Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 11:03:28 -0700
Reply-To: Rob Campbell <rob@PHEMP.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Rob Campbell <rob@PHEMP.COM>
Subject: Re: Any user reviews on the BusDepot Ezy-Awning?
In-Reply-To: <ln55g0lf8id6v7tui43viehlpgtv5l4q08@4ax.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Hello-
I have one and keep meaning to prepare a formal review, but I haven't
taken the pictures yet.
Its hefty, but not prohibitively heavy. I can't imagine it drastically
affects fuel economy, certainly not as much as the "spare tire" a
passenger may carry on himself or herself.
Overall, I think this is a great value. It is a good way to get your
foot into the awning door, without spending a fortune. It is sturdy,
and the dome-esque design makes a lot of sense.
I will say though that it is not all that EZ. Its not rocket science
either, but it helps to have an extra person in putting it together, and
if its hot and sunny while you are putting it up, and the helper hasn't
done it before, its tempting to just do it yourself rather than
explain. If you are camping in a dusty area, its difficult to construct
it without laying everything down in the dust.
Its designed like cheap outdoor equipment; the made in China type stuff
you would get at [insert your favorite corporate superstore], not like
fine backpacking gear designed to be pleasant to use (which is
understandable given the price). This means the connections are sturdy,
but they are not graceful. Some examples of what I mean here: The
storage bags use ribbons which you literally tie closed, rather than the
nearly ubiquitous drawsting/codlock found on nearly every stowsack out
there, from tents to folding chairs. Connections are secured with
wingnuts or thmbscrews... While effective and cheap, these are not very
elegant.
The construction process is cumbersome, but it does work very well in
the end. And the end result is a fine awning which seems like it would
perform well in fairly bad weather. Its simple to stake down the feet
(stakes are included) or tie/weigh them down if you are not in an area
where staking will work. The poles are heavy duty - this is a mixed
curse. I'm not so worried about them bending or breaking, but they also
seem overkill and kludgy.
The pros of this product are:
-Price. Certainly difficult to find a better value. I don't expect
there is anything better, or even comparable, at this price. Perhaps a
scratch-built system by a gifted designer would come in at less, but to
be fair most of us are not able to do this.
-Nothing on the exterior of your van. This is important to me, for now
anyway. Day may come where I don't mind drilling holes and having a box
strapped to the side of my van. For now, this was actually the reason I
chose the EZ-Awning.
-Sturdy. The poles are pretty beefy, and the arched design seems like
rain buildup will not be a problem.
-Simple to store. If you keep the tarp section seperate, the poles and
hardware all fit easily in that little shelf behinf the AC intake
without "blocking" it. I then keep the tarp either under the bench
seat, or in the way-back with other cargo. 2 stow sacks are included;
one for the poles and one for the tarp, making this simple.
The cons:
-Assembly is not that bad once you are used to it, but it is difficult
to explain to helpers and the included instructions are not so great.
-The bolts which attach it to the rain gutter are awkward to install,
though they do work well and allow the sliding door to open and close
properly.
-Overall cheap feel, it feels more like low grade kamping technology
from the 70s than a modern piece of engineering
All of that being said, the value is fantastic, and the cons are really
not that bad.
I'll mention that when I ordered mine, it was missing the brackets to
attach it to raingutter and also the instructions. Make sure you check
it out before you go camping the first time. Busdepot was rapid in
correcting this mistake and the parts arrived immediately after they
were contacted. I've had excellent experiences with BusDepot in all of
my orders with them.
Here is my report card for the product:
Ease of assembly: C
Comfort once erected: A
Materials: C-
Durability: A/B (not fully tested)
Overall Value: A+
Overall Grade: B
BA wrote:
>Hi, all,
>
>We emailed to BusDepot to ask, but got no reply. So either my email
>went astray (weird things have been happening here) or they're swamped
>and it got lost at their end. So I figured someone here might know (I
>did search the list archive but didn't find the answers) ...
>
>We're considering the BusDepot Ezy-Awning. But Simon is starting to
>worry about extra weight. And I can't find out how much weight the
>awning, the optional suction-cup mounting kit, and the optional
>weighted feet would add to our load. (Our alternate solution is to
>rig up something using the tarp that we'll be carrying anyway.)
>
>Does anyone here use the Ezy-Awning? Recommendations? Cautions? Can
>you provide the weight information? Alternate awning/shade
>suggestions?
>
>We're not willing to go as expensive as a Fiamma or Carefree until we
>find ourselves spending serious amounts of time on the road. And
>probably not even then, because we're loathe to drill into the van to
>mount a permanent awning.
>
>
>
>Thanks in advance ...
>
>B
>'87 Westy "Esmerelda Blanc"
>
>
>
