Lots of opinions on Canopies

I like the quick shade with slant legs Amazon.com: Quik Shade Expedition EX64 Slant Leg Instant Canopy, 10 x 10-Feet, Navy: Sports & Outdoors quick and easy to setup seems to be sturdy enough with some wind (not too strong), steel frame, durable and good UV protection

 

I was going to start a new thread, but noticed that this one was pinned, so I guess I’ll post here. I’ve been through all 15 pages... but, these seem to be products that are frequently discontinued, updated, retired, whatever.

A lot of our camping in the PNW involves some mist/light rain, and a little breeze. Sidewalls are really helpful, but, most times we’re not concerned about heavy rainfall.
I saw Van and Terri’s post here:
Update - It Really Started
What a snug looking solution with the sidewalls. I can imagine myself sitting there with an adult beverage... but, this looks like the REI Alcove - discontinued!

There’s the Quik Shade canopy immediately above - no sidewalls! Tail Gator - no sidewalls.

A variety of accessories, including sidewalls, for pop-up shelters - but, they are heavy, a little challenging for 2 people to set up, and the EZ-UP we own tends to collect water then dump it on you or your stuff.

I don’t think we’re going to spend $450 on a Eureka Northern Breeze - and, it doesn’t have side access, would you be squeezing past the camper to get in it?

Anyways, a 2-walled shelter like in V & T’s post above looks ideal, but now that the Alcove is discontinued what are people using that’s currently available, under about $150 or so?

 

The Kelly Discovery is very similar to the Alcove but ai believe it only comes with one wind wall and it doesn't seem that you can buy extra.

Kelty Discovery Shade Shelter Ponderosa Pine

 

I've used both the Alcove w/two wind walls(4 sides) and the NB. Two really different shelters depending on
conditions and time utilized to erect/take down. The NB is really superior in most all respects and one does
have access to all four sides. Although only two opposite sides offer zippered entry all sides allow for roll up
either with "wind wall" sides or screens as well. It's the most versatile shelter I've seen out there and works
with a CI tear whereas the Clam shelters don't.

 

This is an opinion thread... so keep in mind this is exactly that--some opinions. Nothing more.

Keeping in mind I'm solo (not a couple) and as a 'long weekend' camper (haven't retired yet, so I haven't had a chance to do any long hauls), I can easily look ahead in various weather sites to fairly reliably predict what the weather might be like, I have different shelters.

If weather will be nice--I tend to not put up anything. I'll have a chair with an umbrella attached to the chair for shade in case I'm in a sunny spot and want shade.

If weather will just occasionally need a bit of a shelter over the hatch, then this works great: Amazon.com: Sport-Brella Portable All-Weather and Sun Umbrella. 8-Foot Canopy. Blue.: Sports & Outdoors , the Sport-Brella. It's something I saw Jenn had and it's super convenient. When collapsed, it lays on the counter for travel. When open and a couple of bungees to attach it to the bumper and the hatch handle to stand up straight, it fits almost perfectly--there's a small gap right at the hinge on the left and right which I address with a couple small clamps and cut scraps of a cheap dollar store tablecloth . I don't know if there are any pictures of this setup so maybe it'll be hard to envision without seeing it in action.

If weather will be really stormy my current favorite is the 4-sided Clam shelter. I tried my sister's 6-sided one and it's awkward for a single person to put up--it can be done, but it's large and unwieldy IMO for a single person. If you are a couple, it might be the one you'd want. Neither the 4-sided nor the 6-sided will fit over the hatch, however. IMO either one would be for a "place to hang out, but not over the teardrop in any way". Amazon.com: Clam Corporation 9882 Quick-Set Pavilion, 150 x 150-Inch, Brown/Beige: Garden & Outdoor . I like this shelter not only for rain/storms but also for when I want or need a 'fairly mosquito-free zone'.

Edit: Realized I linked the 6-sided one to Amazon; the one I have is the cheaper 4-sided one. Amazon.com : Clam Corporation 9881 Quick-Set Traveler Shelter, 72 x 72-Inch, Brown/Beige : Garden & Outdoor

Other shelters I have used previously but haven't used in a year or more:
- the "Northern Breeze" shelter--but only used it a few times. It's useful if you want 95% of your entire trailer covered. But it's also a bit awkward for a single person to setup. But if you want the best of the best, it could be argued the NB setup and staked down properly and it won't go anywhere and you and your trailer will be protected from just about any weather.
- The side tent from Camp-Inn--used maybe 10 times, mostly for a place to put shoes/middle-of-the-night porta potty. But now I currently use a quick-popup type changing tent for that.
- The REI Alcove--and it was my favorite for a very long time. But now I like the convenience of the umbrella.

As a solo camper, again--quite often I'll put up nothing; or if I'm a bit distant from the campground facilities, a quick popup changing tent for any middle of the night type calls of nature. If it'll just be occasional rain I'll just use a regular hold-over-my-head umbrella and find the campground shelter (if there is one) to hang out in during inclement weather.

When I go to gatherings, what I see most teardrop people use is a 10x10 or 12x12 canopy. Just about any brand you find will be adequate for a season or three. For two people, those are fairly easy to setup and will usually provide shelter over both doors as well as over the hatch. Solo campers can put them up as well, but for me personally I haven't tried a canopy yet. For side walls you can either make your own from tarps and clamps or depending upon the manufacturer you can buy pre-made side walls, if you want them. If you need a location for a porta-potty/middle of the night type of thing, with a canopy what I've seen is adding this (or something similar, I think there are more than 1 manufacturer of this type of tent): Amazon.com : Ozark Trail 4-Person 9' x 7' Gray Connectent for Canopy by BLOSSOMZ : Sports & Outdoors

 

What a great summary - thanks for reporting all these approaches you've tried!

I really like the portability and speed of the Sport-Brella... and finding it hard to visualize on the back of the trailer! So, are you extending the hatch with it? It's vertical like an umbrella? Outside the circle of the umbrella, where do the little wings go?

Obviously not a shelter for all uses, but the one that sets up in less than a minute will get used a lot!

 

I’m out and about now, but I’ll try to mock it up in the garage and take a blurry and indistinct picture later tonight.

About half is over the open hatch, and the wings cover the sides.

Edit: added some photos. I forgot to take a picture of using a small bungee to wrap around the hatch handle and around the pole to keep it centered, but hopefully you can visualize that yourself. You can see it a little bit in the 'underneath' shot . Since the teardrop is in the garage, I didn't have the room to put the cooler table on the side; but with that and a cooler on top, I can have that 'wing' on that side over the cooler and bungee'd down. I did remember to grab a snapshot of the 'gap' I refer to at the top of the hinge. To cover that in rainy weather it's some clamps and cheapo cut up tablecloth so the rain doesn't flow right into the hatch. If it's really windy/rainy of course I still close the hatch when I'm not directly under it/needing to use the galley. But as mentioned it's quick and easy.

 

It does sound great. And kudos if you have a couple minutes to shoot a photo!

My best google-fu could not turn up a picture or video with a sport-brella (or sportbrella!) rigged on a teardrop hatch...

But I did get an idea of setup time
I was too generous estimating a minute - looks like under 10 seconds! That would get used a lot.

 

I have been pretty happy with my Clam Travel shelter on the 3 trips that I've used it since purchasing in October. What I like is the 1-2 minute set up, walls that add privacy and wind/sun/rain protection and that it is built very solid. I mostly use it as a place to store our "stuff" to get it out of the car. It's a great place to change clothes and to have the "facilities". I'm sure the time will come when we'll want to use it to shelter from the elements. I guess we'll just move the "stuff" back in to the tow vehicle.

I also really like using a tarp as shelter from sun and rain. The Kelty Noah line of tarps have served me well - I've used the 12 foot for the past 5 years or so as shelter when canoeing and got the 16 foot version prior to the teardrop purchase. Some nice things about it are that it's super light (2 pounds plus the poles if used maybe 3-4 pounds). It is big enough to cover the teardrop and the area behind it well. I will post a pic of the tarp set up on our maiden voyage to the Porcupine Mountains of Western UP (Michigan) right after picking up Tipitina.

 

I do two styles of camping or trailing. One is the typical camping where I bring everything. I do this when I'm going to be at one spot for several weeks or even several months. In this case I bring two covers. I've always gone with the First Up but now see I have a lot more choices.

The second type of trailering I do is where I don't ever drop the trailer and I'm in a new spot each night. In this case I don't bring a cover. I'm thinking of leaving the tables at home also.

 

I have both the Northern Breeze and the REI Alcove. I can set up the NB by myself. I usually set it up if I am going to be in camp for more than 3 days. It allows me to drape the sidewall over the top of the camper to give me dry access to the galley when it is raining. Since I am a solo traveler, I position it so it is more on the passenger side of the trailer. There is plenty of room for the side table and accessing the back.

For shorter camping trips or if there is little chance of rainy weather, I use the Alcove. I discovered that if it does rain, I can take a grey tarp and bungee it to the Alcove frame and put it over the trailer. This does keep the galley area dryer and allows me to open the vent on the fan so that it can still run. I use pool noodles to raise the tarp up off of the trailer to give it a bit more ventilation. Not as good as the NB but perfect for shorter trips or that small period of inclement weather.

 

Wow! That is just too good a fit for light, fast, and really inexpensive. Easy to make coffee on a misty morning, nothing is more important than that!

I could see a little light sewing to further customize to close the gaps at the top...

Thanks for shooting these photos skissinger. I was hoping that I was understanding correctly that the "wings" help close in the sides of the hatch - they do! Sweet!

 

Interesting. We just bought one, not to use with the TD, though. Will have to think about this further....

-Al (not Cat)

 

I found a pic that shows a bit better the use of a tarp. This was a taken at a music fest that was inundated with rain most of the weekend. Most folks were camping in tents and were pretty miserable but my buddy with his camper conversion and me with the 550 and tarp stayed dry and comfortable. A nice thing about using the 16 foot Noah tarp is that in addition to having a large dry space around the galley, it is also dry getting in and out of the teardrop and you can leave the roof vent open while it rains without it getting wet inside. I suspect it will keep things a good bit cooler as well at times when there is no other shade to be had.

It's easy to adjust height and tension depending on the conditions. It also creates a place to hang lights at night. I use Nite Ize figure 9 line tensioner to make adjustments easier: Amazon.com: Nite Ize Large Figure 9 Carabiner with Rope - Rope Tightener with Carabiner Clip, Black, Single-Pack: Home Improvement

It's kind of like having a 16 by 16 foot canopy at a fraction of the cost $70 versus $1208, a fraction of the weight 4 lbs versus 110 lbs, a fraction of the packed size and much easier set up and take down. (I'm comparing this to the EZ up 16 x16 Hub instant shelter).

 

Really like the line tensioners. Do you happen to know what size to buy for paracord?

 

You can use either the large or the small. I have and use both depending on the application. The large has a 150 pound load limit and the small is 50 pound. This coupled with several paracord lines gives a lot of flexibility with the tarp. I usually put a bowline on one end so that I can slip it over a stake or use a carbiner when going around a tree to attach back to the same line. With the tensioner on the other side (it's simple to attach it to the line) I wrap around another tree and then tension it. I like to do this to hang lights in the eating area or near the fire.

 

(Bold emphasis added)

I did order a Sport-Brella and it’s been in the garage a couple months. This afternoon I got around to fitting it. 4 ball bungies for the shaft and wings, and 2 hook bungies to snug in the wings to the fenders.

I was standing there admiring how well the thing scales to the size of the hatch, imagining brewing coffee on a misty morning in the Oregon Cascades... when my better half looked at it and said “You know, if you planted the spike of the shaft back a bit from the bumper, that gap up by the hatch hinge would probably be a lot smaller!”

As usual, she was right! We did a quick test, and, though that’s not as convenient for cooking as bungeying the shaft to the bumper, if it started raining you could do the change instantly to close the gaps by the hinge.

Skissinger, thanks for the pictures - this thing works great! If you end up in real rain, try moving the shaft back a foot or 18” on the ground, extend it another 6” or whatever. I don’t know if it will work as well as your plastic tablecloth & clips - maybe.

 

I am a (very) new owner, and this being one of the more important/well-read posts, I couldn't pass on giving my $.02. As well I haven't seen this particular type of configuration posted yet.

As a back-country canoe-tripper, I am a 'tarper', and I have access to MSR gear. I was hopeful that my MSR Rendezvous 120 tarp would fit. In fact, it seems like it was made for a TD. The beauty of this is that it goes up with 2 clips (over the fenders) and two poles... and you have instant protection. Further futzing with the catenary-cut tarp can expand the area or provide better protection from the elements, but within a minute or two, you have it up The poles are also from MSR, sectional and are adjustable to 8'. In the pics I have them adjusted to 7' which provides me (at 6'4") with ample headroom throughout. This height also allows for the use of light-weight bug netting that I salvaged from from my older 10' X 12' Sojag aluminum gazebo. The 44' netting circumference, covers the perimeter with a couple zipper entrance placements, and provides bug coverage for under the trailer as well.

Even with this lower slope on the tarp (the poles can go up another foot), drainage is good with no pooling. All tables are accessible. The metal grommets at the top of the netting provide numerous good attachment points with strong clips. The non-rectangular cut of the tarp also allows you drop one or two of the 7 tie-outs as a partial wind-break. I ran a line over the top of the TD for additional security and tautness; it doesn't interfere with the operation of the roof fan. Set up per the pics, with 4 poles, there's about 100 sq ft of dry, bug-free space. Although the open hatch certainly assists with headroom and tautness, it can be left in place as is, with the hatch closed. There are other back-country catenary-cut tarps available, but I can't speak to their relative size, or flawless fit with the TD. Karen calls it "cute", though that's not exactly what I was shooting for.

Caveat: Although I have never used a standard canopy with the TD, some of the downsides I see to using larger 4-post canopies are the size, weight, stability in a wind, coverage and erection time. This solves all of those issues, if they are in fact issues for you. YMMV.

(As an aside: I have also replaced the standard CI side entrance tent poles with the adjustable aluminum MSRs as I found the CI ones to be heavy and clumsy, despite being infinitely variable in length. You'll have to drill some extra holes in the MSR poles to get the proper length for the side entrance tent.)

Steve

 

Steve,
Perfect timing for your post! The MSR tarp is on sale. I have a REI Alcove and the second time I used it the rains came in the middle of the night. One of the connectors snapped and that ended the alcove's use. The Alcove has been dicontinued and the warranty is out of date even though I only used the Alcove twice.

Thanks for this timely and useful post!

 

No worries. It seemed like an elegant solution. Unfortunately, sales are usually too few and far between on this type of gear. MSR gear is quality, and not something that you would pick up at Wally-Mart. So you are going to pay a little more for it. But it also isn't something that's going to end up twisted beyond recognition, in someone else's campsite, after a bit of wind. Enjoy playing around with all the configurations.