side tent

[rsbrownmd]

Has anyone had experience adding a side tent to the teardrop camper?

[glcmranger]

First off, I installed the ARB awning to the Thule Roof Rack Load bars — Works great!

Then when I set up camp, I deploy my CLAM tent and put up the privacy screens on the street side…. that way, the tent is my changing room.  I also have a dog — so I put up a pet fence so my dog can go in/out of the Teardrop and tent.

I hope this helps…

 

[rsbrownmd]

Thanks for your reply. Do you have any pictures of your set up?

[glcmranger]

I won’t until I go on a trip to the Everglades in mid-February…. I’ll post then.  I also bought a Toilet seat bucket for those middle of the night “gotta go” scenarios.  Just put a liner in it with kitty litter.

[rsbrownmd]

Thanks. I’ll look forward to the pictures. Where did you get the toilet bucket?

[glcmranger]

rsbrownmd:  I got my toilet bucket on Amazon — item is titled: Reliance Control Corporation Luggable Loo Portable 5 Gallon Toilet.  I also decorated it in camoflage shelf liner to jazz it up a bit.

[rsbrownmd]

Thanks. Found it on Amazon.

[wudboatVT]

Hi folks,

I’m about to pull the trigger on purchasing kit. Does anyone have more pictures of awnings or side tents mounted to the top of the camper. I’ve seen a few around this forum and other places online but not a ton.

Wondering how high up one could get an awning. We’re a tall family!

All the best from Chicago,

John

[western_flyer]

Not sure what you are calling an awning but I put a pair of Japanese style noren awnings over the doors. They are meant to give a bit of rain protection to get a raincoat and shoes off before entering and exiting the cabin. I’m 6’2″ and set the frame just a bit higher than that. I also made a 10×12 ramada out of 80% black shade mesh. It has adjustable poles that go from 5 1/2 ft to almost 8 ft. The idea is to be able to tilt  it for the best shade and eventually to attach a portable solar panel. I don’t have a picture of the ramada yet.

[rsbrownmd]

To western flyer—how did you attach those awnings to your camper?

To glcmranger—once you get set up in the Everglades, please send me pictures. Thanks.

[western_flyer]

I used Flex Rail (keder track) and keder rope purchased from Sailrite online.  It’s worked very well. If you decided to use it I would be happy to detail how I installed it – it’s not hard.

[Andrew]

Hi Western Flyer,

The tracking you used looks like a really good idea, flexible and unobtrusive. I’d be really interested to hear how you fitted it and any issues you encountered.

Thanks,

Andrew

[rsbrownmd]

I’d also be interested in how you installed it. Thanks.

Ralph

[western_flyer]

Here goes my description of installing the keder track. Please ask if I don’t make anything clear enough. I started by viewing the Sailrite videos for installation and then modified things to suit the TD. The track requires a screws with a #4 flathead. Sailrite sells a SS #6 wood screw with a #4 FH and a square drive slot. For my TD these screws did seem appropriate. I wound up using #4 FH brass machine screws, which are tiny but seem to be adequate for the job. I drilled a hole ½ inch in from both ends and then evenly spaced holes on appox. 6 inch centers.

Starting at one end, one by one I drilled through the TD. The track follows the joint line between the 2-3 and 1-4 seams on the 3 and 4 panels.  The screws were over long by ½ inch +. After drilling each hole I inserted a screw to hold the track in place and bend it to the next hole. A note, I used stainless nuts and washers. After all the holes were drilled I removed the track and swabbed a bit of Minwax wood hardener into each hole, followed by a dab of black silicone seal into each hole. Then a bead of silicon down the length of the track. It would be easier to do the install with two people but I did it solo and a little alcohol to clean up the smudges. After the fasteners were tight I cut off the extra screw length and filed them smooth. The harder SS nut made it pretty easy to cut the brass flush with the nut.

I used this brass and stainless combination with a number of “thruhull” fasteners of various sizes in the TD.

Notes: If you need to bend the keder track beyond its normal limits, Sailrite in one of their videos shows how to heat it with a hairdryer or hot-air gun and maintain the track shape. I didn’t need to do this. If you wanted more strength than the brass I’m sure SS would work. Either use the exact length (that might be a P.I.T.A. in my opinion) otherwise a Dremel with a cutoff disk of some sort would probably make short work of over long SS screws.

Hope this helps.

[rovineye]

If anyone is concerned with mixing the stainless with brass, know that they are close to each other on the galvanic series, and would only corrode if there was substantially more stainless (more noble) than brass, which is not the case here.

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