Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 17:08:20 -0700
Reply-To: Alistair Bell <albell@uvic.ca>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alistair Bell <albell@uvic.ca>
Subject: Re: Poor man awning
In-Reply-To: <3AECB346.974FDE31@sympatico.ca>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
I've been using a set-up like you describe for a few years now. The tarp is
a (coated) ripstop nylon "Guide's Tarp" from Mountain Equipment Coop, 3.9m X
2.9m. It has brass grommeted eyes and webbing loops at the corners and along
the edges. I attach one corner to the pop top rear hinge with a stainless
"S" hook and a mini bungee made from the cross section of a bike innertube.
The long edge of the tarp is then led forward alongside the poptop and
attached to a nylon hook on the fiberglass crossmember at the front of the
poptop(in about 6" in from the edge of the top). There is still about 2 feet
of the "long edge " of the tarp free and that is led diagonally across the
luggage compartment and secured by a rope. The mini bungee attachment system
(MBAS) keeps the edge of the tarp taut and allows some "give" in gusty
conditions. The inboard edge of the tarp is held under the edge of the side
of the poptop, rain flows off the top and onto the tarp.
The outboard edge of the tarp is held up in three places by some aluminum
homemade tentpoles. The sections are made in two lengths which gives some
flexibility in assembly (slip joints) and the choice of height. The poles
are guyed by cord and some neat ex-E. German (I think) metal tent pegs...a
bit like a slim tapered snow stake. They work well in soft ground, but in
gravel campsite pads, a common spike works better. The usual set-up is with
the longer pole supporting the tarp directly in line with where the inboard
edge of the tarp is attached the front edge of the pop top. This creates a
ridgeline from the highest part of the pop top. At either outbard corner,
the poles can be adjusted in height to suit the conditions, shortening them
according to the direction of the wind, to provide some protection from any
driving rain, in effect adjusting the height of the eaves.
The flexibility of this system is an advantage (and disadvantage, if you
want instant "tarpdom"). The tarp covers a good area, and can be used off
the van if need be. The guy lines and tent pole height adjustment can give
hours of dicking around pleasure, time that may otherwise be wasted :) The
guy lines also provide an early warning function, alerting you to the fact
that maybe you have had one-too-many cocktails when you trip over one for
the 4th time. For non-alcoholics, the guy lines offer a handy place to hang
out swimsuits, towels, dish rags etc. to dry. Instantly turning what once
was a treasured un-spoiled site into a comical camping parody.
It is remarkably secure and quiet in the wind, a fellow camper in a Eurovan
had to douse his gutter-mounted "window blind type" canopy in a breeze that
didn't challenge my tarp at all. The forest green colour of the tarp looks,
to my eyes anyway, a whole lot better than orange or blue.
All this in a package that folds up into its own neat stuffsack (about the
size of a loaf of bread) and the poles pack easily in a bundle under the
rear seat.
on 29/4/01 5:35 PM, Hans Brouwer at h.brouwer@sympatico.ca wrote:
> I tried this too but the material kept hooking on the sliding door. I guess I
> did not have enough tension on the tarp.
>
> The next solution I am going to try is as follows (source: list archive):
> 1. hook one side of the tarp on the back hinge of the pop-up,
> 2. hook the tarp on the little cross bar of the pop-up (kind of high, so
> attach it first before you pop up the roof)
> 3. hook other end of tarp on the bracket inside of the luggage rack
>
> I think I will use a bungee cord to attach the tarp to the 3 above mentioned
> attachments.
>
> The rest is the same as your set up, 3 poles with guy lines and stakes.
>
> Hans Brouwer
> Cumberland, Ontario
> 86 Westfalia
> looking for 93 VW Cabrio
>
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