Heavy canvas tent repair?

[DiscoJen]

So I just bought this camper tent. It's not like a pop-up per say, but there is a frame built onto it and you hang a heavy canvas tent over the top of it.

The tent has several tears and fairly large (6" or so) rips that need to be repaired. Buying a new tent, or a new canvas for it it NOT an option, so let's focus on repairing this one.

The previous owner sewed patches on some spots, then just stitched up rips with heavy thread.

What is a better way of repairing this damage and then sealing/waterproofing the repairs so that it remains waterproof (or at least as much as a tent can be)? I was considering buying a bucket of the Rovers North soft top waterproofer as my canvas top of the Series doesn't leak even a drop.

Thanks guys,
Jen

 

[group captain mandrake]

Just kidding! :bigok:
I have a buddy that manages a sporting goods store, I'll ask him what to do.

 

[PRojas]

Buy a new one you cheap bastard.

 

[Asolo3j]

Sew a new strip of canvas over top the rip and waterproof the repaird area with something like Aquaseal. Like a patch over the tear. As long as you are only stiching 2 layers of canvas, a normal household sewing machine should work just fine.

 

[DiscoJen]

Aquaseal...cool! Thanks for the pointer. I better get started soon, October will be just around the corner.

 

[jrose609]

Jen

If you have a Army/Navy or other surplus store around your area, see if they have a military surplus tent repair kit. Has everything in there for repairing canvas. Glue, thread, awl, needles, etc. Plus it comes in cool olive drab. And smells like waterproofed canvas. Love that smell.

 

[toadermcgee]

Anchor Industries here in Evansville, IN (about 3hrs east of the Lou) make ginormus tents some big enough to put your whole house under. I believe they repair them also. If you want more info I'd be glade to look into it for ya.

 

[D Chapman]

Billy Mays' Mighty Mend It.

Actually, I repaired mine with that Gorilla Glue. That shit is dope.

 

[Roverlady]

What about using some old sail material?

 

[95.D1.Rick]

It might also be worth taking to a repair shop for an estimate. It may be reasonable, and will look better, and probably be more waterproof. Someone that does boat canvas. Wait till after Labor Day. Leaky tent = no fun.

 

[Asolo3j]

What about using some old sail material?

If the sail material is standard white dacron it will be more water resistant than nothing and probably the easiest sail cloth to fix your tent with, but not ideal.

Mylar, Pertex, or something of a high-tech sail (like from an old North 3DL) material will be very difficult to sew and seal to maintain it's "plastic like" water resistance. This material is also not very flexible.

Spinnaker cloth (very light weight) is fairly water resistant if it's pitched taught as the weave is very tight. Again, tougher to sew and seal to a heavy canvas, but would be better than nothing.

Sunbrella is the canvas used to make dodgers, biminis, boat covers, etc... it's good stuff and would be the best for you. Usually you can find remnants on Ebay that are relatively inexpensive. A simple straight stitch around the torn area with some seam sealer and you should be good to go.

You can usually find old military canvas "pup-tents" for sale on Ebay that are in decent condition. 1 half of the tent will give you quite a bit of material. I've purchased a couple for the canvas and made some really nice tool rolls, tarp, and ground cloth out of them. They're cheap (IIRC ~$10 for 1 half of the tent) the canvas is good quality and treated with decent waterproofing.

 

[DiscoJen]

Thanks guys for all the responses.

I actually have tons of extra material from an awning that came with the popup that was sacrificed for the PO's repair attempts. I'm gonna try Dan's suggestion with the Gorilla Glue this weekend if the weather is good and I can stretch the tent out in the yard. I use Gorilla Glue for so many other repairs that it seems as though it would be great for this application as well.

Believe it or not, I used to sew for a living and even made my own clothes for a while. It's like I'm a chic and a dude all rolled up into one! :saywhat:

 

[peter sherman]

glue the canvas patch & seal the threads holes with bee's wax

 

[DiscoJen]

The Gorilla Glue works like a charm! Smaller holes didn't even require a patch. Just put a spot of glue in the hole and it expands to fill it nicely. I think I'm gonna owe Chapman a beverage; it's not his first choice as a thank you payment ,but my camera is busted so it'll have to do.

Beeswax purchased from a craft show on sunday and ready to start those seams, thanks for that neato tip Peter!

 

[Errant]

Do we get to see a pic of your new tent camper thing??

 

[stevo]

Hmmm, Apache tent trailer by chance??? I've got one, basically a big tent on wheels, I'm in the same boat with canvas repair - a good sewing awl works wonders for small areas then just use wax or some other waterproofing. I carry a plastic tarp big enough to cover it "just in case" - there is a place in Michigan that makes replacement canvas for most of these old classic camper, but they run anywhere from $800+ - thats 2x what I paid for the whole thing!

not mine, but looks just like it.

http://blog.rv.net/wp-content/3639_large.jpg

Steve

 

[DiscoJen]

Hey Steve, mine is actually an Appleby made right here in Missouri. It's a 70's era model from what I can gather. I only paid $500 for it so I certainly didn't want to spend a fortune on replacing the canvas.

Dan's suggestion of Gorilla Glue worked like a charm. It's not pretty due to the expanding nature of Gorilla Glue, but I camped for 6 days with several days of rains and storms and stayed dry with only a few drips through the canvas, the repairs were perfectly leakproof.

Before I left, I used Thompsons Water Seal and sprayed the whole tent down with a garden sprayer. That helped to seal up thin areas from the canvas deteriorating over the last 30+ years.

It's light and easy to manuever. Now that I've sold my Disco, I'll probably put a hitch on my Scion and tow it with that. I think the gross weight is under 500#.