Screen house for Alice

[myvan]

We bought this screen house for about $70 at K mart. As we usually only take Alice out overnight it is very easy to put up and gives us just enough shade
Cheers
Kathryn and Paul
PS Yes we know we need a 1950s tow car ! The guy next to us at the caravan park said he expected a FJ holden to be the tow car

[royce]

Tested it in the wind yet? ;D ;D

[myvan]

No not yet but if the wind is high enough the caravan will take off!

[royce]

Fair enough - I was looking for a cheap solution for my TD til I can afford to get an annex made up. I go to national parks so wanted a mossie free zone but also wind safe. I wondered if straps could be stitched inside to come down to pegs and add some resistance? ;D ;D

[myvan]

Hi Royce
We were surprised how stable it is. We hooked the back part onto the top of the caravan and undid the back zip. The shape of the screen house follows virtually the same line as the caravan.

We had a fold up bed in it, esky, chairs etc and we had all the room we needed. For $70 and overnight it was great.

When we pulled it down we realised how much sun it had cut out
Cheers
Kathryn

[royce]

Thanks - I'll check it out in K Mart

[belinda]

Why not attach a strip of aluminium sail track to the van (Reddo posted some excellent instructions for doing this on the "annexes" thread) and get a canvas maker to sew a corresponding strip onto your shade house?

If you get another annexe or awning later the sailtrack will be handy for that.

It is well worth while finding a good canvas worker. Will sent us a terrific annexe for the Atlantic (thank you thank you thank you), and the nice people at Carlton Canvas have been very helpful "tweaking" it until it's getting close to perfect:
- replacing the original marconi clips with sailtrack edging
- supplying the aluminium sailtrack for the van
- patching small holes and pulled-out eyelets
- sewing on extra tapes so we can roll up every panel
- making up a skirt to stop draughts coming under the van

The other really important thing to do is put a roller at the top corner of the door ASAP. This prevents the door wearing a slit in your shade house roof.

Originally these were made out of a wooden cotton reel. You can get plastic cotton reels at toy shop (look for Galt threading toys) or a Fiamma door roller at a caravan supplier. We bought a Fiamma roller and painted it pink to match the van door - it is really unobtrusive.

[royce]

Thanks Belinda you are on the same track as my thinking and I appreciate the leads you gave. I already have sail track from Capral Alluminium up the sides behind each of my doors and across the top. I intend to make my own or get one made. I'm looking at short term options (cheap) because I and my wife are going to the Rugby World Cup in Sep/Oct so need to save money right now. Eventually I will be using a full annex as displayed on this site under the annex link (shows the concept I'm following - including the skirting underneath as you mention).
www.aussieteardrops.com/
You may be able to see the sail track strip in front of the door in this photo

Thanks for the information - gratefully received.