Solar Bunk End Covers
Popup Gizmos' cover installed onto home siding Jchannel. The channel is pressed over the roof seal gasket with roof popped up ~1'. I've undone the middle velcro restraining loop.

The cover is affixed to the channel via 3/4" velcro. I sewed the softer velcro loop to the cover and had my shoe shop sew the harder velcro hook to the backside of the channel. The cover and channel stay mated all the time; the cover gets rolled up and cinched using the 3 velcro 'belts', then stored/shoved in with the tenting along the curbside of the camper when popping down. Many details follow below.

This mod roughly doubles the cost of the covers themselves, adding ~$70 for the channel, velcro (it ain't cheap), marine-grade bungee, bungee and underbunk hooks, and the industrial sewing your typical home machine can't do.

Solar Bunk End Covers (continued)
This pix shows the roof fully popped up; it's a simple matter to reach up and release the end velcro restraining straps.

Alert: one must carefully measure all spans to determine clearances and where along the cover to position/sew the velcro that will mate to the Jchannel. This project is a multistage effort moving between the sewing room and the popped-up popup.

Solar Bunk End Covers (continued)
This pix shows the short bunk end cover fully deployed. It's anchored on the roof side via the Jchannel, on the outer edge via bungee cord, and along the sides using the little clips supplied with the cover. You can barely see in this pix the bungee extending along the Canestoga-style tent line.

There are few second chances with the sewing since the needle will leave puncture holes in the cover.

Solar Bunk End Covers (continued)
When taut the pull exerted by the bungee causes the cover to tightly conform to the roofline in what I term a bonnet.

The bungee hooks underneath the bunk end. I pop-riveted a pair of under-bunk hooks just for this purpose (the same hooks used by Coleman to anchor the tenting). You also affix hooks to the ends of the bungee. The trick is to decide how much pull is sufficient, then cut the bungee, burn its sheath end, and manipulate the hook's locking collar over the cord. There's a specific technique; if you're interested in it email me for more details.

Use marine quality bungee for UV resistance.

Jury's out on whether or not the fabric will stretch due to the bungee tension. I'm not concerned since a) I've sewn a double thickness of webbing on and b) it'd conform to the bunk end, theoretically. IMO the bonnet shape is not all that different from the default all-clip attachment although I'll agree that there's probably some outward force exerted against the cover (front to back) due to the bungee's downward pull.

Solar Bunk End Covers (continued)
Here's how the cover and Jchannel look birdseye. Notice how the short ends of the velcro belts that restrain the rolled up cover sit unobtrusively atop the cover (the long ends lay between the tenting and the underside of the cover).

Remember: easy and quick to stow and deploy, with the fewest number of pieces to separate/handle/lose (in this case, none; everything's attached).

ALERT: under high wind conditions one must take care regarding the bungee end hooks; Roll up and self-tie off the exposed bungee to avoid a poke in the eye!

The bottom pix shows the business end of the windproofed cover. The bungee secures the bonnet. Adjusting the tension (committing to trimming down to ~12' of costly bungee!) is your call. The operative principle is anti-lift; keep the wind from getting under something and restrain its effect if it does. The bonnet does the former, the clips, tightly spaced, do the latter. That's the theory, anyway. From experience I know the system fails high wind conditions without the bungee and Jchannel.

Solar Bunk End Covers (detail)
Semi-details showing how I sewed webbing onto the outer edge of the cover. I folded over 2" wide webbing and used a medium zigzag stitch, locking it every foot by going back/forth several times (I opted not to use a reinforced stitch in case I had to rip any out). I kept the bungee in place as I sewed.

The clips are a standard Coleman part, same as what's used on their tenting.

Sewing notes: if your sewing machine is not rated for heavy carpet/button thread do not use it for the topstitch (it may be ok in the bobbin); bad stitching, resembling a tension problem, will result. Use a good polyester thread. There's no need to glue either the velcro or the webbing prior to sewing; it's all easily controllable. I sewed the webbing to the top (silver) side, aligning it with the cover's edging. This because a) it was easier to see and control its orientation to the cover and b) the cover's edging provided a softer surface for the bottom stitches to grip into so I had a better chance of the stitches interlocking in the middle of a fabric sandwich rather than underneath the cover itself -- as was necessarily the case, to a certain degree, when sewing the velcro across the middle of the fabric. Velcro position will depend upon how much extra length, if any, any given cover has relative to the tenting it must cover and the Jchannel/roof bulb seal position it must anchor to.

The underbunk hook is pop riveted on in line with existing hooks.

Solar Bunk End Covers (detail)
Attaching velcro belts to stow the covers is too simple: using 1" double-sided velcro, slip it through a Jchannel slot. It'll sandwich between and stick to the 3/4" velcro stitched to the channel and the cover. Left pix shows from the front side of the channel and also reveals the shoe-shop stitching that holds the velcro on to the backside. Right pix shows exposed backside of the channel.

The long part of the belt folds over the top of the channel, back, around, and under the rolled up cover, meeting up with the "buckle" end. It's a cinch!

Not-Yet-Windproof Solar Bunk End Covers Field Test, July 03
Click this link to go to the ~30mph wind solar bunk end cover field test page.

Most-Likely-Windproof Solar Bunk End Covers Modification, August 03 Click this link to go to the heavy-duty high-windproof solar bunk end cover design page.

Inside Solar Bunk End Cover
I had Popup Gizmos make me a custom-sized bunk end cover to close off the unused 2nd bunk for cold weather camping. I hang it off my 6' rod via 4 webbing straps sewn to the cover along with velcro. I made a measurement assumption -- that the 7' width used on my outdoor covers would span the interior width -- that was wrong, and I now have to live with it. I should have made this cover 8' wide to eliminate any gaps along the sides. Nonetheless, the unused bunk stays a good 15 degrees or so colder than rest of the camper.

BunkEnd Reflectix
Dunno which Canadian dreamt this up, but inserting reflectix inside the bunk end tenting flaps goes miles toward both warming the camper at night and cooling if under hot sun. Each set of 3 stows nicely under each mattress.

Camper Body Awning Mount Brackets
Thanks to MtnCamper for modelling this mod…

Here's how the new awning mounting scheme looks! Rigid, secure, and no guy lines or staking.

As per MtnCamper's design lead, you need to obtain a 2nd set of manufacturer's drop poles and use the smaller diameter ones to extend the original equipment poles. Now, instead of a set of 2 section poles you've got a set of 3 section poles. Of course you need to drill additional adjustment holes and file the burrs off of them. Cost: ~$50–80 (depending upon whether you buy at a rural or urban dealership) plus the bracket hardware.

To carport/stake the poles as originally designed, remove and stow the 3rd section. Of course, without feet on the bottom of the larger pole they'll be subject to dirt/grit which you'll want to thoroughly clean off before using the 3 sections system again.

Camper Body Awning Mount Brackets (continued)
I fashioned brackets out of bar stock using a bench vise, hammer, grinder, and a minimal amount of controlled testosterone. Mine are a bit wider than required because a) I'm using 2 bolts to attach the bracket (no chance of the bracket rotating) and b) I wanted to use the bar stock's pre-drilled holes for the pin and for one of the 2 anchor bolts; thus I had to drill only one hole in the bar stock, for the 2nd anchor bolt.

The brackets mount to the frame skirt in line with and beside the roof lift cage. The pins come with the U-shaped wire clip attached, thus making a one-piece affair. If you use a straight pin and a safety clip, tie them together with some thin line.

I have since added rubber feet to the poles (the pins run through them too) to ensure that dirt/mud cannot enter these poles when setting up and breaking camp.

I've since added lanyards to the pins so they can't wander off inadvertantly…

I've since replaced these pins with larger ones that extend a safer distance beyond the U-brackets.

Camper Body Awning Mount Brackets (continued)
Alert! This is the acute angle the awning rail adopts when using the brackets (in the default, or "carport" deployment the poles and rail are oriented straight down). The 3 horizontal rafter poles that run between the awning bag and the rail each have a pin which inserts into a matching anchorage hole in the rail. Those holes must be elongated to accept the pins at this angle without stressing the pin. DO THIS FIRST to alleviate the risk of snapping a rafter pole pin! Better yet, run the pin mod (below)...on the breezy day I made this mod, having forgotten my carport pole anchors (concrete-filled flowerpots), and without a helper, plastic pin snapped off when one end of the awning moved toward the ground (the pole end was not anchored and slipped).

Coleman now offers a waist-high bracket, that mounts underneath the roof clamps, for their short SunShade awning. Warning: use of this mounting strategy for the main bag awning would reduce the rail angle pictured, already reduced to ~45* from 90* by another 50%, making it very acute. I do not think it wise, if even possible, to attempt to adapt the rafter/pin/rail junction to such an angle. The Carefree of Colorado Campout model bag awning, standard equipment on some popup brands, does anchor high on the sidewall. It must be engineered differently than the stock Coleman bag awning to alleviate this junction's design limitation.

The pair of yellow clips are perfect for capturing the rolled up awning — including all the poles — to prevent it from unrolling when you're working solo and need to zip or unzip the bag. A lightweight Rubbermaid stepstool is perfect to get you up to roof height as an alternative to having the awning drag around on the ground by dealing with it when the roof is low.

I've now Gooped in a 2" band of velcro to the top and bottom inside awning bag. The lower length is actually a sort of belt. I stow it under the rolled up awning. Here you see it pulled out and wrapped around and over the awning, where it contacts the mating velcro Gooped to the upper inside bag, thus keeping the awning from unrolling so I can move to the end to begin zipping the bag. I added some reinforcement stitches to the lower belt near the zipper where I felt it'd be under the most stress when functioning.

Camper Body Awning Mount Brackets (continued)
I've totally rebuilt the ends of these poles using 3/4" copper plumbing caps with 3/8" bolt shanks extending from them, eliminating the plastic parts which could preclude awning use were more than one of them fail.

These pix show the parts and end result. Since the copper is soft and I don't have a drill press, I drilled hole after hole starting with a small bit and working up to a bit just shy of the thread diameter. I forced the bolt threads to cut threads into the cap to achieve a snug fit where the bolt threads ended and the shank began; this so the shank would not pull through the hole inthe cap. I carefully measured and shortedned the bolt on both ends, first cutting the threads (spin the nut down first, use the nut to hold the thing in the bench vise, then spin it back after cutting), and cut the shank second. Use a bench grinder to finish the edges. I used a washer to reinforce the copper inside the cap and affixed the pin with a lock nut. Finally, I epoxied a rubber washer to the outside of the cap, figuring that it'd scratch the awning headrail if I left metal-to-metal contact.

The last pix shows a quick fix to stop the awning from flapping; 6' of 3/4" self-stick velcro stuck to the outer rafter poles, and how the awning fabric rolls down around the rafter by rotating the rafter pole. If you use an Add-A-Room or Screen Room (I don't) I suspect this problem takes care of itself.

Bart's Popup Buildouts Homepage


Solar Bunk End Covers Popup Gizmos' cover installed onto home siding Jchannel. The channel is pressed over the roof seal gasket with roof popped up ~1'. I've undone the middle velcro restraining loop. The cover is affixed to the channel via 3/4" velcro. I sewed the softer velcro loop to the cover and had my shoe shop sew the harder velcro hook to the backside of the channel. The cover and channel stay mated all the time; the cover gets rolled up and cinched using the 3 velcro 'belts', then stored/shoved in with the tenting along the curbside of the camper when popping down. Many details follow below. This mod roughly doubles the cost of the covers themselves, adding ~$70 for the channel, velcro (it ain't cheap), marine-grade bungee, bungee and underbunk hooks, and the industrial sewing your typical home machine can't do.
Solar Bunk End Covers (continued) This pix shows the roof fully popped up; it's a simple matter to reach up and release the end velcro restraining straps. Alert: one must carefully measure all spans to determine clearances and where along the cover to position/sew the velcro that will mate to the Jchannel. This project is a multistage effort moving between the sewing room and the popped-up popup.
Solar Bunk End Covers (continued) This pix shows the short bunk end cover fully deployed. It's anchored on the roof side via the Jchannel, on the outer edge via bungee cord, and along the sides using the little clips supplied with the cover. You can barely see in this pix the bungee extending along the Canestoga-style tent line. There are few second chances with the sewing since the needle will leave puncture holes in the cover.
Solar Bunk End Covers (continued) When taut the pull exerted by the bungee causes the cover to tightly conform to the roofline in what I term a bonnet. The bungee hooks underneath the bunk end. I pop-riveted a pair of under-bunk hooks just for this purpose (the same hooks used by Coleman to anchor the tenting). You also affix hooks to the ends of the bungee. The trick is to decide how much pull is sufficient, then cut the bungee, burn its sheath end, and manipulate the hook's locking collar over the cord. There's a specific technique; if you're interested in it email me for more details. Use marine quality bungee for UV resistance. Jury's out on whether or not the fabric will stretch due to the bungee tension. I'm not concerned since a) I've sewn a double thickness of webbing on and b) it'd conform to the bunk end, theoretically. IMO the bonnet shape is not all that different from the default all-clip attachment although I'll agree that there's probably some outward force exerted against the cover (front to back) due to the bungee's downward pull.
Solar Bunk End Covers (continued) Here's how the cover and Jchannel look birdseye. Notice how the short ends of the velcro belts that restrain the rolled up cover sit unobtrusively atop the cover (the long ends lay between the tenting and the underside of the cover). Remember: easy and quick to stow and deploy, with the fewest number of pieces to separate/handle/lose (in this case, none; everything's attached). ALERT: under high wind conditions one must take care regarding the bungee end hooks; Roll up and self-tie off the exposed bungee to avoid a poke in the eye! The bottom pix shows the business end of the windproofed cover. The bungee secures the bonnet. Adjusting the tension (committing to trimming down to ~12' of costly bungee!) is your call. The operative principle is anti-lift; keep the wind from getting under something and restrain its effect if it does. The bonnet does the former, the clips, tightly spaced, do the latter. That's the theory, anyway. From experience I know the system fails high wind conditions without the bungee and Jchannel.
Solar Bunk End Covers (detail) Semi-details showing how I sewed webbing onto the outer edge of the cover. I folded over 2" wide webbing and used a medium zigzag stitch, locking it every foot by going back/forth several times (I opted not to use a reinforced stitch in case I had to rip any out). I kept the bungee in place as I sewed. The clips are a standard Coleman part, same as what's used on their tenting. Sewing notes: if your sewing machine is not rated for heavy carpet/button thread do not use it for the topstitch (it may be ok in the bobbin); bad stitching, resembling a tension problem, will result. Use a good polyester thread. There's no need to glue either the velcro or the webbing prior to sewing; it's all easily controllable. I sewed the webbing to the top (silver) side, aligning it with the cover's edging. This because a) it was easier to see and control its orientation to the cover and b) the cover's edging provided a softer surface for the bottom stitches to grip into so I had a better chance of the stitches interlocking in the middle of a fabric sandwich rather than underneath the cover itself -- as was necessarily the case, to a certain degree, when sewing the velcro across the middle of the fabric. Velcro position will depend upon how much extra length, if any, any given cover has relative to the tenting it must cover and the Jchannel/roof bulb seal position it must anchor to. The underbunk hook is pop riveted on in line with existing hooks.
Solar Bunk End Covers (detail) Attaching velcro belts to stow the covers is too simple: using 1" double-sided velcro, slip it through a Jchannel slot. It'll sandwich between and stick to the 3/4" velcro stitched to the channel and the cover. Left pix shows from the front side of the channel and also reveals the shoe-shop stitching that holds the velcro on to the backside. Right pix shows exposed backside of the channel. The long part of the belt folds over the top of the channel, back, around, and under the rolled up cover, meeting up with the "buckle" end. It's a cinch!
Not-Yet-Windproof Solar Bunk End Covers Field Test, July 03	Click this link to go to the ~30mph wind solar bunk end cover field test page.
Most-Likely-Windproof Solar Bunk End Covers Modification, August 03	Click this link to go to the heavy-duty high-windproof solar bunk end cover design page.
Inside Solar Bunk End Cover I had Popup Gizmos make me a custom-sized bunk end cover to close off the unused 2nd bunk for cold weather camping. I hang it off my 6' rod via 4 webbing straps sewn to the cover along with velcro. I made a measurement assumption -- that the 7' width used on my outdoor covers would span the interior width -- that was wrong, and I now have to live with it. I should have made this cover 8' wide to eliminate any gaps along the sides. Nonetheless, the unused bunk stays a good 15 degrees or so colder than rest of the camper.
BunkEnd Reflectix Dunno which Canadian dreamt this up, but inserting reflectix inside the bunk end tenting flaps goes miles toward both warming the camper at night and cooling if under hot sun. Each set of 3 stows nicely under each mattress.
Camper Body Awning Mount Brackets Thanks to MtnCamper for modelling this mod… Here's how the new awning mounting scheme looks! Rigid, secure, and no guy lines or staking. As per MtnCamper's design lead, you need to obtain a 2nd set of manufacturer's drop poles and use the smaller diameter ones to extend the original equipment poles. Now, instead of a set of 2 section poles you've got a set of 3 section poles. Of course you need to drill additional adjustment holes and file the burrs off of them. Cost: ~$50–80 (depending upon whether you buy at a rural or urban dealership) plus the bracket hardware. To carport/stake the poles as originally designed, remove and stow the 3rd section. Of course, without feet on the bottom of the larger pole they'll be subject to dirt/grit which you'll want to thoroughly clean off before using the 3 sections system again.
Camper Body Awning Mount Brackets (continued) I fashioned brackets out of bar stock using a bench vise, hammer, grinder, and a minimal amount of controlled testosterone. Mine are a bit wider than required because a) I'm using 2 bolts to attach the bracket (no chance of the bracket rotating) and b) I wanted to use the bar stock's pre-drilled holes for the pin and for one of the 2 anchor bolts; thus I had to drill only one hole in the bar stock, for the 2nd anchor bolt. The brackets mount to the frame skirt in line with and beside the roof lift cage. The pins come with the U-shaped wire clip attached, thus making a one-piece affair. If you use a straight pin and a safety clip, tie them together with some thin line. I have since added rubber feet to the poles (the pins run through them too) to ensure that dirt/mud cannot enter these poles when setting up and breaking camp. I've since added lanyards to the pins so they can't wander off inadvertantly… I've since replaced these pins with larger ones that extend a safer distance beyond the U-brackets.
Camper Body Awning Mount Brackets (continued) Alert! This is the acute angle the awning rail adopts when using the brackets (in the default, or "carport" deployment the poles and rail are oriented straight down). The 3 horizontal rafter poles that run between the awning bag and the rail each have a pin which inserts into a matching anchorage hole in the rail. Those holes must be elongated to accept the pins at this angle without stressing the pin. DO THIS FIRST to alleviate the risk of snapping a rafter pole pin! Better yet, run the pin mod (below)...on the breezy day I made this mod, having forgotten my carport pole anchors (concrete-filled flowerpots), and without a helper, plastic pin snapped off when one end of the awning moved toward the ground (the pole end was not anchored and slipped). Coleman now offers a waist-high bracket, that mounts underneath the roof clamps, for their short SunShade awning. Warning: use of this mounting strategy for the main bag awning would reduce the rail angle pictured, already reduced to ~45* from 90* by another 50%, making it very acute. I do not think it wise, if even possible, to attempt to adapt the rafter/pin/rail junction to such an angle. The Carefree of Colorado Campout model bag awning, standard equipment on some popup brands, does anchor high on the sidewall. It must be engineered differently than the stock Coleman bag awning to alleviate this junction's design limitation. The pair of yellow clips are perfect for capturing the rolled up awning — including all the poles — to prevent it from unrolling when you're working solo and need to zip or unzip the bag. A lightweight Rubbermaid stepstool is perfect to get you up to roof height as an alternative to having the awning drag around on the ground by dealing with it when the roof is low. I've now Gooped in a 2" band of velcro to the top and bottom inside awning bag. The lower length is actually a sort of belt. I stow it under the rolled up awning. Here you see it pulled out and wrapped around and over the awning, where it contacts the mating velcro Gooped to the upper inside bag, thus keeping the awning from unrolling so I can move to the end to begin zipping the bag. I added some reinforcement stitches to the lower belt near the zipper where I felt it'd be under the most stress when functioning.
Camper Body Awning Mount Brackets (continued) I've totally rebuilt the ends of these poles using 3/4" copper plumbing caps with 3/8" bolt shanks extending from them, eliminating the plastic parts which could preclude awning use were more than one of them fail. These pix show the parts and end result. Since the copper is soft and I don't have a drill press, I drilled hole after hole starting with a small bit and working up to a bit just shy of the thread diameter. I forced the bolt threads to cut threads into the cap to achieve a snug fit where the bolt threads ended and the shank began; this so the shank would not pull through the hole inthe cap. I carefully measured and shortedned the bolt on both ends, first cutting the threads (spin the nut down first, use the nut to hold the thing in the bench vise, then spin it back after cutting), and cut the shank second. Use a bench grinder to finish the edges. I used a washer to reinforce the copper inside the cap and affixed the pin with a lock nut. Finally, I epoxied a rubber washer to the outside of the cap, figuring that it'd scratch the awning headrail if I left metal-to-metal contact. The last pix shows a quick fix to stop the awning from flapping; 6' of 3/4" self-stick velcro stuck to the outer rafter poles, and how the awning fabric rolls down around the rafter by rotating the rafter pole. If you use an Add-A-Room or Screen Room (I don't) I suspect this problem takes care of itself.