Van Tents

[Wander Woman]

Does anyone have experience with the tents that have a sleeve that fits the back of a van? I have an '03 Astro van and am thinking the Sportz tent with a screen room would be ideal - a place for my cat and a place for me to read outside when bugs are an issue as well as extra bedrooms for guests.
Kathleen

 

[my_vantasy]

I don't have any experience, but am interested in this. Hopefully someone with knowledge will step forward.

 

[Wild_E]

Hi there,<br>no experience with tents for Astros, even though I owned some and have a Safari right now.<br><br>In the past while in the military we had som vehicles that had tents made for them by the Battalion Fabric Techs. These were canvas tents with windows and doors along with mosquito netting on the windows, but not the doors. Most setups were a hybrid system of some parts left on the roof, and you put the frame up first then rolled the tent down and around it. &nbsp;<br><br>Look up some people in the area that make custom covers for boats and tractor trailer rigs. You can have one made for just over the cost of buying a pre-fab thing made of nylon. True it will cost a bit more money, but be O so much more durable though in the long run.<br><br>When looking for any tents especially ones for vehicles, make sure the seams are sealed and have at least 3 lines of stitching in them. The truly horrid ones I have seen only have 1 line of stitching! &nbsp;They might make it through 3 seasons but not the 4th at all. Additionally the tents should have some sort of bottom heavy rain resistant material added on so that you can put rocks on them or earth to hold them down with.&nbsp;<br><br>For the poles, conduit, 2x2 or some custom small tree parts <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">&nbsp;<br><br>Additionally if money is really tight, you can make some using the best canvas or nylon tarps you can buy right now and save up for the more expensive system later.<br>just some thoughts thrown out there for you.&nbsp;<br>cheers<br><br>

 

[Patrick46]

I've posted this elsewhere on this forum, but I'm a huge fan of using EZ-Ups, w/ the zip-on walls.<BR><BR><IMG class=bbc_img src="http://www.bouncenaroundbr.com/images/P/EZ Up Side Walls.gif" rel="lightbox"><BR>they're durable, not expensive at all, sets up in minutes, and when ordering the walls, make sure to get the opening ones, and not solid walls. (this makes a HUGE difference in versality!) <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><BR><BR>set it up over your back doors, and use plastic clamps like this...<IMG class=bbc_img src="http://d3s23h5t9xs8e6.cloudfront.ne...ce-economy-plastic-spring-clamp-set_large.jpg" rel="lightbox"><BR>to attach it to your van. you can buy them at hardware &amp; K-mart type stores. <BR><BR>You can put your porta-potty out there, and set-up a nice private solar shower too...or put your folding chairs and foldaway table in it. It's like having an add-a-cabin. (we even put a carpet down in ours)<BR><BR>We love ours and have used&nbsp;this system&nbsp;for many years!!&nbsp; <IMG class="emoticon bbc_img" src="/images/boards/smilies/cool.gif">&nbsp;

 

[Wander Woman]

Thanks for the idea of using the easy up and what to look for in a tent for durability. I am primarily interested Iin the tents with a screen room, so an easy up would't work. I'll be traveling with my cat and the screen room would be ideal for when I leave to hike.

There are several companies that make tents with sleeves that fit the back of a van or suv and I was hoping someone out there might know if they are worth the money.

 

[blueberry]

E-Z Ups have screen rooms too:<br><br>http://www.ezup.com/shelter-accessories/screen-rooms/

 

[Wild_E]

OP,<br>I have seen 3 commercial put on back of vehicle tents,<br>they were not for Astros<br>one was excellent quality, 2nd was ok and 3rd was absolute junk !&nbsp;<br><br>You need to see them in person, feel the type of material, see the quality of the sewing and details before you buy. All were expensive, the most expensive was the best quality as well and I believe it came from Australia.&nbsp;<br>hope that helps,<br>you can just use one of the easy ups, put up around the vehicle and make it more buggy proof around the opening of the rear doors, that should not be too hard.

 

[Wander Woman]

I didn't know easy up had screen versions, I'll be looking into that. If I do order a tent I'll make sure I cam return it easily if the quality isn't good.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

How do those EZ-UPs handle wind ?<br>KinA

 

[PYSCHOWard]

Every time I go to an Event, where a good storm blows thru, I see an EZ up in the dumpster.<br>I believe the problem lies in the anchoring system, or the lack of,&nbsp;more than the structure.

 

[baronmcginty]

I was thinking about getting one of these to attach to the side of my Teardrop Trailer:<br><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Texsport-Lodg...;colid=2INB8VCR3FOJD&amp;coliid=I46QSH36HD8LH" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Texsport-Lodg...;colid=2INB8VCR3FOJD&amp;coliid=I46QSH36HD8LH</a><br><br>While it doesn't have a separate screened in area, the windows seem large enough to use that way. The price is right too.

 

[cygvan]

the ezups handle wind pretty well in my experience (used several at work when i did trade shows or fairs).&nbsp; as mentioned previously, anchoring them is key.<br><br>they are fairly durable too. as long as you dont try to force them open when setting them up by yourself.<br><br>failing to anchor them might result in breakage as it tumbles across the lawn and gets flexed or torqued in the wrong way.<br><br>i dont own one myself but they are the brand i would use if i went that route for a tent.<br><br>im holding off because i currently dont have a need but i also would like to find a traditional type tent thats made to attach to full size van at either the rear or sides.<br><br>thanks to OP for posting the question as i am interested as well although not for astro.

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

The EZ-UPs look ok&nbsp; but it seems like ya might have more design options here : http://www.shelters-to-go.com/<br>KinA