HOLY RAIN!!!! NOW WHAT???

[smallfry]

We had the hugest down pour during our pack up today....it was CRAZY!!! I am quite stressed about the amount of water that got into our PUP...rest of the week calls for sun...how long is it ok to keep it sealed up before we need to worry when so much water got in???
I'm thinking maybe we need to open it up again tonight (might get a bit of rain again overnight) or wait until tomorrow evening when the weather is supposed to improve?

 

[themanfromvan]

Open that sucker up as soon as you can or you'll get mold/mildew. Leave it up as long as it takes to get it dry. If you have to, take the mattresses and cushions indoors to dry them out. Undo flaps that cover the lift posts or the bunk corners, if you have them. They tend to hold water and take a while to dry out.

Oh - and welcome to the wonderful world of pop up camping !!

 

[BaylorWaylor]

I'd also vote for opening it up now, I would also turn the fan on inside to let air circulate.

 

[newbiecamper]

You will want to put it up as soon as you are able. Its ok for it to be open in the rain, assuming it doesnt leak. If it sits too long the canvas will begin to mildew. Its the strong winds that make me nervous. My PUP has been up in this crap all day, and dry as a bone inside.

 

[jim1999]

The sooner the better getting it open back up to let it dry out, but try not to let it set closed for over 48 hours, especially if it is hot outside.

 

[smallfry]

Got it open and put a space heater in to hopefully help out a bit. The canopy was really wet too and so we unrolled that and left it hanging to dry...of course I punctured a small hole in it in the mayhem of all this...and another small hole in one of the beds! Good grief...what a day. I guess I should be hopefully able to fix those things easily and I fell better about opening it up even if it is raining outside now again. Brought in all the cushions too.
Thank you all for your input!

 

[Teachndad]

When we had the toilet overflow in the house and the water seeped into the carpeting in the hallway, the company that our insurance company called told us, not to use a fan driven heater because it would increase the rate of mildew. He told me it was better to just use a fan.

Just my two cents. I would try to use just the fan setting, even though that might seem not as good as using heat.

Good luck.

 

[Calcio1897]

Yes, Open it up now.

 

[camping_girl]

Hope you got all dried out! When I had my pup, I opened it right back up, left it up till it was dry, then was lazy and didn't take it down, it rained again, so had to leave it up. It was up for a month straight, but no mildew and no rain got inside either!

 

[Matt O]

I heard someone say one time that as soon as they get home they open it up, even in the rain. At that point, everything is wet and this way if the sun comes out on Tuesday afternoon and it could be all dry for you when you get home from work.

 

[Deskpilot]

Don't forget WD-40 (the WD is for Water Displacing) on the lift posts, bed slides, door hinge and latch, and roof latches. Place an oil proof protective barrier between the hard parts and the soft parts. If you can get to them, without too much hassle, spray inside of of lift posts to get to the cables/springs too.

 

[VooDuuChild]

Check the manual before lubing; some trailers like/need different kinds. Ours said to use a silicon based lube, and it works amazingly well and the smell doesn't last for all that long. What's real weird too is that it doesn't leave any residue, or wetness behind, yet it slides smoother than ever....guess the silicon is too small to see.