Lots of opinions on Canopies

There is a lot of discussion and opinions on canopies. The following started out as a PM, but then I thought it might be helpful for everyone:

Perhaps it would help to think about shades/canopies as divided into three groups: The mini shade, the pop-up, and complete enclosure.
It seems to me that most everything falls into one of these three categories.

An example of the mini shade is the Tail Gator. It is VERY light and easy to setup but is not going to be weatherproof at all. I own one of these and take it on road trips where we will be staying just one night in each place. The Tail Gator also looks cool, however, one disadvantage is that the hatch cannot be closed without the Tail Gator collapsing. A good alternative is the REI Alcove, which doesn't look as cool (IMHO), but is free standing and allows the hatch to close. The REI Alcove also has optional side walls and screen walls.

The pop-ups, like the QuickShade, are just as easy to setup but are heavy - not so easy to throw onto the bed or back of the car. Some popups are lighter, but then also less sturdy and weather resistant. The QuickShade is my favorite because it can be stored with the cover attached to the frame. Most other brands can not - notably most EZ-UPs and the Coleman! The QS C100 is very sturdy. Ours survided being blown away in the wind when the previous model did not. We have both the wall and screen panels. The wall kit is 4 separate pieces that attach, where the screen is one continuous piece. Both work equally well, but require about 5 or maybe 10 minutes additional setup time. (I setup my QS by myself most of the time in less than 2 minutes - I can give you a few hints on this if you ever need it.) We used the screen tent (away from the tear - not over the galley), and also the side walls around the galley with a Mr. Buddy heater last winter while skiing. I plan to modify one of the side walls and add zippers to make it fit around the tear.

I don't have a full enclosure tent, but I will probably want to buy the Eureka Northern Breeze at some point. As far as I can tell, it is the very best option for camping in bad weather, and many people have it and love it. If you know the weather will be rotten, and you will be in one place for several days it is the way to go because the entire teardrop can but placed inside of it. While the QS does very well in most bad weather, it only covers the galley area, not the doors to the tear. However, I'm pretty sure the Northern Breeze takes a while to setup, it is after all a tent - not a popup, so probably not the best choice for single nighters. The Norther Breeze also has roll up side with screen walls.

So, I recommend you choose first what type of camping you will be doing: Good Weather Road Trips, Fair Weather Camping, or All Weather Camping.

In summary:

Mini Shade (Tail Gator / REI Alcove): Light, Quick, Good Weather Only, Partial Coverage
Pop-up (QuickShade): Heavy, Quick, Handles most weather, Partial Coverage
Complete Enclosure (Northern Breeze): Light, Longer setup, Handles just about any weather, Complete Coverage

Of course, this is all just my opinions and observations. In the end, you need to use the shade that works for you.

 

Re: Canopies (once again)

and just to accessorize... side panels... clear or widowed...

http://www.hutshop.com/12wpc.html

I can't get the image thing to work...
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-6122587476031_2166_16866246

 

Re: Canopies (once again)

Evan,
the northern breeze is lighter than the pop ups we got a pop up and could not handle it but we do fine with the northern breeze. We loved having it at Cape disappointment as the weather was in the 60 down to 40 at night. We could sit inside for supper with 2 panels down on the wind side and the tear in about to the fan and were comfortable with a view out 1 side. We (2 senior ladies) put it up in 10 min. A man came over to help us at the insistance of his wife. He said he would never have one as too many parts and too hard. When we had it up he changed his mind.

 

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I went with the Northern Breeze based on Pat's earlier feedback. I wanted something that I could handle myself and the popups sounded too heavy. The Northern Breeze is very light. I have yet to put the Northern Breeze up but watched a video and it didn't seem that hard. Fortunately, my sister will be with me on the way back from WI so the two of us will be able to figure it out together.

I also bought an REI Alcove after mcnugit's post. Like the tailgator, I plan on using it for good weather scenarios. I liked the Alcove over the tailgator because it does not attach to the hatch of the camper so that you can close the hatch at night without having to fiddle with the shelter. It also has sidewalls that can be used as a wind/sun screen. I haven't gotten those yet.

 

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I updated my original post to reflect your corrections and info. Perhaps I'll make this thread a sticky. If you have any other good info please post it here.

 

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I came across this canopy/shelter at an RV show back in April. I talked to the owner about a teardrop application. At the time they only had the small one and I didn't think it would be very practical. I'm not trying to take credit for anything... but when I just went to their site I was surprised to see that they now have a larger one attached to a TD. Only killer is the price...yikes!!! Maybe they'll give me a discount for the idea.

http://www.tsugacanopies.com/models/ts-80-canopy/

Edit: I found a few more pictures on their blog page

http://www.tsugacanopies.com/new-products/appalachian-teardrop-campers-tsuga/

 

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I have a Eureka Northern Breeze. Fantastic product. Uff Da Inn fits under which is great for bad weather. I am able to set and tear down by myself.

The TSUGA canapy appears to be a very good product. Pricey. Will have to keep them in mind when looking for a canapy.

I have used the ezy ups when rented a teardrop. Personally I don't like them. Heavy, not user friendly to set up or tear down IMHO.

 

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Our Quest "easy up" is adequate size (10x10) and all but set-up is quick but takes both of us to spread out the frame and to snap in each corner. Teardown is rather easy though. We just purchased their mesh screen option which has 2 opposing sides with zippers in the middle so one side can be tied back for the galley and the other used as a door. we did a test setup with the mesh but no live test yet. That will come later this month when we return to Ricketts Glen PA. We tried a wind/sun screen in Neb in June but it didn't fit so we exchanged it for the screen.
Dave

 

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On the morning we were on our way home: I watched a man set up the northern breeze in a different way than we do. We attach the 4 poles in the center peice cliping the black clips before we stand the poles. What he did (in addition to what he did) was on 3 corners put the poles in the pin at the bottom corner and then went to the 4th corner and pushed the pole toward the center of the tent and up it popped. We want to try this next time we put ours up. He obviously was stronger that we are so unsure we can do it but someone may want to try it.

 

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I will swear by the Northern Breeze. Mick has pop ups that he takes to the track with him to work on the car, and we used it this weekend while camping at the lake. It did take both of us to get it set up and positioned correctly. We have a 12x12, and you have to get things positioned to open the hatch without it bumping into the cross bars. It worked just fine, but the 'mozzies' were big and hungry, and it would have been nice to have had some sides.

We have used our NB in a constant down pour for 3 days, in 40-50 degree weather, and we stayed dry. We were able to bring the trailer in far enough to cover the doors so we could go back and forth and not get wet, and have just enough room for a small table to eat at and cook. It really became an extension of the trailer at that point. We had a stream of water coming in on the floor, but we were pretty cozy. I agree with Evan and would highly recommend this tent if you are camping in nastier weather. Mick has put this up alone (I haven't tried yet, so I might need help at the round up!), and it went well. We also used it on our deck a few weekends ago for Mick's birthday party (we just came out of the rainy season 4 days ago), and it worked great there too. Kept our guests dry while they visited. One other nice thing about this tent, the cross bars are so high up, you don't have to worry about the hatch with them.

I have been thinking about an alcove tent, but haven't bit the bullet yet. Maybe it will be a next year addition. We tend to stay put for a couple days, and don't have plans for a road trip this year.

Thanks Evan! This would be a great sticky!

 

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The only disappointment I have is that there are no horizontal zips at the two ends with the door openings as this would allow you to zip the doors up nice and tight to the sides of the teardrop. The current arrangement means that you have to drape the fly screen down the side of the trailer and it does not form a good seal.

We try and keep our 560 as far over towards one side as possible to leave as much room for coming in and out without having to keep using the rear zipper but the roof profile stops you from going all the way over to one side as the hatch hits the roof.

We had the side tent set up last week and the breeze will tuck up nicely against this on one side but you cannot get in and out when you use this set up.

If necessary i would extend the fly sheet on the opposite side to the side tent to give protection for accessing the other side door.

 

Re: Canopies (once again)

Hey everyone,

I had a " 10x10 " from " Wallymart ",and it was a pain to set-up & take-down by myself.


I now prefer the " Ozark Trail 9x9 Swift Set Shade ", also from " Wallymart " !




Positives:
1.I can put it up & take it down by myself.
2.It's about one third the weight of the " 10x10 ".
3.It's very easy to take the top off by myself, if it gets tooo windy !

Downside:
1.It's not as sturdy as the " 10x10 ".
2.You really can't enclose it like the " 10x10 ".

L.M.

 

Re: Canopies (once again)

L.M., it looks like your Ozark Trail would fit under the 'mini shade' category.

 

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Since we are speaking of canopies, we got to test our Northern Breeze, and our REI Alcove out in some pretty rough weather conditions this week. We were camping on a spit of land on a lake for the past 5 days and experienced what we would consider gale force winds, with some torrential downpours. The Northern Breeze held up like a champ. No leaks, and with the four corners guyed down tight, it held it's ground. What we also discovered is that the mesh of the screens is so tight, the inside of the shelter retains heat. There was a strong breeze, but we could barely feel it through the screens. It does a terrific job keeping the bugs out though!
As for the Alcove, during one of the storms, one of the plastic corners snapped. We were still able to use the shelter, with the aid of some duct tape. We'll soon take advantage of REI's satisfaction guaranteed policy, and exchange it for a new one. We'll let you know how that works out, when it happens.

 

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L.M.
In one of your pictures I see what may be the grill I looked at buying. Is it the stainless unit? What do you think about it? We ended up with a Q100 Weber. We are very happy with it. I was just wondering what you thought of yours.
Steve

 

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Looks Like another thumbs up for the Northern Breeze.
Steve

 

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The Northern Breeze looks to be the hands down winner for folks that like to put up tents, play with zippers, step over guy lines and spend their time in a small room to protect them from nature.

We spent a lot of money for a CI so we wouldn't have to be subjected to the above.

Hmmmm....??? More babble?
Hilditch

 

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Some folks don't like to be bitten by bugs its a personal trade off between sitting outside and sitting in comfort.

 

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Agreed Barry & Annie! While we spend 90% of our waking hours, out and about while camping, we prefer to eat without having to swat away at yellow jackets. Just this weekend, one of our teardrop camping buddies took a swig out of his soda can, only to find a bee had found it's way into the can, and it stung his tongue. He was a pretty unhappy camper for the rest of the evening!

 

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Hey Steve,
I picked up at " BBQ Galore " a few years back. It's a stainless Steel & works " OK ". I posted some info on my " 560 Ultra Trips "
http://www.campinnforum.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1407&page=2

L.M.