My Kitchen Canopy Setup

With my basic campsite laid out and set up, it was time to turn my attention to the details of setting up my “home away from home” for the week.  As I mentioned last week, the space that turned out to be m favorite was the kitchen canopy.  Actually, this ended up being so much more that the kitchen and cooking area…it really became my kitchen, living room, entertainment area, and for many meals it was my dining room. 

When looking at some other websites and YouTube videos on setting up a kitchen canopy I came across a lot of folks who prefer to use a tarp, poles, and guylines.  Tarps used in this type of set up range from the typical inexpensive tarp you can pick up at any big box store to more expensive tarps made from fabric utilizing the latest technology in moisture control.  Admittedly, the tarp and poles setup has some advantages, most notably is that it is probably a good bit lighter than my setup and could likely be packed much easier and in a smaller space.   But do you know what?  I didn’t have poles nor a spare tarp and so I stuck with an old adage, “use what you have.” 

Several years ago my wife and were vacationing in the mountains of Virginia and came across this canopy in a big box sporting goods store.  We were not really in the market for a shelter like this, but it was on sale so we thought it would be the cheapest we would probably find one and that it would be good to carry to the beach in order to have some shelter on those hot days by the ocean.  So, we bought it.  Of course, it was not until we got back to North Carolina that we began to learn that the beaches we usually visited did not allow these types of shelters.  Well, the way my mind works is at least we saved some money.  After this instant up canopy sat in our basement for a couple of years without being used, my newfound interest in getting back into camping breathed new life into this forgotten, impulse purchase.  On an overnight camping trip late last fall I simply put the shelter up.  This maybe worked OK, but it just didn’t seem particularly effective.  So that is why I had been searching online information about kitchen canopy setups. 

I came across one modification that I definitely wanted to make to this canopy in preparation for my camping trip.  This modification is thanks to Frazier Douglas, who writes “Modern Tent Camping” but also has a YouTube video under his name.  He uses a tarp and poles to make his kitchen canopy, but in addition he has a second tarp that attaches to two of the poles and slants away from the tarp, providing a wall and some additional coverage.  So, I set out to figure out how to make this set-up work with my instant up canopy.  Here is how I went about it…

The particular instant up canopy we bought was a Quest 10’ x 10’, as you can see in the picture below.  My plan was to figure out a way to attach one end of a tarp to the frame of the canopy while staking out the other end.  One word of caution…hoping you can learn from my mistake…be sure to measure the actual canopy and don’t simply take the packaging’s word on its size.  Since our canopy says it is 10’ x 10’ I went to the store and purchased a tarp that was 10’ x 12”.  But, truth in advertising being what it is, our canopy is actually 8’ x 8’.  (OK, they didn’t technically lie…it is 10’ x 10’ where the legs meet the ground.  So…you make the call!)  I found out the size difference when the first tarp I bought was too big and I had to make another run to the store. Ugh!!!

STORE PURCHASES: When I went to the store, just a typical big box store, I picked up some small carabiners.  I came up with the idea of using carabiners to do three things:

     1.      Attach the tarp to the frame of the canopy

     2.      Attach guylines to the free end of the tarp that would then connect to stakes

     3.      Attach guylines to the frame to give additional stability and safety in case there was any winds to contend with.

This meant that I needed to buy 10 carabiners (plus a couple of extras…those suckers can be handy).  Three were used to connect the tarp to the frame of the canopy, three were used to connect guylines to the free end of the tarp, and four (one on each corner) were used to connect guylines to the frame of the canopy to help give it stability.  I also bought two additional items form the store: an 8’ x 10’ tarp that proved to be the perfect size, and a thing of 550 paracord to make the guylines.

STEPS IN SETTING IT UP: (see pictures below)

1.      Three carabiners connected one end of the tarp to the frame of the canopy…one on each end and one in the middle.

     2.      Three more carabiners (one on each end and one in the middle) connected to the free end of the tarp.

     3.      I used thee pieces of 550 paracord, maybe 2 to 3 feet in length, to connect the carabiners on the free end of the tarp to the three stakes.  On one end of these short guylines I tied a simple overhand loop knot.  This was then attached to the tarp using one of the carabiners.  On the other end of the guyline I tied a taut-line hitch, which allowed me to loop it over the stake and to adjust the length of the line in order to tighten the tarp.

     4.      I then took the remaining four carabiners and attached one to each corner of the canopy’s frame.  To these I attached longer guylines (with the simple overhand loop knot on one end and a taut-line hitch on the other.)  The loop formed by the taut-line hitch is then placed over a stake and tightened to help prevent the canopy from blowing in the wind.

I used stakes, more carabiners, and pieces of 550 paracord to secure the free end of the tarp.  To the carabiner I used the piece of rope with a taughline hitch to connect to the stake.  This tautline hitch allows me to adjust the guylines and tighten the tarp as needed. 

I know it doesn’t sound like much, but this little modification to my kitchen canopy proved invaluable.  It provided some additional protection for the passing rain showers.  It provided some shade as the sun began to dip down late in the afternoon.  It provided a little wind break.  It provided a place to set up my table for cooking and food prep a little further out, which in essence made the canopy closer to a true 10’ canopy…at least on that side.  It also provided additional storage space behind the table where I was able to store things like my coolers, extension cords, and fuel for my stove and lantern.  This kept those items safe and dry from the elements but also gave me so much more room underneath the actual canopy. 

I don’t think I could have been happier with how this kitchen canopy setup worked.  It really was the hub of activity to my whole week.  It may be a little bulky to pack and carry, but in car camping there is plenty of room and well worth it.  This will definitely be a part of my car camping kit going forward.  Hope this helps give you ideas on how to set-up a kitchen canopy, or multi-use canopy, for your next camping trip. 

See you soon!

-          PJ

Small carabiners used to connect tarp to the canop.

One corner of tarp connected to canopy frame with carabiner.

Taut-line hitch to connect to stakes.

I replaced the stock stakes (on right) with the stronger stakes on left.

The angled tarp gives shade and protection from the elements.