Pop Up Canopies

B

bswombaugh

New member
Any of you mobile guys out there using portable canopies? If so; what make and model and some insight on its effectiveness.
 
I'm treating myself to one this year myself. I can't take another summer without one. I've been looking at the EZ UP 10x10, but I'd be interested to know what size others are using.
 
I'm thinking about hanging a few cheap fans from the inside of one. :) Gonna be a brutal central texas summer this year. Or maybe a mister! haha.. ya right.
 
512detail said:
I'm thinking about hanging a few cheap fans from the inside of one. :) Gonna be a brutal central texas summer this year. Or maybe a mister! haha.. ya right.
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I am already ahead of you on the fan idea. I got a high velocity portable 3 speed 20" industrial type fan made by PMX. It has stainless steel blades, blows like a hurricane and moves a ton of air for its size. Its going to be on the truck for all my future mobile details canopy or no canopy. I have used it in my garage at home and man does it make a world of difference.

It appears we are in for an overly hot summer in central NC. We have already had about 7 days in a row with temps in the 90's and the heat index from 100-105.
 
bswombaugh said:
I am already ahead of you on the fan idea. I got a high velocity portable 3 speed 20" industrial type fan made by PMX. It has stainless steel blades, blows like a hurricane and moves a ton of air for its size. Its going to be on the truck for all my future mobile details canopy or no canopy. I have used it in my garage at home and man does it make a world of difference.

It appears we are in for an overly hot summer in central NC. We have already had about 7 days in a row with temps in the 90's and the heat index from 100-105.
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that's a great idea. now I just need to put it on wheels and train my dog how to follow me around the vehicles with it.

but I am eager to see what people are using pop up canopy wise...there seems to be a lot of choices around the 100 range and I am not sure if I should be looking into something 'better' quality?

Definitely needs to be one man operated.
 
I researched them a couple years ago when I thought I was going to go into business with a boat Detailer, but that fell through..

What I did figured out is that you need to be able to have enough room with the vehicle centered inside the canopy frame, to move around, bring things with you, like stepstools, platforms, etc., and not run into the legs of the Canopy..

Believe I figure out that a 10 x 10 was not going to be wide enough or for sure, not long enough to completely cover the biggest vehicle I might do which would be any of those honking long trucks with extended cabs and beds...

Some of these things have more material that hangs over and helps cut the sunlight a little longer depending on your orientation of it...

Some have stronger and more support than others..

Go out and measure out a spot in your driveway or garage that would cover everything length-wise and width-wise, giving yourself enough room to work under and around it and see what you get...

Hey, maybe if you are lucky, all you have to work with is MINI Coopers, VW, etc., so you might be able to fit it all in a 10 x 10,,, :)

If you are really serious about getting one, using it, setting it up and taking it down, portability, and finally, the ROI of it, if you calculate that stuff, then I would go for the best one I could get, so I wont be propping one leg or more on things, because they broke off...

Good luck with this !
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
I researched them a couple years ago when I thought I was going to go into business with a boat Detailer, but that fell through..

What I did figured out is that you need to be able to have enough room with the vehicle centered inside the canopy frame, to move around, bring things with you, like stepstools, platforms, etc., and not run into the legs of the Canopy..

Believe I figure out that a 10 x 10 was not going to be wide enough or for sure, not long enough to completely cover the biggest vehicle I might do which would be any of those honking long trucks with extended cabs and beds...

Some of these things have more material that hangs over and helps cut the sunlight a little longer depending on your orientation of it...

Some have stronger and more support than others..

Go out and measure out a spot in your driveway or garage that would cover everything length-wise and width-wise, giving yourself enough room to work under and around it and see what you get...

Hey, maybe if you are lucky, all you have to work with is MINI Coopers, VW, etc., so you might be able to fit it all in a 10 x 10,,, :)

If you are really serious about getting one, using it, setting it up and taking it down, portability, and finally, the ROI of it, if you calculate that stuff, then I would go for the best one I could get, so I wont be propping one leg or more on things, because they broke off...

Good luck with this !
Dan F
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I know that a 10x10 won't be big enough for me. Width wise it might be ok but length wise it won't cut it. I have done a lot of vehicles in the 15 to 20 plus foot range. I was expecting to need something like a 10x20 to be able to meet most of my needs.
 
bswombaugh said:
I know that a 10x10 won't be big enough for me. Width wise it might be ok but length wise it won't cut it. I have done a lot of vehicles in the 15 to 20 plus foot range. I was expecting to need something like a 10x20 to be able to meet most of my needs.
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Two 10X10's are generally much cheaper than one 10X20 - and far easier for one man to set up...
 
Dan you answered every question I had. I work on some pretty big vehicles, some I know would never sensibly fit under a canopy unless it was huge. Lifted Excursions for example. But even something like my Tahoe would require a pretty big unit. The whole reason I haven't sprang for one yet is because I don't want to look like a fool fighting with a giant canopy in someone's driveway for 30 minutes. I wish I could find an outdoor expo or somewhere that I could give one a test run and see for myself how everything would go. I don't want to end up in some "Canopy Fail" video on YouTube.
 
bswombaugh said:
Are they pretty durable? How stable are they in the wind ?
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Wind is a problem with any canopy. A canopy is basically a sail. There are multiple solutions available. Some people use tent stakes driven into the ground. I wasn't impressed with that solution because the ground you are on makes a huge difference. It doesn't work at all on rocks, cement or tarmac. Another solution (and the one that I use) is bags sold by EZ-UP which you fill with rocks or gravel. they clip to the legs of the canopy and are effective in any wind you would be willing to work in. At the track (I used to use these racing bikes). At the track, many people attached their spare gas cans to the legs of the canopy. That worked too.

YMMV
 
Or something more flexible like those little black sandbags they have when there is about to be a flood in your neighborhood, etc....

I like sand because it is heavy, and flexible in the bag, cheap, and easy to fill up, stack, and just put wherever you want..
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
Or something more flexible like those little black sandbags they have when there is about to be a flood in your neighborhood, etc....

I like sand because it is heavy, and flexible in the bag, cheap, and easy to fill up, stack, and just put wherever you want..
Dan F
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Plus out here when it is about to rain hard the fire stations have a pile of sand and bags out for free in their parking lot.

Is it bad that I call all pop ups EZ Up's? :lol2: I do need a couple bigger ones. Mine is only 8' x 8' and I have to move it around throughout the day to get the shade in the right spot.
 
mnehls86 said:
Plus out here when it is about to rain hard the fire stations have a pile of sand and bags out for free in their parking lot.

Is it bad that I call all pop ups EZ Up's? :lol2: I do need a couple bigger ones. Mine is only 8' x 8' and I have to move it around throughout the day to get the shade in the right spot.
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Everyone calls them EZ Up's because that is probably the most popular brand.. :) Everyone has one... :) You are good !!!

Wow, you really need to try out a 10 x 10 for sure then.. Think they sell them at Costco - probably easy to go on line and see what they offer, along with a bunch of other places..

The 10 x 10's are about the max I think 1-person can do alone easily... Your experience/s may vary... :)

I would definitely look at the infrastructure of it and see if I can tell how well it supports the canvas, and how strong and what material if possible is being used throughout..

Does it have replaceable parts like the legs ? Cause sometimes, they get bonked and break and stuff..

I was just at my Daughters for Father's Day and their 10 x 10 is supported by their outdoor table because one of the legs broke off in the middle...
Nice.... :)

Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
I was just at my Daughters for Father's Day and their 10 x 10 is supported by their outdoor table because one of the legs broke off in the middle...
Nice.... :)
Dan F
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What a great way to advertise a product. haha. I will be looking into them though.
 
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