Greetings everyone, I have owned my 1999 r-vision Bantam for 3 years now and it's time to do some off-season minor repairs. It would be a lot easier for me to work on the interior if I open the front tent bed, and leave it open for a few weeks while I finish my work. I have been told in the past to avoid disturbing the canvas in cold weather as it may crack. My plan is to wait till Thursday of this week when the temperatures get into the mid 40s and open it then. I would also try to wait to close it till temperatures are above freezing or at least when a bright sun has been beating on the fabric. Am I overly paranoid or does this sound like a good plan?

Guess I haven't ever given that to much thought as we live pretty far south. Waiting to open for warmer weather sounds reasonable especially if your camper is stored in the elements. As for closing it up you can always turn on the heater for a bit to warm up the plastic. Ryan

Good point, and I guess I could do the heat for an hour before opening it also

If you had a newer hybrid, I'd say don't worry about it. But since yours is that old, only you know the condition of its canvas.1999 was only the second year that hybrids were made by R-Vision and the first year by its competitors. Meaning your canvas is at least 16 years old.

Remarkably there is not one rip in the campus front or rear. I am the second owner of this unit, and I'm sad to say my kids and I put more scuffs and damage on it in the three years I owned it then the previous owners did in 12 years. The only damage on the 10th bed is too small rips in the screens

I'm talking about the flexibility of the canvas, especially the vinylized outer side. Is it stiff or easy to fold and stretch?

Canvas opening in cold weather advice | Good Sam Community

11 Replies

RoyB
Explorer II
Dec 01, 2014
We winter camp in our 2008 OFF-ROAD POPUP CAMPER all the time... It also has the non canvas type material on the bed ends...

We have covered our tent bed ends from day one using 9x12 tarps like shown here. These only last around two seasons and the beauty of this we can can change color schemes for what ever that is worth haha... I call these my poor man popup gizmos. These really help make the tent bed area cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. They also protect my popup tent bed ends vinyl cover as well.

Roy Ken
All_I_could_aff
Explorer
Nov 20, 2014
Thank you everyone for the tips and suggestions. my plan is tomorrow mid day I will turn the heat on for a little bit to warm up the interior the Canvas before I unfold it. And I do have a tarp big enough to cover the bed area which I will lay on there whatever day I finish my work, then I will put the heat back on, crack open a beer or two and then fold it all up.
Mcdonald684
Explorer
Nov 19, 2014
I don't see where you have any problems I winter camp in mind
weathershak
Explorer
Nov 19, 2014
All I could afford wrote:
Good point, and I guess I could do the heat for an hour before opening it also

That's what I did with ours when we winter camped. Just fire up the furnace for a while. It warms up pretty quick.
BurbMan
Explorer II
Nov 19, 2014
All I could afford wrote:
My plan is to wait till Thursday of this week when the temperatures get into the mid 40s and open it then. I would also try to wait to close it till temperatures are above freezing or at least when a bright sun has been beating on the fabric. Am I overly paranoid or does this sound like a good plan?

This sounds like a good plan and a smart move. When temps get into the teens like they are now everything gets brittle and damage prone. You should have no problems when it's back in the 40's.
dadmomh
Explorer
Nov 19, 2014
Hadn't ever thought about it, but does make sense. Will it be undercover during the time you're working on it? If the work you're doing is inside and not the bunkends, you might try taping some vinyl dropcloth across the openings to keep the heat in better. Good luck with the project.
bikendan
Explorer
Nov 19, 2014
I'm talking about the flexibility of the canvas, especially the vinylized outer side.
Is it stiff or easy to fold and stretch?
All_I_could_aff
Explorer
Nov 19, 2014
Remarkably there is not one rip in the campus front or rear. I am the second owner of this unit, and I'm sad to say my kids and I put more scuffs and damage on it in the three years I owned it then the previous owners did in 12 years. The only damage on the 10th bed is too small rips in the screens
bikendan
Explorer
Nov 19, 2014
If you had a newer hybrid, I'd say don't worry about it.
But since yours is that old, only you know the condition of its canvas.

1999 was only the second year that hybrids were made by R-Vision and the first year by its competitors. Meaning your canvas is at least 16 years old.
All_I_could_aff
Explorer
Nov 18, 2014
Good point, and I guess I could do the heat for an hour before opening it also