The photos were taken at So Mineral CG in the San Juan NF near Silverton Colorado, an apparently famous summering place for Texans, Arizonians and New Mexicans, judging by the
license plates on all the campers' vehicles. It's just short of 9,900' so the weather is not bad when it is baking elsewhere. I am now camping dispersed nearby and the temp went down to 39F last nite. The only real problem is that in late summer, several kinds of flies appear (two kinds bite) and are very annoying. At least they go dormant when the temps drop below 65F.
Shade comments:
The triangles aren't flat; at the end of each diagonal arm I put a T and then connected the two Ts with a very short piece of pipe. If you look closely in the naked frame photos, you can see there is a lot of thicker stuf over the triangles.
The vertical posts are topped with Ts so I can extend the ridgeline if I want to turn the tarp(s) to get more end shade, but I usually try to park with the front of the trailer (gravel shield is insulated) facing south, so the rear is in self-shade leaving only the sides and roof really needing shade (if there are trees properly located, I can merely string a rope between them, toss the tarp over the rope diagonally and stake down the two free corners).
I made it out of PVC, rather than wood or steel because I am trying to keep my total
weight down. Bamboo would be a feasible material, but they don't make all those nice fittings for bamboo. Since the PVC isn't all that strong, I decided on the triangles. I intend to redo the ridgeline and triangles using sprinkler PVC instead of the Sched 40 for the
weight consideration and I think the triangles will be strong enuf.
The corners can be fixed with poles or they can be tied directly to trees, stakes or rock piles, except maybe above the door, depending on angles.
So far, I haven't figured a way to connect the ridgeline pipes to the triangles without having something there that might damage the tarp. I considered pipethread fittings -- they cost and I don't like the weight, but they might be best for interchangability. Right now, all I did was tie a tension cord from end to end.
Awning (not pictured) comments:
Not having a fixed
awning, I attached one side of a green 10x12 tarp to a piece of 3/4 " sprinkler PVC and tied a rope to the pipe ends. I throw the rope over the Egg, using the pipe to put the rope outside the roof hatches, and secure it to one of the wheel holes with a bungee. The other two corners of the tarp are on salvaged tent poles, tied to whatever is handy. I put the
awning tarp up after the shade tarp because it's easier.
When I want to take the awning down, I release the pole corners, fold the poles up against the front tarp edge (I have keepers in holes drilled thru the poles to keep them attached to the corner grommets) and roll everything up to the PVC pipe, where I put a bungee around it. I then release the rope, wrap it around the bundle and put the whole thing on the roof rack with the kayak. I put a coupler in the center of the pipe, so it can all be folded to one pole length to fit inside topper if desired.
I can also deploy the awning as a cover between the truck and Egg in the event I want to cook or something on the tailgate in the rain.
Pete, in the cool RatHaus
Actually, I am now parked in the shade of some spruce trees next to the North (or East, I'm not sure) Fork of Mineral Creek, where the breeze down the creek is cool, so the Shade Kit is stowed, but the Awning is out to keep my chair dry.
Linear Mode
