Simple DIY Awning

[Johnny Mullet]

This is the simple awning setup I have been using for over a year now and have had no issues with it. I feel this is the way to go instead of a roll up RV awning which can collect mold and mildew and also have malfunctions. Total cost is right around $100 for all the materials.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8cEi12Eizs

[john61ct]

For those can't do video, is there a written HowTo anywhere, ideally with links to example sources?

[Danjo]

Thanks for that. You mention in the video that it’s not as easy as an awning, but that looked easier than a factory awning.

[Sycor]

The wife and I are thinking of doing something very similar. We already have the materials from a previous project, just a sunshade. Yours looks very nice.

[gs1949]

Very interesting video. Thanks very much for sharing. Your awning is obviously very effective at providing shade. But here in the PNW one of the main reasons for having an awning has nothing to do with wanting shade. Instead it has everything to do with providing a bit of a dry spot next to the bus or RV during a torrential downpour.

So I wonder if you have ever had a really hard rain on your awning and how it handled that. I can see that if one were expecting regular enounters with heavy rain, it might be best to replace at least some of the magnetic hooks with more permanent hooks attached to the bus. The permanent hooks would of course have to be located just right.

And I know placement of more permanent hooks would be tricky. I have enough experience with these white Amazon tarps to know that the grommets are not evenly spaced along the edges. It's obvious that the distance between grommets is at the discretion of the workers who make the tarps. So one could not necessarily expect those hooks to all line up with the holes in a replacement tarp.

And even with several more permanent hooks I am not sure this awning setup would be strong enough to handle the hard rains and +25 mph winds that we get so often around here. From my perspective the one big advantage to the standard roll up awnings is that the good ones are strong enough to handle most PNW weather.

[Tankster]

I did something similar, just used awning rail instead of hooks to attach it to the bus.
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f27/2006-e-350-tailgate-shuttle-22404-post322014.html

[Elliot Naess]

That is exactly how Millicent's awning began also.
Then....

[gs1949]

The rail looks like a very good idea.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

That is exactly how Millicent's awning began also.
Then....

Now I can die happily, knowing that I got to see the king of all skoolie awnings.

[Elliot Naess]

LOL
A rather ragged-looking king, but functional.
And it laughs at 80-MPH winds.

Setting it up in 2018 -- 24 tarps, each measuring (close to) 10 x 20 feet.:




It started out on only one side.
Next year, it covered the roof and opposite side, to keep the interior cool, in 2012:




It is vital to have an air gap between the tarps and the bus, so the breeze can carry the heat away.

And so on, adding a few sections each year.

I am bragging, but to show what is possible with a modicum of mechanical savvy.

[Elliot Naess]

Back to a small awning.

Not a school bus, but still a good friend of mine.
Notice how he paid attention to details. Those tarps are almost drum-skin tight. (And color matched to the bus!)
Take time to think it thru, and you can do this!

[plfking]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

but to show what is possible with a modicum of mechanical savvy.

From seeing your work, I'm pretty sure you passed the 'modicum' stage decades ago.

Another way to skin the same cat.....tarp is screwed to the inside of it's storage box.

[Elliot Naess]

Mahvelously kind of you to say! But I am actually not very smart, bright, or clever; I simply make a point to learn from my mistakes, and keep trying until the project serves its intended purpose satisfactorily.

Look at the photo from 2012. See the half-moon-shaped slashes in the tarp? Those were vents, to let air thru, hurriedly cut when the wind tried to carry Millicent off to Winnemucca. That tarp was all one piece.

The new version uses many smaller tarps, with natural gaps between them which let plenty air thru.
Perhaps the most important item I am babbling about here is that... WIND can utterly ruin an awning that seems perfectly OK when you build it.

And I have help with my projects. Notice the 31-foot long trusses on the passenger side? Friends of mine came up with that idea and built them -- then brought them over on the roof of a Jeep! Alright, the trusses were in two halves and were spliced here. I have serious can-do! friends!

Trusses and gaps between tarps better visible in this photo.

[okienomads]

We used a similar awning style on our 4x4 for a trip to Baja and after that, we decided against it due to wind and weather. The commercially available awnings from companies like ARB are not that expensive and built to hold up a bit better. Plus they are much easier to setup in my opinion and the availability of awning rooms and walls is an easy decision for us. Points for coming up with a solution!

[Johnny Mullet]

Part 2.............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD7inUrWxT0

[DWJoyce]

Except for this being DIY, and possibly cheaper, there's no advantage over a roll-out. A roll-out even stores itself.

[banman]

Originally Posted by DWJoyce

Except for this being DIY, and possibly cheaper, there's no advantage over a roll-out. A roll-out even stores itself.

Huge advantage if you drive down forested roads...

[jbeech]

What's not to like for $100? Fantastic.

[Native]

Some very good handiwork on dispay in this thread.

[Mountain Yawp]

Thanks for posting the set up and video. I've been thinking of doing something similar, but wasn't sure what hooks to use.