How waterproof, ice-proof, snow-proof is the FWC?

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MountainSufi

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Oct 15, 2018
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Howdy from Jackson Hole!

Brand new, used 2017 Fleet here. I Fan-Tastic Fan on the roof (with manufacturer's gasket).

I have no garage and intend to have the camper live on my Taco.

It's not unusual having a snow storm dump a couple feet, so naturally I'm concerned snow & ice leaking in thru the vent area. Causing mold & ???

Constantly tarping/untarping the roof on my only vehicle would be an impractical PIA.

I do intend to use some sort of snow rake:
https://smile.amazon.com/SnoBrum-Push-Broom-Extendable-Telescoping-Scratching/dp/B0007LDXLA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1541361729&sr=8-7&keywords=snow+rake
But of course it will be impossible to keep things totally dry up there.

I welcome your experience & advice.

Thankx
 
Water is not the issue...weight is...you are blessed with light powder snow...I can't remember, but I believe if the top is up 1,000 lbs [?] is max load...again you are in an arid land so mold usually a non-problem....freezing any water systems is a concern, since "The Hole" can get damn cold...

https://fourwh.com/faq/


Phil
 
We have had our 2017 Fleet one year and just one relatively dry winter here in SW Colorado. We have two roof vents and a solar panel on the roof. It is left on the truck outside.
I depend upon the solar panel to keep the camper batteries charged so I keep the snow off the roof as much as possible. I used the same snow rake I use for the solar panels on my house. Anyway we had no problem with leaks from the vents or anywhere else. It would be good to check frequently if you have snow piled on the roof that might be melting during the day time hours.
 
I would say remove the snow when you can. This will help when you get the freeze thaw cycles to prevent the water traveling back up anywhere you don't want the water to expand when it refreezes. Pop the top when the weather is warm and sunny at various times to dry out and check for overall health, and leaks. Should survive the winter fine otherwise. Make sure you winterize the inside and maintain the battery if you have one.
 
Beware condensation in campers kept closed up for extended periods outside. You do not want black mold to get a foothold.

FWC recommends taking the mattress down from the overcab platform and storing it in the aisle.

Based on my experience I concur.

If you are able to plug your camper in when the truck is parked overnight using a low cost dehumidifer or leaving an low wattage incandescent light bulb turned on will help keep the humidity low and should mitigate risk of condensation.

Search on "condensation" and you can find threads on this topic.

Craig
 
MountainSufi said:
Brand new, used 2017 Fleet here. I Fan-Tastic Fan on the roof (with manufacturer's gasket).
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with this gasket. Is it meant to seal the lid when closed ? Are you worried about water seepage via capillary action when the snow is in contact with the lid and melting ?

My vents use a simple extended overhang on the lid. I had a few winters with the camper on, parked outside and exposed to some snow and a lot of rain and had no leakage. Even better I've never found any mold inside the camper in 21+ years (except in the fridge - yuk).

What I suggest, if you can, is to get up on a ladder with a water hose and soak the area around the vent - from a high angle - and see what happens. If it survives that, you can rest easy.

In the old days folks used to use kitty litter in a large, shallow, open container as a dehumidifier. I've tried it but was unsure of the effectiveness. Like I said I've been ok for mold and here it is very damp and humid overwinter when the camper it in storage, top down, outside (more recently under a tarp) but just in case I don't store anything organic inside - no cushions, textiles, paper, wood etc.
 
WOW!

All great suggestions that make me feel more relieved. WTW and FWC are indeed family.

My rig will be parked in my driveway, with nearby 120v power. I can rake off snow as best I can, & occasionally lift the top to see what's going on. Since I don't have solar (yet), I'll be occasionally using ship-to-shore keeping batteries topped. A perfect time to run a small electric space heater (let me know if this will blow fuses) and warmup/dry/inspect things.

Hrmmmf... This Fleet in the driveway may turn into a cooling-off doghouse retreat when my SO deservedly gets PO'd at me!!!

Keep ideas coming, family!
 
I tried the DampRid last winter and it worked great. You want to keep the buckets upright if you are going to be driving your truck as the buckets collect water from condensation. And I remove the mattress from the cab-over bed and store it in the house.

I keep my camper in a storage lot with power available and plug in the shore power to keep the battery charged.

We have such snow/thaw cycles on the Colorado front range that I hardly ever have any snow build up for long. In your case definitely clear off excess snow.

On my old FWC camper that didn't have the Iota, I used to leave a trickle charger on the camper battery.
 
Since this thread is turning into battling condensation (thankx for the tips kidz), I pass along this idea received from a local FWC'er...

If you use actual bedding instead of sleeping bags, get a waterproof mattress pad to put under the sheets.

I'll try the Damprid as an experiment, but expect our high desert low humidity makes it unnecessary (unless cookin' inside). I will search "condensation" in the forums.
 
Very much so IMO...

We were caught in a late spring wind/snow event on the Alvord Desert (OR) last year. 70+ MPH winds and blowing snow. Camper performed exceptionally well. Albeit we didn't get much sleep due to noise and worried top would blow off. And the heater ran all night to keep the camper interior temp at 60F.

But, I recall a story Tom (former owner of FWC) once told me when I asked him at what wind speed should I be worried with the camper popped...his reply was the top was good to at least 70 MPH. I asked how he came up with 70 MPH; testing? Nope, he drove from Long Beach back to Sacramento with the top still deployed after a show.

Tom, my apologies for putting you on "report"!
 
MountainSufi said:
Since this thread is turning into battling condensation (thankx for the tips kidz), I pass along this idea received from a local FWC'er...

If you use actual bedding instead of sleeping bags, get a waterproof mattress pad to put under the sheets.

I'll try the Damprid as an experiment, but expect our high desert low humidity makes it unnecessary (unless cookin' inside). I will search "condensation" in the forums.
Click to expand...
Correct on low humidity...also we always have the window above the stove "peeled" down and the two roof vents [one of which is above the stove] partially open when using the FWC stove burners; rarely needing to turn on the Fantastic fans...not just for venting water vapor but for venting combustion products...seriously no worries about mold if you are primarily in high desert [See#2] but do consider freezing of plumbing and roof weight load limit when top is up...when top is down, I have no idea of the recommended max roof weight...

FWC campers are damn tough and with a little foresight and common sense they seem to just keep going like the Energizer Bunny... :D

Phil
 
Brush snow off with large floor broom, I stick a milk crate under mattress in winter in storage, leave it in same spot just prop it up to allow for air circulation, hook trickle charger up for battery......
 
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