Hi, What is your opinion on screen rooms. Is it best to have one that attaches to the pop-up's awning or to be a stand alone? Any thoughts on add a rooms?
Some of the issues that I am wondering about are: Ease of set up/break down on a good day and after rain / mud ... folding & storage, weight, wind, expense, etc...
All ideas welcome.
Quote from: outdoors5Any thoughts on add a rooms?
So, here's the funny part.
Even though this is a camping forum, I can't shake the California point-of-view...
I see a thread about "screen rooms". Do bugs/mosquitos come to mind? Nope. Zip. Nada. Furthest thing from my mind. Putting a screen room on a camper simply is an alien concept to me. Had a free one for my Niagara - in a year, never even took it out of the box!
I was all toked up to respond to my thoughts on a subject like
my screen room... (and how in the world would you fit that in a camper???)
I have an AAR for the PU and a Paha Que screen room for the picnic table. I use both one or neither depending on where and the conditions when we camp. At Assateague Island in the summer we use both. The mosquitoes are so bad and there is no shade. The AAR helps keep bugs out of the PU and the screen room gives us shade and a bug free area outside. The AAR is nice when the weather is bad. It protects the area under the awning from getting wet.:)
An opinion from the East Coast.....
We had an "Add A Room" style for our old pop up. Granted it was also an old style "room", all one piece, very bulky and extremely hard to put up. It was a real pain to put up or take down in ANY kind of adverse weather and hauling it and storing it were huge problem areas. The newer styles, I've heard, are less bulky, come in pieces, and supposedly are easier to put up, BUT there is still the weather issue, in my opinion. Packing up the bed end canvas in windy and/or wet weather is enough for us to handle.
Cheryl
I also got a free screen room with my Niagara and never took it out of the box before selling it. Just to much trouble to put up and take down....Never had a big problem with bugs in all the places we have camped over the years......
Well, I had one of the older screen rooms on my previous popup ( '96 Coleman "Yukon").
For sure - big, bulky, heavy and a chore to put-up and take down - but mighty nice once up and in use! I've since opted for the screen gazebo that set-ups up over the picnic table (or where-ever), and I can set it up and take it down quicker - and it's lighter & smaller when packed up.
Comparing what I use to have vs what I have now, I choose the lighter and less expensive screen gazebo. In my ever search for methods to travel lighter -(and pack back-up in less time!)- always looking for ways to have more time to enjoy what I'm doing and with less hassle.
Fly
OK......I've gotta show my ignorance here. Can someone post a pic of an AAR. I've never seen one and I thought that they were the same thing as a screen room :confused: .
I have a screen room that I got with my PU but have never used it. The previous owner had it up and gave me plenty of pictures. He said that it is pretty easy to put up though.
We beach camp and bugs just haven't been an issue. Maybe we will put it up in Yosemite. I was thinking of selling it.
Looks like you're missing an opinion from the Great Lakes area :)
We use a QuickShade with the removable screen. It serves double duty without having to take along a screen room and a shade cover. We haven't ued the screen attachment very often, maybe twice in 5 yrs.
Usualy if the bugs are that bad , they still manage to find their way into a screen room when you enter or exit... if it's that buggy we've been known to bug out and go elsewhere.
We got the AAR for free when we bought the popup. Tried to use it a couple of times but as most have already stated they are bulky and a pain to set up and take down. Ours stays in the garage. I really should think about selling it.
We bought a screen room at the end of a camping season when they went on sale. Takes a few mins to set up over a picnic table and gives us a semi bug free environment in the evening. I say semi bug free as we have kids (5, 8 and 11) who constantly leave the doors unzipped and then scream loudest when they reenter later and the thing is crawling inside with bees and other large flying insects :yikes:
Quote from: PLJWe got the AAR for free when we bought the popup. Tried to use it a couple of times but as most have already stated they are bulky and a pain to set up and take down. Ours stays in the garage. I really should think about selling it.
We bought a screen room at the end of a camping season when they went on sale. Takes a few mins to set up over a picnic table and gives us a semi bug free environment in the evening. I say semi bug free as we have kids (5, 8 and 11) who constantly leave the doors unzipped and then scream loudest when they reenter later and the thing is crawling inside with bees and other large flying insects :yikes:
One more opinion, from someone who does not own a popup but hopefully will soon...I have been tent camping with husband for 15 years, last four with two small children. Our favorite piece of equipment is our Eureka hexagon screen tent. Its huge enough to cover a picnic table, stove table and still have room for chairs and coolers, and it is a fortress in a storm. Whenever we camp someone stops by to admire it, especially if they have seen it preform in a storm, it just don't budge. We camp in the Northeast and Midwest and bugs are an evening issue that the hex solves. The kids don't like the bugs either so we do have them trained to zip the door. Set up is a breeze with two and doable with one, even in heavy wind.
As I think about our first pup purchase I am wondering if we will ever even bother with the awning. It sounds more insecure in a storm and something I would spend to much time worrying about. In 15 years of late August camping, read heavy afternoon thunderstorms, we have always returned to camp to find the hex just were we left it.
Different brands have differing levels of difficulty in setup. When I had a Viking popup, it had the Carefree awning and screenroom with privacy panels. The Carefree awning sets up in about 2 minutes or less and doesn't require ropes or wires to hold it up. The screen room was two piece and each side setup in about 2 minutes. Just slide the top into the awning rail groove and insert a spring loaded bar in the side. The spring loaded bar had a pin on one end that inserted into the awning rail and a rubber foot on the other that pressed against the camper. Snap a few snaps, pop in a few stakes and your done.
Take down was just as quick and simple.
I have seen the Coleman AAR and there is no comparison with the Carefree in ease of setup and takedown.
We're in our 10th year of pop-up camping; never even take the awning out of the bag.
Got an eazy-up at a grocery store promotion, then bought a screen to attach for $15. Much easier and if the weather gets bad, I just lower down or, if necessary, quickly fold it back up.
Pam
Quote from: waveryOK......I've gotta show my ignorance here. Can someone post a pic of an AAR. I've never seen one and I thought that they were the same thing as a screen room :confused: .
http://community.webshots.com/photo/49518408/1049520792039762025UJwCiFhere is a picture of my AAR with the side panels closed. It is very similar to the screen room. It isn't that hard to set up the AAR, mine is the newer 3 piece AAR.:)
I also want to say that the Paha Que screen room has side panels that you can roll up, put out as awnings (on all 4 sides), or close for privacy or to keep rain out. In the spring when we camp and it is cooler we use the screen room with the side closed and a portable heater for an outside warm spot. The Cub and Boy Scouts really like the Paha Que, they can play cards and games in it and not freeze.:)
Quote from: tlhdochttp://community.webshots.com/photo/49518408/1049520792039762025UJwCiF
here is a picture of my AAR with the side panels closed. It is very similar to the screen room. It isn't that hard to set up the AAR, mine is the newer 3 piece AAR.:)
Thanks for the pic. I've never seen one of those before. It actually doubles the living space in your PU. That's cool.
The only thing that I wouldn't care for is that it blocks your view from the dining table. Then again. there are trade-offs in everything that we do, isn't there.
My dining table is on the back side of the PU, so we have the big window to look out. You can open the panels and then your view is not blocked.:)
Quote from: tlhdocMy dining table is on the back side of the PU, so we have the big window to look out. You can open the panels and then your view is not blocked.:)
Gotcha.......Our dining table is on the front side, next to the door. I love sitting at breakfast with an unobstructed view of the ocean. In fact, I'm thinking about putting a zipper on the big screen so that I can open that window right up to the outside on a nice day.
My wife and I love our screen room that we got when we purchased our camper four years ago. The screen room attaches to our camper's 12 foot awning. We always use a 9' X 12' mat (bought from Pop-Up Times, of course) under the screen room. It's a great place to let our dog off leash. We don't attach the screen room for an overnight trip. But, we always put it up for a trip of two nights or more. Our typical trip consists of three nights in NC, SC, or GA, and we always have some kind of insect--whether in the mountains or along the rivers. The only problem with the screen room for me was a week-long camping trip in the Smokies where it rained for five days. We had to dry the screen room on our driveway for an entire day back home before putting it away. But, hey, that's camping--not RVing. --Scott
Thank you for all of the replies. It has been very helpful.
Here in New England mosquitos can be a problem, in season of course. I was originaly leaning towards an attached screen room model but I'm now re-thinking the idea and possibly opting for a stand alone screen room instead. It seems that there are less issues with stand alone models due to what appear to be quick set up models which do not depend on the fragile PU awning. Still not sure if that is true, so if there is further input feel free to chime in about awning screen rooms vs. stand alone screen rooms.
Quote from: outdoors5your thoughts on screen rooms
1. Skip the Ozark Trail (or other cheap Walmart brand) screen rooms. A million pieces, and difficult to set up. Bought one, set it up in our den, took it back. Bought a Quik-Shade.
2. Love our Quik Shade, even though it doesn't have screen sides. We did buy the panels for the sides, but haven't used them yet. We Tennesseans tend to want shade, and don't mind the bugs. :)
3. Can't speak to the screen rooms that attach to the camper, as we don't own one.
Larry
We bought our camper used and it included an awning and the screen room attachment. After the first trip, when we figured it out, we wouldn't be without it. My guys like to watch baseball, so the TV goes out there and we hang out in the evenings. We have an indoor/outdoor carpet that we put in there as well and it is now our extra room.
The only bad thing--it is musty smelling when we first open it, but weather permitting, I hope to lay it out in the driveway this weekend and scrub it up nicely. :)
I had one with my first PU....it was actually a Winnebago AAR that the previous owner had adapted for use with the PU.... I got to use it one time, the second day there (Camp Hatteras) a huge storm blew through and tore my AAR to shreds....nearly turned over the whole trailer (there was another PU there that did get blown over). That was my only deal with the AAR...
Quote from: gettingfiestyWe bought our camper used and it included an awning and the screen room attachment. After the first trip, when we figured it out, we wouldn't be without it. My guys like to watch baseball, so the TV goes out there and we hang out in the evenings. We have an indoor/outdoor carpet that we put in there as well and it is now our extra room.
The only bad thing--it is musty smelling when we first open it, but weather permitting, I hope to lay it out in the driveway this weekend and scrub it up nicely. :)
They can really add some much needed room to the camper.:)
Quote from: Gone-CampingI had one with my first PU....it was actually a Winnebago AAR that the previous owner had adapted for use with the PU.... I got to use it one time, the second day there (Camp Hatteras) a huge storm blew through and tore my AAR to shreds....nearly turned over the whole trailer (there was another PU there that did get blown over). That was my only deal with the AAR...
I have found that the AAR tends to make the awning and the top of the PU much more stable. Hope I am never in that kind of wind.:)
I absolutely LOVE our screen room--but then I am very sensitive to insect bites. With small kids and all their 'stuff' it basically doubled our camper size and gave us room to have things 'inside'. It also serves as a great 'buffer' to keep insects out of the trailer when the kids are in and out of the trailer all the time
We have the pop-up size screen house that attaches with velcro to the awning and the side of the trailer (from mom-in-law--she didn't want to mess with it.)
The screen takes up less room than the awning and no additional poles to store.
When we upgraded to a travel trailer, I added screen and velcro to make it long enough to fit on that too. When we sold the pop up--hubby kept that awning and screen and said "don't let me sell this or get rid of this" and now we are back to a pop up and are looking forward to putting it up with the camper.
Here are a couple pics of my Winnebago AAR... First one is a side view while set-up in my driveway...
(http://www.victory-ln.com/starcraft/dcp01104.jpg)
This one is a view from inside, picture was taken the night before it was torn to shreds in that storm (we think it was a water spout that came ashore)...
(http://www.victory-ln.com/starcraft/kitchen2.jpg)
And last is outside looking in (with nephew sitting there)...
(http://www.victory-ln.com/starcraft/derek.jpg)