Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:22:59 -0400
Reply-To: Greg Potts <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Greg Potts <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>
Subject: Re: Friday Topic: The ultimate portable shelter
In-Reply-To: <11dcddf80707270715r6a3281e1r411b841110984d5b@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
Hi Chris,
The closest answer I have seen is a shelter affectionately known as
"The White Sky". The poles are all made from standard 1" electrical
conduit, and the full set of 18 pieces can be carried on the van
without getting in the way of the drivers or passengers. Along with
the poles I carry a milk-crate half-filled with nine corner brackets,
and a couple of dog-augers used to hold it to the ground.
http://www.busesofthecorn.com/The_Bug_Pack/Warsaw2006/pictures/
dscn1430.jpg
It is a 20x15 shelter with a peaked roof. It doesn't have sides, but
I suppose they could be engineered if required. It can be easily set
up or broken down in a few minutes and transported on brackets that
attach to a baywindow or vanagon. It is tall enough to park a
vanagon or baywindow underneath with the roof raised. It will also
withstand being put over large campfires during unexpected rainstorms.
http://www.pottsfamily.ca/The_Bug_Pack/EveryBus2005Teaser/pictures/
dscn3987.jpg
http://www.everybus.com/%7Egreg_potts/pictures/dscn1117.jpg
I run rope light around the perimeter of the shelter at night. It
pulls about 60W at 110V from my inverter.
http://www.everybus.com/%7Egreg_potts/pictures/img_2138.jpg
In severe weather I drop the poles supporting the upwind side of the
shelter to provide a windbreak and there is still 150 sqft of shelter
available underneath.
http://www.pottsfamily.ca/The_Bug_Pack/FallTour2005/pictures/
dscn4391.jpg
My scout troop had one of those costco shelters and it always took
more than an hour to put up and down, even with a dozen or so people
working on it. My shelter takes 2 people less than 10 minutes, and 4
people can do it in 5 minutes if they are familiar with the setup.
But if you ask me, putting sides on it would be WAY more trouble than
it's worth. The support poles on my set-up are 7' tall, and the sides
are 15' long. That's 100sqft of material right there. Going in the
other direction it would be about 12' wide and over 12' tall, which
means you would be carrying well over 400sqft of material for the
walls. And then you want a mesh option, that'll be another couple
hundred sqft.
I rarely go camping without it.
Happy Trails,
Greg Potts
1973/74/77/79 Westfakia "Bob The Tomato
www.pottsfamily.ca
www.busesofthecorn.com
On 27-Jul-07, at 10:15 AM, Christopher Gronski wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I'm not sure such an animal exists but I thought I'd chime in and
> start a Friday topic about it. When I talk about my ultimate portable
> shelter, I don't actually mean my Vanagon (but I could indeed classify
> it in that category) what I mean is a tent like structure to take on
> road trips, etc.
>
> It would be at least 15' long so the van would fit inside (a bit
> longer would be better), it would be around 13' wide so I oculd open
> both doors easily with the van inside, if would have 8'+ of clearance
> at the door so I could drive straight in (I have an AW top on my van),
> and it would have solid zippered sides that could be taken off
> entirely, replaced with mesh, or ideally be solid with large zip open
> screened windows. It would fold down small enough that it would not be
> too onerous to carry in the van on a camping trip.
>
> So it would be part garage, on the hottest of camping trips on open
> fields it give the van shade, if the site was nice and shady it would
> be an outdoor eating tent and a dry place to store bikes, etc. Oh what
> I could use it for....
>
> Anyone seen anything close?
>
> Chris
