Dam Gathering attendees....fess up!!!

[doug hodder]

I had a can of fabric spray that is supposed to make things waterproof and dirt resistant. It's a leaker that got shipped to me....sprayed the top on the ez up...I'll see if that helps...of course it won't touch the small holes burned by sparks on the fires. Doug

[Steve E]

We used an SUV tent and attached the boot part of tent over the open hatch door, so hatch door stayed open all the time. Worked good until the monsoon hit and then water began to come in the galley on one side and get into the inside on that same back corner. All in all seems like idea of hatch door is to be shut to make it water tight.
That was the down side of an SUV tent. Will say that SUV tent was nice in the fact that it was all enclosed. We plan next time to put our EZ Up type canopy over the teardrop to cover it and that way can close hatch door as usual and put tent up separately not useing the boot that an SUV tent is designed for. It does zip off so tent can be separate as well.....
Just our experience..........Patty

[mfkaplan]

My trailer stayed dry. I had an EZ up over it mostly to protect the finish. There was one leak in the EZ up right over my dressing room. I do wish I had brought the side walls. All of the things that I had tucked around the sides were very wet. I made the mistake of putting some wet stuff inside the trailer when I packed up like the curtain from my dressing room, towels, and my chair. The wet EZ up went in the car. I didn't unload until Monday afternoon so the car and trailer both smelled like swamp. Lots of wash! Next time I'm going to take the side walls and a package of big green garbage bags if I go out in rainy weather. Despite the rain it was a good trip.

[doug hodder]

thanks everyone for posting. I think the big thing on a tear is to make it as weather proof/resistant as possible. I think the Dam was about as bad as it can get for a 4 day camping trip. Trouble is...it's a tough one to do, so maybe we can all learn from others on how to do it. The weather at the Dam was worse than the trip to Minden in 07 from Wyoming over. It was a tough go for any trailer that was out in the weather the entire time....Dan...ya done good guy!...and for those others that didn't have any issues, congrats to you! I'll learn to keep things shut up in the future. My galley had good "flowage"...not so much on the door however. At any rate...I"m sure a number of us learned some new stuff. Hopefully we won't have to utilize all that info in the future....Doug

[Ken Fincher]

Doug & everyone else.

I am sorry to hear about your water problems.
I did have a little water that leaked on the ends of my hurricane hinge when the galley was open I made a quick fix by stuffing a small rag on each end & the leaks we're gone.
I did'nt have any problems with my hinge leaking until a few weeks ago I squirted some scilicone in each end of the hinge I will be removing the scilicone before my next trip.

Hey Doug
I can't remember who they we're, But there we're a few people herazing me about my new custom awning set up
It did take a little time to set it up, But I was in no hurry it was'nt raining yet & it was the first time that I set it up since I made it just a day or two before we left for the gathering.
There will be a couple of modifications with it next time I set it up, I bought some more of the gray tarps to inclose my T-Drop Dropper,now I can get rid of those awfull looking blue tarps (the gray should'nt be so transperent. May be able to use a light at night if need be.)

I was realy glad that I put up my awning & my first up.
We did'nt find any sun till wed. in Pismo Beach so there we was able to dry everything in the sun except the 4 loads of laundry we did the night before at the Big Sur camp ground.






Here is Lake Antlers




I will post some more picks soon.
I have downloaded a bunch of pictures on my website Just go to the Gatherings page

http://vegasteardrop.com/Gatherings_main_pg.html

Ken F.

[billnut]

Noo water in my Tiny RV. But all I had to wear was sweats and no belt. Dam they were around my ankles all the time and no one noticed.
Being old is not good!
Bill

[doug hodder]

Ken...I can't remember who it was but they called you Buckminster Fuller for your contraption. I'll bet they don't do that in the future! Doug

[martha24]

I bet it was that rain system that we came across driving from Southwestern Wyoming down to Salt Lake City on the Saturday morning of the Dam Gathering. It was an absolute down pour that wasn't predicted before we left. The friends in Salt Lake said the rain came from CA.

In driving, where we got some water in our tear was from our doors. Our sheets and foam mattress cover got wet in areas. It was later after the sun came out and we got dried out that David was laying in the tear with the doors closed that he could see little cracks of light coming in at the bottom of the doors. He figured he needs to tighten the doors a little more to get a good seal or add some more rubber seals.

It didn't seem like a bad test, to make the tear as dark as possible on the inside and have it parked in bright sun and if any light can get in, you know that water can get in too. Probably wouldn't work for the hatch area unless there is some way to rig being able to see back there, but definitely for the doors.
Just an idea.

[Rob]

We packed up Saturday - had enough of sleeping with a wet dog! Three hours to home. Fortunately the MG is in the shop so we were able to put the trailer in the garage. There was about 2" on each side of the wheels backing it in. We took everything out. The only wet areas were the ends of the hatch hinge. The Gator Shader helped to keep out the liquid sunshine. We also clipped up plastic bags to divert the downpour. On Sunday we set up camp in the back yard and hosed it all off: Gator Shader, FirstUp shade, chairs, tables... A couple of hours later it was all dry. The pizza oven lid had a spot of rust, but that was quickly addressed and is ready for pizza and cookies and pie and... We may have to test that theory when camping near Mendocino next weekend. The BBQ and water heater were hidden under the table during the nights at the Damp Gathering, but were both splashed with mud. Those had to be cleaned up. All door mats and plastic "kitchen" rugs were rolled up with mud intact and unrolled and washed at home. At least we were up on a bit of a hill and didn't wake up in a lake like I know some folks did. Le Mutt didn't mind too much being locked in the dry trailer while we were out walking around. Of couse she was outside playing in the rain while we were packing. That was one smelly WET dog in the back of the car on the drive home.

[TENNJIM]

I was there from Thursday Noon until Sunday morning. The BUTTHUT stayed dry except for what I carried in and the tongue box stayed dry. However, the canopy over the hatch and back area dripped everywhere there was a velcro attachment . Everybody around me was having the same problem. Apparently they don't do any sealing after sewing in the velcro. As soon as I get a chance, I am going to run tent seam sealer on all the sewing. Also realized a canopy long enough or an extra cover to carry water to a point it would run off the front of the teardrop is desirable-otherwise it runs to the edges and down the back into the canopy covered area behind the teardrop. One other thing, my TV was unhooked and parked downhill through the whole thing. I had some extra teardrop running lights on until the trailer plug dried out about Susanville. It seems that the downhill on the TV turns the plug uphill and it catches water in the bottom of it shorting the two bottom pins together. It is pure operator error but something I would have never thought about at the start. I had a great time and learned a few things about rain.

Jim B / Utah

[sftiggee]

Ours leaked at the galley hinge and in the front at the front storage. We were "the family who stayed only about 12 hours" next to Ken and Eunice. If i had been alone, or sans kids, we would have toughed it out...but it was too much with two kids under 2 years old. waking up Saturday in that "pond" was the final straw. we had to wait till monday before we could dry out the SUV tent and the canopy and the tarp, but we dried the tear out pretty fast. Lesson learned: Bigger canopy to cover the whole tear and galley, and figure out how to attach the SUV tent to the side of the tear. ( i noticed at least one person had accomplished that with the exact same tent we had)

[doug hodder]

Again...thanks everyone for "fessing" up. It's really easy to post that they didn't have any problems as that is something that we are all striving for, but the fact of the matter is...a number of us did.

I saw Dan in his with Theresa...playing cards, having a beverage, had a heater, music etc......opened a window and asked me what was going on as I was about to strip off a soaked sweatshirt...rats! That's OK Dan....I can hook up a lot easier and bolt than you! and the only reason I mention Dan is that I was camped next to him. Good guy to camp next to....has good eats!

Here's the thing....Don't get put off on the Dam Gathering! This was an anomaly and isn't the typical deal. But what we did get out of it was a great story, some fun times and knowledge about precipitation. A real tribute to teardroppers "stick-to-ivit-ness" cooking DO stuff, having the usual raffle on Sat night and carrying on regardless. I've worn shorts and T shirts more than rain gear at the Dam!

I'll see you all next year! Doug

[Ken Fincher]

Well I went to go threw my front storage boxes & opps!
I forgot that I had rolled up my 2 entry rugs that we're soaken wet & put them in a plastic bag & put them in the top of the storage box it woul'nt have been so bad but I laid the bag on top of our wooden storage box that we store a lot of our cast iron cook ware & as most of you know moisture does not go well with cast iron, so I spent a lot of the day Tuesday cleaning up & reseasoning alot of our dutch oven stuff.
I am sure glad I looked in there Tue's if I would have waited much longer I may of had a sale on cast iron

I don't think my elbow could of taken much more.
( The old fat man is out of shape)

Well they are all ready to go now.
& so am I I'm ready to hit the road again & get away from the Vegas heat

P.S. Anyone that had cast iron cookware at the gathering you may just want to take a peak & make sure it's ok.


Ken F.

Dam Gathering pic's
http://vegasteardrop.com/Gatherings_main_pg.html

[dguff]

The Guffman was dry and cozy thanks to the loan of tarps and bungees from Kevin and Doug. We were camped in one of the low spots and only a few feet from Lake Antlers.
I did get some rust spots on the exterior of a couple of cast iron pieces but they cleamed up easily with some abrasive pads when we got home. Part of the problem with stuff being left out, even under cover, was that the rain was so hard that it caused a splashing effect so that stuff got wet from the spray.
We did get some moisture into the lower galley area but it came from a couple of heavy showers we drove through on the way home. Doug is right about this weather being unusual. Grant said they have had rain problems only 2 or 3 time over the 16 years of the Gathering so far.

See you next year!

Jerome

[scott and becky]

Doug,

Although I didn't have problems with the inside of the trailer, I did learn a few things about wet weather!

1. Our First Up with the walls worked great but only kept about 75% of the water out.It leaks everywhere there is a seam! Ive got to get some tent sealer.

2.My cloth rugs soaked up a ton of water! I'm going to get some of those plastic grass mats for in front of the doors.

3.My Wallyworld plastic ponchos didn't work great in a down pour. My sides and arms got wet. I have a waterproof/windproof jacket now!

4. I need a. good source of heat that will keep me nice and warm inside the First Up. I saw a large propane bottle with some kind of radiant heater on top of it in an EZ Up behind me.. It looked real warm!

5.And last but not least...Keep the Galley and Doors closed during a downpour!

I survived this one and the next one is going to be better!!



Scott