Lots of opinions on Canopies

dustinp said:
When we were at Bayfield, WI this past week, another couple with a Little Guy TD camped in the next site, and had a umbrella sort of canopy over their hatch, that seemed to go up easy, and provide some good protection while they cooked and had their meal during the rain we experienced. Here is a link to what they used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...d-3035-4a40-b691-0eefb1a18396&pf_rd_i=desktop
There were a couple of TD owners who reviewed them on Amazon, and apparently were pretty happy with it.

The young couple next to us were from CO, and had taken a year off from work to travel the country in their TD, and had been at it since April. They said they had started out with another canopy which had succumbed to the weather and was replaced by this one, which had held up much better so far, but didn't offer much mosquito protection.
Click to expand...
Hopefully someone on the forum will purchase one of these and let the forum know how well it works with the Camp-Inn galley. 6"X6"X20" is very compact, and at 10 lbs shipping weight it is also very lightweight. Even if it doesn't shed water very well, it would be great at keeping the desert sun off the galley, which would take some of the load off of our Dometic.
 
Inn42 said:
Hopefully someone on the forum will purchase one of these and let the forum know how well it works with the Camp-Inn galley. 6"X6"X20" is very compact, and at 10 lbs shipping weight it is also very lightweight. Even if it doesn't shed water very well, it would be great at keeping the desert sun off the galley, which would take some of the load off of our Dometic.
Click to expand...

It looks like a cool concept. They had someone asleep at the switch though in their marketing department. Apparently according to one of the reviews on Amazon, the model name emblazed on the side is "Laputa". In Spanish "La Puta" is not exactly something you'd want to have written on your canopy. At least not most folks anyway.
 
If you check Amazon.com, there is different brand of the same canopy offered for $20 less that avoids the Spanish faux pas. There are mixed reviews on the quality. I suspect the chances would not be good that it be robust enough for our purposes.
 
Handben said:
It looks like a cool concept. They had someone asleep at the switch though in their marketing department. Apparently according to one of the reviews on Amazon, the model name emblazed on the side is "Laputa". In Spanish "La Puta" is not exactly something you'd want to have written on your canopy. At least not most folks anyway.
Click to expand...

My guess would be that since on the canopy it is spelled "Laputa", and not the Spanish slang version "La Puta" the manufacturer is most likely referring to either the Japanese film definition "castle in the sky": Laputa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, or from the book Gullivers Travels in which it was the name of an island in the sky, both of which would make a little more sense..................unless it was particularly difficult to set up, then the Spanish version could come into play too :(
 
Thank you for the research. It's been a long time since I've read any Jonathon Swift and I not remember that reference. Per the article in Wikipedia, he knew the Spanish meaning and this is part of his ironic writing style. I'm not sure I'd want my campground neighbors wondering if we are Swift fans or advertising other services. Although this product will never sell as many units, it is a worse faux pas than the Chevy "Nova" for Spanish speakers. My wife is a Spanish teacher so she'd find this particularly offensive.
 
Evan said:
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.
Click to expand...
Hi I have the 12x12 Northern Breeze.. considering the 10x10 or a Littke Guy Side tent 10x10... are people as happy with 10x10 NB? Anyone looked at the LG 10x10 side tent?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5197.webp
    IMG_5197.webp
    38 KB · Views: 408
Finally decided to purchase the Northern Breeze shelter as my REI Alcove has it's limitations in spring, fall and strong winds and rain. Have watched the U Tube video of the Canadian fellow setting it up and wondered what he uses to "quick tie" the rolled up screens and walls with the straps provided. Anyone know what he uses? It seems to cut the set up time by quite a bit. Also, which seams need to be sealed as it appears all I can see are taped and additional sealing wouldn't be necessary.
 
Not sure of the quick tie and I don't remember how much we seam sealed (too long ago). But regarding the rolled up walls - we roll inward instead of the way he did it - then leaf debris or rain does not puddle in the wall.
 
Bear looked at utube again I see the quick connect is a new feature. Also the vent at the top is new ours does not have one.
 
I read recently on this very website that the Clam (though it looks to be an awesome stand-alone) will not fit over the Campinn galley. If this is your intention, supposedly, it won't work.
 
Wow, I just watched your video on the Pavillion. Holy cow that's big! My original reply was concerning a different clam. This pavilion may actually fit over the galley. Does anyone know, has anyone tried?
 
The folks camped next to us at CICO 2016 had one set up. It was pretty cool with how easy it was to set up, and with the screens / wind wall already permanently attached for q really quick set-up / take-down.

It looked like it could have covered the galley, the problem with that would have been being able to get in & out, since the TD would be occupying the only entrance. It would be ideal if there was an additional entrance / exit, but all the other five walls have the expanding hub structures in them, and I suspect removing more than the one already removed for the single entrance may compromise the structural integrity more than what would be workable, but there may be a work around for that if the company wanted to re-engineer it a little. Maybe if enough people expressed interest in such a modification, they might take a look at it. I'll send them an email and see if they respond.
 
I wrote my suggestion to the Clam folks, and got a quick reply as noted below. I'll update this if I hear anything further from them.



AIbEiAIAAABECJa-w-qIrOaz9AEiC3ZjYXJkX3Bob3RvKig5MDdmZDljOTU0ODdlMmFkMWY1NjU0YmJjNzQ0ODBmMWUxMWY2NWRmMAG8kh3AVMQ_vK_4to04FdNqEUdDqA

Dustin Paulson
Jun 23 (2 days ago)


to CustomerService
cleardot.gif

Dear Clam Corp Customer Service;

I belong to a sizable group of teardrop travel trailer owners who are always looking for something quick and easy to set up for additional shelter to use in conjunction with their teardrop trailers.

Last year when I was camping I saw one of your Quick-Set Pavillion shelters being used by another camper and was impressed with the ease of set-up, and with the permanently attached screens and wind walls which drastically decreased the work of setting up and using the shelter.

Many of our campers use the Eureka Northern Breeze shelter which also has permanently attached screens and wind walls, and also has s second entrance on the wall opposite the other entrance. This allows the rear end of their teardrop trailer that contains the kitchen galley to occupy one entrance while leaving the other open for entry/exit. This allows them room to set up a small table and cook within the shelter with protection from pests, and the weather. The main problem with the Northern Breeze is the weight, and complexity of set-up, which make it too much of a chore to use unless you will be set up at that site for multiple days.

I think if you could find a way to provide a second entrance / exit to the Pavillion, ideally on the opposite wall of the current one, with its ease of set-up, you could have a whole new market segment that would be very interested in purchasing your product. We have a national online forum of owners who would love to see something like this made available, and I would love to introduce it to them.

If you would like to discuss this option further with me or even use my teardrop trailer to help develop that option / modification, I am not too far away, and would be happy to help in any way I can. Just let me know how.

Please forward this email to the appropriate Dept if Customer Service is not it.

Thanks!
cleardot.gif

profile_mask2.png

CustomerService
Jun 23 (2 days ago)


to me
cleardot.gif

Good morning Dustin,


Thank you for your suggestions! I can certainly pass them along to our R&D department. Have you checked out our Quick-Set Excursion yet? This model is basically two of our Escape models put together and has an entrance/exit on both ends. This is currently the only model we have with 2 exits. This might fit your needs! The link to it on our website is below for more info.


Excursion™ Screen Shelter - 10 Side - Brown/Tan Roof/Black Mesh - w/ Wind Panel Flaps


Sincerely,


Nikki

Customer Service

Clam Outdoors

12135 Brockton Lane N.

Rogers, MN 55369

Email: customerservice@clamcorp.com

Main: 763-231-4120

Fax: 763-231-4121

www.clamoutdoors.com

Dustin Paulson
Jun 23 (2 days ago)


to CustomerService

Hi Nikki,
Thanks for your quick reply, and passing my message along to R&D.

Yes, I did check out the Excursion, and noted that it had the two openings, and thought it may be an alternative, but the Pavillion would have a smaller overall footprint while providing more working room right next to the teardrop, has the wind walls already attached, and I think would provide more flexibility for smaller campsites.

Thanks again!
 
Since REI discontinued the Alcove we bought the Kelty that someone had mentioned was similar. It is nearly the same. We just set it up in the backyard before we head to the Great Smokies on Sunday. It is a newer generation of what used to be the Alcove. The plastic connections where the roof meets the vertical poles are different slightly. We both thought they the poles clicked into the plastics without the profanity that our Alcove at times takes. We ordered it through REI and they had Two color choices. We picked the one that looked nearly identical to our Alcove. This is dark gray instead of light gray and what we thought was orange like our Alcove turned out to be very red pokes The pole connections are green so looks we are set up for Christmas. Gonna get some bungee cords in case it has the same flaw the Alcove does. In the Smokies we will get a shower everyday. Hope this cooler weather and low humidity lasts here another week to get our trip in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top