Hitch mounted umbrella - here's a good option

[TickTock]

I am always blown away by people thinking this kind of stuff is an answer to a problem. I put this right up there with the incredibly stupid tent attachments that go on the rear of an open hatchback or truck bed, or on racks over the truck bed. This means you have to break camp every time you want to use your vehicle - or in this case, take down the umbrella. Perfectly good tents (far better in my opinion) and umbrellas exist that DON'T REQUIRE ATTACHMENT TO A VEHICLE. This provides far more flexibility when vehicle camping - leave the tent/umbrella behind at your base location and actually use the vehicle to explore, etc. Stand-alone tents and umbrellas simply make more sense - and will actually work at places where you cannot take a vehicle.

This is a solution looking for a problem. As both PT Barnum and Abe Lincoln said “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” Or more rudely put by Barnum: “There's a sucker born every minute." Or Twain's cogent observation: “It's Easier to Fool People Than It Is to Convince Them That They Have Been Fooled.”

Not every outing is a multi-day event. You make a valid case for camping and I agree a separate pop-up is a lot more versatile for that. However this looks very useful for other cases (daytrips, target practice in the desert, beach, tailgating, etc).

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[dalton108]

Not every outing is a multi-day event. You make a valid case for camping and I agree a separate pop-up is a lot more versatile for that. However this looks very useful for other cases (daytrips, target practice in the desert, beach, tailgating, etc).

?

 

[PungoteagueDave]

Not every outing is a multi-day event. You make a valid case for camping and I agree a separate pop-up is a lot more versatile for that. However this looks very useful for other cases (daytrips, target practice in the desert, beach, tailgating, etc).

I don't want to be argumentative, but I did not say multi-day - just the idea that making a vehicle immobile with one of these attachments eliminates its utility as a vehicle - and is completely unnecessary - because perfectly good (even better) freestanding alternatives exist for a fraction of the money that do the exact same thing and can be used in places where the CT cannot go.

 

[Biddi]

What does it look like when collapsed? Does it fit in the bed easily?

It folds down into a golf bag size…comes with a bag.

 

[RM Rilke]

I am always blown away by people thinking this kind of stuff is an answer to a problem. I put this right up there with the incredibly stupid tent attachments that go on the rear of an open hatchback or truck bed, or on racks over the truck bed. This means you have to break camp every time you want to use your vehicle - or in this case, take down the umbrella. Perfectly good tents (far better in my opinion) and umbrellas exist that DON'T REQUIRE ATTACHMENT TO A VEHICLE. This provides far more flexibility when vehicle camping - leave the tent/umbrella behind at your base location and actually use the vehicle to explore, etc. Stand-alone tents and umbrellas simply make more sense - and will actually work at places where you cannot take a vehicle.

This is a solution looking for a problem. As both PT Barnum and Abe Lincoln said “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” Or more rudely put by Barnum: “There's a sucker born every minute." Or Twain's cogent observation: “It's Easier to Fool People Than It Is to Convince Them That They Have Been Fooled.”

Apparently you are unfamiliar with Slickrock. Stand alone anything gets destroyed in Moab. Chairs mark campsites out here. That umbrella is a thing of beauty.

 

[dalton108]

Apparently you are unfamiliar with Slickrock. Stand alone anything gets destroyed in Moab. Chairs mark campsites out here. That umbrella is a thing of beauty.

Bingo!

Limited imagination, limited experience, unlimited condescension. Perfect post if the aim was to be a total jack-?!

10/10. No notes.

The utility of the CT is to get me to where I want to be. The utility of a rooftop tent is to give me somewhere to sleep that isn’t an unprotected truck bed or an unsuitable interior. But, I suppose I could just set up a nice “far superior” unattached tent right down on the sand and provide a convenient room for myself, my dogs, maybe a few rattlesnakes, some kangaroo mice and some scorpions. If I’m lucky, I might pick up a little hantaviris while I’m wallowing around down there!

Also, strange as it may seem, I’m not typically in the habit of sleep driving (so moving the damn car while I’m sleeping on top of it in a tent really isn’t a problem) and rarely, if ever, do I need a sun-shade … at night …when I’m sleeping. ?

It’s almost as if I could get up in the morning, fold up my tent in 45 seconds and drive off to do whatever adventure I wanted to do for the day and then, because of the magic of the steering wheel, I can go back to where I started if I wanna sleep in the same place, or ? go to an entirely different location and set up there! ?

?

 

[Fugue]

If you already have a patio umbrella, you can get a hitch-mount umbrella holder for under $100.

Then put some ice and drinks in the under-bed storage and you have a sweet tailgate party.

 

[koolio]

If you already have a patio umbrella, you can get a hitch-mount umbrella holder for under $100.

Then put some ice and drinks in the under-bed storage and you have a sweet tailgate party.

Oh good to know. These look like a decent option. An example: https://camcooutdoors.com/camco-hitch-mount-umbrella-holder/

 

[Biddi]

If you already have a patio umbrella, you can get a hitch-mount umbrella holder for under $100.

Then put some ice and drinks in the under-bed storage and you have a sweet tailgate party.

If you look at my profile pic…that’s what it looked like.with the patio umbrella next to it. When that’s all I had at the beech. This thing is huge in comparison and I can swing the long part to where I want the shade.
I haven’t put on the side of the umbrella yet, I’ll try that next time and maybe I’ll also tie it down to the attachment points in the bed…And see i

 

[RUREDEIAM]

This is what we use on our Cyberbeast.
$109.99 15ft. X9ft. Umbrella https://a.co/d/eZsq9rP
$57.99 hitch mount umbrella holder
https://a.co/d/grarM5G

 

[dalton108]

This is what we use on our Cyberbeast.
$109.99 15ft. X9ft. Umbrella https://a.co/d/eZsq9rP
$57.99 hitch mount umbrella holder
https://a.co/d/grarM5G

You win! I just can’t imagine any way to justify spending 10 times more (without trying this first) although I’m afraid this thing is going to get wiped out in the first serious wind but, if it does, I’ll buy 10 more.

 

[pricedm]

Apparently you are unfamiliar with Slickrock. Stand alone anything gets destroyed in Moab. Chairs mark campsites out here. That umbrella is a thing of beauty.

Exactly....for Moab and other car-camping, I'd buy this at $500. But >3x is out of my budget...

 

[dalton108]

Exactly....for Moab and other car-camping, I'd buy this at $500. But >3x is out of my budget...

I just ordered the a version of option posted by @RUREDEIAM above and am looking forward to trying it out. I’m worried about weight and size but if it works I think it’ll be a reasonable compromise. Should have it by Sunday and I’ll share whatever I learn.

It’s about to get hot out here in the desert southwest (90 next week) and if it comes down to it I’ll spend the money for the original post; here, shade is an imperative if you want to be out between dawn and dusk.

I’ll spend what I need to.

 

[dalton108]

Well, I couldn’t decide whether it made sense to post a new thread for this or share it here and I hope I made the right choice I don’t want to be hijacking, so, if somebody thinks I should move this I’m happy to do it … BUT, the dirt cheap option (this + that ) came in today and never have I been so happy to have not spent nearly $2000 an umbrella!!!!

One main benefits of OP’s option (besides what looks like incredible build quality) is that the offset nature of the canopy means that it probably won’t interfere with my rooftop tent when aligned parallel to the vehicle, but that’s probably just a simple matter of turning it perpendicular. I really won’t know until my MarsAG tent arrives (hopefully soon!).

I did order the original one posted by @RUREDEIAM above, but I found a similar one in light gray and I like the aesthetics of that next to the truck. I did keep the blue one with the added benefit of my wife thinking that I got all of this because I knew she would like a bigger shade for this summer!

So, added bonus, the divorce is on hold again! We’ll see how it goes when my UP order arrives. ?

 

[hemiarch]

How does it all fit in the bed folded? Looks awesome btw

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