Waterproofing AutoHome Canvas Tents?

[jsmoriss]

Hi everyone,

I just bought an OverZone tent, and I probably should have done more research, because the fact that it was canvas kinda took me by surprise. I read-up on canvas tents and generally it's suggested to hose it down a few times and let it dry to make it really waterproof. So this is what I did. I used a garden hose and really let it have it. There was some water that made it inside - enough to create a few small pools here and there (I'd taken the mattress out beforehand). The light brown top material appears to be very waterproof, but the green sides much less...

Now granted this was not a 'natural' type rain, but I'm still a little concerned about it's ability to stay waterproof in very heavy and sustained rain. There's nothing worse that a leaky tent.

Anyway, I was wondering what your experience was with the OverZone and/or other canvas Autohome tents. Should I add a waterproofing agent like 'Canvak'? Do they become more waterproof over time?

Thanks,
js.

 

[BIGdaddy]

is our maggiolina the same material? If so, we went through two weeks of 30mph storms in glacier national park snug as a bug with no water intrusion.

I coat of "camp dry" or similar never hurts anything, though we didn't find it necessary...

-Brian

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I'm guessing that the green sides are more breathable, and don't have to be as waterproof since they're vertical.

 

[jsmoriss]

I'm guessing that the green sides are more breathable, and don't have to be as waterproof since they're vertical.

Yeah... I'm sure that's fine, unless there's a lot of wind too. :snorkel:

I called AutoHome USA and asked them to check what I could use to further waterproof the tent.

I may switch to a Campa tent in the future, but I might as well try this one out a few times first. Canvas is supposed to be very comfy. My other tents have all been synthetic, and they tended to stay hot until midnight or so, depending on the season. It's always a trade-off between weatherproofing and breath-ability it seems.

js.

 

[Martyn]

Obviously Mike S is the expert with Autohome tents and you should listen to what he recommends.

Autohome uses some high tech fabric for their tents and I don't think soaking it down is going to swell the fabric or stitching up. This is not regular cotton canvas.

In tent construction the roof section is generally more water resistant than the walls as the wall are vertical and shed water rather than hold it. This would explain the different reaction the two fabrics had to the water from the hose.

A few general remarks on cotton canvas, and poly cotton canvas.

Applying a solvent based water proofer is not always a good thing. It can in some cases ruin the waterproof material and may make it non breathable. It's best to find something that is not solvent based.

A good product is NikWax Cotton Proof. It's water based and is painted onto the fabric in a diluted form in multiple coats. This both makes the fabric highly resistant to water while keeping the breathable.

If the leaking is coming from the stitching rub some bees wax over the stitches to stop the leaking.

There is a trade off between water-proof and breathable, but I've been in an Overland in a 3" tropical downpour and had no problem with leakage. So this seems to be tent specific.

 

[sundaypunch]

I have a Kodiak canvas tent. I called the company to find out what they recommend for waterproofing. Their rep. said to stick with a silicone product such as Kiwi Camp Dry. Some common products such as Camp Kote plug up the pores so the canvas isn't breathable.

I'm sure there are other products like Martyn mentioned that work fine as well.

 

[Martyn]

I have a Kodiak canvas tent. I called the company to find out what they recommend for waterproofing. Their rep. said to stick with a silicone product such as Kiwi Camp Dry. Some common products such as Camp Kote plug up the pores so the canvas isn't breathable.

I'm sure there are other products like Martyn mentioned that work fine as well.

Most waterproofed canvas made in North America use silicone as the waterproofing agent. So it make sense to use a silicone product to re waterproof the fabric. If the waterproofing agent is not silicon based it wouldn't be the best product to use.

 

[bajabloke]

Taking a risk!!

I have an old CanBack shell on my truck which is made of Sunbrella. Last year it started to leak and I brushed on two coats of Thomsons Water Seal and have recently returned from the Sierra San Pedro Martir and three big thunder storms with not one leak!!

 

[Mike S]

The OverZone is NOT cotton canvas. It won't leak in actual camping conditions. The top is very waterproof, and the sides are highly water resistant, and breathable. It is always better to NOT spray your tent with a high pressure hose. It accomplishes nothing and can damage the fabric.

Read about care for your tent here: http://www.autohomeus.com/info/care.php

For details on our tents, read here: http://www.autohomeus.com/details/anatomy.php

The OverLand and OverZone are built of a European 420 gram/sq meter cotton/acrylic fabric called K200. Each of our tents uses fabric specific to the design parameters. The OverZone has vertical sides that must be breathable or you will not be comfortable. At the same time, the sides must resist water penetration - a balancing act.

Since you just took delivery of your Campa Trailer a week or so ago, please use the tent in actual conditions. If there is a problem of any sort with the tent, we WILL make it right.

Mike S.

Hi everyone,

I just bought an OverZone tent, and I probably should have done more research, because the fact that it was canvas kinda took me by surprise. I read-up on canvas tents and generally it's suggested to hose it down a few times and let it dry to make it really waterproof. So this is what I did. I used a garden hose and really let it have it. There was some water that made it inside - enough to create a few small pools here and there (I'd taken the mattress out beforehand). The light brown top material appears to be very waterproof, but the green sides much less...

Now granted this was not a 'natural' type rain, but I'm still a little concerned about it's ability to stay waterproof in very heavy and sustained rain. There's nothing worse that a leaky tent.

Anyway, I was wondering what your experience was with the OverZone and/or other canvas Autohome tents. Should I add a waterproofing agent like 'Canvak'? Do they become more waterproof over time?

Thanks,
js.

 

[jsmoriss]

The OverZone is NOT cotton canvas. It won't leak in actual camping conditions. The top is very waterproof, and the sides are highly water resistant, and breathable.

Aha! That's kinda what I thought. I ordered some 303 just in case, but I expect real world conditions will be different than my 'let it have it with a hose' conditions. :-D

BTW, nice dogs on your blog page. We have a bit of a fiery bird dog ourselves.

We also maintain the www.chessiedb.org breed database...

js.

 

[The Swiss]

Hi everyone,

I just bought an OverZone tent, and I probably should have done more research, because the fact that it was canvas kinda took me by surprise.
Thanks,
js.

Don't worry; the tents sold in the US by AutoHome are probably of the best quality RTT you can find. The Italian manufacturer is actually the original inventor of the RTT (or so they claim). I am using the Maggiolina for years now and love it. No leaking, no problems at all.

Really love the new Overzone though; so, if you are not happy with yours and want to trade, let me know