Is the visor worth it?

[JBP]

Just purchased my first camper and chose the 2019 Basecamp X model. Ordered the visor, but was curious if anyone had any experience with it. Does it work and is it worth the money, or have you had success with something else?

[BC18]

My wife and I really enjoy the side tent. We use it as a screen porch. It doubles your living space. Holds up well in the rain.

[dgirvin]

Originally Posted by BC18

My wife and I really enjoy the side tent. We use it as a screen porch. It doubles your living space. Holds up well in the rain.

Good info! I’m picking my BCX up in 10 days and ordered it with both tents. You mentioned that the side tent holds up well in the rain. Do you thinks it’s good enough to use for guests to sleep in or does it leak in heavy rain?

[BC18]

We recommend guests bring their own tent so the side tent can be used as a gathering area. Besides, every tent will eventually leak. Be careful to pick a spot where water flows away, not under your tent. I guess blow up mattress is useful here as well.

[dgirvin]

Originally Posted by BC18

We recommend guests bring their own tent so the side tent can be used as a gathering area. Besides, every tent will eventually leak. Be careful to pick a spot where water flows away, not under your tent. I guess blow up mattress is useful here as well.

Will do. Thanks!

[LABC]

Used the visor my first and only time (just haven't been out again since the first use) in a very hard downpour weekend. The visor never had an issue that wasn't caused by my errors in setup. The reason I bought it was so I could leave the side window open during rain for ventilation and it achieved that objective. Super hard rain and not a drop of water hit the window that I could tell. I even went outside under the visor to look and there was no water hitting the side of the BC anywhere near the window. Side note: I didn't get wet when I went out to look, so that's a bonus as well.

I even had an error in my setup the first night where I didn't follow instructions to ensure there was a downward angle for rain runoff which caused water to pool up. It probably had a gallon of water sitting on it when we woke up in the morning. I pushed the water off, modified my setup to create a downward angle, and no issues from then on.

If I had to find a con, the one thing I will say is that the leg pieces where the stopper buttons poke through the holes (I don't know the term, but the pieces that pop through the notches to lengthen or shorten the legs) are very flimsy and definitely should be made of stronger material. I had several times where the stopper button piece was just lost inside the leg and it took me several minutes to get it back out. I've used plenty of awnings that use this mechanism and this is by a wide margin the worst most flimsiest piece I've ever seen. Does it do its job? Yes. Will it continue to do its job after 10 weekends camping? I'm not convinced, but we shall see.

Would I buy it again? Yes, because 1.) It looks nice while getting the job done, it's not just a square tarp hanging off the side which IMO looks tacky, 2.) it's the only pre-made item out there so I don't have to concoct my own invention using the keder rail track. I definitely considered it, just not my forte. If someone came out with a more durable ready to install piece that covers a few more square feet for double the price, I'd buy it.