Our Story

As we all know 2020 was rough. Being a longtime San Francisco resident and metal worker, I found myself jobless amidst the global pandemic in March 2020. The Bay Area’s lockdown went into effect and like many, I was left confined to a small apartment in one of the most expensive cities in the country. I had to escape.

I promptly decided to ditch the cramped confines of the city and self-isolate in the wilderness. I explored which national parks were still open to the public and soon discovered Death Valley was the only viable option. I immediately realized that if I were going to travel to the hottest place on Earth — I was going to need some serious SHADE.

That evening I researched mobile shade structures currently on the market, but quickly realized there were surprisingly limited options. Side mounted awnings were not compatible with my pickup truck and the few hitch-based umbrellas that existed were poorly designed and cheaply constructed. The most obvious inefficiency was the lack of overall quality; the hitches were made of thin gauge steel, flimsy and sagged off the end of vehicles. The umbrella shaft and canopies were undersized and provided only a drop of shade. I thought to myself, there had to be a better way.