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Old 08-14-2014, 05:43 PM   #1
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Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

I just can't shell out 1200 or more for a black Fiamma. I've been searching for good, quick awnings and finally found the one for me. I had a bag awning on my last van, and though I had to remove it and store it inside during travel, I still really liked it. I like the value of them and I think they are still pretty quick and simple to set up and take down. By quick, I mean about 1 minute to deploy and 1 minute to stow away.

I narrowed it down to two bag awnings, the ARB and the Cascadia (CVT). I think they're basically the same, and from the pics I think they might be the exact same, but the selling point for me was the black case the CVT comes in, vs. the gray case of an ARB that wouldn't match my van as well.

The lady (insert forgotten lady's name ) at CVT was very helpful and she cut me a deal on shipping since I'm in Tn. and the standard shipping was going to be 1/4 of the price of the awning. I went for the longest they make, a 99 (99", or 8.25 feet). Because they don't make it any longer, I would not recommend this for an extended van. I think there are better options out there for a long van, and when it comes to coverage from the elements my view is get the longest one you can fit!

Here it is, albeit upside down. Be patient



I've had the awning for a few weeks but after giving in to the absolute absence of Zeta's/Eli's brackets, I decided to go with Van Specialties same brackets, but at a higher cost. Still, they are great to work with, and shipped them quick to me (2 days across the country) after a hold-up with the powder coaters. They look awesome



Installation of these was super quick and simple, and for now I'm just going with 2 of them (no center bracket). This awning is pretty light but strong, no flex whatsoever in the middle when deployed, which is already better than my previous bag awning, but it was a lot longer. I had to drill 4 holes per bracket but 2 per bracket is probably plenty.

Here she is, mounted. Took maybe 1 hour total.



Deployed





Close ups of mount on the brackets. Not completely happy with this and may have to redrill the holes and raise the awning. I went as low as I could to minimize the gap between the rain gutter and the awning frame, thus keeping rain out as best I can, but the tops of the brackets stick up a bit far and look funny. I could cut them off I suppose, but I hate to hack up brand new $140 brackets. They're so purty.





This awning has a couple of additional features I really dig. First off, a lantern loop, or a loop for anything else you might want to hang from the middle. Genius!



Lots of velcros (6 to be exact) to keep the canvas glued to the frame when the wind blows



Also, it has really handy twist-lock poles instead of those pesky spring loaded pins that most things like this use.



And finally, they sell a few different screen rooms, wind blocks, and full add-a-rooms that even have floors and internal ceilings with different window/door options. This is important for my clan of 4 on longer camping trips. I'm about to order a full room and hope we can boot the porta-potty out of the van and have dry storage for shoes, dog stuff, and maybe my wife.
OK, maybe it will be me instead.


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Old 08-14-2014, 10:42 PM   #2
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Re: Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

Awesome job looks great. I'm going to go with something similar because I can't justify spending 1200-1500 on an awning.
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Old 08-14-2014, 11:16 PM   #3
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Re: Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gh0ztkid21
Awesome job looks great. I'm going to go with something similar because I can't justify spending 1200-1500 on an awning.
Not saying that Fiamma's are cheap, but they're not $1200-1500. I mere $800 will get you a 10' F45.

That said, this looks like a nice set up for a bunch less than that.
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Old 08-15-2014, 08:04 AM   #4
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Re: Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

Off topic but thumbs up to the Snake River Brewing coaster in the bracket pic. Beer from my hometown!
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Old 08-15-2014, 12:33 PM   #5
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Re: Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

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Originally Posted by dparkwy
Off topic but thumbs up to the Snake River Brewing coaster in the bracket pic. Beer from my hometown!
Lol. I love that place! I got a stack of coasters last time I was in.
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Old 08-15-2014, 10:35 PM   #6
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Re: Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

Looks great, I'm heading back to Oregon tomorrow and keep asking myself why I haven't paid a visit to folks at CVT. I'm yet to come up with a good answer. Incidentally, I'm posting from Jackson where I just finished a lovely evening with a few cold friends from Snake River Brewing. Good write up and pictures. Thanks
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Old 09-08-2014, 07:26 PM   #7
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Re: Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

Really looking hard at the CVTs, these look like a great option and much faster to deploy than my bus depot awning. I'm looking at mounting mine on my roof rack instead of the body brackets. Question is, do you think that 7' is enough coverage once you raise the starting point up 3'? Opinions welcome.
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Old 09-08-2014, 11:49 PM   #8
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Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

Nice, assuming those brackets bolt to the gutter like Zeta/Eli brackets
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Old 09-09-2014, 05:46 AM   #9
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Re: Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

Quote:
Originally Posted by scottman
Really looking hard at the CVTs, these look like a great option and much faster to deploy than my bus depot awning. I'm looking at mounting mine on my roof rack instead of the body brackets. Question is, do you think that 7' is enough coverage once you raise the starting point up 3'? Opinions welcome.
With an EB van you might think this awning is pretty short IMO. I really wanted a 10' but this is as big as they make. Also, I don't know that it would work mounted on the PH top. I don't know that any longer legs are available for these.

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Nice, assuming those brackets bolt to the gutter like Zeta/Eli brackets
They do. They are identical to Zeta/Eli brackets.

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Old 09-09-2014, 09:12 AM   #10
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Re: Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) awning

I wonder if the parts between CVT and ARB are interchangeable. It looks like ARB walls or room setups are much cheaper than CVT, if I am looking at that correctly. Alex has been pushing for an awning with a screen forever, I had been reluctant to bolt up a fiamma, then finally gave in and found one locally on CL, only to find that Zeta's brackets were no longer avail, that same day I was supposed to go pick up the awning, the owner calls and backs out of the deal...whew! off the hook! I've purchased numerous screen tents over the years (yet another one while on our latest journey in AK), I think theres 3 in the garage right now in various states of twisted disrepair, then theres the $300+ canvas that I had made that feeds into a "C" channel I glued and screwed onto the rain gutter that's buried in the van just taking up valuable storage space, never gets deployed, not to mention the 3 extendable poles that go with it. Anyway, I think I'll give in to pressure from the wife, again, and follow your lead on this, thanks a lot! We need a smily like the money man in the Geico commercial pouring out of a SMB! or one just tossing bills.....who can make that happen?
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