Awning Help Advice Suggestions

[shenrie]

just a thought, but you might look around your local pick and pull yards. i picked up my awning locally for 20 bucks off a wrecked campervan. cheap enough that it wouldnt be a huge blow to the wallet ruining it trying to modify to your specific needs.

good luck however you proceed

[JWA]

Another great idea Shenrie but I was just there a few days ago---nothing even close though.

I think I'll look for a set of "affordable" ladder racks and modify them into being a frame work of sorts that will eventually accommodate a pull out sorta cover, something very light weight, easily extended and retracted too by hand power alone. Think of a roof mounted very low profile shelf and there's the basics of it.

The ladder racks would be modified to fit closer to the roof yet allow a thin cover (the "awning") to fit underneath yet slide or extend outwards. This could be done for side and rear doors too, all neatly tucked under a safari rack-like assembly.

Still working out the details in my mind but this might be promising.

[joearlo]

Hey JWA,

My awning it the ShadyBoy: http://www.shadyboy.com/

Nice and compact, costs less than $400. Its not as large as the Flamma, but I find it provides enough coverage when I need it. There are legs you can use to support it on the ground, but I love how you can set it up without them. Here is a pic of it set up without legs:

[shenrie]

thats a very cool setup!

[TheYeti]

I've been eyeing the ARBs at trdparts4u.com... They have a 6'5" and a 8'2", both under $250.

[carringb]

I ended up going with Rhino Rack awnings from eTrailer. One side is a regular self storing awning and the other is a "Foxwing" awning which opens like a fan and covers the back and sides! Wish I had discovered the Foxwing sooner!

[llamadave]

An important consideration is how it handles wind and rain. Fiamma, as expensive as it is, says to never leave it up in the rain! I suppose that voids the warranty. We use ours in the rain, but never leave it out if wind is expected such as a thunderstorm. And I don't think it would hold much snow.

David

[JWA]

Man you guys are just sooooo full of it------great ideas that is---knew this was the place to get answers! These are some incredibly nice awnings but so far not what I envisioned. Trying to adapt them might prove to be a big problem too--without breaking the bank that is!

Refining my needed dimensions nothing over 38-40" out from the roof is really necessary. The side doors would like maybe 72" width, rear about 53" but same 38-40". So it seems my widths are doable but the extension dimensions are the issue. My goal is to have whatever be self-supporting of the extended portion, not relying upon any sort of tie-downs or poles for support at the farthest edge. Given that I need to deploy and retract these easily along with they'd rarely be used longer than a few hours at a time while on most jobs anything larger doesn't lend itself to my needs.

Another thought of something like tabor door material made from weather-resistant material might work too. If its somehow able to be carried between two extendable tubes (one each left & right) laying flat against the roof during transit would be very possible. I'm not set in stone on this concept though----hoping to find something off the shelf.

Keep 'em coming guys!

[BroncoHauler]

There's always the Foxwing, but it might be a challenge to deploy on a tall vehicle, and it does not appear to be easy to deploy and put back.

No firsthand experience with it though. I think Bill Wilson has one IIRC.

http://www.familytentcamping.com/store/ ... ge/3111776

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HCggh7f8kI

Herb

[carringb]

http://www.carefreeofcolorado.com/ca...&categoryid=37