RE: I m thinking about modifying a screenroom

Gamecock Camper · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

I want to buy an Add a Room for my Rockwood. I had one on the Jayco camper and was hoping that I could buy one at a discount at the RV show today. There weren t any deals on accessories to be found. For my Carefree of Colorado awning, which I absolutely love, I can buy a screenroom for $174 or an Add a Room for $334. I am thinking about buying a screenroom and making removable panels myself. The AAR s are just screenrooms with panels that are sewn in that roll-up and tie to stay open. It is a little of a pain to roll them up, so I am thinking of just sewing velcro or snaps to a screenroom and having panels that I can attach or detach. In an AAR, the panels are always all the way open or all the way closed, so I think this might work better.

Has anyone done this? Any other thoughts?

wssfetch · Feb 14, 2003, 08:00 PM

Gamecock CamperStopher,

I ve been thinking about doing the same thing--getting a screen room and then adding panels myself. Have you checked out this site:

http://www.rvawningsonline.com/products/popups/addaroom.htm

They seem to have the best prices for the Carefree screenrooms and AARs. What kind of Carefree awning do you have?

mike4947 · Feb 14, 2003, 08:09 PM

Gamecock CamperI ve done one and my ex FIL has done at least a half a dozen screen room to AAR conversions. He s used everything from matching shower curtains to truck tarps for the opaque ones. I did mine like the high priced ones with clear vinyl on the outside and white on the inside, so we could have a view when it rained and it didn t feel so closed in. Then at night drop the inside ones for privacy.
We sewed ours on with an industrial sewing machine. That window vinyl althought not very thick grips the needle and takes a really heavyduty machine to sew.
I really like the idea of snaps or velcro, wish I d thought about that it would have saved a lot of frustration and false starts.
Watch the attachments to the awning for the screen room. All the extra weight can overload them.

wssfetch · Feb 14, 2003, 08:45 PM

Gamecock CamperMike, how does the screenroom normally attach to the awning? My awning has velcro along the front edge. Do you install velcro along the other edges of the awning?

One thing I was thinking about doing to keep the weight down would be to use fabric shower curtains (like those in motels) since they would provide privacy and protection from rain, but still be breathable and lightweight enough to sew with a regular sewing machine.

mike4947 · Feb 14, 2003, 11:36 PM

Gamecock CamperAfter the first time it pulled loose we actually sewed strips of fabric to the edges to use as ties around the the awning framework.
My FIL used shower curtains successfully several times. Thinking back another way he did one on his 22 Foot Terry trailer was to actually use shower curtain rings on the shower curtains and the awning frame. We tapered the side curains to match the ground and the awning angle. When he wanted them open he pull them together and tie them to the awning poles. Being a 22 foot awning he had lots of poles.[

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Gamecock Camper · Feb 14, 2003, 11:45 PM

Gamecock CamperI have the Campout model awning. It is 11ft long. The awning appears to attach by sliding a beaded piece on the outside edge of the awning and has zippers on both sides from the outside edge towards the camper. I think the weight should be ok as long as I don t use anything heavy duty. I think the cloth looking shower curtains (like in hotels) should do since they are lightweight, waterproof, and should be easy for the DW to sew a velcro strip to or some kind of snaps. We ll see after we do more research. I m not really interested in the clear vinyl on the outside, heck, I didn t even know that some came that way.... because I am interested in two things... privacy and reducing the bug count.

wssfetch, I did a search earlier and saw that the better pricing was on the www.rvawningsonline.com site..... I was hoping to negotiate a better deal at the RV show. I might be able to get a screenroom from Masters RV in Greenville, SC for around $100... which is where I came up with the thought of adding the panels myself. I called them today, but will need to call back on Monday because all the knowledgeable people were in Columbia for the RV show.

tlhdoc · Feb 15, 2003, 06:07 AM

Gamecock Camper

QuoteORIGINAL: Gamecock Camper
I m not really interested in the clear vinyl on the outside, heck, I didn t even know that some came that way.... because I am interested in two things... privacy and reducing the bug count.

You might want to think again about the clear panels. When it is raining or the wind is blowing you can lower the clear panels and keep everything dry in the AAR.

wssfetch · Feb 15, 2003, 11:36 AM

Gamecock CamperHere s another idea:

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=66651&prmenbr=226

These are 10 ft panels with velcro on top and zippers. How hard would it be to adapt these or make something like this from scratch?

Gamecock Camper · Feb 16, 2003, 12:15 AM

Gamecock Camperwssfetch, that is about what I am thinking about doing.

MTNDAVE · Feb 16, 2003, 11:40 AM

Gamecock CamperWell, that just turned a light on.... I have a 13 x 9 screnroom that I purchased last season at a cut rate price of $29.95. The screenroom it s self isn t so bad but erection is another story altogether. What a conglomeration of poles, connector hubs and confusing instructions. Tough to do solo.

Soooooo, What say I just cut out the panels and fit to my canopy. I could Velcro the top front to my canopy rail. That would even let me retain the nice zippered entrance and tieback set up on that section.

Then, if I seperate from the screenroom roof propely I should be able to just wrap around and affix to the velcro already existing on my canopy and attach to the camper in some fashion. Maybe make some ties to attach to upright poles. The rear skirt can be made out the remaining material.

If this all works then figure out how to add some lightweight weather panels. Privacy is not an issue for me, just weather protection. So I can consider something light weight.

Watcha think ?

wssfetch · Feb 16, 2003, 03:08 PM

Gamecock CamperMtnDave,

This sounds like a great idea. Especially since you didn t pay much for the screen room to begin with and setting it up with the poles is such a PITA. Have you seen the pictrure of Suzeyque s homemade AAR on the General forum?

Gamecock Camper · Feb 16, 2003, 11:13 PM

Gamecock CamperMtnDave, What a great idea. I might just have to give some thought to buying a stand-alone screen room if I can get one that has the right height and right sized sides to fit onto my awning. It seems like it couldn t be that difficult to do as long as I am starting with a decent screenroom to begin with. And you are absolutely right, the stand-alone screenrooms already have a door zipper built right in.

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