Camper Trailer Australia - April 2018

ZIP EASY

Dodgy zips have a real tendency to get caught up

and ripped to shreds as they age. In most cases

it’s dirt and muck the gets caught up in there,

binding everything up. The funny thing is most of

the time all you’ve got to do is lubricate the zips

every now and then! Sure you could use the beaten

up old can of WD-40 from the back of the 4WD.

But it’ll actually attract more dust and in most

cases stain and deteriorate the canvas fibres too.

Instead, use a product that’s formulated for the job.

Talcum powder is a good alternative if you’ve got

some handy, although it can be tricky to apply to a

vertical zipper.

SEASONING YOUR CANVAS

Ok, so we’ve all seen the little tag on a brand

spanking new canvas product that says

“seasoning is required”, right? Does that mean

you need to break out the salt and pepper?

Nope. You see, as the tent is being manufactured

there is quite a lot of needle work involved. The

idea around seasoning your canvas is to seal up

any little holes in the canvas that water could

potentially penetrate. These openings could be

around the seams or in the canvas weave itself.

In a nutshell, seasoning is a method used to

close the gaps. It’s best done by applying water

to the entire tent, which soaks the individual

strands of cotton causing them to swell, then

contract as it dries out, ultimately minimising the

size of the holes until it's watertight.

To get the job done, set tent up somewhere

it can stay for a few days. Give it a good hose

down with water, paying particular attention to

the seams, and let it completely dry for a day

or so. Repeat this process around three to four

times, and check for any leaks when you’re

Nuts

and

BOLTS

done. Or you could take the lazy man's approach

and wait for it to pour down raining for a few

days!

While this practice is usually done on brand

new canvas, it’s not a bad idea to repeat this

process every year or two.

Lubricating the zippers can eliminate tight spots, which can

cause damage if you need to apply too much force

Little holes found throughout the canvas can indicate it

hasn’t been seasoned before

Love your canvas, and it'll love ya backj