Hello all, 

I have a very old Gypsey caravan with a damaged popup skirt.

We were moving house so I put the roof down and then left it a few days before moving it to its new home. Unfortunately, one of the local rats decided to take up residence and had a lovely time before being found....

The skirt was held on by screws, so it wasn't a problem to remove it, but I don't know whether to try to get it repaired. The old canvas does seem rather fragile. Did Gypsey use a standard skirt that is available as a replacement or was it unique to the model? Do I need a specialist to repair it or can an upholsterer do it?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Adam

Adam, welcome to the forum. I'm sure one of the Cape members will let you know where you can get it replaced. It would have been unique to that specific model. Which one is it?

Hi Brian, thanks for the reply. I'm not sure which model it is. Two wheel, door to the front of the axle, no window to left of door but one to the right, 2 windows on other side. Is there a better way to ID it?

Kan hulle probeer....hulle het werk vir Jurgens gedoen. Miskien het hul nog die patroon......kan courier?

Welcome to the forum. Hope that you get the surround fixed so you can resume camping. Seeing that you have already removed the surround it would be easy to remake it.  It is important to tell the person that he/she must keep to the original sizes or you will have much difficulty to reinstall the new one.

Have one made of ripstop canvas then it should work fine for years to come.

Rip stop or cotton canvas makes it very dark inside. I would go for something thin that lets light through. Maybe a 4 way stretch fabrick. I used this for my window covers and it works very well and lets light through. The nylon fabric they make nylon tents from would also work well. Hayford Traders in Midrand sells that fabrick. It is obviously also quite UV resistant. My wife (upholsterer) made a new roof for our Gazebo from that tent fabrick.

Hi Adam,

In Kendal Road, Diep River, Cape Town, there is a place called Christy's Tent & Canvas who has been around for a long time and should have no problem making a new surround if you have the old one. They might be a bit far from you but well worth a try. You can Google them for contact details.

Adam100 wrote:

Hi Brian, thanks for the reply. I'm not sure which model it is. Two wheel, door to the front of the axle, no window to left of door but one to the right, 2 windows on other side. Is there a better way to ID it?

Perhaps post a pic of the van, someone will Id it for you. What do the reg papers say ?

From the description...two wheels, a door and Gypsey.... it sounds like it is a caravan? :-))

Morning, I don't know where I got the idea it was a Gypsey as when I got home I saw it clearly said Sprite and nd Sport in large letters :-)

I've had a quote from a local upholsterer to completely remake it using the old one as a pattern. She reckoned about a week's work and the cost around R10k.... Does that seem like the going rate?

I tried to upload some pics from my phone but the browser crashed each time

Most probably a Sprite Super Sport. 10KR is much too much. My wife is an upholsterer and a seamstress. She repaired our Penta roof curtain and modified it so that the gause never gets pinched again. It took her (and me) a day including removal and refitting. No ....they are taking you for a ride! Get another quote. Caravan service centres usually have prefered tent manufacturers. Phone them.

Should not be more than R2000-R2500 and thats pushing it, I think.