Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2010 22:03:42 -0800
Reply-To: colorworks@GCI.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET>
Subject: Carefree of Colorado, add a room
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I did some checking myself on the "add a room" from carefree at Colorado. The one that I saw on ebay and was mentioned in some other threads on the Samba was called the Sidewinder II, which to my understanding is no longer made, although parts are still available. There is now something called the campout, and that awning sells for about $350 and then there is a screen enclosure room for another $275 that attaches to the awning. Neither of which include shipping, which is pretty steep. These enclosures not only include a screen room, but a canvas outer covering, so they are tents in essence as well as screen rooms. I agree that at 30+ pounds and the BULK it's a lot to tote around. I suspect a similar thing could be said for the bus depot Add a room. 4'x2'x2' I think is what they quoted on their site. That's massive IMO.
I did find a nice thread on awnings in general, which can be found here:
http://www.camperize.com/awnings.html
It's a pretty nice write up on all the various models. I was pretty impressed with the shady boy, although it doesn't seem to seal against the van very well. It is extremely compact though. Lots of people like the bus depot awning, and I decided to order one myself today and it shipped out FedEx. Along with this, I bought a 10 x 10 screen enclosure from Wal-Mart for $29. Either I will cut off one of the sides and sew it to the other three to form a top or work out something to hang individual sides. I kind of like the idea of making a box with one side missing. The whole assembly could then be draped over the awning to form a room. No hooks, velcro, etc. I've seen this done with various tents. By pulling the screening under the van and staking it, you can form a seal against the side of the van. You still would need to fashion a skirt, but got a pretty good idea for that from this article: http://www.griffco.ca/interest/vw/vwtent.htm Kind of a clever ideal for a screen room, but has a bit of sewing involved. I like my ideal better :)
Basically, I was just looking for a screen room, but don't want to carry a lot of bulk. Wal-Mart also sells a canvas kit for their 10 x 10 pavilions. From all the threads I read on awnings on the Samba, these 10 x 10 enclosures are pretty popular because they're cheap. The fact that they come with canvas enclosures and screening as an option makes them even more attractive. These are also large and bulky, (35+ pounds) which is why I ended up with the BD awning. I'll report back on my little screen room enclosure project once I have the thing in hand and figure out a plan of action. I do some sewing as well as my girlfriend, so between the two of us we should be able to work it out.
I'm kind of excited to see how it will all come together. Will be nice to cook without the Alaskan mosquitoes trying to carry me off! They are fierce around here! They have fangs! You guys in the lower 48 have it made.
Cheers,
Troy | 
