Tom&Shelly wrote:...Nature is not evil, but it is terribly unforgiving of carelessness, incapacity, or neglect. (Read as: close the windows and vents when leaving camp for the day!)....
* I built mine as waterproof as I could, even against sideways-driven rain, and tested it with a high-powered jet stream of water, but it still leaked, though it passed the test...but, I was careless, just once.
* I wandered-about camp all day, once, never going back to my trailer for a minute, until just before bedtime, during a day of constant rain (actually midway thru a three-day monsoon campout). When I got there, I noticed that my streetside door was slightly ajar, and there was a constant stream of water off the canopy offset overhead (offset, to cover the 4x8 cabin, plus a 4-ft area "porch" sitting/cooking area outside the curbside/main door); when I opened the main door, I could see that the rear of my cabin was full of water, after entering thru the ajar seal on the other door.
* I always tilt my trailer about 5 degrees back at camp, to keep water from pooling on the flat roof (there are 16 bolts thru the roof), even though all holes are sealed with PL adhesive. So, the rear inner wall had about 3-4 inches of standing water, tapering off to just soaking wet carpet at the nose/front. After sealing-off the partly open door with foil tape, as I was unsure if the seal was at fault or just the partial-open position was the sole cause, I spent the next three hours trying to dry-out my cabin.
* I was fortunate that I had used a "mattress bag" on my 4-inch Ikea foam mattress, and neither mattress nor pillows had gotten wet, but much of the bedding was, as was the entire carpet (actually the carpet was made of floor-runner material, with rubber backing). I bagged the wet bedding for drying at home, and used towels to try to sop up the remaining water, after tilting the trailer the other way, and draining most of the water out my main door.
* Eventually, I gave up, and used my back-up sleeping bag (on the dry, plastic-covered mattress), while running my A/C (for de-humidification), the 11-inch main fan on high speed, both computer case fan vents on high, and two Lasko My-Heat 200 watt heaters while I slept. It was in the low 50's or high 40's that night, so I was slightly damp and cold all night. I got the interior more dried-out for the next night, so it wasn't too bad.
* Back at home, I tore out the carpet/mats, and let the inside dry thoroughly. I was glad that I had used so much polyurethane and PL adhesive, as nothing suffered any water damage. But, after I re-installed the carpet/mats, I made a 1" high platform (from unused plastic shelving units) to elevate the bedding for insurance against another rainday accident. After several more years of camping in the rain (it T-storms at least once during every trip), there have been no further incidents of leakage (I'm always cognizant of doorseal status!), and my overhead canopy is placed a few inches away from directly dumping water on a door.
Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2021 7:43 am
