Basic Awning/Canopy

[jonny round boy]

I'd like a basic awning canopy for my van. I've looked at the Fiamma type, but they're WAY out of my price range. I've tried searching for something more basic but have been unsuccessful - maybe I'm using the wrong search terms?

Anyway, I'm thinking of knocking something together myself, using a plastic tarpaulin and a couple of poles:



I'd like it to be really quick & easy to put up/take down, and it could just be folded or rolled up & stored inside the van when not in use. I know it's not going to be a 'heavy duty' solution - more just a sun shade, really, or to provide a bit more shelter so I can keep the side door open if there's a shower or two without getting the inside of the van wet.

Small (ish) tarps are dirt cheap, and I can get one roughly 2x3m for well under a tenner, likethis one

I'm wondering how best to fix it to the roof gutter. Would it be best to use the slotted figure 8 stuff? Or is there some other way of fixing it?

Has anyone done something similar? Or does this type of thing already exist, and I've just failed to find it?

[Teepee]

Hi there, you could buy an caravan awning rail attach it to van and get awning beading attached to tarpaulin then use the poles as per your diagram, job done. Did same to an old land rover I had worked a treat.

[Terry]

Hi jonny
There are awnings as you want, made by Fiamma, called Caravanstore (all one word) they fix with an awning rail.
They roll-up into plastic sleeve, and stay fixed to the outside of the van.
I have 3.5 meter one on my LWB mid roof Mk6 fits front to back just right. I have 4 roof bars & the caravan rail is attached to those, but it can be (and was) attached through the roof (don't forget to allow for the sliding door, it'll be obvious when you offer it up !)
You are welcome to have a look at Transitmania, I'm hoping to be there Saturday & Sunday.
Have fun
Terry

[jonny round boy]

Terry,

Thanks, I'll have a look at that at mania. But, it's still north of £250, and I'm not exactly flush at the moment. Plus, I wanted to get it done for mania.

Since I posted though I've foundthis (don't know how I missed it before!) so for 34 quid I think I'll give one a go. Looking at the pics I think I can fit it length-ways, so it'd be 2.8m along the van and stick out 1.8m, which would be about right. At least it will do in the short to medium term!

Teepee, thanks for your reply too. I did wonder about using an awning rail, but I wouldn't have a clue how to go about fixing the beading to the tarp. Do you heat-weld it? Sew it? Glue it? Or can you buy tarps with it pre-fitted?

[Teepee]

Hi Jonny Round Boy. The beading is normally sewn on, we used a piece of canvas for ours so no problem sewing it on. Could be awkward with tarp though unless you know someone who is good with a sewing machine. Good luck.

[vanflash]

Hi there, we had the £34 one for our old van (thinks its still kicking around somewhere in my "spares shed" or junk shed as the rest of the family call it ".
In medium to high winds the fixings detached easily from the van even though we followed the instructions and fixed it as securely as was possible. the fixing clips were so useless that we ended drilling a couple of holes in the awning rail and attached it with small clips (the kind that climbers use, I forget the name!). Also in rain the water puddled in the awning right next to van even though the far end was pitched lower. All in all I'd say its not worth the money, but maybe you'll have better luck with it than we did

An easy awning would be to buy an old frame tent and knock one up? (yes I've got one of those in the spares shed too waiting for the day the camper is finished so I can make the pretty bits!)

If you want I could dig out the old rubbish one (I have a vague idea where I stashed it) and could send it to you for cost of postage so you can see if its any good before buying one, not sure if the original fixings are with it, but as I said they were naff anyway!

edit: found it, still has the guy ropes, awning (needs a clean), poles and pegs, but only one fixing clip. It also has magnets sewn in along one edge as my pal thought this would help it stick to the van (it didn't). You're welcome to it if you want it, we use a garden gazebo next to the van these days.

[jonny round boy]

Hi there, we had the £34 one for our old van (thinks its still kicking around somewhere in my "spares shed" or junk shed as the rest of the family call it ".
In medium to high winds the fixings detached easily from the van even though we followed the instructions and fixed it as securely as was possible. the fixing clips were so useless that we ended drilling a couple of holes in the awning rail and attached it with small clips (the kind that climbers use, I forget the name!). Also in rain the water puddled in the awning right next to van even though the far end was pitched lower. All in all I'd say its not worth the money, but maybe you'll have better luck with it than we did

An easy awning would be to buy an old frame tent and knock one up? (yes I've got one of those in the spares shed too waiting for the day the camper is finished so I can make the pretty bits!)

If you want I could dig out the old rubbish one (I have a vague idea where I stashed it) and could send it to you for cost of postage so you can see if its any good before buying one, not sure if the original fixings are with it, but as I said they were naff anyway!

Thanks for the feedback on it. After I posted I thought about it some more, and decided against it for a couple of reasons; firstly, it wasn't quite big enough. Secondly (and more importantly) I realised that the poles only extend to 1.6m - The gutter on my van is over 2.2m high, so with those poles and the canopy clamped to the gutter, it would be at too steep an angle for the door to clear it!

In the end I boughtthis instead, which is both larger (maybe a little too large, but I'll cut it down) and cheaper. I'll have to improvise how to fix it to the van, but I'm sure I can figure something out!

[vanflash]

Good luck, please let me know how you get on as we'll be wanting to do something similar next year, the gazebo is good but too bulky for most trips, it only comes with us when we know there's too many folks to chill out in the van comfortably!

[VictoryV]

Hi

Just been reading the thread and I can confirm through experience that the £34 awning is utter rubbish, if you sneezed it would blow off, so when a rain storm finaly finished ours off I searched ebay until I found a 2.4 mtr Caravanstore awning that I got for £70.
They are the proper job, quick & easy to use, and sturdy.
I wasted time, effort, & money trying to make what was little more than a ground sheet into an awning and after all my attempts it was still rubbish.
My advice, keep looking on ebay until you find a Caravanstore at the right price.

Andy

[RODAT]

I agree^^^^. They need to be stretched tight to work well, but too much stretching (oo er) will increase the tension on the fittings.

[RODAT]

I agree^^^^. They need to be stretched tight to work well, but too much stretching (oo er) will increase the tension on the fittings.

[vanflash]

It seems my other half wants the awning/canopy for this weekend, so I'd best get my sewing machine out!

So far we've bought a 3.5 x 5m cammo tarpaulin (£11 on fleabay). Also bought 3m of figure of 8 awning channel (£4.67 fleabay) which I'm hoping will clip onto my existing gutter, if not we'll have to add an awning channel at some point. Also purchased 3m of 6mm awning piping (£7.45 fleabay) which will be getting sewn onto the tarp just slightly back from the ring holes (i may add some webbing to it to strengthen the stitch, may have to borrow the use of a heave duty/industrial sewing machine). The tarp should then fit nicely into the figure of 8.
We've got some paracord kicking around that we'll use as guy ropes, and also got 2 or 3 metal poles from old tents which we'll employ.

I'll post some pictures next week, it should still be ok if the awning rail setup doesn't work as we can guy rope the tarp over the van.

(if the above said purchases arrive on time!)

[jonny round boy]

It seems my other half wants the awning/canopy for this weekend, so I'd best get my sewing machine out!

I want mine done for TransitMania next weekend, too. Don't have a sewing machine though, so going to try something else - I've got some heavy duty heat-activated double-sided tape. I'll see how well that'll hold, when (if...) the ebay fairy comes.

if the awning rail setup doesn't work as we can guy rope the tarp over the van.

I was thinking that myself, but looking out the window at my van I'm now thinking that the aerial might get in the way...

[RustWidow]

Omg talk about last minute.com! Hope all arrives in time!

[vanflash]

Wish you hadn't mentioned the aerial.... Just thinking that it might slip into one of the metal grommet holes?

Rustwidow, if t wasn't for that final hour nothing would ever get done! Also, every task needs a few coats of looking at