Pop up roof and rain

[21Katherine]

Hello, I am a new 6.1 Ocean proud owner. The instructions say do not put pop up away wet. This can be v awkward. Also I understand bad to have up in wind but is it OK in heavy rain or lightening?
Advice please. Thank you Kat

 

[Carl_______________]

Hi, if we do have to put our roof down wet or even slightly damp, as soon as we can, we will open it back up to dry out properly.

As for wind. Lots of opinions on this, but we slept in the roof during the last storm ( I think it was storm dave) in the Peak District on a hill and roof was fine although we didn’t get much sleep due to the wind noise. Not sure I would do it again, wasn’t worried about the van at all, I was shattered the next day from the lack of sleep

 

[WelshGas]

Hello, I am a new 6.1 Ocean proud owner. The instructions say do not put pop up away wet. This can be v awkward. Also I understand bad to have up in wind but is it OK in heavy rain or lightening?
Advice please. Thank you Kat

The canvas shouldn't be stored for more than 24/48hrs wet. If your moving sites no problem. If you can't leave the roof up to dry at home etc: then invest in an external cover.
The roof can deal with significant wind 40mph + but the vehicle should be parked with the back towards the wind. Heavy vertical rain, no problem but horizontal combined with wind can be problematic if not parked correctly.
As far as lightening is concerned then no different to a car. The vehicle is insulated from the ground because of the tyres.

 

[Johnbee]

I always put the pop top up when back home, if it’s been put away wet/damp, to ensure it’s fully dry.

We were also camping near Arundel (profile picture) when storm Dave blew in. Parked back end facing the wind and we were fine. Her upstairs slept through it. I only awoke downstairs as my Greyhound decided he needed a wee walk mid storm! The awning room made a bit of noise in the wind though.

Some rows of vans on the electric pitches were parked facing the wind, but by daybreak a fair few had lowered their roofs.

 

[SusiBus]

I was happy that VW replaced our bellows with O6S's when they leaked on our 24 reg Cali, thinking they would now be fine. In the recent rain, which was gusting against the front of the bellows, l started to lower the roof, but water poured in through the big zip where it had folded. So l put it up again and hoped for the best, not wanting to turn the vehicle around. Got up in the night to find pools of water in the corners. OUT WITH THE CLOTHS AGAIN! I'll have to check the drainage tubes are not blocked. l do make a point of keeping the roof gullies ciean, so l doubt if that's the cause. I'll make sure in the future that l'm parked back into the wind, and probably get some waterproofing spray!

 

[Dave Lowe]

It scandalous how these problems still exist roof wise ... Saying that l have never had a problem with mine ... Except from my right corner coming away now and then .. l took the decision years ago just to push it back in place when it happened... Didn't want to glue it ... Bought van new 2017 .

 

[21Katherine]

Thank you. Will try to dry out asap and park back to the wind.

 

[JohnCalifornia]

I’ve recently did a post with my bellows letting water in. I’m going to do some waterproofing with Aquatex when I’m home. My Cali is a 2019 with all the zips etc

 

[silversurfer]

2010 van did start letting in water in driving rain so we applied waterproofing (plenty available for tents) and has been fine since. Not bad in 15 years, but if you do have a problem it can be fixed.

 

[Camp Geordie 88]

We have a 2022 Ocean which started to leak through the bellows. The VW dealer replaced them under warranty and they still leaked so they replaced them again!! About a year later the electric sliding door failed and this was because of water ingress - can’t believe the two aren’t connected as the drain pipe run down the same area. Nightmare!!

 

[briwy]

Anything over around 20mph wind and our roof comes down. It's pointless leaving it up and risking damage. Wind can can gust up to twice the stated wind speed. Two nights ago in Scotland the wind changed direction three times overnight so its hopeless to get the back facing the wind all the time.

 

[Jef4130]

California owner for 15 years. Roof goes up an all weathers. As stated above, if it has to go away wet, just get it back open again as soon as possible to fully dry it.
I believe there is a stated maximum wind speed for the roof being up, I did a lot of touring around the Scottish Highlands a few years back and can confirm that gusts over 60 mph can pull and tear the canvas around the stitching at the base around the front and back. Having said that, I only just got a replacement roof bellows / canvas this year after living with tears in the canvas for a few years with no real drama. I only plumbed for a new one after waking up last year with my foot out of one of the tears.