New A frame purchaser questions

nicholjl · 08-06-2012, 02:34 PM

Hello-
My boyfriend and I are having the 2013 A122BH delivered next weekend!!!!

We both camped when we were young, but have never owned a camper, so we are both really excited and somewhat nervous! He just had to trade-in his Chevy Impala for the 6-cylinder Chevy Equinox.
I've been searching and searching online, but can't seem to find much information about a few things.
The screen room/awning - where to purchase, is it suggested to go with the manufacturer's awning, etc?
The outside shower - is there any type of rod/curtain accessory we can purchase to make that a private shower?
The door - has anyone made any modifications to the door in order to allow for a screen or partial screen?
I look forward to being a part of this community and thank you in advance for your suggestions!
Jenn

handbuilder · 08-06-2012, 02:49 PM

Congrats on your new trailer!

I saw a FR A-Frame owner put his screen room up for sale for 200 plus shipping expense (see classified section) -you can buy from a dealer, but at the time of my purchase, the awnings were selling for 600-

They are specific for the style of trailer you have. If you visit the Aliner or Chalet forum, you can also see other ideas that people have used for an awning, but none as 'custom' as the combo awning/screen room that Dometic makes for it's FR product.

I have not personally attached mine, I am pretty sure I will never use it, will just continue to use my EZ Up canopy with sidewalls due to ease and familiarity...I was put off by the thought after reading a couple owner's experiences - I dont want to struggle when I am by myself, trying to set the thing up...and the thought of a large wet dirty chunk of fabric getting pushed inside the interior of my trailer is a big turn off...of course, I live in eastern Washington (aka: the dry side) however the joke is that you can blink and the weather will change in that time...so go figure. LOL

I bought a pop up portable shower/bathroom tent for the purpose. I think it is Trekker brand, but you can readily purchase similar ones at Walmart, Cabelas, Camping World etc..I got mine at Cabelas when it was on sale.

I made a removable full length screen door using "Magic Mesh" and a bit of clever (NOT) tailoring to fit it to the exact size in height and width.

You can also see "thehamguy1" screen door on You Tube...search around under a-frame screen door..it should pop up.

I am sure others will have great ideas and input to help you get yourself set up for your adventures!

Tamara

BroncoJoeMisa · 08-06-2012, 10:13 PM

Hello there and welcome to the forum!

Someone here on the forums highly recommended the Ozark Trail shower/utility room that Walmart sells. We purchased one an agree with the recommendation. Low price and super easy set up. On our recent camping trip a cousin had bought a shower tent at Cabela's for twice as much and it was a PITA to set up. Honestly, we haven't tried the outside camper shower. We filled up a 4 gallon shower bag and set it in the sun all day. Worked perfectly in the shower tent.

Happy camping... enjoy your new trailer!

ThunderRoad · 08-07-2012, 11:02 PM

Welcome aboard from a fellow A122BH owner!

Awning: I've not heard great things about the awning, honestly. In fact, my dealer refused to sell it to me saying "you'll hate me for it and I don't want to steal your money". I skipped it and just got an EzUp canopy.

Here is a video showing how to set up the awning, and honestly it looks somewhat of a pain to set up, especially with one person, and just as much of a pain to take down and stow.

Rockwood Hard Side Option Setup Video - YouTube

Outdoor shower - You can rig up an easy privacy screen with PVC pipe and a shower curtain, and I think Coleman makes a portable screen for their sun shower as do a dozen other camping gear companies. There's nothing that comes with the camper for it, though.

Door screen: There's a few people that have come up with different ideas for modding in a screen door. Check out this video:

Screen Door And Other Ideas For A-frame Camper - YouTube

My first recommended accessory - a BAL Leveler. Best money I ever spent on an accessory. I rigged up a holder for the rear bumper to carry it.

Rear mount for BAL Leveler on Rockwood AFrame Camper - YouTube

My second recommended accessory - simple interior shelving because working space inside is at a premium.

Simple interior shelving for AFrame Camper - YouTube

handbuilder · 08-16-2012, 01:58 PM

Did you bring home your new trailer yet? Excited for you two! Love to see pictures!

backpacker3 · 08-16-2012, 05:36 PM

Congrats on the new A-Frame.

toleworks · 08-16-2012, 07:47 PM

I would at least do one short trip and you will learn what you need. I think too many unnecessary items are purchased and go unused by inexperienced campers.

threegeeks · 08-20-2012, 08:31 PM

We tried the screen room/patio (came with the camper) and it was such a pain to put up/take down so we decided not to ever do that again.The screen room doesn't screen the bugs out, they come in from the bottom area at the entrance of the camper. The bugs also love the glues on the back of the velcro, so we have lots of them hanging out with us in the screen room. It was kinda nice to have the extra space but too much work.

nicholjl · 08-29-2012, 11:43 AM

Thank you for all of the tips!!!!!

nicholjl · 08-29-2012, 11:46 AM

Thank you to everyone for all of your suggestions! We are taking our maiden voyage this weekend and are going to make notes of what we want, need, etc. After hearing everyone's input and watching the screen-room video, we are NOT going with the one that comes with the camper. We're just going to get one of those pop-up canopies. I think we're also going to get that hanging screen-magnet thing to make a scree door. And we will probably get/make a shower-type enclosure for next year. Thank you all SO much for all of the information. The camping community seems extremely helpful, friendly and knowledgable so we're excited to become a part of it!
Jenn & Mike

Maranatha · 09-17-2012, 08:20 PM

I had read a write up somewhere on the screen room and the fellow said he and his wife almost divorced over setting the screen room up and then they never used it again.

Maranatha · 09-17-2012, 08:21 PM

By the way... Excellent post Thunder Road!

jmfpanzerman · 09-26-2012, 01:44 PM

Welcome aboard!!! When we decided to get serious about the A-Frame we, at least on the east coast here, noticed how rare they are. Ofcourse the Aliner was usually everyone's first exposure to this type of camper. On Yahoo Groups, I belong to the Aliner group. There is a bunch of interior setup suggestions that helped us out and gave us ideas. You may want to try there. Hope this helps. Happy Camping!!!

You may also like: