans-Labrador Highway, Ouray, Death Valley... As a complete package, we really enjoyed the Simpson III but we really love the J30.

 

[goin camping]

Had a great time camping in Death Valley and the Panamint Valley earlier in the week.

Found a concrete slab in the middle of nowhere and it became a campsite.

 

[JB30]

Any chance there’s someone on here with a Granite Crystal J30? I’m struggling with the eternal question of black or color matched... Not the hardest obstacle man has encountered, but still...

 

[goin camping]

Any chance there’s someone on here with a Granite Crystal J30? I’m struggling with the eternal question of black or color matched... Not the hardest obstacle man has encountered, but still...

IMHO. Go with color match.