Suggestions re Dew issue ?

[Die Judicii]

As my hunting technique demands sitting overnight to get results,,,, one of the problems that I've always had to contend with at this time of the year is dew that ends up saturating my gear as well as myself.
My rifle and scope have until recently,, been protected by a sleeveless wet suit jacket that is opened up and laid over the top resulting in a "minature" tent that allows me to still sight through the scope and shoot.
Also on particularly bad nights I also use an elastic and velcro heating wrap around the ocular lens. (available from camera shops)

The "minature tent" aspect gave me the idea of using one of those camping awnings that are commonly seen on 4x4 roof racks.

So I purchased one from Kings, and mounted it on lay flat/fold down mounts that I made,, which are also height adjustable.
This enables me to deploy the awning so that it covers my entire rig that is mounted in the tray of my ute.
The extended end of the awning's legs which are also height adjustable fit into sockets at the tail end of my rig.

End result is that both myself and my rig are under cover, and the awning is sloped appropriately to allow dew water to run off.

My problem is,,,,, the awning material (advertised by Kings as being waterproof) actually allows the water to cling to it,,,, both on the top side and the underneath side.
If the sides were enclosed,,,, I could understand condensation building up on the underneath side,,,,,,,, but they are open all the way round.

I've used it twice so far,,, out bush,, and frustratingly both times come dawn and I pack it up to head home,,,,, I end up being saturated by freezing cold water while rolling up the awning material.,, which kinda defeats the purpose of the whole thing.

I rang Kings and explained my useage of the product and to ask if they have differing types of awning materials in the hopes of curing the problem,,,,, but the highly "intelligent" sales person could not grasp nor understand the issue.
His "brilliant" suggestion was "that I was using it at nightime,,,, and it might be cold".

Any suggestions on how I can prevent the water buildup underneath the awning itself ??
Thus far, it builds up underneath and clings to it,,,,, but so far doesn't actually drip down,, but certainly gets me wet when rolling it up.

[JohnV]

I know the problem and it is annoying as well as bad for your gun . When I waited up over bait stations in winter I put down a ground sheet , that stop moisture from the ground and then put a small camo tent on it . Then I put a fly over the tent , sticking out the front as an awning . Any condensation inside from breath will run down the inside wall and not drip on you or the gun . Cut some light shrubbery and lay it around and over the tent as extra camo . The setup also keeps ticks and leaches off you . If it rains just zip up and wait it out . I would set it up on the first day and then do other hunting , spotlighting etc. to get some bait , leave it for a few days for pigs to find it and then go in late afternoon and stay till dawn . In a two week hunt I might do that 3 or four times as it's an awful boring way to hunt .

[Die Judicii]

Thanks for your reply John V

I think all of your suggestions are more or less encompassed in my rig,, plus,, the awning.
It completely covers me as you can see in the pic,, while at the same time it can still rotate the 360 degrees under it.
When finished for the night the awning rolls up and then lays flat across the top of the dogbox. (within 5 mins, on my own).

Awning.jpg (586.5 KiB) Viewed 615 times

[womble]

I don’t think you can stop the condensation from building up.

Only thing I can think of would be a little air nozzle, air hose attached to compressor and blow the bulk of it off before rolling it up.
You get these little coiled air hoses that don’t tangle and store easily.

[Wapiti]

Seens to be an unavoidable problem when there's moisture in the air mate.

I see it all the time here too. Even with a steel roof when the air temperature causes the dew-point to cause the water in the air to form as liquid on something that is at that ideal cool temperature.
You see it even on a colorbond roof underneath it, the water will form on the underside of the roof just as much as on the top, it is because the temperature of that surface, whether steel or canvas or anything else, drops to a temperature that cause the water vapor in the air to become liquid and gather on it. Doesn't matter what side.

Only thing you can do is make you roof angled downwards on enough of an angle that the water forming underneath runs off downwards before it gathers enough weight to drip on you and your gear.

Industrial QA guys working with painters will know exactly what a pain in the neck dew-point is, and watch their meters like hawks waiting for it to rise above that point before outdoor blasting and coating. Can't beat it, even under cover.

[Wapiti]

So to avoid dew forming and having to deal with it, the only answer is to keep the temperature of your cover above the dew point.