'wall' tents, etc.

[newforest]

looking to get a bigger, better tent, mostly for the kitchen.....previously used an 'EZ-UP' over a picnic table, with a tarp or three bungeed on to make 'walls', kinda.

So I kinda just want an awning type thing I could add walls too (don't need four, really). But something tougher than an EZ-UP, as I just destroyed another one. (The retailer was dumb enough to offer a permanent replacement policy, so I can sort of get another one....they hand you a gift card for the value of the destroyed product. Or, I could buy a new salmon rod, etc.)

A friend of mine who runs music festivals told me once "If I had a dollar for every destroyed EZ-UP I've had to clean up, well, I'd have about ten dollars."

I could just step up and finally get an all-season canvas wall tent, but I want one of those for my personal tent. I want something a little more open and accessible for a kitchen space.

So, any ideas?

[Scooter]

I would start by checking out the tent in the middle of this page under "mechanical systems"

http://www.weatherhaven.com/commercial/ ... ystems.asp

It might be a bit out of your budget range, but it looks pretty kick-ass.

[newforest]

whoa. like your own, kinda-portable city. I went with the if-you-have-to-ask-the-price-you-probably-can't-.... idea on that website.

I think I did find one of the big-box hardware chains that carry the type of shelter I'm looking for, a heavy-duty plastic stretched over a frame you put together with steel tubing. haven't been in one to check them out yet, too busy.

[newforest]

well, I have thought to rent an RV for some comfort in all the dark hours to camp through this time of year for a brush/chain saw job the next few weeks, but then I realized it's smarter to buy than rent, and since I'm a ways off from a second vehicle that could tow an RV, I've been looking into this and am getting closer to pulling the trigger, but it's quite an investment. here is the Canadian version of the website I've been reading:

any experiences with them out there? I am headed this way for the long haul; I had a good run with my back-packing tent, but no amount of seam-sealer can save it now, and it rips if you just look at it wrong after that much UV exposure. It would be so nice to sleep in a tent with a wood-stove, oh yes. but then I don't have to live out of a back-pack, I own the truck and cargo trailer that would tote it around.


for a kitchen tent I have learned to look for something similar to a wall tent with the angles and steel tubing and have discovered something is sold at one of our big-box hardware stores. perhaps they are geared towards being a low-cost shed for motorized equipment or even cars, I'm not sure. I'm just looking for something to keep the rain mostly off while I cook. Here is one pic, I could always add 'walls' with tarps and bungee cords on whatever side the rain is likely to approach from, while leaving the east open to catch light at sunrise:




edit to take the link out. I just picked them because they were the top search result....usually a dumb lazy way to buy something. I had to replace the zipper in their tent on the second day I owned it. (not simple, but got really lucky by finding an Amish Canvas Shop just five miles down the road I was working on).

there are a number of better suppliers for these tents out there. I'll be spending the extra 10% on a higher quality model next time.

[newforest]

pulled the trigger on a canvas wall tent purchase today. only an 8'x10', for myself to sleep in mostly.

passed on ordering a stove with it; the classic models used in outfitting hunting expeditions seem a little much on the capacity size for the smallest such 'wall' tent. now need to shop around for something that burns wood but is perhaps a little smaller... ???

[newforest]

this was really living:









if you are going to live in the woods for an extended period, it is so nice to have a place you can stand up in when it's raining, or whatever weather is coming atchya. toasty warm too - in winter you have to pack a t-shirt and shorts for hanging out cooking in the kitchen once the wood stove gets fired up (big advantage to not living in major bear country, having the kitchen right in your tent.)

I did buy an 8'x10' to help keep folks from bumming their own floorspace in my space, but next time I will move on up to 10'x12' for myself probably, and ideally someday I think I will have another one of these to be a kitchen/hang-out spot for everyone else. if you sleep outdoors during the winter months, you have a lot of hours of darkness you have to fill up, and sitting around the campfire isn't so much an option.

what am I talking about, "was", "next time" ? all this stuff was stolen from my jobsite on New Year's Day. about a $1400 loss. I'm sleeping in my seedling trailer right now, and will be back to the old backpacking tent when I get on to some bigger jobs soon.