Winter

[stuc]

Can a pop up camper be covered with a tarp for the winter if all the canvas is removed

[rickm]

sbstryker wrote:
We just put our trailer away in its rental spot in a farmer's field for the winter. I'm in Canada so we get some hardcore winters. Here's what we did:

• Made sure the tongue was higher up than the rear so that any rain and melted snow can run off
• Put a tarp that's a foot wider on each side over the roof
• put a 4x4 on the roof, under the tarp, 2/3 of the way up the trailer (closer to the tongue and beside the top vent) to create more of a peak. The wood also sticks out a bit on both sides so there's ventilation
• At the back the tarp goes all the way to the floor and we peaked it out behind the trailer (like the train of a wedding dress) so that there was more ventilation and we secured it to the ground with four cinder blocks
• Tied down the front of the tarp in the middle and the sides so that it wouldn't blow away.

Hopefully what I said makes sense. I neglected to take a photo so I tried my best to explain it well. Basically any water will run off, the roof between the tarp and the trailer can breathe, and it won't fly off.

Wow, you went to great extremes ....but, not sure what you did is correct thing to do. Tarps cause two problems ....if they are tight, that's good, but they are water tight, and do not allow the camper to breathe, if they are not tight to the trailer ..... the wind is able to get under, good for breathing, but the minute that tarp begins to move, it begins to rub up against the trailer, and can begin marking the finish etc. It really is a tough call .... I'm just going off a past experience with my first pop-up 15 years ago. Again, what you did could be correct, but it is something to consider.
Keep warm up there in T.O. ..... we only have 7 months before it is time to go out again 😞
BTW ..... sorry about the Blue Jays, hey, you still have the Leafs (yikes) GO HABS!

[sbstryker]

We just put our trailer away in its rental spot in a farmer's field for the winter. I'm in Canada so we get some hardcore winters. Here's what we did:

• Made sure the tongue was higher up than the rear so that any rain and melted snow can run off
• Put a tarp that's a foot wider on each side over the roof
• put a 4x4 on the roof, under the tarp, 2/3 of the way up the trailer (closer to the tongue and beside the top vent) to create more of a peak. The wood also sticks out a bit on both sides so there's ventilation
• At the back the tarp goes all the way to the floor and we peaked it out behind the trailer (like the train of a wedding dress) so that there was more ventilation and we secured it to the ground with four cinder blocks
• Tied down the front of the tarp in the middle and the sides so that it wouldn't blow away.

Hopefully what I said makes sense. I neglected to take a photo so I tried my best to explain it well. Basically any water will run off, the roof between the tarp and the trailer can breathe, and it won't fly off.

[stuc]

Ya u have fires and earthquakes so no thanks

[jmcgsd]

Move to Southern California - Problem solved! Oops, I forgot, we already have too many people:B

[retiredtravele1]

I would also ask why remove canvas. No one tells you to do that.

The tarp thing has been discussed forever. You can use a tarp if you don't wrap the entire unit up and have the tarp hang down the sides. I've always put 2x4's on the roof to keep the tarp from layering the roof. And you simply have to tie down the tarp so it doesnt flap around in the wind. As another poster mentioned, you can wear the finish if the wind moves the tarp around. No rocket science here --- just don't totally wrap the pup and secure the tarp.

[Bmach]

Because of everything else in it. Just like a tt it does not have any canvas but everything else is subject to mold and mildew.

[stuc]

Why does a camper have to breathe if canvas has been removed?

[rickm]

Do not cover with a tarp, unless u really have to. A tarp does not breathe, plus, if the wind moves it,it will wear on the finish

[kknowlton]

Our popup's owner's manual said not to cover it because it couldn't "breathe" so we decided to tarp it just down past where the roof met the camper body (when in the down position). That left the door available for some airflow, and it worked very well. We secured the tarp down with bungee cords. We never removed the canvas, and even at age 17 the camper's canvas never smelled mildewy. (We covered it for 12 winters; the first 5 we didn't, and ended up having to replace the roof due to water intrusion.)

[1492]

Moved from Forum Technical Support

[DutchmenSport]

Don't know why you'd want to remove the canvas? Are you wanting to keep it popped-UP for the winter and cover it with a tarp, or close it up and cover with a tarp. I used a simple tarp for several years on ours:

[gbopp]

Yes. Secure it well so the wind doesn't tear it apart or remove it.
Why are you removing the canvas?