With help from my cousin I have "rigged" an enclosed back storage area behind my booth. It's hard to explain and it's not the prettiest thing since I have to clamp the tarps, but it allows me to keep my boxes at the show and saves a ton of time during load out...plus it allows me space to wrap, keep the battery, etc.
I was wondering if anyone else had created a totally enclosed area behind their tent?
Mine can be either 3 1/2 feet or 5 depending on how much space I have behind my tent. I hold everything up using extended/adjustable paint roller handles so I can go as high as needed, slope it if rain.
I am switching to a Trimline in the next week or so, thinking I'll get the 54 inch awning and work around it. Anyone already doing? I don't want to reinvent the wheel if someone has already walked this path (yes, mixed metaphors abound).
I talked with the folks at Flourish and they are willing to work with me to add "legs" to the corner of the awning, probably just two legs and the corner brackets I'm thinking. Then I'm planning to zip an extra wall to each side, wrap it around, clamp it, take the back wall and hang it over the top of the awning. Not sure if I painted a good enough picture with my description, some of you have seen my current set up and will know what I'm talking about.
Anywaze, let me know if you've been there, done that, happy or not.
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Mine is sort of the same as Linnea's, and I'm using a Sam's Club EZ-Up. I use a couple of Flourish's upper StaBar clamps, the Upper StaBar Ell EZ 302 brackets, for the attachment to the frame. If all I'm doing is making an awning, either 3.5 feet or 4'9" feet, I use the bracket for the Lightdome, the StaBar Ell LD202 for the outside corners of the awning. If I want to enclose the back of the tent, then I feel extra support is needed, and replace the right-angle fittings with the three way corner fitting, the Stabar LD200.
Upper StaBar Ell EZ302 StaBar Ell LD202 3-way corner StaBar LD200
The 3.5 foot awning lets me take a side tarp to use as an awning and that's just the right length to go over and back underneath very close to the frame. The longer length is used for the back awning and leaves a couple of feet hanging down to further block the sun. Those pipes are cut to size from 1" EMT tubes and are dirt cheap from Lowe's or Home Depot.
I close in the back when it's too windy, cool, or raining. I use adjustable painter poles for the rear legs of the enclosure. I might mention that the 3-way fitting gets turned sideways so the vertical socket is one that is closed off inside so the painter pole doesn't slide through. You may need to find longer thumbscrews that will cinch up against the painter pole to snug it in place. I have extra tarps, so it's easy enough to just zipper the extra tarps to the ones on the booth. The slightly less than 5 foot depth to the enclosure lets you use two extra zippered side tarps to wrap around the enclosure for a good fit. The back tarp is then used for the top of the rear enclosure, and it is attached with large "A" clamps on the sides and back of the enclosure. It's best to allow a slope on the back and perhaps a sideways tilt to allow for water run-off. I use a two or three extra painter poles to create an extra ridge for drainage and give extra support for heavier rains. The steeper the slope, the better. I don't leave the enclosure up at night or at least don't leave anything back there at night.
For the shows where there is room, and particularly when the temps are somewhere in the vicinity of hotter than hell, I extend the rear tarp out as a supported awning out to 7 feet. I've also found adding a cheap opaque tarp on top of the white tarp cuts down on the heat coming through the awning by a considerable amount. The larger shade makes a big difference.
Thanks everyone, some great suggestions and ideas. The tent comes tomorrow, I'll be playing on Wednesday to see what I can rig. I walked the show this past weekend looking at other tents to see if I could get some ideas, too. One thing I do know is this is going to be a bigger adjustment than I initially thought! I've gone through a lot of EZ Ups and adapted things over the years...this looks like I'll almost be starting from scratch.
Keep in mind where your zippers are on your canopy top. The awning zipper is placed higher than the back wall zipper. On my canopy, I have a back wall that opens in the center, so the awning zipper (one long continuous run) and the back wall zipper (2 zippers, ending in the center) are different. If you have no opening in your back wall, your zippers may be the same.
I have a "back room" I designed myself. It's hard to explain without a picture, and I've never taken one. Mine uses snap joint canopy parts to make 2 legs and the horizontal bar that connects them. To attach it to the canopy, I use pvc pipes. They bungee into the frame on the inside. I can use mine with either my barrel top “good” canopy or the EZ up I use for one day shows. The flexible pvc allows me to angle the legs as sharply as I need if it’s raining, or if wind from the back is a problem. I can also slide them in and out to make a shelter of any depth from a foot to 5 feet. I use the canopy back wall to make the cover.
I have never devised a zip on attachment to cover the sides, as the zippers connect AT THE TOP. Look at how yours connect before you commit to that. Your new shelter sides would have to have zippers on 2 adjacent sides for this to work. I also don’t like to feel boxed in as I would if I couldn’t see out through the sides. I use clear heavy weight shower curtains clipped to the sides if it’s rainy or too windy.
I generally use the awning OVER this if it's raining, as I have a center ziper on the back that rain can get through.
I have never left it up overnight. I would not trust something that is not original to the canopy structure to not pocket and hold water, or act as an added wind trap. I never leave my awnings up either, for that latter reason. I slide the pvc and the legs inside the canopy, let the back wall drop, and zip down as usual.
The guys at flourish can design about any setup to meet your needs with the versatility of their tents. The main isssue, as Cindy has mentioned is the shows that have the available space to allow you to use it.
The issue I see first hand is that in some shows there is no space between you and the person behind you. I mean NONE. We have been in quite a few shows where we are stacked up side to side, on 3 sides. And at these shows you are not allowed to extend past the front of your booth. The only way I see being able to use this is to buy 2 booths, one behind the other. Maybe others have an idea I am missing. On occasion we have had space but we are not guaranteed how much space there will be.
I would love to have all my stuff at my booth too. I just can't justify getting two booths for this.
I don't do it if there isn't any space. However, I've found that at most of my shows I have at least 3 feet. I've been lucky at some where the person behind me didn't need any at all and said I could extend into their space, but I work real hard at not encroaching on anyone else's territory, being a good neighbor.
I've been using the extension at shows for a few years now, absolutely love it when I can use it. If I can't I just take a small bit of my interior and don't get to keep the pottery boxes.