Replacement Cover Installation

The main thing about installing a new canvas is to look it over before starting and plan your installation with the following as a help.

It is very important to realize that tent tops are made of a canvas material, and in the sewing, variations do occur. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully fit the new top to your camper. Usually the new top will be slightly looser than the old one. Don't be concerned about this because it will draw and fit to the framework as it weathers.

The new top you receive may be a newer model than what was originally on your camper, and as such, it may incorporate better and larger windows, etc. We do furnish new model replacements wherever possible.

Since your camper is a hard top, be sure the hard top (roof) is square with the bottom when set up. Over the years the support poles may have become bent, so the top part is not directly above the bottom. It can be 2 or 3 inches to the front or rear and the old canvas has stretched to fit. If this is the case, bend the support poles or do whatever is necessary to get the top part directly over the bottom. Your new canvas is square and this must be corrected for it to fit properly. Then, lay the replacement canvas out over the bedwings and along the sides of your camper.

A good way to plan your installation is to do exactly the opposite of the way you removed the old canvas, as tent camper vary in the way they are attached. If your canvas staples into the hard top, be sure to divide up the extra canvas; do this by stapling the middle of each section you have left, etc. This keeps you from getting all the extra canvas on one end. Be sure when stapling or fastening to the doorside to keep the door opening properly located.

Put the canvas over the corners of the bedwings and install the bedwing support poles. This is where you can vary the fit of your canvas by shoving the poles out farther or bringing them in a little. In some campers, you may have to remount them where they fasten to the bed platform, move, and refasten them.

Be sure the canvas fits properly around the door, then fasten it around the bottom. If the bottom is fastened with snaps, it will probably not fit the old snaps in their present location. Move them or use the new snaps enclosed with the new replacement cover.

After you have the new canvas installed, it is a good idea to wet it down thoroughly with a fine spray from a water hose. Be sure to have it set up and fastened all around when doing this. This will seal it and make it fit better. Allow it to dry, fold it up, and you're ready to go.

DO NOT use a waterproofing or scotch guard spray on your new canvas. Instead of helping, it may damage the canvas. It has all the treatment it needs for several years of use.

Some tents have the fabric coated with vinyl to make it easier to clean the exterior. Vinyl coated fabric cannot breath; therefore, you'll notice that, at time, condensation will form on the fabric side and the tent would appear to be leaking. This condensation can be corrected by opening the zippered windows slightly to ventilate the interior of your camper.

Always ventilate and dry tent with bows and braces in place, as soon as possible after each exposure to moisture. Mildew is always a result of negligence.

Do not touch the canvas while it is raining. It will make the moisture wick through the fabric.

To clean the outside of your vinyl tent use automotive vinyl cleaner. To clean the canvas tent, brush dry with soft bristly brush, or use clean tap water with a soft brush. Do not use solvents, soaps, detergents, or aerosol cleaners, to clean your tent (unless they are specifically designed for canvas or vinyl cleaning), it will cause damage to the finish. Do not spray insect repellant directly on fabric. (Hair spray, insect spray, deodorants, will destroy the water repellant finish.

All vinyl tents need to get wet one or more times to seal the needle holes. Your tent may leak the first time it gets wet. Do not be alarmed. The tent is sewn with special thread that swells up and seals the needle holes after it have been wet.

Your plastic windows have a -20 degree cold crack. You must not crank your tent up in extreme cold to the maximum height in 0 degree weather. Your windows will shatter.

How to take care of your new replacement cover