RTT camping in the rain

[T4RJer]

I’ve been camping many times and in the rain a couple times with my roof top tent. I am always worried about moisture when I am breaking down camp, especially when it’s raining or rained all night. I am curious about how some of you combat the wetness and how you handle things once you are home or to the next spot and it is no longer raining.

I know that for me personally, the last time I camped in the rain, the next day was sunny and warm so I opened up the tent, opened all the windows and removed the mattress. I laid the mattress out and let it dry then flipped it over to make sure it was fully dry. So far I haven’t had any problems, and no mold or mildew in my tent at all. Just curious if there is something else I could do, especially if it’s hot humid and rainy.

 

[smritte]

I did the same with mine, just open it up when I can and dry it out. Never had any mildew.

 

[T4RJer]

Beautiful! Thank you sir.

 

[Kevin108]

Definitely gotta let them dry after the fact, otherwise they will mold if they stay packed away while wet. Regular use in the rain is no problem though.

 

[rgallant]

I used one of the cheap Chinese 5kw diesel heaters, even at 12C /53F on full blast it gets the temp up to 90F in about 30 minutes in a tent that size. Mine (Tepui Ayer 2) had roof windows opened them part way to let the hot moist air out.

The tent fully dried out in about 60 to 90 minutes in cold overcast in the PNW , did the same after a trip.

 

[T4RJer]

That is a very interesting idea and honestly a really good one too. I have been looking at those Chinese diesel heaters for awhile. Haven’t bought one yet as I have stayed plenty warm, even on a -10 degree winter night. But, I am even more interested in getting one now. Thanks for the info.

 

[rgallant]

@T4RJer just do your research most of the 8Kw ones are actually 5's, and you can pay a premium for a cheap heater in a fancy box. They are a heat exchanger so Co should not be an issue, it has not been for me. But you could use a cheap battery powered Co detector if you are worried about gasket seals.

 

[12C20]

Thank you for this discussion!

When you fold your Ayer 2 when the outside is wet, how wet is the inside when you set up that night?

 

[rgallant]

It was not wet on the inside, for the most part, just damp the mattress is mostly isolated from the sides. But the one very heavy rain event, I enclosed the mattress in a water proof mattress cover before folding the tent up, that was very damp when I opened up. Enough so that sleeping would have been unpleasant,had the mattress not been covered. I bought the mattress cover as a just in case, but it was cheap and krinkly so would not have been fun to sleep on.

I had a Land Rover Discovery II so after that I setup so sleeping inside the truck was an option even on a long trip if rainy weather was forecast for multiple days.

The real problem, I found, is the tent fly is really a dew fly not a rain fly. I added a cheap light wieght trap I could toss over the tent, that covered the whole tent. Left the side windows closed, it worked well, once I figured it out but was a pain to setup solo. And I need to open the top windows about 30% to keep good air flow to keep the condensation down.

The upside of the tarp was I could run the diesel heater to dry things off a bit while I ate and packed up. The tarp kept the rain off, so you just got a bit wet folding up.

I did not have a lot of wet trips, just enough that I knew if I would have rain or it was forecast, that figuring it out was a good idea. I did most of my experimenting at home in the driveway, when the disco was our second vehicle. Nice thing about Vancouver in the spring or fall lots rain to test and prove your ideas at home.

My first test run with the tarp, it worked ok but it was just some late night drizzle and light rain. But that when I figured out leaving the side windows closed was better.
View attachment _DSC0130.JPG

 

[Jim SoG]

I’ve been camping many times and in the rain a couple times with my roof top tent. I am always worried about moisture when I am breaking down camp, especially when it’s raining or rained all night. I am curious about how some of you combat the wetness and how you handle things once you are home or to the next spot and it is no longer raining.

I know that for me personally, the last time I camped in the rain, the next day was sunny and warm so I opened up the tent, opened all the windows and removed the mattress. I laid the mattress out and let it dry then flipped it over to make sure it was fully dry. So far I haven’t had any problems, and no mold or mildew in my tent at all. Just curious if there is something else I could do, especially if it’s hot humid and rainy.

Your RTT should have come with or has available a "RainFly" and the work great also I do scotch guard my RTT and heave scotch the seams. Been in some big storms and so far so good.
The rainfly is form fitting and made for each RTT from the mfg.

Jim

 

[rgallant]

@Jim SoG You had me confused there for a second, Tepui/Thule calls those a weatherhood. They work but can be annoying when folding up the tent, just more material to deal with.

 

[Dusther210]

I’ve been camping many times and in the rain a couple times with my roof top tent. I am always worried about moisture when I am breaking down camp, especially when it’s raining or rained all night. I am curious about how some of you combat the wetness and how you handle things once you are home or to the next spot and it is no longer raining.

I know that for me personally, the last time I camped in the rain, the next day was sunny and warm so I opened up the tent, opened all the windows and removed the mattress. I laid the mattress out and let it dry then flipped it over to make sure it was fully dry. So far I haven’t had any problems, and no mold or mildew in my tent at all. Just curious if there is something else I could do, especially if it’s hot humid and rainy.

We have similar style tents. We’ve been running ours for many years and do the same as you. Usually just air it out the next day.
If it was raining when I packed it up and it’s not hot and sunny when I open it I might have to just wipe it real quick with a towel on the rain fly etc.
I’m surprised I have gotten leaves under the mattress where the tent folds but it doesn’t seem to get wet there.
Diesel heaters do a great job of getting tents dry.

 

[OTH Overland]

We ran a 23 Zero softshell tent for several years in all kinds of weather including heavy snow. We left the rainfly on at all times as it was a pain to remove and replace and nowhere to store the extra metal bows in the Jeep when it was off. It did a great job of keeping the inner canvas from not feeling damp on the inside of the tent. (only real downside was the extra flapping of material in the wind) Once the weather turned for the season we always packed our diesel heater, did not always run it all night, but nice to have a warm tent and bedding when going to bed. As mentioned above when we get up in the morning we would crank it up full blast (leaving a vent open to get rid of moisture) while doing camp chores. Also toss a couple of packing cubes or similar items under the mattress to let the warm dry air get under it to remove any of the condensation that occured. If it was still raining at time to close up the tent we would still open it back up as soon as possible when getting back home or to the next camp site. If folding it wet I would try to shake off as much water as possible from the canvas before quickly folding it up. Surprised at how much water you can shake off. Never had any issue with Co with the heater, just need to make sure the exhaust faces downwind from the air intake. Just noticed one of the newer models of heater has a Co detector built into the remote control. Now that we are running a wedge style tent its easy to pop it up for half an hour at a lunch stop if its not raining and the breeze does a good job of drying things out (we open the awning also). We live in the PNW and get to deal with on and off rain during multi day trips so you get good at finding ways of drying things out each day as you travel.

 

[lolzhax]

Just open it up at home... In the summer, it's over 100 degrees F at home and no moisture will stand a chance in the tent oven. lol

I once had my RTT flood while I was away from camp (it's on a trailer). Used my diesel heater to dry it out enough to sleep that night and left the tent open in 100+ degrees for a week at home, mattress propped up for airflow and I never had mold or mildew.