Hylo roof concern!

[andanotherthing]

I saw an 06 hylo yesterday and had two concerns about the roof:

1.) how careful do you have to be when closing the roof; do you have to arrange and fold the canvas whilst lowering, or just pull it down, leaving bits of canvas pertruding/ trapped?

2.) the window in the canvas on the 06 was quite badly marked, and although not punctured had some deep gouges. Is this normal wear and tear, and can the panels be replaced at a reasonable cost?

Thanks in advance,

Dan

[aggsandrog]

I came across a review of that model (on line) by one of the motor caravan magazines a while ago. It specifically said that you have to be careful to fold the canvas when lowering the roof. The gouges in the window no doubt results from not being careful enough. I was also concerned about ambient noise even with windows closed, and insulation, when considering my options......Roger

[alan]

Hi Dan, I have a an 03 Hylo.
When closing the roof, you pull the roof down on to the internal fastening clips, not securing them, but letting them support the weight of the roof, this leaves the roof about 2" open. You then go outside and tuck all the canvas inside the roof seal, go back inside and just tuck in the back corners, where the hydraulic supports are. Then close the roof completely. This sounds far more complicated than it actually is. Just be aware, as you let the roof down the last couple inches, that the plastic window isn't trapped. I just feel it in as I drop the last inch. A quick check around the outside for any protruding canvas and then lock down.

I don't know about replacing the plastic window in the canvas, ours has some really deep marks/folds, but it seems really resilliant. Our van is over five years old, and no sign of having to replace anything. The canvas is really tough to. You can fold the roof down when the canvas is wet, there appears enough space under the seals to allow the wetness to evaporate, although I do air as soon as possible.

[barry5933]

Folding the window is easier with two people, (one inside supporting the roof and sorting out the corners) and one outside folding the plastic. It is important to ensure that no canvas gets trapped under the seals at the sides.

If you do fold the roof away when the canvas is wet, you must raise the roof as soon as possible to dry it out afterwards, otherwise mould can develop.

Insulation wise, obviously the canvas sides let out a lot of heat. For winter use, I cut out some sheets of DIY insulation, the sort that has a layer of bubble plastic faced both sides with shiny foil. Making the sheets small enough to insert but large enough to overlap at joints, resulted in one tapered sheet per side and one sheet for the back. They certainly cut down the draughts and heat loss and can be folded into slabs to store laid flat in the luton.

[andanotherthing]

Thanks for the tips. Does anyone treat the canvas with any kind of water proofing?

[alan]

We haven't had to treat our canvas yet. It does look wet ie. dark on the inside when wet, and as with all canvas, you should avoid touching the inside when wet, but as yet, in all of 5 1/2 years, in some pretty bad weather, we have not had any rain through the canvas.
Saying that, there are some really good canvas sprays on the market if you need them, available at all camping shops.