Another Pop-Up Canopy Thread - Opinions Needed Please

[kudzu]

The canopy you linked is of a size that could often be quite nice. It is also long & heavy enough to make erecting more difficult than a 10x10, especially if you ever have to do it by yourself. It's heavy enough to make getting it into & out of the tear drop more of a hassle. None of that may apply to your situation. Just thought it worth mentioning. Not knowing the brand I cannot comment on how well it's built or how strong it may be. It appears to be constructed similarly to my EZ Up which has proven to be quite sturdy.

We have a 10 year old, 8x8 First Up like BobHenry's and a 4 year old, 10x10 EZ UP Pyramid II. Both have been through multiple situations with sustained winds of 20+ MPH and gusts of 40+ MPH. Neither were damaged while some other peoples canopies were shredded or sent flying away. It isn't what I'd suggest doing but when you have a vendor booth set up at a weekend event & leave for the night you sometimes aren't given a choice.

For anchoring I've found the heavy duty stakes marketed by EZ UP work extremely well with my 10x10 EZ UP. Can be had in sets of 4 or 6.
http://smile.amazon.com/E-Z-UP-Stakes-Set-6/dp/B002VUBC7M These are 14" long & very sturdy, we pound them in with a 4 lb hammer. In addition, we use tie downs and weights, 20-40 lbs per leg. With the new (to me) camper I will tie down one side to the camper itself, similar to BobHenry. The other side will still be done my usual way. Weights have varied over the year from 40 lb cinder blocks to multiple 20 lb kettle bells to several gallons of water per leg.

Remember that wind blown canopies can badly damage vehicles and injury people. At a dog event, one participant had her canopy fly up & crash into her SUV causing $2000 damage. Thankfully the dog crates were sturdy enough to protect the dogs when the legs of the canopy hit the crates. Thankfully no humans were close enough to be hit.

Edit: Forgot to add that having full sidewalls can be a double edged sword in winds. If you have them all zipped fully shut it greatly limits the amount of wind that can get up under the canopy, reducing lift. At the same time though, those walls can act a bit like sails. Still, my EZ UP seems to fair wind better with the sidewalls all zipped up than without the sidewalls.

[Shadow Catcher]

We have three tarps Two Kelty Car Tarps and a custom tarp made for us by Pahaque Design. All attach to Kedar rail on three sides of the tear.
The poles are light weight and the tarps pack up nicely.

[shootr]

We have three tarps Two Kelty Car Tarps and a custom tarp made for us by Pahaque Design. All attach to Kedar rail on three sides of the tear.
The poles are light weight and the tarps pack up nicely.

Me and the Mrs. would love to use the Keder rails but my concern is: I didn't build this trailer so I am not 100% sure what wood and reinforcements are in it and I'm extremely hesitant putting holes in her. Maybe after we get some trips on it then we'll consider doing the rails - ever since I got interested in ttt they were high on my list because they make the most sense to me.

[shootr]

The canopy you linked is of a size that could often be quite nice. It is also long & heavy enough to make erecting more difficult than a 10x10, especially if you ever have to do it by yourself. It's heavy enough to make getting it into & out of the tear drop more of a hassle. None of that may apply to your situation. Just thought it worth mentioning. Not knowing the brand I cannot comment on how well it's built or how strong it may be. It appears to be constructed similarly to my EZ Up which has proven to be quite sturdy.

We have a 10 year old, 8x8 First Up like BobHenry's and a 4 year old, 10x10 EZ UP Pyramid II. Both have been through multiple situations with sustained winds of 20+ MPH and gusts of 40+ MPH. Neither were damaged while some other peoples canopies were shredded or sent flying away. It isn't what I'd suggest doing but when you have a vendor booth set up at a weekend event & leave for the night you sometimes aren't given a choice.

For anchoring I've found the heavy duty stakes marketed by EZ UP work extremely well with my 10x10 EZ UP. Can be had in sets of 4 or 6.
http://smile.amazon.com/E-Z-UP-Stakes-Set-6/dp/B002VUBC7M These are 14" long & very sturdy, we pound them in with a 4 lb hammer. In addition, we use tie downs and weights, 20-40 lbs per leg. With the new (to me) camper I will tie down one side to the camper itself, similar to BobHenry. The other side will still be done my usual way. Weights have varied over the year from 40 lb cinder blocks to multiple 20 lb kettle bells to several gallons of water per leg.

Remember that wind blown canopies can badly damage vehicles and injury people. At a dog event, one participant had her canopy fly up & crash into her SUV causing $2000 damage. Thankfully the dog crates were sturdy enough to protect the dogs when the legs of the canopy hit the crates. Thankfully no humans were close enough to be hit.

Edit: Forgot to add that having full sidewalls can be a double edged sword in winds. If you have them all zipped fully shut it greatly limits the amount of wind that can get up under the canopy, reducing lift. At the same time though, those walls can act a bit like sails. Still, my EZ UP seems to fair wind better with the sidewalls all zipped up than without the sidewalls.

At 80lbs it is a heavy sucker but there will always be two of us or more if it gets used. I have to believe that ratchet straps to the trailer, truck, and/or my kettlebells (handy suckers, aren't they!) would keep it reeled in - We've lived with monsoon storms all our lives so we're used to managing high winds trying to blow our umbrellas, patio furniture, etc. into the next neighborhood.