I have come up with a cheap, easy kitchen side awning for vans (OK, driver's side, then) and Westies. When camping, and you need that window open to vent kitchen fumes, and/or to vent your heater, you can get a lot of rain in through that opening. Plus, that rain goes to one of the worst places to get wet. I have come up with a solution that takes an 11 x 22 piece of sign material (sintra or trovicel, it's available from sign shops), and a cheap plastic drywall edging from Home Depot make up the awning. Glue the edging to the board, and the edging hangs in the rain gutter. The single support is a dowel that fits between a magnet that sticks on the side of the van under the window. The dowel is mounted to the magnet via a door-bumper spring. It is the outward tension on the dowel by the spring that keeps the awning from sliding past a small groove carved just below its upper tip. The size allows the awning to cover the fully opened side window. Since there is only a small patch of screen exposed at the front of the car, the size covers it adequately. There's no need to have a full 50 inch awning for the whole window. The single support will make sense when you see how the thing works in place. It literally takes five seconds to set it up or take it down if you have both pieces nearby. No tools. I've just hose-tested it for water handling, but it seems secure enough to withstand some wind, maybe a lot. If you're interested, I have pictures and description available. Just email me. Jim |
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