Awning Enclosure question

[Caryl]

Do any of you have any experience with awning enclosures? Are they worth the money? Easy to use?

I will be buying a Jayco Sport 165 and thought that an awning enclosure would offer a little more living space.

Thanks,
Caryl

[wags999]

I have not used one, but my daughter and family does and love it. It also helps with the awning in wind.

[slabat]

I have used one as well with a pop up. I thought it was alot of work for a little extra room for a weekend but they may be worth it for a week or longer stays

[Snake Plissken]

I've never used one but I like being able to walk in and out freely from under my awning

[campingva]

I prefer a screened canopy instead. This lets me sit away from the camper and better enjoy the atmosphere.

[nylyon]

I had one before my 5th and we really liked it. On our 19' Antigua the screen room basically doubled the living space. Our kids were very young at the time and the screen room allowed us to have them go to bed, while we enjoyed the evening outside. We also had privacy panels so it was truly another room.

One option which we had and is no longer available is a hard door option. This was a storable storm door which allows you to come and go without using the zipper.

I would have kept the screen room, but the 5th has an electric awning, and the room I had wouldn't work and we really didn't need to have the space any more. We now have a standalone screen enclosure although we don't like it as much as the screen room.

They are a little cumbersome to setup and take down, especially in the rain, and for a short weekend stay we wouldn't put it up. Anything more than 3 days and we did. Hope that helps.

[Caryl]

Thanks Nylyon.

I am going to be getting a very small Jayco TT so I figured that an awning enclosure would be necessary for additional living space. I have never had the room made for an awning and did not know how easy or difficult they were to put up and take down. Also, there is the thing about how much storage space they require.

It is great to get peoples feedback and not have to learn everything the hard or expensive way.

[nylyon]

Mine stored in 3 bags, probably 2'x2' and another bag for the rails. I stored it in the living space and only brought it when we planned to use it. It took probably 20 minutes to put up and about the same to take down.

[Caryl]

Great to know, thanks. What brand were you using? I'm seeing a number of them.

[nylyon]

Carefree of Colorado, I just looked and they don't sell the one I had any longer I think it was just called the "Deluxe" or something like that, nor do they sell that hard door option, my understanding is it was VERY rare, in fact, I had never seen one other than my own.

[Caryl]

The "hard" door was a stroke of genius too bad it did not catch on. Anyone who has ever had much experience with tents and such know that the damn zippers are the first thing to go.

[Seann45]

I have one and love it... just don't get the Crappy of Colorado one.. the poles in it are way too thin.. IF you have an electric awning get jack poles (trucker style) to go from the roller tube to the ground for extra support in wind. .stake them to the ground. Hold the pole to the awning tube with a strap. I have photos of this a year or 2 ago in the MOD section

[Caryl]

Thanks Seann45, what brand do you have?

BTW Two years ago I boondocked from mid May until mid October. We had solar power and caught rainwater in tanks for showers and washing and such.

What a wonderful learning experience that was. We had fans, lights, hot showers, and even tv/football (when the season started).

This is a photo of our camp (mine is the big camper)

The little Starcraft pop-up is mine as well.

Caryl

[Bookemdanno]

Originally Posted by slabat

I have used one as well with a pop up. I thought it was alot of work for a little extra room for a weekend but they may be worth it for a week or longer stays

Same here...had one for the pop up, but I think it would be a big hassle taking the shorter trips with the TT.

[Jeff61]

I had one for my PUP. Used it a few times but overall, I thought it was more work than it was worth. Presently we have one of the first up type screen gazebos. Less work to put up and we probably see more utility from it. Probably cost less overall too. Plus there are those instances where I've wanted to roll up the awning on the TT pronto!

[Seann45]

Originally Posted by Caryl

Thanks Seann45, what brand do you have?

BTW Two years ago I boondocked from mid May until mid October. We had solar power and caught rainwater in tanks for showers and washing and such.
Caryl

Right now I have the Crappy of Colorado one.. been making due with it due to cost... The one I had on my last camper was a Patty-O-Room. Much better construction

[Caryl]

IF I get a screen room, no matter the manufacturer, I will get one of these to use as a door instead of the zipper. Zippers do NOT last.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Instant-Scre...-/321393977681

[Sweeden72]

I had one that actually zipped onto the awning of my PUP. Well, it was supposed to zip on but one of the zippers cam from the factory installed backwards. I engineered a way to secure it using binder clips. We put it up a couple of times on extended trips but it was usually more hassle than it was worth.

[FFJamison]

yall got me curious now. Im new to this but having the option to screen in my 14' awing sounds awesome. Enlighten me on brands to look at and ones to stay away from. The bugs here in TX get pretty bad in the summer.

[Caryl]

There are several companies that offer screen enclosures. You can see many of them here.

RV Screen Enclosures