Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 13:18:36 -0400
Reply-To: Tom Miller <tmiller@VCMAILS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Tom Miller <tmiller@VCMAILS.COM>
Subject: Re: Shady Boy Awning - Initial Impression
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Vince:
I have had mine on my 89 Westy for over a year and it is simply great. Very
convenient to use and easy to break down and stow.
TEMiller
----- Original Message -----
From: "MC" <gipsyflies@COMCAST.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 2:30 AM
Subject: Shady Boy Awning - Initial Impression
> It has been 7-8 years that I have on and off considered adding an awning
> to my 89 GL Camper. My quest for a good awning started before a first
> hand experience in installing an European one on a friend's 91 Syncro
> camper. Although that awning is among the best out there are a number of
> things I don't like.
> 1) The significant length of the extruded aluminum housing.
> 2) The added weight to the vehicle.
> 3) The typical awning design which works well in still air but becomes
> unstable in any breeze. The biggest weakness is the metal tube that runs
> the length of the fabric on the outer edge. It can be very dangerous if
> ever the wind catches the tent which becomes a sail with it wiping
> around.
> 4) The gutter mount bracket though looks very beefy, cannot be secured
> on the Vanagon gutter tightly despite significant torque is applied to
> the bolts. Upon close inspection it reveals the bracket does not conform
> well to the Vanagon cutter cross section.
> 5) The vinyl material used for the awning fabric.
>
> The advantage of this awning is the relatively ease of setting up as
> long as the wind is calm.
>
> I knew about the Shady Boy awning before installing my friend's awning.
> However the lack of detailed information on the quality and design have
> kept me apprehensive. Only recently I decided to conduct some research
> again into it. I managed to find a few websites with bits and pieces of
> information on it including a few photos. I also spoke to the Canadian
> owner of the manufacturer Wolfgang at EquinoX. Over the phone he gave me
> the impression of a man with pride of his products. By now I begun to
> warm up to that this is likely a very well made product. Though I like
> the battened design, underneath I was still unease about the fiberglass
> battens imaging them like the generic flimsy poles found in cheap tents
> with the thing sheet aluminum connectors. However spoken to Wolfgang on
> the phone significant easy my concern so I decided to order one and hope
> for the best. The price is extremely reasonable with total came to well
> under $300US including shipping to the US and the optional down draft
> poles.
>
> It took about a week and a half for the made to order awning to arrive.
> The shipping is thru US Mail. I picked it up from the post office this
> morning and cannot help to immediately tear into the package to see how
> it really is. Although I know it is only about 25 lbs holding such a
> large package surprised me about the light weight.
>
> The awning is packed meticulously in corrugated cardboard in the most
> logical fashion, without any excess material. There were judicious
> application of "Fragile" warning labels.
>
> I unwrapped the packing material to find the beautiful extruded aluminum
> housing. It is a very clean design devoid of any frivolous decoration.
> It has the appearance of a purpose-made design where form follows
> function. There is the sole Shady Boy label with small letters that
> states "Design Wolf, Parts Made in USA, Assembled in Canada". At first
> glance everything is of extremely high quality.
>
> Though I have to leave for work I open the flap of the housing to
> examine the construction inside. The fabric was neatly folded and rolled
> up with the 12 pieces of fiberglass pole sections in the center. Slipped
> on two end of the roll are two beautiful bags that contains the two guy
> ropes. I only learnt later that the eccentric placement of the two bags
> with the guy ropes inside have a very important purpose. It is to
> prevent the tent fabric from chafing during vehicle movement!
>
> I carefully unrolled the fabric to expose the battens. The fiberglass
> poles are no run-of-the-mill cheap tent poles. They are so heavy duty
> and smooth that I initially mistaken them as painted aluminum. The
> connectors are made of what looks like 6061 aluminum tubing of heavy
> gauges. On the two down draft poles there are stainless retaining rings
> to hole the two piece securely together. The poles ends that inserts
> into the fabric pocket are all encased in protective soft covers to
> prevent damage to the fabric. The two sections are different diameter
> with the small diameter one at the far end of the tent. This tapered
> arrangement provides the best stiffness to weight ratio. The receiving
> blocks on two ends of the housing where the other end of the battens
> attached to are milled and machined 6061 aluminum with beautiful red
> anodized finish. They are so beefy that it is clear they can withstand
> significant force imparted by the battens. Examine closer reveals the
> slight angles on the holes intended to reload the flexible fiberglass
> poles. The end caps of the housing are made of high strength plastic
> with excellent fit to the aluminum extrusion secured by what looks like
> black epoxy. The flip up cover action is very smooth and is held in the
> up position by a stainless steel spring. The spring end is encased in a
> soft plastic to add friction against and to protect it from scratching
> the aluminum anodized surface. The rolled up tent fabric and poles are
> held inside the housing with a webbing with a stainless steel snap in
> the center. When the awning is all packed up and the cover closed a
> single snap with a short webbing holds the cover securely closed The
> installation instruction is the most detailed writen instruction of any
> product I seen - clear, concise, and technical in simple language.
>
> I initially ordered the silver reflective fabric for lowest solar gain.
> Since I was concerned with the awning operation in light breeze I
> conferred with Wolfgang. He immediately recommended me to go with the
> standard fabric because it is the strongest and most rip resistant.
> Although the fabric is fairly thin but one can immediately tell it is
> very high quality nylon unlike the vinyl one found in most awnings.
>
> The two mounting bracket are made out of stainless steel and are more
> than 1/8" thick. They will definitely outlast every part on the camper.
> All the fasteners are stainless and all are sized optimally. I will not
> be using these brackets in my installation because of my roof rack.
> Instead I will mount the awning onto one single roof rack feet.
>
> Though I have yet to install the unit and see how it perform, I am very
> impressed with every aspect, from design to construction and quality. I
> am sure this is an add-on in keeping with the excellent Westfalia coach
> work.
>
> I hope to have it install this coming weekend.
>
> - Vince
>
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