We just purchased a travel trailer and I went through the catalog of accessories available for camping. Saw lots of stuff I'd like to have!

We saw an "outdoor room" that attaches to the awning mechanism. When you come out the door of your trailer, you walk into this room. You can have rolldown "solid" walls or open them up for a screened in area.

These look like the ideal answer for us since we have dogs. Would allow them to be outdoors (w/us) but contained, but (a) are they as good as they look? and ( how easy/difficult are they to put up and take down?

Thank you in advance for your help.

I'd be interested in this too. Reason we have not gone with attached rooms is wind. But we don't stay put for long periods where you would take the time to secure things. We almost always roll awning in when we go out. We travel in a motorhome. Have seen many, many bursts of wind/rain take an awning out

jmo

I too had thought about the screen room but most of my trips are short weekend trips so I doubt I would use it very much. I did get one of the "instant shade" set ups with a screen room attachment and find it's easier to use. I have seen people use small portable yard pens "they use them for babies" and They seem to be popular for small dogs. Also something you need to check on is if the campgrounds will allow 4 dogs and if there is a extra charge for them. I have heard some charge some don't. I have one dog and hav'nt had any problems yet. The ones I use don't but Some fellow rv'ers have said some parks do charge or are onlying allowing certain breeds. Keep us posted on how things go. As for looking around without pulling your TT I do it all the the time while looking at new campgrounds also I keep a log on where I've been the name, likes,dislikes site#''s etc..... so I can "know" where I'll be coming back too. Good Luck

The outdoor rooms are not as "enclosed as they look. Especially if you are intending to secure dogs. They, as a rule, do not enclose the area under the TT and that allows an escape route for your canine supervisors.

They are nice in the event of mild, low wind, inclement weather and if you are setting up for an extended time in a benign environment.

In general I have found them more trouble than convenience for short trips when the weather is nice. Might be a nice accessory in the Pacific Northwest.

Good Luck,

I looked into getting one of those rooms myself. We also camp with our 4 dogs but luckily they are well trained and very friendly. I had never thought about the access on the camper side if the screen houses cover around the bottom of the camper. My biggest concern was how well the screen house would hold up to an 80 pound golden retriever who wanted to go play or follow mommy and daddy somewhere.

We got one a couple of years ago and used it once! It's pretty hard to put up, it's expensive (ours was $700 not counting installation), and any amount of wind is a problem. We also bought a Coleman screen room that is freestanding and uses a frame that is shock-corded together and sets up in about ten minutes. It also cost around $100. I would recommend that instead.

We purchased a screened room for our camper when we were living in it waiting for our home to be built. It worked out well for the time. It had skirting all the way around even under the camper. Our dog was tied up and survived the stay on the porch. We were working at the time. We moved into our house and never used it again. Too much trouble to install on short trips.
We plan on purchasing a screen room for next years travels. A lot cheaper way to go.
TTYL, Oldcutup

Thanks to all for the input. It sounds like the consensus is the rooms are not worth the money or effort for the kind of short camping trips we would be making. What we did on our recent trip was take roll-up plastic fencing and attached it to fencing poles with zip-ties, put the fencing around the camper. It was not sturdy enough to keep the dogs in if they were intent on getting out, but if one managed to push out the camper door, they would be contained until we could get them on a leash. It worked well. When time to leave, we clipped the zip-ties, rolled up the fencing and pulled up the poles. Still some work, but not nearly what you guys describe with the room and wind was not a factor.

Thanks for keeping us from spending the bucks!