Ute Canopies - Vinyl vs Canvas

[Yoodles82]

Hi All,

I've come across a good deal on a vinyl canopy for my trayback bt50. I've always thought, if i did get a canopy i'd get canvas, but i'm wondering if vinyl is good too.

Its gonna cost me literally half the price of the canvas, and will only be used every now and then, and when not in use - stored in the shed.

I'm thinking the canvas will be prone to shrinking more than the vinyl, so may make putting it on and off a little tricky.

So i'm not sure.

Anyone have experience with this stuff?

Thoughts/opinions welcome please :-)

[Surfingant]

Used to have a marine vinyl canopy on my Courier and couldn't complain, did what I wanted it to do and much cheaper.

[bigtez]

Depends on the type of canvas and quality of the vinyl. Canvases will be more prone to objects rubbing through them if not properly reinforced. Vinyls will retain moisture inside the tray unless left open to dry whenever possible.

Cotton based canvases will be prone to mildew and mould as well as rotting if not cared for properly.

Acrylic canvases are better when it comes to mildew and mould. As they are an open weave fabric made from a thermoplastic they will adapt their shape with a bit of heat and hold it once cooled, therefore they are less prone to shrinkage.

Tonneau vinyls are usually fairly elastic and suited to tonneaus and not much else. They will be more waterproof then canvases and the better quality ones are treated with prefixers to guard against mould and mildew.

Marine hoodings are the most durable, usually stiffer but can be subject to a little shrinkage if not in consatant use. However this is easily overcome by using flexible fixings like bungy loops or the application of some vitamin D (sunlight) for an hour or so before fitting.

If it were my ute I would use a marine grade boat hooding and ensure there was areas that could be rolled up while travelling to eliminate moisture when I didn't need to keep stuff in the tray.

Mostly it depends exactly how you want to use the tray and canopy. Thats my 2c, hope it helps a little.

[Yoodles82]

Cheers Tez...very helpful :-)

[Yoodles82]

Bump for more help...

[ellicat]

What more can be said ? BigTez knows his stuff - it's his livelihood

[Yoodles82]

Well thats gives it a bit more weighting :-)

Cheers

[bigtez]

One more thing...check that the material being used has a 3yr warranty as the quality brands will come with 3yrs (except red pigments) and the lesser brands 12mths.

[bootyinblue]

What more can be said ? BigTez knows his stuff - it's his livelihood

+ 1 on that... Its Tez's bread and butter business and cant get any more honest information than from the big man!

[Yoodles82]

Got the canopy...bought from profit canopies down near beaudesert. Rod's a top block and can pretty much make anything.

This was a vinyl demo model he'd had lieing around so i only paid $550 installed. I'm very happy with it. :cheer:

Cheers for all the tips!

Nat