Canopies?

DP200248721

DP200248721

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Those of you who are mobile, do you use a pop-up canopy? if so, what size is best 10x10, 10x15, 10x20? i'm looking for one that i can haul around with me on mobile details so i have less issues with the CA heat and sun during the summer... please post pics if possible.

Thanks in advance,
Spencer
 
I think that's a great question and something I've wondered myself.

Detailing inside or in the shade is much different and preferred than in the sun. Many product also indicate not to be used in direct sun and this is certainly something for the mobile detailer to consider.

Many of the Poorboy's World product are sun safe and others as well but personally I like working out of the direct sun. I think it's better for the job and certainly better for me...:props:
 
I have a 12x12 (I think, it may be 10X10) canopy that I bring with me when I go mobile. I honest don't like using it if I don't have to. It's great when you have no shade at all, but with the sun moving through out the day it's tough to keep the car actually in the shade completely. Since it doesn't cover the car completely and you have to move it and then let the car cool off (on those really hot days). If you are going to invest in one, I'd suggest getting one that will cover the car completely. Makes it much easier and you don't have to move the canopy or the car in the middle of your detail. My canopy wasn't purchased for my detailing, but I use it for it now.

I personally prefer to pull the car onto a shady spot in the grass (as long as the owners don't mind). Even when I work from my home I pull the cars around the back of my house and in the shade. I have a 1 car garage but like working outside much better.

But like I said it does come in handy when you have no other options and working in the shade is always better than working in the sun. The one I have is easily transportable. Don't know what your mode of transportation is when you go mobile, but it will fit in just about any trunk. They are a pain to set up by yourself as well At least mine is. I can do it, but it takes me some time.
 
Two brand names of canopies that I have are: 1) EZ-Up Canopies 10x15 ; and 2) Quik Shade Weekender 10x10(shown below). Both are fairly light weight , have a rollaround bag, stakes, offer optional leg/feet weights, and fold down to 57" and 48" respectively. The 10x15 is mostly for at home use, rather unweidly (although I can do it--whew--I usually have a helper for set-up). I take the 10x10 everywhere, and it is easy to
set-up and move around. I caution you, if I may, be careful if you would use these on windy days. Nothing like watching not only your canopy flying around the neiborhood, but your profits blowing away with it. Make sure you stake 'em or weight 'em!!!
If interested, California Car Covers Co. sells canopies and you can always go to EZ-Up's and Quik Shade's web sites. I got mine on Ebay at a ridiculously reduced price.
 
12x12 is the absolute min size you want to get. I have the 12x12. I wish I had a 12x15. I can cover the width but am always a few feet short on the length. I had started strapping a tarp to extend it but that sbt. In the early morning you have to literally put the canopy up next to the car. I actually leave two legs down and the two closest to the car go up all the way. This covers it in shade.

If I was a mobile detailer I would probably buy 2 12x12s or 12x15s
 
One of my biggest concerns with portable canopies is having one get away from me causing damage to the vehicle or someone elses or both.
 
BobbyG said:
One of my biggest concerns with portable canopies is having one get away from me causing damage to the vehicle or someone elses or both.
Click to expand...

Like I said: "Stake 'em or weight 'em" (and if damages occur you'll find out there's no way to placate 'em)!!!
 
This baby is 10x20 and is pretty manageable with two people ;) It fits easy lengthwise in a 6" truck bed, actually quite compact. But heavy! And although I have raised it by myself, I would not want to do it again by myself.

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There is no weight that will hold this down at winds over 10 mph. Marc and I almost went for a glide down the block one day trying to put this up. We ended up working on the car in halves to be able to work in shade.
 
Canopies can be a good thing, but there are (potential) drawbacks. A few things to note:
  1. Straight Leg vs. Slant Leg - this referes to the upright legs on the canopy. Straight legs would be vertical, slant legs are tilted inward at the top. a 10'x10' canopy in slant leg form effectively gives you only ~8'x8' of canopy. Gotta love how they market things.
  2. As noted above, always weight and/or stake it - most canopies I have seen come with stakes knowing this. I believe I read a great tip from Mike Phillips somewhere on here about a technique for weighting -use 5 gal. buckets filled with water, bungied to the legs. The water acts as the weight and the bungies allow it to rise/flex a little as needed.
  3. Pay attention to the size of the canopy - I went with a straight leg 12'x12' King Canopy and am glad I did. I feel if I went any larger I would not want to tackle erecting it myself. Don't want to take chances on clients cars. Having (2) 10'x10' might be another great option to keep things portable and versatile.
I use a 12'x12' straight leg King Canopy which works great for me. I wanted to keep it portable and be able to put it up and take it down by myself. It also has good coverage. I am, however, going to purchase a sidewall for it for extra shade.

After I purchased my canopy last year I've already been planning on using it as a vendor booth setup for car shows this year. It's a way I can maximize the use of my investment. I'm really excited about the possibilities.

Another thing of note concerning the wind against canopy saga: they do have "vented" canopies. How well these work, idk. But they do exist and are out there.

Happy Detailing ;)
 
Thanks everyone, i mainly detail outta my own garage(3-car so plenty of room) but every once and a while while my friends are either Flying, deployed, or on their way back home(Air Force) they ask if i can come by the house and do their car, only reason i'm remotely interested in a canopy, its more of a luxury then a need, but definetly thanks for all the information, i'll be looking into the companies mentioned once i'm home from my own deployment, 2 months to go!!! coming on this site just makes the days pass faster and i learn something new every day... Thanks again

Spencer
 
SeaJay's said:
I have a 12x12 (I think, it may be 10X10) canopy that I bring with me when I go mobile. I honest don't like using it if I don't have to. It's great when you have no shade at all, but with the sun moving through out the day it's tough to keep the car actually in the shade completely. Since it doesn't cover the car completely and you have to move it and then let the car cool off (on those really hot days). If you are going to invest in one, I'd suggest getting one that will cover the car completely. Makes it much easier and you don't have to move the canopy or the car in the middle of your detail.
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more.


Sent using Tapatalk
 
I have two 10'x15' canopies that after putting up and taking down a few times, I decided to leave them up all summer. I lost my big shade tree out front so I needed something that I could work on my cars with, especially black ones. I anchored them with 5 gallon buckets of water on each leg and a bungy cord and I also tied it down and staked it. The covers faded from being up all the time, but it made it through several summer storms with no problems.

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Mustang.jpg

Navigator.jpg
 
Moved to Detailing 101, the "Hot Topics" forum isn't really for questions, that's what the Detailing 101 forum group is for... if this thread becomes a "Hot Topic" then we can move it to the Hot Topics forum group.


:)
 
As posted here,

Flying shade canopy! learning the hard way


Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
I've used canopies in a lot of windy situations and one way to anchor a canopy down is to use 5 gallon buckets filled with water, since water is 8 pounds a gallon these will weigh roughly 40 pounds and then attach them to the horizontal polls using Bungee Cords.

Don't make the Bungee connection too tight as you want some stretch for a strong gust or it will just tip your buckets over.

Then after the job you can empty the buckets, place them inside one another and if you're a mobile detail, pack up and go home.


Not a perfect solution but it does work...
Click to expand...


One benefit to using buckets of water for holding down the canopy is that since you dump the water out after you take the canopy down, you don't have to haul around the water weight in your rig.

Stakes can work if you have solid ground to drive the stakes into but that's not always an option and dragging around heavy objects means lifting them up and down, (taxing your back muscles), as well as the weight/fuel economy factor.

Buckets are light and stack inside one another.

:)
 
I recently purchased two 12x12 EZ-UP canopies. Can't say I've used them yet cause it's winter...but I did a lot of research, and the EZ-UP brand seems to be the way to go. Whether or not you need a 10x10, or 12x12...I'm not sure. I figured more space would be easier. The 10x10s seem to not leave a lot of space to work.
 
I seen a post on autopia where someone bought 180 dollar one and he left it outside while he was eating lunch. Wind blew it away and whole thing looked like a mess.

Are there canopies that is strong enough to hold up some wind in spring/fall?

I would prob get one if I can find something strudy and not expensive.
 
slickooz said:
I seen a post on autopia where someone bought 180 dollar one and he left it outside while he was eating lunch. Wind blew it away and whole thing looked like a mess.

Are there canopies that is strong enough to hold up some wind in spring/fall?

I would prob get one if I can find something strudy and not expensive.
Click to expand...

Even though I have two canopies (10x15 & 10x10), I will not leave them unattended fearing the dreaded "blown away" scenario. The best canopy I've found that rarely gets blown around/away is called a awning--and it's usually attached to a structure---not ideal for mobile detailers though. LOL

You can find the 'commercial' and 'professional' grades of canopies that will weigh more than the recreational grades. These will cost at least 3x or 4x times as much (you'll probably need an assistant and his stipend) and you should, IMO, still stake 'em, weight 'em, and never leave 'em unattended whilst the wind doth blow.
 
Looks like its very time cusuming. When I do my car I usually pull it under a larger tree infront of my house. But when I go to people I have to think of something esle.

When product says work out of sun, can I work in the sun if the surface is cooled?
 
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