Ive just slept in my relatively new (September) v2 camper through a multi hour rainstorm and noticed that the fabric is not fully waterproof, and the edges of the bed get quite wet in a rainstorm.
This is with the doors and windows completely sealed except for the triangular windows at the feet cracked for ventilation.
It seems like the bottom edges of the tent let quite a bit of water through and that 3 inches or so of fabric on the bed get soaking wet. This includes the edge of my pillow if it’s along the wall.
I’m wondering if this is expected behavior for the material, or if I might have gotten some defective fabric?
@aglasser - The fabric itself has an interior TPU coating and is fully waterproof as are most of the seams, which are welded. However, in sustained heavy rains it’s possible for the sewn seams along the bottom edge of the tent that form the keder loop and the vertical sewn seams at the front corners to become soaked and damp on the interior. This typically won’t result in pooled water but can dampen a sleeping bag that’s making contact with the stitch line. If you regularly camp in sustained rainy conditions, we recommend you treat this seam on the inside of the tent with any commonly-available seam sealer. It’s also recommended to seal the two bar-tacks (one on each side) that attach the loops for the front bungee. It is not necessary to seal the stitch line for the upper keder loop.
If the interior tent fabric itself feels damp (not at a stitched seam) it’s typically just a layer of condensation. Opening both side windows halfway and rolling the cover toward the outside of the tent usually provides ventilation while preventing rain from getting in for all but the windiest rainstorms.
Thanks for all the information in here, I will try sealing the seams and see if that helps. There was no pooled water or condensation on the inside, just wet mattress around the edges where the seams are.
@crazyfingers - The sewn seams are not sealed from the factory. It’s recommended to reseal them every three years or so if you regularly camp in heavy rain conditions.
@WileyDavis the link you shared has a couple different options, can you be more specific?
Also…nothing personal, but not stoked to discover this has to be done by the owner. If I can spend $500 on a fully waterproof ground tent with sealed seems one would assume an $8k camper would have that done as well.
anybody got a good way to seal up the little gaps at the lower tent corners where fabric meets frames? I’m getting some light water intrusion thru them.I’d like to add a flap to cover this up, but don’t want to sew into the material and make another leak path.
Sigh. I’ve joined the ranks of water intrusion. I have my tent floor out currently after a weekend camping, and after a light rain with tent closed water was coming in from up above and dripping down into my truck bed. I get that any topper is not 100% but this wasn’t even a hard rain and I don’t feel like it’s nuts to expect a tent to be mostly watertight. I am a big fan of GFC for a lot of reasons but this is a big gap. More investigation will be done this weekend.
Edit: was looking at the website to make sure I’m not nuts…there’s two key statements that imply you’ll be dry, “designed for 4-season use” and “protection from the elements”. I will find a way to deal with this but really would have wanted the real info up front. And I’m not a new camper just complaining…I just want to stay as dry as I do in a ground tent.
Just went and investigated in the dark, water is coming in from the gap between the tent frame when closed (pic of what I’m talking about). Can everyone else see their tent material here when it’s closd even with nothing ‘upstairs’? I have a near 1/4th gap so water is just going straight in, then pooling in and wicking through the folded tent material, then dripping down (if I had mattress in it would be soaking the mattress)
I can tell it’s wicking along the tent seams too so will have to deal with that. Doesn’t matter if I’m parked up hill or down hill.
I grew up in Oregon and now in the Denver area. This was a light rain for 30min…nowhere near what the PNW gets. I assumed MT 4 season would suffice for me…
Yeah. I’m going to email support as well. I was rear ended last month and while there’s no obvious damage from that to the GFC, I’m worried something may have been jolted. That or the gap I have is just huge…it’s almost like the top aluminum section bows up a bit.
I actually had water coming in underneath this past weekend as well. It wasn’t coming in from the gap in the tent, but rather from the side panels. Kind of running down the side and coming in right where the side panel meets the truck bed.
The bit I think is really silly, is what exactly is the point of making an ultra waterproof tent material with leaky/unsealed seams? That just feels like it doesn’t actually give the user a waterproof tent, which is what I expect 90% of people would want.
Mine has the same gap and I get the same water intrusion. I too have been thinking of putting a seal of some kind along there. Right now I’m testing with no mattresses and see how much water I get in there. Because my truck parks on an incline it all runs to the back so for the most part it just gets the back of the tent wet when closed.
Mine has 1/8" gap and has been dry even while driving in down pours, parked uphill, downhill, sideways it doesn’t matter. I wonder what the difference is. I was thinking about something like this seal up the gap before it became a problem for me
I have a V1 and actually just got it and have not fully tested it yet. I live in the Canadian Maritimes ( New Brunswick, bay of Fundy, just east of Maine) I have been worried just from the looks of the tent that it won’t do well in east coast, North Atlantic 3 day rainstorms we have. I will definitely report back when I have put it to the test. Having said that, I also see that the way it is snapped in and sewn, it wouldn’t be that hard to sew silnylon, or even dyneema fabric tent top that is fully weather tight. I can’t say I’m surprised that it leaks. I have even had to modify with added flaps, and seam seal my Hyperlite Ultamid 2 for withstanding the weather around here and in Newfoundland , Iceland and Scotland. https://ripstopbytheroll.com/ Has an amazing collection of fabrics for diy tents and other high end projects. At any rate. I’ll likely add more on this thread once I figure out just what is needed.
Cheers folks.
