Screen Rooms ?

[Pineapple Man]

We have a Scamp 13' with an awning and were checking out various brands of screen rooms, such as Dometic's Cabana and Carefree's Vacation'r and Buena Vista. Does anyone have experience with any of these ?

[mary and bob]

No experience with those but; we use a Eureka Northern Breeze screen room. It's 12 X 12 and has flaps to close it in like a tent, or roll them up for screens, or use the three poles that come with it to put one flap out as an awning. This screen room serves as our living room / dining room. We are spending 3 months in the south for the winter. In the screen room we have the campground picnic table, two camp chairs, a TV, an electric heater, a dorm fridge, a microwave, a camp table with canvas storage compartments, a hanging light, and all setting on one of those poly camp mats. Expensive at about $425, but well worth the money. Not a good picture, only one I have right now.

[rdickens]

Like Bob, I have no experience with those.

Instead of an awning, we often carry a screen room/tent that travels
either on a pad laying on the front sofa or else in the tow vehicle:

Clam Six Pack Screen Tent Video...

CLAM 1660 Mag Screen Tent – Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Clam-Corporation-9281-6-Pack-140-Inch/dp/B00E3LF7FK/ref=sr_1_2

CLAM 1660 Mag Screen Tent Wind Panels – Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Clam-Corporation-9294-3-Pack-Canopies/dp/B00E5BHB6Q/ref=sr_1_1

Ray

[Jules]

Like Bob, we have a Northern Breeze. Love it! No worry camping in rainy weather with this. Lots of room! If I can figure out how post a picture I will.

[Carol H]

Most folks I know who have purchased a screen room that is attached to the trailer tend not to use them to often as they are not as particle to use as a free standing screen room that you can place anywhere in the campsite. We have seen lots of trailer sold here that the seller is including screen panels for the awnings that they say were never used or used once. I have stayed at a number of spots where there is no room to even fully pull out the awning beside the trailer but there is lots of room further away from the trailer.

[mary and bob]

Here's a couple better pictures I took today. Right now it's in the mid 40's, I'm sitting in the screen room nice and warm, electric heater running, watching TV.

[rdickens]

I forgot to mention that, with 2 kits of 3 wind/privacy panels each for the CLAM 1660, it can also become an enclosed tent.

Scamp wanted $900 for an awning. With the CLAM and 6 privacy panels,
I spent just over $300 and got bug screening and something that will
withstand a really windy day.

CLAM previously made ice fishing shelters that stood unprotected from
the wind on the lakes of Minnesota. The 1660 Mag Screen tent is a new
product based on the same ice fishing shelter technology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsMkSHHvJFw

Although it may not suit everyone, it works well for us.

Ray

[D Davis]

I am on the cheap side...But my Quest canopy with the wind walls and screen have lasted for about 10-15 years. The "Easy-Up" or "Quest" is a decent brand and can be bought at WalMart or Dicks Sporting goods etc. for about $79.00 the wind walls are about $39.00 each and screen walls the same price. You can also mix one solid wind wall with one screen wall. I rarely ever use the screen walls but could not do without the wind walls. As like Bob & Mary you can camp year round with a heater inside and be warm. So to me this has been a great value. Let us know what you finally decide on, good luck.

[drstock]

Bob and Jules, do you think that, with practice, a person could put up the Northern Breeze alone without any help. I am concerned about my height, too, in putting up the tent since I am only 5 foot 3 inches tall.

[Gleam B]

We bought our Northern Breeze used on ebay. We LOVE it! We got to the point where we would take it out of our storage box, place it directly on the picnic table, and set it up, without anything touching the ground! Very helpful when it's wet and rainy. We take it down right on the picnic table. I can set it up myself, but it is much easier to do with two people. Highly recommended.

[mary and bob]

Mary and I got the routine down on how to set up the Northern Breeze. I found one you tube video that shows how to do it alone, but the guy ends up talking more about his dog than setting up the screen room and never finishes. We have our own method. After owning it about 6 years we are having a little problem with one door zipper pulling apart occasionally. Have to be careful to not get the legs too far apart when staking down the corners so as to avoid too much side tension on the zipper. If in a location that may get windy I'll put guy ropes off the corners where the curve is. Don't recall what came with it for stakes, I use 12" steel stakes that I buy from Campmor. If real hard ground I have stakes I made from 1" steel angle. Another thing we learned, when rolling up the flaps, roll them under so if it rains before you can roll them down they won't be full of water.
EDIT; stakes are #23502 for the 12" (best) or 23501 for the 9". campmor.com

[mary and bob]

Nice thing about the Northern Breeze is it's all one piece except the poles & framework. No separate side panels or screens to attach. We do have a 10 X 10 Quest canopy from Dicks with one privacy panel that we use as bike garage and cook tent. The privacy panel closes in one side and half of two other sides.

[padlin00]

Originally Posted by drstock

Bob and Jules, do you think that, with practice, a person could put up the Northern Breeze alone without any help. I am concerned about my height, too, in putting up the tent since I am only 5 foot 3 inches tall.

We have one too and find it difficult with 2 people much less one, I wouldn't advise it. I won't try it by myself, and I'm 6' 2". I need to have someone show me the trick to this, it is bullet proof though.

[mary and bob]

Bob, since you are in western MA, come on over to Chatham NY and we'll show you how to put it up. We were making a simple mistake that made it more difficult until we realized not to hook the top corner and side clip until we got the bottom pins in. We just had to relocate our screen room in the campsite, pulled out the stakes, got two of our neighboring campers, each of us picked up a corner and carried it to the new location. Don't try this in the wind though. These screen rooms have a floor option but we prefer using a 9 X 12 camp mat

[padlin00]

Might just take you up on it once the snow clears, we're just W of Springfield.

[mary and bob]

Originally Posted by padlin00

Might just take you up on it once the snow clears, we're just W of Springfield.

easy ride, we are a couple miles off I 90 right next to the Taconic Parkway. Springfield is an hour from us. We go that route occasionally to visit our daughter in New London CT, son in Maine, and vintage camper rally in Brattleboro VT. Could easily stop at your place, or you're welcome at ours.