Tips and Tricks for Taking Care of Your Canopy

1. Add your canopy (and roof rack) to your car insurance policy. Take photos of your canopy and keep your receipt in a safe place so in the event of an accident it can be part of your claim if damaged.

2. Wash the outside of your canopy cover with warm, mild soapy water and rinse well. Use only a soft brush or cloth, don’t use anything abrasive.

3. Use Armor All Protectant to clean your canopy cover and to protect it. Use a clean soft cloth (micro fibre cloths work great) and apply every few months, especially to the roof.

4. If camping on the coast or doing some beach runs, ensure any saltwater is washed off your zips. An application of a zipper lubricant product to your zips can extend their life and prevent any sticking. Test a small area before applying to ensure it doesn’t stain.

5. If you would like to clean your roof rack, apply a small amount of Wax and Grease Remover onto a soft cloth and wipe down your rack. Be extremely careful not to get any of this product on your canopy cover.

6. Regularly check the nuts on your canopy frame and rack to ensure they are tight.

7. Ideally, your canopy cover will have all the doors closed and the bungee cords or clip on secured for the majority of the time. This keeps tension on the cover which prevents water pooling on the roof and is the best way of maintaining the stitching. If your furry best friend is in the back of the canopy and you have rolled up a side door you MUST open the rear door as well, otherwise you will create a parachute effect which can damage the stitching over time. You can have the rear door open without needing either of the side doors open.

8. When opening the canopy doors, roll them up so the coloured outer layer is visible. This side is UV-protected and is designed to be exposed to the sun.

9. Open up the canopy vents if you’re travelling off road to positively pressurise the canopy and keep the dust out or to increase air flow to your fridge.

10. Be careful when parking under trees as low-hanging branches can gouge a hole in the roof of your canopy. Same goes for carrying firewood on your roof rack, make sure it’s tied down securely so it doesn’t move and stick into your cover.