Our purchase:
- 18'x30' Carport Kit with Tarp - High Peak 1-3/8 ID #TK138 (about $270)
- Silver tarp (included in price)
- With footpads (included in price)
- 16 21'x1 3/8" galvanized fencing poles/posts sourced from a local supplier (about $400)
- 200 outdoor self-tapping 3/4" screws with sealing washers from Home Depot (about $20)
- 24 12" ground anchor lag bolts from Amazon (about $120)
- 100' of 3/16" steel cable from Home Depot (about $60)
- 4 3/16" steel cable clamp sets from Home Depot (about $20)
- Miscellaneous items (about $100)
Total: about $990
Purpose:
Cover most of our 5th wheel RV to protect from the sun.
Measurements:
- RV stands at 12' 6" at its tallest point
- Vertical poles measured 13'
- A-frame poles measured 10' 5"
- Horizontal cross members measured 9' 10 5/8"
16 poles total.
Context:
My wife and I decided to buy this to cover our 5th wheel RV that is stationary, and we live in full time.
We're down in central Texas, and it gets hot, this week is 100F+, with no shade for 90% of the day. As a result, the exterior roof and walls can reach 140F+ during the day, and the interior walls have been as hot as 105F. I have an IR thermometer and a thermal camera that measured and confirmed these readings. Our bedroom A/C can keep up with the heat, but our living room A/C will be on all day and it will reach up to 90F inside.
We tried shade sails connected to a cedar tree, a power pole, and 2 8"x8"x16' posts we concreted into the ground. We could never get the right areas covered or enough tension to make them work properly, so they only lasted a summer before deteriorating.
Finding alternative solutions that checked all our boxes was becoming increasingly difficult.
Boxes:
- Less than $1,000 all in
- Durable
- Mobile
- Doesn't require concrete anchors
- Protection from Sun
- Tall enough to still be able to walk on the roof
- Relatively easy and simple to install/uninstall
After looking at dozens of possible solutions, I came across this option.
Next, I found a local supplier of galvanized fencing pipe that had sections up to 21' long that should fit the brackets. So, I ordered the brackets, and once they arrived, I took a couple pieces to the fencing supplier to verify that they would fit together. Once verified, I placed an order on Thursday for 16 sections at 21' each knowing I'll have to cut them down as needed. Picked them up on Friday with a borrowed 16' flatbed trailer.
The next day (Saturday), I performed all the preparation for installation, and on Sunday, we started and finished the install. As of this review, we'll have had it 4 days.
Pros:
- Simple and easy concept
- Lightweight, yet durable
- Tarp is heavy duty and seems like it will last a long time
- Bungees are easy and simple, yet keep everything in place
- Did as advertised
Cons:
- No ground anchor options
- No recommendation for securing the top corners due to wind concerns
- No pre-drilled holes for securing the pipe to the corner brackets
- The pipe goes inside the footpads instead of over the foot pads allowing for water to accumulate in footpads over time
Suggestions:
- Add ground anchor product options to purchase with kits
- Add material options for properly securing the top corners of the canopy
- Add pre-drilled holes in the bottom of the brackets to allow for securing brackets to pipe with fasteners
- Add outdoor self-tapping 3/4" screws with sealing washers
- Add a way to seal the footpads from moisture, or design footpads to go inside the pipe instead of over the pipe, or drill drain holes in the footpad to allow water drainage (which is what I did)
- Include a basic guide that shows what you want to cut pipe to in order to achieve desired lengths
Warnings to potential buyers:
- Properly secure the footpads and top corners of your canopy. Small winds are enough to make this thing move considerably. I can't stress this enough!
- Make sure you know the EXACT dimensions of the tarp you're getting and cut your pipe to fit those dimensions
- Have help! It took 3 of us, an 18' ladder, a tractor with a man-bucket on forks, multiple revisions, and multiple hours to install our canopy
- Measure twice, cut once
- Remember how to do the Pythagorean Theorem to find desired lengths of pipe
Additional info:
A few hours after installation, the winds picked up. I had secured the footpads with the ground anchor lag bolts, however the winds were shifting the entire canopy back and forth almost hitting our RV and pulled some of the footpad anchors a few inches out of the ground. We quickly used some ratchet straps to secure the to corners as a temporary solution. Now, we've installed steel cable on each corner to hold it in place.
Conclusion:
Overall, I definitely recommend this product, I see and agree with its value proposition, and it provides an alternate solution to options in the market. I wish I had...
