What is a very breathable fabric that will block beach sand?

[dbhost]

I have a fishing trip coming up to Padre Island National Seashore, and I do NOT want a repeat of my last visit where the screened walls of the tent only served to allow enough sand in all night long to drive me out of the tent and into the cab of my truck...

I want to make "sand filters" for my tent. Probably going to use my Coleman Sundome 9x7 tent or my Sierra Designs Sirius 3 tent. Both are plenty small, with minimal profile to expose to the wind. I somewhat doubt my wife will like either of them though, so it may end up being the 10x12 Sundome which poses MUCH more blown sand problems... But I digress...

I am looking for fabrics, that breathe well to allow heat to escape, cool night air in, but will NOT allow that nasty sand to blow through and fill my ear canal again...

Can any of you folks, or your significant others suggest a good material for this application?

[Ed62]

Not sure if this would work or not, but possibly more than 1 layer of cheese cloth?

Ed

[mpc]

A tarp you can spike & pole/rope upwind to block the flying sand?

Furnace filters taped to the outside of the tent windows?

mpc

[capncarl]

Ive found that cotton cloth like a bed sheet added to the outside of a tent or canopy will knock down the airborn sand if it is secured an inch or more away from the tent fabric. Most of the sand sticks to the cotton and falls off when dry and the sand that penetrates no longer has the velocity to penetrate the tent material. This is beach sand I am refering to, other desert sands have been ground to face powder and I believe that they could penetrate glass. If you have a real sand storm you do not want to be in the tent anyway or you will be rolled down the beach and get sand in more orfices than your ear.
capncarl

[dbhost]

Yeah, I have tried the tarp / frame idea, no help when the wind switches direction, but it was worth a shot... It wouldn't hurt to try some say Goodwill bedsheets (washed and bleached prior to even thinking of using) as filter media. The big problem is most common 3 season tents have the rainfly come up so high up the walls of the tent to improve airflow, they don't give sand a chance to drop out of the air stream before it gets inside... Most single wall tents are not free standing I.E. you must stake them out firmly to have them even stand up. While ti is possible on sand, it is VERY, VERY difficult...

Yeah high winds can and do sent tents dancing down the beach. I have experienced that firsthand, yet another reason for wanting to use a more low profile tent...

I am working on some ideas for a collapsible truck bed camper that will support a king size airbed. Really only needs to be for a sleeping / changing compartment anyway, the "facilities" tent I have doesn't matter if it gets sand in it, as long as the TP stays sand free that is!

[jaybee]

I am working on some ideas for a collapsible truck bed camper that will support a king size airbed. Really only needs to be for a sleeping / changing compartment anyway, the "facilities" tent I have doesn't matter if it gets sand in it, as long as the TP stays sand free that is!

This may be just what you need!

http://www.livinlite.com/camper-overview.php

[dbhost]

This may be just what you need!

http://www.livinlite.com/camper-overview.php

Like the idea, mostly... Instead of 2 bunks, and a convertible dinette in the middle, maybe rig the thing such that the dinette converts using the side wings to create a single king bed.

Wonder if they would consider doing some custom work in exchange for design work?