Kingcamp Compass Car Canopy

[Les Izmore]

It is looking as though we'll likely be pulling the trigger on this awning some time this spring, provided that we can find some other needed equipment which together is compact enough to fit within the available space of our reconfigured cargo area:
Amazon.com : Kingcamp® Compass Auto Shade - Rip-stop, Waterproof 1500mm, Seam Taping, Multifunctional Uses, SUV Shade : Sports & Outdoors

It is about 6 pounds lighter than REI's Alcove and stows in about a third of the space. It looks as though set up time would be similar, perhaps a bit faster. It shades about the same area as the Alcove, but it can be used in many different ways:

• It can put on it's side and provide shade from the western sun while sitting.
• It can go over the Camp Inn hatch to provide shade as typically provided by the Alcove.
• It can attach to the rear of most SUVs.
• It can attach to most roof racks to provide a shade awning for most vehicles.

The quality could be better, but with care I suspect it should hold up fairly well.

The Alcove is billed as being a 10'x10' structure, but that is measured at the base. With its sloped sides, it is probably more like 65 sq ft. The KingCamp shade is 10'x7', or about the same size. But the 10' dimension will allow it to shade farther back from the galley than the Alcove, plus it has more headroom.

 

[Peg]

I've been traveling full time since mid-August 2016. I purchased one of these from Amazon in October and have used it extensively. I first used it over the galley area but the two poles in the back do not stay up in even a slight wind. I am now using it on the side of the camper as a privacy awning but I attach the back ends to the picnic table with bungies. It now can withstand winds up to 20 mph but had to take it down when the winds in Borrego Springs CA desert reached 50 mph.

 

[Les Izmore]

Hi Peg!

That is great feedback. I'm guessing the wind issue with the support poles is because they aren't staked to the ground? It would be easy enough to get a length of paracord, fold it in half and tie it to the bottom of the pole, leaving a loop at one end. Staking that loop down should make it more secure in the wind. What do you think?

 

[Peg]

There is a velcro strap towards the bottom of each support pole. I hammered nail spikes into the ground next to the poles and then wrapped the velcro strap around the spikes. Additionally I added a guy line to each pole. It was slightly better but eventually fell down when the wind got under the canopy and lifted it up. I do like this canopy and will continue to use it because it takes minutes to set up and it's very easy for one person. I am thinking of purchasing another one as a backup.

 

[dustinp]

That is almost identical to the one we posted about in Oct. that we saw being used by our camp neighbors in Bayfield. WI but without the potentially misconstrued name
Glad to see someone on the forum has had one long enough t0 give an informed opinion on it. Sounds like with a better means of securing the poles it could be a winner.

 

[Les Izmore]

Thanks, Peg!

Yeah, we had looked at the Lap*** and another pretty much identical awning, but thought this was a bit better and more flexible design. I found where a Casita and a "tearbox" owner had posted videos of this awning, which convinced me that it is probably worth serious consideration. It certainly fits in our available storage space, which is our main 'go, no-go' decision point. Our preference would have been the discontinued Kelty Tailgater, but it seems they had infringed on someone else's patent.

[Tearbox: Our term for a boxy little camper made in Ocala, FL (the maker's name slips my mind). It is teardrop-sized, but no galley in back and only slightly rounded corners at the top, front and rear. All the ones that we have seen are very minimalist - one door, some windows and not much else.]

 

[Van_and_Terri]

The name of the Camper is Runaway. Nice family business and a lot of value for a basic Camper.

 

[Mark & Casandra]

It is looking as though we'll likely be pulling the trigger on this awning some time this spring, provided that we can find some other needed equipment which together is compact enough to fit within the available space of our reconfigured cargo area:
Amazon.com : Kingcamp® Compass Auto Shade - Rip-stop, Waterproof 1500mm, Seam Taping, Multifunctional Uses, SUV Shade : Sports & Outdoors

It is about 6 pounds lighter than REI's Alcove and stows in about a third of the space. It looks as though set up time would be similar, perhaps a bit faster. It shades about the same area as the Alcove, but it can be used in many different ways:

• It can put on it's side and provide shade from the western sun while sitting.
• It can go over the Camp Inn hatch to provide shade as typically provided by the Alcove.
• It can attach to the rear of most SUVs.
• It can attach to most roof racks to provide a shade awning for most vehicles.

The quality could be better, but with care I suspect it should hold up fairly well.

The Alcove is billed as being a 10'x10' structure, but that is measured at the base. With its sloped sides, it is probably more like 65 sq ft. The KingCamp shade is 10'x7', or about the same size. But the 10' dimension will allow it to shade farther back from the galley than the Alcove, plus it has more headroom.

Just wondering if you guys have bought the Kingcamp yet & if so, what you think of it?
We have the Kelty Tailgater IPA Shelter which looks to be similar in set-up and function (but the Kelty has sidewalls). I found it at Cabelas at a great discount as it was a return item in the Bargain Cave. We have used the Kelty the past few trips and are enjoying the simple set-up and compact storage/travel size. We have found we actually prefer to use it over one of the camper doors making a nice covered/changing/sitting area.....and it makes a perfect shady spot or rain shelter for our Aussie's kennel. Sadly, I don't think Kelty is making this exact model right now; so I sure hope it holds up for a long time.

Casandra

 

[Les Izmore]

Just wondering if you guys have bought the Kingcamp yet & if so, what you think of it?
We have the Kelty Tailgater IPA Shelter which looks to be similar in set-up and function (but the Kelty has sidewalls). I found it at Cabelas at a great discount as it was a return item in the Bargain Cave. We have used the Kelty the past few trips and are enjoying the simple set-up and compact storage/travel size. We have found we actually prefer to use it over one of the camper doors making a nice covered/changing/sitting area.....and it makes a perfect shady spot or rain shelter for our Aussie's kennel. Sadly, I don't think Kelty is making this exact model right now; so I sure hope it holds up for a long time.

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Casandra

Lucky you! I even lurked on eBay for quite a while hoping that a Kelty would show up, but to no avail.

Yes, we have purchased the Kingcamp (we managed to get it for $85 from Amazon.com), but thus far we have only set it up inside of our friends' house. We will likely be setting it up this weekend, as we've decided that we have been house-bound far too long. The Kingcamp is huge, but it weighs less than an Alcove and takes up considerably less space. I would guess that setup and take down times are pretty similar between the two, though the Kingcamp might be more of a handful in a decent wind (simply because there is more surface area).

The use of the two support poles is a bit confusing. They have one corkscrew end and a plastic butt cap on the other end. There is some velcro attached to the butt cap end, but it is located a bit too high up to be effectively used to stake the pole to the ground. As near as I can deduce, the corkscrew ends are threaded through grommets on the awning (though I initially thought that end would be screwed into the ground). I'm thinking I will drill a hole through the poles just above the butt cap, and thread some paracord through there to provide a means of anchoring the poles to the ground. I suspect it will be pretty sturdy in the wind once we are done.

We are hoping that it is possible to modify the Kingcamp by adding snaps to the end that goes over the galley, so that we can snap it into the existing screw snaps for our CI wind walls. If so, then we can jettison the bulky bungee cables and plastic carabiners (which are used to attach the Kingcamp to the CI's fenders (or the fenders or other attachment points on a variety of other vehicles). That should also shave a few seconds off of the set up time.

When we headed out in August 2015 we had only a few days to put our van interior together. This past few months has been our opportunity to finally get things right, as our hosts have a lot of high quality tools, not to mention a pair of very capable helping hands. So we've made a lot of changes that we will be field testing over the next five weeks or so before we start tagteaming our way throughout the west. I'll be posting about all of that as time is available.

 

[Les Izmore]

We finally have had a chance to use our Kingcamp awning in the wild. We tried mating it up to the galley, with less than satisfactory results. With the hatch open, it will fit above the galley hinge, where it is possible to drape it over the side, attaching it to the fenders with the supplied bungee corded hooks and supporting the opposite end with the two poles. Of course the directions give ZERO clue on how those bungees are supposed to work. The one downside of such a configuration is that it will move around a bit in the wind, and I suspect the fabric might not hold up to the resultant friction against the camper over time.

The best galley configuration seems to be to have one end of the awning staked to the ground ,with the other end supported by the poles parallel to the edge of the opened galley hatch. It provides both shade and a wind block, plus it is possible to uncover the screen window to allow additional ventilation when desired. We will likely play around with this configuration in the future, to see if it is possible to come up with a stable configuration that isn't in the way of the curbside table, and likewise not getting in the way of anything on the opposite side. But as Pam pointed out, this thing is a challenge in the wind, at least with the bits and pieces that it comes with.

I am happy enough with the quality of the awning itself, and the fiberglass shock-corded poles that give it its shape. The two support poles, on the other hand, are pretty much crap. They are made of cheap hollow steel tubes that are shock corded, in much the same way as the poles on the REI Alcove. But the pole segments don't fit together very snuggly, so they flop around in a breeze, and the quality of the parts is far less than on the Alcove. I managed to pull one of the shock cord anchors out of a segment of tubing the second time that I set it up. Of course the same thing has happened to me on the Alcove, so it was a simple enough fix (at least with an extra pair of helping hands).

Likewise the guy rope adjusters that come with the unit are cheap and funky. We wasted no time in installing some spare adjusters that we had on hand. But the two guy lines that ship with this thing are not adequate, in certain configurations/orientations, for keeping the awning secured. Adding two additional guy lines (two lines per pole) would help the situation, so we will likely get some additional paracord and give that a try. Unlike similar tarps and awnings, there is no a grommet in the corner where the support pole are inserted: there is a nylon strap loop with a black plastic grommet. This flaw allows the pole-support ends to shift around in a breeze, which is amplified by the wobbly poles. We may consider adding grommets to each corner of the awning (for the support poles) to see if it significantly improves stability.

There is one configuration that we are really happy with, as is, which is to sit the awning on the ground along its long edge, staking it directly to the ground via the tabs on either end. We then angle the support poles on the opposite end, propping it up at about a 60 degree angle, and secure it with the guy lines. That configuration provides a great wind block and a place to sit beneath to stay out of the rain. It is probably worth the price of admission for that capability alone.

We left the awning up in this configuration overnight. There were some good wind gusts (probably 20 mph or so), and it held with no problem with the wind coming from the domed side. By morning the wind had reversed, and I suspect it would not have been long before one of the guy lines gave way due to the force of the wind against the awning. If in the future we leave it up overnight, we will roll up the window, to relieve some of that wind force.

 

[Les Izmore]

I need to add that less than 8 hours after the above post, our new awning experienced an epic failure. We are camping in canyon country, so wind is always a constantly changing variable. I was out walking Lana, and while we were walking the wind picked up significantly. I returned to find Alea trying to batten down the galley hatch (which was bouncing up and down in the wind) while simultaneously dealing with the collapse awning. The winds were easily sustained gusts of 40 mph, and may have been higher before we returned.

A support pole gave way and the awning pretzled. The main casualty was the pole that provides crosswise shape for the awning - a fiberglass pole splintered. We will see about getting it replaced, and will optimistically invest in some other improvements to address some of the other shortcomings of this product. It is pretty awesome at keeping the wind around the campfire from swirling in different directions, and it is easy enough to move it around as needed. We just wish they hadn't cut corners in a few too many places...

 

[Les Izmore]

I thought I would provide an update to our awning failure - the wind splintered a fiberglass pole, so we repaired it with electrical tape, then applied two 1/2" aluminum sleeves (rather than just one long sleeve, in order to give it more ability to flex). I had intended to provide a photo of this, but in multiple attempts it has failed to load, so you will have to use your imagination.

Our initial thought for this product was to use it to shade the galley when camping in the desert. As others have noted, the Dometic can get quite hot on a hot day, and that is made worse with the galley hatch closed. And probably about half the time we end up with our camper's galley oriented south or west, meaning the stainless steel counters can really heat up in the sun. We have come to the conclusion that the Kingcamp isn't up to this task - it is far more effective for kite surfing than for our intended use. (we have come up with our own custom solution that problem, which we will share in a future post).

We have probably thrown good money after bad on this awning, but we love it as a windscreen in the shoulder season. In colder weather, wind whistling in behind us can make even the warmest campfire incapable of keeping us warm. But with the Kingcamp blocking the wind, we stay comfortable and the wind is far less likely to swirl around and send smoke at us. It also provides good shade and rain protection for sitting outside during the day, provided the wind isn't too bad.

So we opted to toss out the factory poles, replacing them with adjustable 6' poles from REI. They are much sturdier, and at the lowest height of about 4' they are nearly ideal for our main use. We reinforced the corners of the awning with Tenacious Tape, and then added grommets for our new tent poles. And our final change was to add an additional guyline at each pole (two per pole). We still don't trust this product in a wind above about 20 mph, but if the wind picks up we can simply remove the poles and stake the two corners to the ground. With all four corners staked, it would take a gale force wind to move the awning.

Here is a picture of the awning, shortly before the wind took it down last week:

 

[Les Izmore]

Here are some pictures of our repaired and improved KingCamp awning. It is much more stable as a result of our changes. I reinforced all four corners and added grommets. The first grommets were too large, so I added smaller grommets that fit snugly against the spike of the tent poles.

I originally intended to use the factory "grommets straps" for attaching the guyline, but it is far more stable attached as shown in the picture below (through the large grommet and over the pole spike).

We use carabineers to attach the guylines, because I am far too lazy to neatly coil up the lines when stowing the awning. We paired guyline on each pole to improve stability. A single lined staked diagonally works OK, but this is more stable in wind.

We also attached a guyline at the intersection of the two main fiberglass poles. It helps when there is a strong gust of wind against that side. The guyline in the photo below has been repurposed from our ARB windwall while we wait for more guyline adjusters to reach us. We intend to make that line a few feet longer.

 

[Les Izmore]

Our KingCamp almost survived a sudden windstorm at Wolford Moutain Reservoir in central Colorado, and probably would have done fine with longer tent stakes than those that it ships with. A sudden windstorm flattened nearly every tent on our loop, and mangled a couple of RV awnings and pop-up shade structures to boot. Lots of camp supplies got blown into the surrounding sage brush, never to be seen again...

We figured after the epic failure in May of this shade structure, and our subsequent modifications and repairs, that we were determined to leave it out in any weather - it would either hold up or we would admit that it wasn't worth either the money or the time and the effort. It had held up very well in some very gusty winds over the preceding two days, but some storms happened through our area and and we had literally hours of 25+mph winds with gusts of 45 mph.

One of the stronger gusts ripped up the tent stake in one corner, so Alea sprang into action. In our last mishap, I suggested that it was best to simply kick the tent poles down and peg those corners down with tent stakes. That makes the structure low enough to the ground that wind has far less effect on it.

Unfortunately, with one corner already unpegged, knocking down the tent poles only made the whole structure flail wildly in the wind, with Alea hanging on for dear life, not knowing quite what to do.

I came running over to join her, removing the fiberglass poles so that it no longer could act as a sail. Considering the state of the temporary repairs that we had made to the fiberglass poles I was amazed that they survived the situation, which was easily as bad as the earlier mishap.

We will continue throughout the summer to use the structure when needed. If it manages to survive the season, then we will see about finding some replacement fiberglass poles, in order to replace those that we have temporarily repaired. If any of the fiberglass poles fail this season, then the whole shootin' match will likely get chucked in the nearest dumpster.

 

[Sky bear]

Really enjoy your descriptions of the various items you use and the results you encounter on your travels. I can almost envision an old Charlie Chaplin movie (no talkie) with this last post. Reminds me of a similar trip at Lathrop SP(CO) a couple of years ago when our Alcove was brought down to about 2 ft. horizontally with almost gale force winds. We did a fast steppin and fetchin routine trying to unbuckle things we still laugh about today. Alcove was destroyed. Fortunately REI stood behind it. Still use the replacement but have a NB now for sturdier requirements. Look forward to your continued evaluation of the KingCamp shelter. Good luck.