Wow, thanks for all the kudos! Loving it.
This rig continues to be my favorite on this site :beer: I can also appreciate that you have almost the same hobbies as I do! There's something awesome about being able to duck into a nice warm area to change out of a wetsuit when it's snowing outside. In Virginia, most of the best kiting is during the winter, and up until now I've changed in the parking lot, freezing my butt off. I'm definitely looking forward to building something similar to this for my next big project. :victory:
Dang! That is awesome. Thanks. I am super happy with it and yes, I went through all the standing in the rain with a partial removed wetsuit with people starting at me wondering why I was doing what I was doing, haha. But yeah, roll up, pop the top, turn on heater, hop in relax, change into wetsuit away from prying eyes. Go have session and do the reverse of the arrival afterwards. It is pretty amazing actually. One thing that is pretty funny that I didn't foresee happening. When you change in the parking lot in the cold, you change pretty darn fast. No mucking about. In the rig, usually one person hops in to change and the other person shoots the **** while waiting for the change room. (although we have had three inside at once changing. It was a game of avert your eyes :sombrero
. What ends up happening, is that is it so toasty and warm in there, you sort of slow down and take your time and warm your feet etc. so the person outside sometimes has to knock on the door to get the person moving. Warm and comfortable slows everything down. This isn't an issue, but we always give each other a hard time for the sloth pace.
One question I had was how well does it retain heat? It appears to be uninsulated, and was thinking that it would quickly become an oven or an icebox.
It has insulation in the walls and the roof. The side walls do have those massive windows though and the fabric is only single layer. We do have sunbrella covers for the lower glass windows though, so that sort of acts like a mini insulator. I don't have an R value for you, but it is actually pretty well temp regulated in there. The upper windows have a screen, a clear plastic screen and a privacy screen. In the sun, if you have the privacy screens facing the sun closed and the other sides open to screen, it stays pretty cool inside. In the cold, the heater runs and does a great job at keeping it warm.
One thing that isn't insulated, that I will be doing in the future, is the floor. It gets pretty chilly in the winter on your feet, but the heater puts out enough heat make up for it. :ylsmoke: It hasnt' been a big deal though as it doesn't really get below freezing for too many days in a row, so I just keep my socks on a little longer haha.
We have camped in about 25° weather in Spokane. The heater was running, but it was comfy to sleep with sleeping bags and there wasn't any of condensation with the roof vent running.
I have taken midday naps in Hood River in about 95°+ and been very comfortable, no sleeping bag needed then though.
Overall though, living in the NW, it is pretty temperate, so I don't know if I am a good litmus test for the rest of the continent, but I have not been unhappy with the internal temperatures during my travels. I would say floor insulation and double layer fabric would help though in more extreme conditions.
Thanks!