Pulled the camper out of winter storage yesterday and....

[loislane]

darn mice chewed HOLES in the canvas AND in the vinyl. Two small holes in the vinyl, but two hand-sized holes in the canvas. We have canvas to patch, but don't know how we want to attach it. We have a sewing awl with the waxed thread (courtesy of my parents) but have no clue how to use it.

I see there are iron-on patches, but wonder how well they hold up. And obviously they won't necessarily match our existing canvas. I see several varieties of canvas adhesive and wonder if that might be a better option?

Anyone here have experience with patching?

I think the holes in the vinyl might be easier to patch. I have Tenacious Tape on it inside and out right now, so those holes are actually sealed really well. Is it bad that I might just get some burgundy/maroon duct tape to patch it?

89 days to go and I gotta deal with mice! Ugh - darn critters. I also made the mistake of leaving some towels and such inside - of course chewed to oblivion. I mind that a lot mess than the holes in the canvas, but it was still a pain to clean up yesterday. We've never had mice before, but we've never had such a cold winter either so I guess they were looking for someplace to get in and get cozy. Lucky us.

 

[tiggerdad]

I've told this story on here before, but I was a kid my dad had a popup and every year there was the same thing: mice droppings and chewed holes.
One tear he pulled it out and we opened it up and there were very few mouse droppings and no holes. There was however a 5 foot long chicken snake coiled up under the dinner table.
Mom freaked out but dad decided the thing had earned the right to stay. He concluded that he had no repair costs associated with the snake. So he gently took the snake and placed him back in the barn where we had been storing the camper.

As far as holes, quite a few people have more experience in that than I do. It would not bother me to be parked beside someone with duct tape on their camper as long as they were willing to share.

 

[Teamubr]

I've never repaired the canvas on a popup, but have on canvas tents. The iron on will stick about as long as you think it will... Just long enough to sew around the edges. I generally will try to fix things myself, but sewing on canvas is hard. I'd be inclined to find a canvas/tarp manufacturer around (truckers often need tarps made) and take the trailer to them. I doubt it would be terribly expensive and you're likely to have a closer match on the canvas.

As for the mice, we had them get into our 5er the first year we had to store it away from the house. My DW read somewhere to spread dryer sheets throughout the camper when you winterize. I've been doing that for the last 6 years with it parked at the same storage and no problems.

As for camping next to people with duct tape repairs on their trailer... They usually have the coldest beer and the best stories. Happy to have you as a neighbor.

j

 

[MotherRunner]

Try www.thepopupprincess.com She restored an older PUP. She also has links to sites with more info. Good luck!

 

[jmrothermel]

I have unfortunately repaired holes in a Pop-up. What I did was use the canvas and cut it with pinking shears so it wouldn't fray. I sewed it to the inside of the canvas with the heavy duty thread you mentioned. Then on the outside, for double protection, I did the iron on patch. Worked like a charm! Never had problems with leaking

 

[peg110]

Here is an article which details steps. http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-repair-torn-canvas-camping-tents

While it seems to discuss a "Small" hole that could be stitched up (and still patched) it sounds like yours is larger. You would probably follow all the same steps except the one of "Sewing" the "Hole" shut. Just using the patch on the inside and sealing it on the outside.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

We stored our pop-up for years and no mice. We use Bounce fab softener sheets. I'm very allergic to them and mice must dislike them as well.