Screen tent

[MagicBox]

Hey

We think we want a screen tent. If you have one, which one do you have and why do you like it?

We are looking at the clam venture and escape.
These are big enough to go over a picnic table, which seems like a neat idea.

Thank you

[booster]

Originally Posted by MagicBox

Hey

We think we want a screen tent. If you have one, which one do you have and why do you like it?

We are looking at the clam venture and escape.
These are big enough to go over a picnic table, which seems like a neat idea.

Thank you

We have had two different ones. The first was big enough to go over the picnic table, but we found it too restrictive to use that way as you would have to move it if you wanted to just sit in with comfortable chairs. It was a bit big for just the two of us so we hung a sign on one of our trips and sold it quickly. We replaced it with a 6X8 tent that was more to size, but we find we almost never use it as it blocks the breeze a lot and we generally aren't in areas with lots of bugs since the bugs deter a lot of the other stuff we like to do. Sitting in a screen tent just didn't turn out to be something that we enjoyed. We don't even carry the tent with us anymore.



We don't see as many screen tents when we go camping as we used to, with quite a few more canopies being used instead, so maybe others have found the same things as we did.


We have started using the awning on our Chevy Roadtrek 190 a lot more though, instead of getting a canopy to try and have found we like the awning use more than we thought we would.

[@Michael]

We carry a 4-sided Clam if we plan on camping in buggy areas. When folded, it's short enough to fit crosswise in the back of the campervan. Prior to that we had a more conventional screen tent with collapsible poles that packed pretty small but took longer to set up.

For me, it depends on how often you plan on staying in buggy areas without moving every day. We found that for short stays, we tend not to bother setting it up and for trips to dryer, less buggy places we generally leave it at home.

As booster says, they limit airflow.

[rvsprinterguy]

We also have a four-sided Clam. We purchased it after a particularly horrible experience with yellow jackets and flies at the Thousand Trails campground near Hollister, California. It's been great for keeping bugs at bay during mealtime many times since.

It's too small to fit over a picnic table. However, a small table and two chairs work great. I've purchased the wind/rain panels that attach around the three sides using the velcro attachments provided by the factory, and added a fourth across the front. I've fashioned a floor for it by cutting a blue tarp to fit and placing grommets in positions that match the Clam's tie down grommets.

When we go exploring and need to leave things behind in the campsite, the Clam makes a good "garage" for stuff.

A tent its size would be easier to set up and take down, but I really like how compactly the Clam folds up into its storage bag. It fits nicely under the couch in the rear of our van.

[RAA357]

I made a screen enclosure that attaches to our RT210V awning on the front and two sides.
Attaches with velcro.

[Davydd]

How about this?

[mkguitar]

Originally Posted by RAA357

I made a screen enclosure that attaches to our RT210V awning on the front and two sides.
Attaches with velcro.

makes sense-

I can hang screen kit or a left over side panel from an ez-up to our awning, I use clips

but we hope to be where breezes keep the bugs at bay


mike

[MagicBox]

Ok,

Thanks for all this feedback.

[Davydd]

Check this one out.

https://www.alvantor.com/products/6-...39309402275913

[booster]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Check this one out.

https://www.alvantor.com/products/6-...39309402275913

I would be interested as to what the tether on the left side of the first pic is for. It looks like it is tied up high on a tree or something.

[Davydd]

The Alvantor is extremely light weight. Alvantor has several videos explaining anchoring mostly bags at the base you can fill with sand, rocks or bricks to anchor with the flaps on the ground or you could tether to those hooks to the ground. I imagine that is a tether hook and in that photo they elected to tie back to a tree or structure. It springs open from a round fold away. That one person BugPod I posted is similar in that operation and works well.

Currently I have this Eddie Bauer screen tent that I have had back in my Pleasure-way days that is big enough for two zero-gravity lounge chairs and a picnic table and folds away in a bag I can get in Mies, my current short Sprinter.

[InterBlog]

Clam venture. One of the best purchases we've ever made. Here it is surrounding our picnic table:

[rvsprinterguy]

I also have a Clam Venture. Wish I had a roof rack like yours to carry it. It's hard to find a place for it in the van, which is why I went for the smaller four-sided one. My Clam Venture is currently for sale on Craigslist in the SF Bay Area.

[LostInWoods]

Gazelle is comparable to Clam Escape/Venture, and was a touch cheaper when we bought our 5-sided one. Similar sorts of accessories (wind/privacy panels) are available.

[eric1514]

I have this one.

Walmart OzarK Trail

It's gone up 50% in price since I bought mine but what hasn't lately.

It's not the quickest to set up but if I'm going to deploy it, that means I'm staying a while so I'm in no hurry. For me, the important thing is that it fits in a soft bag that is about 9"x6"x26".

[MagicBox]

Thanks again for all of these helpful suggestions.
We ended up going with the 9x9 clam venture, their second smallest tent after the traveler.
We keep it inside the 2012 RT 190 in the notch between the couch and the benches.
Will be leaving for our summer trip in a couple days and look forward to trying it out.
It was fun setting it up and getting in it for the first time. I told friends we bought a new summer home.

[davidewells4]

Hello everyone! I am looking for screen tent please suggest me one.

[rvsprinterguy]

Originally Posted by davidewells4

Hello everyone! I am looking for screen tent please suggest me one.

I have both the Clam Traveller and the Clam Escape. The four-sided Traveller is easier to pack and lighter weight than the Escape, but encloses much less volume. Even so, it's perfect for the two of us as a bug shelter or shaded space. I've adapted mine to attach a weather panel on the front (there's already a provision for that on the other three sides). With four panels in place, it then becomes a "shed" in which we can put stuff out of sight when we go do things away from camp during the day. The Clam Venture that MagicBox settled on might be a better choice from a space standpoint.