Costco Type 10x20 Canopy/ Picnic Shelter/ Garage/ Carport/ Tarps --- Replacement Panels

Background:
Have been very happy with my Costco Canopy/Shelter. Bought it a number of years ago...five, I think, anyway, all the panels and roof finally needed replacing except the ones on the East and North sides (East; the long side with no door and one zip up garage door end type) so I called Costco and got the number for the company that makes replacement panels and roof. Gave them the model number of the shelter and they sent me the long side with self supporting overhead door (what I wanted), a generic end panel(which was fine) and a roof (perfect fit). I Forget how much it all was...reasonable. Anyway, The roof was the only thing that fit. The two side panels missed by a mile. I called the replacement parts company and they said I could send the panels back but that I would have to pay for shipping. Forget that! I was out enough money as it was. The new replacements panels were thinner than the original panels and smaller. They were so much smaller that I could not overlap the Velcro edges. They missed by a couple inches, and imagine after a summer in the sun, the panels would shrink even more. I tried bridging the gap with wider strips of Velcro and that held until it got windy. It was ridiculous, always coming apart. Besides, the one smaller end panel was cracking/splitting all along the creases. Duct tape to the rescue. Was plain to see that this panel wasn't going to make it through the Winter. I'm holding my breath on the replacement roof, as there are holes in it from the factory.

The Fix: 
There was a guy here in town who used to make tarps for commercial trailers, so I called him and he suggested I get in touch with the local SHARPS TARPS, in Vancouver, WA. The head office is in Grants Pass, Oregon. They immediately knew what I was talking about and said they had made lots of replacement panels for these Canopy/Shelters. They showed me the material. It was light enough and flexible. I thought it would be a good idea to have them make me a new panel to replace the cracked one. Went home and measured the cracked panel and brought my measurements and drawing back to Sharps. The guy gave me some pointers and after a bit of editing of my awful drawing, we came up with a good design. After a week and a half, I have my new panel and have installed it. The upper ball end bungee chords need replacing with stronger ones. As one can see from the picture (below) they allow the panel to droop a bit. It's not that bad. These tarps are covered with a vinyl coating so should last quite a while. The material is quite flexible and does not seem to hold a crease from being folded during shipping. Along the edges there is a fold and sewing, and, backing material is used in the folds to give support to the sewing. Grommets are brass, large and look sturdy. I'm pretty happy with this. Next summer, the guy who took my order (wish I knew his name...I know it's not "guy". LOL) will come to the house and take measurements for the new roof and other side panels.

Alternatives: 
The wife and I discussed all kinds of alternatives to replacing our canopy. We have a couple steel carports, but getting another would require pouring concrete runners over the septic tank drain field...both concrete and steel carport = $$$. Also, we discussed an aluminum patio covering, but because we have a one story house, and the patio itself is raised flush with the patio door, a roof over the patio would have to be attached to the roof of the house to give enough slope for drainage. The roof of the house house would have to be replaced at the same time, as it needs replacing anyway. New Roof and Patio Cover = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Thought about a Tuff Shed, but getting all the extra things I want would be expensive too, and they are not rated very high for fixing their mistakes.

Conclusion: 
The frame on our old Shelter is fine. From my experience, I'm afraid to spend more money on a whole new Costco canopy because the parts may still not fit. Having this shelter cover tailor made of a durable fabric, for the frame, the way it is assembled, seems, in the long run, to be the least hassle.

2012 Casita Liberty Deluxe Travel Trailer Toilet Cleaning Danco Shower Blaster

Well, here's another problem that most everybody deals with while trailering and I'm sure there are plenty of solutions but this one works for us, so thought I'd "pass it" along. LOL 

Problem: Keeping the toilet clean after making a deposit, or going #2, is an age old problem. The trick is to do it without using a lot of paper, water and/or making a bigger mess, especially if one is dry camping and water is a precious commodity. Repeated or prolonged flushing is not a good thing. At first, I used toilet paper in the shape of a cone to cover the inside of the toilet in our boat and that worked. Continued to use this method in the trailer, but this method just added a lot of paper to the holding tank.

Solution: Then it dawned on me, as I was perusing my local DYI store, Grovers Electrical and Plumbing store, I noticed they had a shower blaster/cleaner with quick disconnect fittings. The blaster is made by Danco and comes with six or so feet hose (not really needed) a male fitting for trailer's shower hose and two female fittings...one for the original shower hand wand and one for the blaster. This is all predicated on the idea that you have a shower hose w/hand wand connected to a wash basin with a diverter...which our bathroom (head) has. If you are not busy using the blaster, as pictured, you can swap it out and plug in the shower wand. So Simple. The quality of the Danco blaster and connectors is excellent and blaster does a good job increasing the pressure of the water, for cleaning. Be sure to take your shower wand and/or complete hose assembly to plumbing store to make sure it all fits. No sense in wasting a trip.

Conclusion: I find this blaster does the trick with a minimum of water useage and doesn't fill the black water holding tank with unnecessary amounts of toilet paper.

Happy Camping - "Wichita"

2012 Casita 17' Liberty Deluxe Travel Trailer Screen Door Slider

Think I have a solution to a cracked/broken screen slider. Have looked on line and even ordered two sliders from RVPlus.com that said their slider would fit the Casita odd size 12"x11-7/8". They were only $7.50 so I ordered two. They were made of recycled milk bottle material, so were very sturdy. They were the dimensions that they said...12"x11-7/8", but they were not flat, so they have a big gap that allows bugs in. I guess they might fit some screens but not our Casita.

Problem. The orginal clear acrylic slider was very brittle and cracked the first time the wind caught the door. The manufacturer couldn't keep up with replacing them or didn't try or changed the design, so I think lots of people out there either have cracked sliders or are making something else "do".

Solution: Went to my local plastics store in Portland, Or., that sells plastic by the sheet...Tap Plastics Inc, on Sandy Blvd. Tap Plastics stores are located throughout Washington, Oregon, and California. They cut me a piece of black ABS plastic (they also have white) 12"x11-7/8"x1/16. Had to square it off a tiny bit with a rasp, but it only cost me $1.85. Well, actually, there was a bit of extra cost, as I put a round wood drawer knob on the inside and used a piece of 1/2"x6"x1/2" "seaboard" I had left over from another project, as a stiffener on the inside...and 3 screws and fender washers. Oh, don't forget the cost of gas to/from...1 or 2 gallons. So, maybe I have $11.50 into it...and it works...and it's
durable.
After two years of "Happy Camping", this is the only thing on the trailer that has given us a problem. Loving my Casita.
Happy Trailering - Wichita

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