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Old 08-28-2017, 07:40 AM   #1
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Position of mattress when closing bunks

I have a dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway... I have a 23' Palomino HTT. I recently discovered a small gap (1/4 to 3/8) at the top of the bunk doors when I close the bunks. I was looking at adjusting the latches, when I started to think about the way I stow the mattresses. I think I'm doing it wrong. Thinking back to my popup days, the shepherd's pole would be removed the window hoop would then drop onto the top of the bed and then I'd close the camper. Fast forward to the world of HTT ownership. I've been folding the mattress in half, standing it up and tucking it in as best as I could to make room for the bunk door. I'd pull the shepherd's pole and drop the window hoop and fabric onto the bunk wood, and them try to tuck everything in. I was using the fan to help draw everything in... but closing the bunk doors is a challenge. There's a lot of pressure required to get the latches to shut. I look at my process, I'm thinking I should just leave the mattress in place (like in the pup days)... pulling the shepherd's pole allowing the fabric to land on top of the mattress. Turn on the exhaust fan and pull the fabric in and shut the bunk. I'm thinking this would allow the bunk door more room to be pulled in tighter.

In essence I think by folding the mattress in 1/2 I'm trying to stuff twice the thickness into an area designed for just over 1/2 of that. Example at the bottom of the bunk, I've taken a 4" mattress and have been shoving 8" of material into that space that is designed for 5" (mattress and some fabric). Thus making it harder for the bunk doors to be shut, and not allowing the doors to completely close and seal.

Water was getting onto the roof fabric and now I need to clean some light mold / staining. So that prompted me to look at the bunk end seals.

My question is what do you do with the mattress when you close your bunks?
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Old 08-28-2017, 07:57 AM   #2
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Yeah, this is an issue. The mattress has to be in the right position to close. We get more resistance to close if it is pinching the mattress too much, it should go in pretty easy. I move the mattress away from the tent walls when in use, due me having an issue with the canvas coming out at the back edge of the side bunk. I have to remember to push the mattress back and higher on the door when I close. Mine came with Velcro on the door, under the mattress, so I get the mattress a little high on the Velcro. You may have to experiment with the hoop/ frame. Many put it inside the mattress, but I have 2 out of 3 mattresses against a wall or nightstand, one of mine goes on top of the mattress. We have had no leaks so far, except some water from the air conditioner before we closed was trapped in the canvas of the front bunk. I always open and check the bunks on the next sunny day when we get home, and be sure it is dry.
There are many threads on this forum about leaky hybrid doors you should check out if it's not about closing bunk doors. You may have a structural issue with your seals.
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Old 08-28-2017, 01:51 PM   #3
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With our shamrock, we drop the shepards pole and window hoop on the mattress, fold the mattress (this tucks the Shepard pole and hoop inside the folded mattress and the tenting lays on the mattress. The fan sucks all the tenting in away from the sides and the door closes easily.
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Old 08-28-2017, 05:11 PM   #4
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We always put the hook inside the folded mattresses.
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Old 08-28-2017, 05:23 PM   #5
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Position of mattress when closing bunks

The doors won't squeeze the folded mattress as much if they are a little higher on the door. The bottom is a smaller angle. I believe that your situation is with a wall or cabinet in front of the bunk. I have a nightstand on the front bunk in the Roo 183 that gives me a problem.
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Old 08-28-2017, 05:48 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GalsofEscape View Post
With our shamrock, we drop the shepards pole and window hoop on the mattress, fold the mattress (this tucks the Shepard pole and hoop inside the folded mattress and the tenting lays on the mattress. The fan sucks all the tenting in away from the sides and the door closes easily.
Exactly what we do.
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Old 08-29-2017, 02:05 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by GalsofEscape View Post
With our shamrock, we drop the shepards pole and window hoop on the mattress, fold the mattress (this tucks the Shepard pole and hoop inside the folded mattress and the tenting lays on the mattress. The fan sucks all the tenting in away from the sides and the door closes easily.
X2 - Watched this youtube video when we first got the Roo, and it's been one of the best hints/tricks we've gotten so far! :-)
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Old 08-29-2017, 02:22 PM   #8
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I've been folding the mattress and with the shepherd's pole in it, I've also been using the exhaust fans (awesome trick BTW) but I've been standing the mattress up against the wall of the camper on the bottom bunk door hinge, and then closing the bunk door.

This is where we differ... With the mattress all the way towards the bottom lying on the hinge I've struggled to get the doors closed. I'll try out a few different methods tonight (camp driveway) to see what works the best.
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Old 08-29-2017, 02:34 PM   #9
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Exactly! I do all the things we have been talking about, but I have very different bunks. The thing that helps with all of them is having the mattress a little higher on the door when it is folded.
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Old 08-29-2017, 10:31 PM   #10
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Someone may have mentioned this already - but our Roo has a line of heavy duty Velcro right along the hinge. Often I have to shift the mattress a little bit so it rests along the Velcro on one side of the hinge - that helps...
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Old 08-30-2017, 08:21 AM   #11
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I spent some quality time with the HTT last night... but I did not have time to try out different areas for the mattresses...

Last trip out I found we had an ant problem in the rear bunk. I think its due to the bunk door not sealing, and where I was parking it, there were trees right up against the rear of the trailer. I think carpenter ants found a night little highway into the trailer... At 1st I saw a few ants, then as I keep looking I found a lot... only having some spray cleaner, I was able to get rid of almost all of the ants... now its home and opened, I only found a few stragglers... I made sure they are now gone....

So tonight after good bleach cleaning... I'll be closing up the camper and will try a few different methods when I close the bunks.

Thanks for the help.... much appreciated
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Old 09-01-2017, 09:11 AM   #12
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I had a chance to spend some quality time with the HTT last night... I found the only way for me to get the front door to close completely is to remove the mattress, close the door, and use the straps to position the mattress over the front seating area.

The rear, closes the same whether the mattress is in place or not. So I need to adjust the hinges. While looking, closing & opening the rear bunk door, I did find two issues that needed immediate attention...
1.) The drip rail above the rear bunk, was loose. About 1/4 of the rail was loose letting water get behind it and straight into the camper. This explains why I found water sitting on the fabric and mold was starting to form. The rail was reattached, and the entire rail was re-calked to provide a water tight seal.
2.) The calking around the bottom frame of the door was looking tired... I found evidence of a little water penetration. That too was re-calked, I also re-calked the front bunk door frame.

Thanks for everyone's help / assistance, its much appreciated
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Old 09-05-2017, 10:22 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Summer2Go View Post
The doors won't squeeze the folded mattress as much if they are a little higher on the door. The bottom is a smaller angle. I believe that your situation is with a wall or cabinet in front of the bunk. I have a nightstand on the front bunk in the Roo 183 that gives me a problem.
I believe the nightstand is what's giving me problems too. I have a cheap Big Lots mattress pad that doesn't help either. I just get too much resistance when closing the front bunk with the mattress in place. So far, I have been removing it. Next outing I'm hoping to have some time to experiment and see if I can get it closed leaving it in place.
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Old 09-05-2017, 04:18 PM   #14
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I don't leave anything on the mattresses. I give each bunk a mattress pad when we set up, and it is off and stored when we close. I wouldn't want to take a chance and put any extra pressure on the door.
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Old 09-13-2017, 06:59 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by eprovenzano View Post
I had a chance to spend some quality time with the HTT last night... I found the only way for me to get the front door to close completely is to remove the mattress, close the door, and use the straps to position the mattress over the front seating area.



The rear, closes the same whether the mattress is in place or not. So I need to adjust the hinges. While looking, closing & opening the rear bunk door, I did find two issues that needed immediate attention...

1.) The drip rail above the rear bunk, was loose. About 1/4 of the rail was loose letting water get behind it and straight into the camper. This explains why I found water sitting on the fabric and mold was starting to form. The rail was reattached, and the entire rail was re-calked to provide a water tight seal.

2.) The calking around the bottom frame of the door was looking tired... I found evidence of a little water penetration. That too was re-calked, I also re-calked the front bunk door frame.



Thanks for everyone's help / assistance, its much appreciated


I too have some caulking that needs to be renewed at the bottom of one bunk end. It's on the outside just above the hinge. What sort of caulk did you use?
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Old 09-13-2017, 01:49 PM   #16
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You will get many different answers, but I used 3M 5200 white Marine adhesive/sealant. It's available at the big box stores
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