Having problems with door frame attaching to canvas sides

Pauldye · 07-14-2013, 03:10 PM

I have a 04 eagle popup. Ever since I bought it I have had problems with getting the canvas side walls to attach to the door frame. It looks like it should slip into the channel in the frame but it won't stay in. Is there something that slips in to hold it or am I missing something? I've been using duck tape to hold it in but that is really getting old. Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Todzki · 07-15-2013, 07:59 PM

Exact same issue here on my 1994 1006, I searched the forum but didn't find much. Let me know if you find an answer, besides Velcro or Duct Tape

Grammie · 07-17-2013, 06:39 PM

I have a 1996 1207. Have had problems attaching the canvas to the door since I bought it. I have been using duct tape but thinking of trying to add Velcro. Has anyone done this? How do I attach it?

Pauldye · 07-17-2013, 08:48 PM

I've tried the Velcro option but as soon as it starts getting humid the adhesive backing that holds it on starts to give way and its back to the duck tape. Wonder if I could sew the Velcro on.

yooperfan · 07-20-2013, 12:40 AM

Sewing it on was my first thought. Crazy glue was my second thought. I have the same issue with the rear side of the door. Everytime I came back to the camper, the canvas was detached from the the inside channel. The other side holds good. Maybe the channel has widened over the years. I assumed strong wind help blow it in.

Seann45 · 07-20-2013, 12:30 PM

I had a different brand years ago and I found that you had to pull the canvas a little farther than U think you have to. when you get it in the channel it should be FLAT against the wall.

Pauldye · 07-22-2013, 02:16 PM

I will measure to see if the channel is widened up at all. If need be I will squeeze it a bit to close the gap. Anyone ever try upholstery buttons?

Pauldye · 07-22-2013, 08:25 PM

So. After reading seann45's comment it got me to thinking. And looking. So as it turns out the previous owner showed me how to do it incorrectly. He had been doing it with duct tape to. I wasn't trying to fold into the slot. I was just trying to put the lip into it. Now the fun part is getting off the duct tape and Velcro adhesive residue. Bring on the googone.

Thanks for the comments

tcanthonyii · 07-22-2013, 08:59 PM

On my 1998 I can get it in the channel but it tends to pop out. I bought some rope today that I'm going to stick in the channel after setup. We'll see this weekend how it goes.

Pauldye · 07-23-2013, 03:47 AM

Let me know how that works. Seems like a good idea

cotech50 · 07-26-2013, 06:38 AM

Just purchase a 1996 Eagle 10 and was shown wrong. Spent first outing playing with it and thought the entire seam end should go in but canvas was so tight there. Saw a photo in an old manual that clearly showed the entire end seam being rotated into the grove but also showed lots of slack in canvas. After seeing this I started at the top and once you can get the seam end to rotate around into the channel you just keep working your way down or start at the bottom and work up. I unzipped the side window to gain some slack.

Grammie · 08-05-2013, 08:28 PM

Just popped up my trailer to do repairs. After reading all the tips I tried attaching the door canvas before pulling the canvas over the bunk ends. So much easier. I also started at the bottom and made sure to get it flat. It has stayed in for 2 days now. No more duct tape for me.

Pauldye · 08-07-2013, 09:41 PM

👍

RoyBraddy · 08-08-2013, 06:44 AM

I guess the STARCRAFT POPUPs does it different. My bottom half door is hinged and stays on the trailer all the time. The top half is secured in place on the ceiling and hinged down to the top of the bottom door area when setting up. You swing it down and it guides into the bottom door with two pins. Then you can lock it place with a level to the bottom half of the door. Once you have the two halves together then you can move the very top hinge in place and locks with two plastic turn levers. Now the full door is operational. I have to make sure the door is square in the door jam at this point by adjusting the level of the trailer a tad with the stablize jacks. Otherwise my door does not open freely.

Once the door is plum then you pull in the window flap material and it lines up with the door jam and stays in places with VELCRO. I do this on both sides of the door. Gets a good weather seal with the VELCRO. Never have had any problems with 2008 model which I got new.

This is my emergency way to get inside the trailer if I cant get to my keys real easy. Just pull the VELCRO back and reach inside with my hand and unlock the door from the inside haha... Can do this easier when carrying things into the trailer. Otherwise I have to sit everything down and fumble around in my pocket for the keys haha..

I do notice that my top fabric is shrinking some over time. All of the fit points are harder to put up as it gets older. It probably will start working on the sewed seams later on... Seems like I have read problem this from BONDEBOND on the RV NET as well.

I have changed by setup ways sometimes to make some of the hard to stretch-in place areas of the top first and then install the bottom hookups after I have the top part in the right position. Sometimes I set the door before extending out fabric on the bed ends.

Roy Ken

yooperfan · 08-15-2013, 01:43 PM

I found out that I was showed the wrong way to attach the sides to the door frame also. After reading on here about others having problems, I knew I was in the same boat. After unzipping the window for a little extra canvas to work with, it tucked in just fine, the right way, with the seam folded over and pushed into the channel. Problem solved for me.

Spencerteri · 10-31-2015, 02:15 AM

So I am late to the game (this thread) but I had to stop by and thank you all. I have been held captive by my canvas and door for about a year now. I also couldn't get it to attach at all. It seems I was shown the incorrect method of attaching the lip of the canvas to the door.

After just reading this thread I jumped out of bed and ran out to the PUP (which is up and open due to me painting the cabinets) and tried your folding method.

My canvas is now attached!! I also had to open the windows to relieve some of the tension, but it worked.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I had given up on it entirely, and just lived with the gap hahaha

Touch N Go · 10-31-2015, 05:36 AM

I had the same issue back in the time until. I was advised to level the Popup and all the issues went away. The Popup was tilting and pulling where the canvas over the door n bed would not fit. That was my 2 cents and it worked.

mkline1482 · 05-03-2016, 11:53 AM

Just bought our first camper and was having a problem getting the canvas to stay on the door. Hello Google . . . and here you are! Thanks for the fix, worked like a charm.

Bukrose · 01-02-2022, 01:40 PM

Bought my '99 Heritage Eagle a few months ago during warm weather. I was able to figure out the fold & tuck thing and am glad to see it validated here. However, we had a drastic temp drop here last night that I've been waiting for so I could test out the heater. When the cold front blew in, I sat up the camper and found that the canvas seems to have shrunk!!! It was not physically possible to seal off the door edges , was short by over 1 inch. Also, the canvas over the beds would not slide over the fully extended bed corners.

Today, I got the heater working (after disassembly and removal of extensive mud dobber nests that were blocking fan blades). Also, the sun has had a chance to warm the east side of the cover. Now that I have some warmth inside and out, I'm able to fold & tuck the canvas on the door edges again. Looking into how to stretch this otherwise great condition canvas now, as the door edges are still extremely tight and the bed corners still aren't fully able to wrap around the bed.

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