Date:         Thu, 2 Jun 2005 10:39:50 -0700
Reply-To:     Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Subject:      Re: Bus Depot Awning
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
              reply-type=response

There's only so much that any awning can survive- past a certain point no
amount of quality or strength or whatever is going to help.
I took my folk's 32' motorhome to Lollapalooza at Irvine Meadows one year
(had a whole bunch of miscreants with us, so we needed the room). We had the
thing set up normally, no problems when the wind began to kick up in the
late afternoon. Wasn't blowing all that hard, didn't seem like much to worry
about when this freak gust came along and caught the awning like a sail. I
felt like my nads had dropped into my boots while I watched this motorhome
roll up to an impressive angle on the driver's side wheels. The guy parked
on that side thought that he, his girlfriend, his car and his grill were all
dead. The gust died off, the motorhome came crashing down and that awning
was permanently trashed- about two grand worth of hardware. This was thick,
heavy aluminum braces, poles and the whole bit. We had to hammer it back
together and closed so we could move the beast.
Sometimes you just can't account for what Mother Nature decided to do to
you.

Cya,
Robert

----- Original Message -----
From: "rob campbell" <rob@QUIMP.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 9:59 AM
Subject: Re: Bus Depot Awning


>I really dont want to defame a product in public and certainly bear
> no ill-will towards the vendor, but I would also be very sad if
> anyone had the same experience as me while I silently stood by.
>
> I've tried this awning and ended up scrapping it.  In high winds at
> Badlands park one night it ripped itself free (yes it was staked),
> and the poles were irreparably bent.  Even before that, I found it a
> bit of a hassle to construct (the excitement of the first setup wears
> off when you are using this thing "fulltime").
>
> It does have some amazing pros:
>
> umbrella shaped roof is excellent
> not permanently attached to van
> stores on top shelf in rear
> affordable (see con version: cheap)
> generous space, especially vertically
>
> but the cons:
> cheap (I'd rather pay more for decent quality)
> wouldn't trust it overnight (it was dead calm and cloudless when I
> went to sleep)
> annoying to assemble and take down (especially if alone)
> where the edge meets the van, it creates a waterfall when raining
> heavily
>
> Busdepot is a great company with great products, but in my
> experience, this EZ Awning needs a lot of improvements before I would
> consider another one.
>
>
>
> On Jun 1, 2005, at 9:18 PM, Sharon Mendonca wrote:
>
>> Looks like a great awning!!  Your pictures are fine and have enough
>> light to see everything, too.  Much larger than I would have
>> expected.  We have an A&E on our Vanagon and I don't think it's
>> nearly as big - and my husband hates to put it up!!  Says we are
>> NOT moving it to the Westy.
>>
>> Sharon Mendonca
>>
>>