What to Consider When Selecting a Vehicle Awning?

Aug. 11, 2020

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Dimension

The vital factors in choosing the best dimension of a roof shelf awnings are the following: the size of your vehicle, the part that needs shading, and also the size of the roofing system shelf. The majority of SUVs obtain decked with 2.0-meter awnings while some trucks with 2.5. The tasks you will certainly do under the shade ought to be your choosing variable on the dimension too, whether it's for food preparation or ordinary relaxation.

Weight

As these are mainly used throughout an exterior journey, they shouldn't be also heavy to lug. Using it implies needing to establish it up as well as placed it down several times. You would not wish to damage your back carrying it around. Not claiming it must be as light as the weather condition. It must be light enough for you to bring but a little hefty to hold up against wind and gust.

Vehicle Awning For Camping

Material

Awnings important feature is to provide you shade for defense against sunlight damage, ultraviolet rays, and also rain. Most materials utilized for awnings consist of manufactured nylon and also polyester, manufactured fabric coatings, cotton as well as canvas, as well as some other fabrics.

Polymers are much more long lasting than cotton canvas. They additionally supply enticing layout, as well as although they drive away water, they are still not considered water-proof. Polymers are best for moist places. Nylon and also polyester can do as materials for awnings as well. They are light and more affordable than the majority of fabrics. Plus, they fast to completely dry. Nevertheless, these are bad insulators, so you might be shielding on your own from the sunlight but could still feel the warmth. The manufactured material is completely covered in finishings to intensify water as well as UV resistance. While cotton and canvass are typically made use of in camping tents and awnings for their insulation abilities, they can be a little heavy as well as large. Keep in mind element number 2-- weight.

Accessory to your vehicle

To begin with, ensure that the size of the awning is ideal to the vehicle. Then, you can choose which part of the vehicle would you want it to be connected to. Some choose its back side, on the driver's side, however the majority of like it on the traveler's due to the ease of expanding it while parked on the side of the road assists. Some awnings can only be supported by roof covering shelfs of the exact same producer, so be wary of those. You are much better off finding those that are generally attachable to roof racks.

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Choosing an Overland Awning

Let’s start by looking at the most important features to consider when selecting an overland awning for your vehicle or overlanding setup.

Fixed vs Portable Overland Awnings

The first thing to consider is whether you want your overland awning to be fixed to your vehicle in a semi-permanent fashion when not deployed, or if you’d prefer a portable overland awning that is instead stored in a storage bag in the vehicle until needed.

Fixed Awnings

• Pros: Always ready, faster to set up and most do not require ground stakes and guylines, materials are generally more substantial, and they don’t take up interior storage space

• Cons: typically heavier and more cumbersome when stored, not as customizable (fixed configuration), more expensive

Portable Awnings

• Pros: less costly, lighter weight, less cumbersome, and can typically be pitched in a variety of ways to suite your overland camping setup

• Cons: must be packed and stored (usually inside your vehicle), materials generally are less robust, setup is tedious, and requires terrain that is suitable for ground stakes and guylines.

Coverage Area and Design

The next thing to consider is what coverage area you’d like your overland awning to provide. There are two ways to look at this: square footage (sqft) of coverage the awning provides and the direction of coverage around the vehicle the awning provides measured in degrees (out of 360 degrees)

Portable Overland Awnings - typically offer a variety of sqft coverage depending on how they are pitched, and coverage is usually in one direction from the vehicle similar to a 180 degree awning

180 Degree Overland Awnings - these come in a variety of fixed square footage sizes that offer coverage in one direction of the vehicle from their mounted position. There are two main design strategies:

• Square - square overland awnings create a square coverage area and typically pull out straight from their mounted position to a fixed length and width covering only a section of one side of your vehicle

• Trapezoid (Full Side Coverage) - these overland awnings use multiple support arms to unfold from their mounted position to provide a trapezoidal coverage area that covers the majority of one side of your vehicle

270 Degree Overland Awnings - a 270 degree overland awning uses arms that fold out to support the canopy and provide coverage on either the passenger or driver-side of your overland vehicle as well as the rear of the vehicle, and generally offer the most usable coverage area

Packed Size (Stored)

Both fixed and portable awnings take up space when stored, and generally the larger the awning the more cumbersome it will be when stored. You’ll want to consider the bulk of your stored awning and how it will impact the aesthetics of your vehicle if affixed or the available storage space in or on your vehicle if portable.

Weight

The weight of your overland awning is another consideration to factor in, as some of the larger, or more substantially built, fixed awnings can weigh a significant amount and may impact the handling of your overland vehicle. And as most portable awnings will need to be packed/unpacked their weight is something to consider as well. 

Ease of Setup (Self-Supporting vs. Non Self-Supporting)

Overland awnings can be either self-supporting, or non self-supporting

Self-Supporting - these are fixed awnings that have an integrated structural support that allows them to support their coverage area without the need for poles, guylines, or ground stakes (in moderate weather conditions) - like the one pictured at the top of this post

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• Pros: extremely fast to set up, less gear to remember to pack up, terrain is not a consideration - can be set up on solid rock, pavement, or uneven terrain

• Cons: typically heavier, more costly, bulkier due to the support arm framing required

Non Self-Supporting - all portable and some fixed overland awnings required the use of some combination of support poles, guylines, and ground stakes to give them their structural integrity

• Pros: generally less costly, lighter weight, and less bulky

• Cons: slow and often tedious to setup, typically must be deployed on suitable terrain (level and/or soft terrain that can accept ground stakes)

Awning Materials

There are a variety of materials used in the construction of an overland awning, and generally as a rule-of-thumb the cost of the overland awning will reflect the quality of materials used.

Awning Frame Materials - in fixed awnings the awning frame/support arms are usually aluminum, steel, or a combination. Aluminum will generally be lighter-weight, steel will be stronger but at a higher weight

Awning Canopy Materials

• Waterproof / Water Resistant Fabrics - it is rare to have an overland awning manufacturer claim their materials are waterproof, but there are certainly differences in the degree of water resistance depending on the chemical makeup of the fabric or whether it’s coated with waterproofing material.

• UV Resistance - this is how well the fabric can withstand regular prolonged exposure to the sun without degradation or fade

• Fabric Weight/Thickness - while not always an indication of the strength of a fabric material used, the weight or thickness of a fabric (measured in either ounces-per-square-yard or grams-per-square-meter) is a good general indicator as to its potential durability. Generally the higher the number the heavier/thicker the material. Here’s a good guide to understanding fabric weights and thickness.  

Awning Poles - typically use either aluminum or steel, and come in either fixed-length (stronger) or adjustable height (more versatile, better suited for uneven terrain)

Rigging Materials - the quality of the ground stakes (steel > aluminum) and guylines if included or required for setup

Storage Case Materials - most fixed and portable overland awnings have fabric cases and the fabric can be assessed similar to the canopy materials, but a few awnings offer aluminum cases that provide a higher degree of protection than fabric varieties

Mounting Options

You’ll want to ensure the overland awning you select has a means of being mounted securely to your vehicle. Some models offer a variety of mounting options, some include mounting hardware, while others sell the mounts separately, and others require custom specific mounting bracketry to fit your specific vehicle’s roof rack, camper, or load bar system.

Universal Awning Mounts vs. Custom Awning Mounts

• Universal Awning Mounts - provide a generic means of attaching the awning but will typically require some modification or additional hardware to work with your vehicle

• Custom Awning Mounts - provide a specific set of hardware to mount to your vehicle’s roof rack, camper, or load bar system and generally provide a more secure connection

Side-Specific Mounting Choice - 270 degree awnings generally come in either driver-side or passenger-side mounting options to suit your specific overlanding setup, while 180 degree awnings can be mounted interchangeably on either side of the vehicle. 

TIP: While typically the passenger-side is the most common mounting choice, for heavier fixed awnings you may want to consider other factors, such as the weight distribution of your vehicle. For example, on our Overland Tacoma Build the fuel tank and drawer platform are both on the driver’s side of the vehicle, so we opted to mount our (70lb) awning on the opposite side of the vehicle to more evenly distribute the weight.

Awning Accessories

These are additional options that a manufacturer may sell separately to improve the coverage or use of your overland awning.

• Awning Walls - can extend the shade coverage of your overland awning, and provide improved protection from side-line rain or wind. They can be offered as complete one-piece kits or in an á la carte fashion so you can choose the particular coverage you want. Some even include zippered entry doors or complete enclosure of the awning with an awning room.

• Awning Extensions - similar to awning walls, awning extensions allow you to extend the coverage area of your awning by extending the canopy shape.

• Awning Floors - some awnings have floor kits to offer further enclosure, protection from the elements, or simply a cleaner place to set your gear outside of your vehicle

• Awning Supports (Poles, Guy lines, and Stakes) - awning poles provide additional support to the awning’s arms and are often built into non-self-supporting awnings, but generic awning poles* can be easily sourced seperately if needed. Guy lines* and ground stakes are another way to secure your overland awning in high winds, but often are not included with free standing awnings. We recommend picking up a set of these Cawood medium anchor stakes* for securing your overland awning because they will actually dig deeper into the terrain the more the wind creates resistance against them.

• Lighting - a few overland awnings even include integrated or optional lighting kits

Cost

Likely one of the biggest factors you’ll need to consider when selecting an awning for overlanding is the cost. Below, we’ll outline the 12 best overland awnings currently on the market in order of cost so you can select one that’s right for your needs and budget.

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