Hi Troy
I have looked at most awnings and side tents. But most of them that
attach to a Pop top tent trailer require height that just is not
available for the Vanagon guys.
I tried to make a ladder type attachment to use some of the most
popular side tents to offer a less expensive side tent, Screen room option.
Nothing seem to fit the bill without costing more then the tent itself.
Attaching to a raingutter is not feasible in my opinion since it is
just to low to do anything.
I have a few tents. Some for bays and one for the Vanagon. I also
have my 80x120 awning that I made side walls for.
Most Polyesters and Nylons Under 450 D is light windbreaker fabric
fine for a jacket but high winds even with ripstop is a bit flimsy.
I did have a fabric for Years called triton. It was a 6.5 oz boat
cover fabric with a 3 year warranty on it. But that is 3 years of
24/7 use. most polyesters and nylons will not come close but they are
lucky to be used for 3 weeks a year. So over kill is what I tend to
lean toward.

I do like a full frame tent for strength and durability. But they are
expensive compared to chinese import mass tents that are made
inexpensive. I think the European side tents are made in Turkey,
actually the ONE I saw was. They could be made in other coutries as well.
Many years ago I use to use a 10x10 ez up. worked great with side
screens. I made a gutter that would attach to the van and to the ez
up to funnel water away from the opening.
After the easy up caught bit of wind and turned into a broken spider
I decided it had to be attached to the van since the van will not
flip over as easy as the easy up.

I also started using Earth Anchors  http://fanchers.com/283/The%20Claw.htm
Which are Great!!

All in good fun!
Jonce

>Hi Peter:
>
>I do a little bit of canvas sewing on the side, mostly to amuse
>myself whenever I can't find something commercially made that suits
>the bill.  With that said, I know a little bit about fabrics, and
>have also looked at various offerings of side tents.
>
>I think there's no question that the most durable side tent on the
>market is the one that bus Depot offers.  It also weighs in at 70
>pounds, so it's a beast. Reimo makes some excellent tents that can
>be ordered by Euro camper. They are expensive, but are very popular
>in Europe. The BD side tent I believe is from the same company.
>
>I can tell you that 185 denier fabric is fairly lightweight
>stuff.  I think it's okay for the sides of tents to keep the weight
>down, but it's not the most durable fabric out there.  I think this
>is one of the reasons that go westy says that their tent is not
>waterproof or designed for inclement weather.
>
>In many ways I think you would just be better off with a EZ up, and
>I know a lot of list members use them.  Another option would be a
>genuine Westfalia tent, very similar to the bus Depot offering.  If
>you do a search on the samba for side tents I think there's one for sale.
>
>Personally, I modified a Dometic cabana awning, but not something I
>recommend unless you do your own sewing. Dometic sells something
>called an R-dome that is designed for teardrop trailers.  I modified
>one with a second arch to fit the vanagon.  It's unfortunate Dometic
>doesn't make something like this available for the Vanagon as it's
>the best of both worlds.  Heavyweight top, lightweight sides, screen
>room, roll up sides, about 8' x 10' in dimension.  Here's what it
>looks like on a pop-up trailer at
>least.
>http://picasaweb.google.com/103401395926284414016/CabanaAwning?authkey=Gv1sRgCI6n0MSwrYqXAg&feat=directlink&gsessionid=zg2mPx3oXskhRgKz4_yt-Q#5365799548653473554
>
>Sorry no pics on the vanagon, but it fits well after the
>mods.  You'll have to wait till spring if you want to see some
>pictures;) It's about 27 below here in alaska, and don't think I'll
>be setting up the side tent!
>
>Lastly, there's a number of regular awnings out there that you can
>attach walls too. Check out http://www.campinglab.com/awningacc.html
>for example of this.
>
>I guess it's nice to see that Go Westy is at least offering
>something, but doesn't look very robust or large.
>
>Troy