Here I will be giving details of my full camp setup. It’s a bit more robust than my daycamp, and I will be using this setup when I know that I will be staying in one place for more than a few days.
February 6/2011
My fullcamp setup will be luxurious, as far as most people’s camping standards go. Yes, I will be using a tent for my fullcamp setup, but this is not just any tent. It’s called a Turbo Screen Machine, and it fit all my criteria for what I wanted in a mobile shelter. This tent, along with the capabilities of the RoadArk, will provide all the comforts of home, as I travel from place to place.
The Turbo Screen Machine would actually be classed as a dining tent,or screen house, since it has full screened panels on all of its six sides, and no floor, which is usually seen as a ‘must have’ for tent status. But, I didn’t want a floor in my shelter, and as I explain my fullcamp setup, you’ll see why.
One of the features that was at the top of my list of what I wanted in a mobile shelter was fast setup. At the end of a long day of driving, I didn’t want to have to struggle to get my camp set up, and The Turbo Screen Machine sets up in just a few minutes. Also, it had to be a strong construction, not something that’s going to fall apart with the first storm.
The Screen Machine is built with aircraft grade 1″ aluminum poles, that are integrated right into the tent, and firmly constructed knuckles, for raising and lowering the tent. I haven’t actually put these poles to the test yet, but I can tell from looking at them, that they are substantial, and I can’t see them bending or sagging under the weight of the tent, in fact, they look like overkill, as far as strength goes, but I’m not complaining.
When erecting the tent, it’s just a matter of laying it out on the ground, and opening the aluminum poles supporting the top, until they lock into position. Once the poles supporting the top are locked into position, the top cover can be thrown over these poles, and hooked on to the top of the side poles. Then it’s just a matter of walking around the tent, and locking the knuckles in the side poles, one by one. The tent is now standing, and can be staked down around the edges, if desired. There are also integrated guy ropes, that are stored in little zippered pockets, right on the tent These can be staked to the ground for extra support in windy conditions. Everything you need to set this tent up, is integrated into the design, so there’s no looking around for any missing parts.
When the tent is standing and secured, it’s ready to go, and all I have to do is back the RoadArk up to one of the two doors in the Screen Machine. At this point, I don’t know how wide those doors are, and whether I will be able to back the RoadArk right into the doorway, but this is not all that important to me. If I can’t back it right in, then I will just set up my daycamp tarp extending over the RoadArk, and the tent entrance, either way will work fine.
Here’s a picture of the Turbo Screen Machine;
Turbo Screen Machine
And, the setup sequence;
First Step
Second Step
Third Step
At this point, it’s just a matter of locking the knuckles in the side poles to raise it.
Pole Joint detail
This will give me about 150 sq. ft. of living space inside the tent. That’s a lot of room to move around in, and not a lot to carry, when it’s taken down, and folded up in its heavily constructed bag. These were important factors in determining how I would live on the road.
The Screen Machine also has other nice integrations, such as full zippered, privacy flaps on each of its screens. These flaps are zippered from the inside, so, if it starts raining, I don’t have to run out into it, to close up the tent. Full weather protection, and privacy are provided when the flaps are closed, and, of course, the all important bug protection is provided by noseeum mesh with flaps open.
There is a convenient loop at the center, top, inside the tent, for hanging whatever you’d like. A light, or a fan, but this is not what I will be using it for. This loop will be used to hang my shower/washroom setup from. It consists of a plastic hoop, something like a hula hoop, which has shower curtain hooks already installed around it, into holes that I drilled in it. This hoop will be suspended from that center loop in the tent, and the shower curtain hangs from there to ground level.
This is why I preferred an open bottom on the tent. Keep in mind here, I do not intend to use any harmful chemicals or cleaning agents in this shower. Only water, and biodegradable soap will be used, so there will be no ground contamination.
The shower hose will be run from the faucet in the RoadArk. I have a special adapter for the faucet, that will allow me to hook up a common garden hose, which is, in turn, attached to one of those kitchen-type sink sprayers, the same as the one I have mounted on the RoadArk. These type of sprayers are very good for conserving water. That’s why I chose them for my purposes.
Presently Travelling 