Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:28:09 -0700
Reply-To: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Which awning is best
In-Reply-To: <E8C8BFF6-84A6-431B-896E-6D3D2D1A8591@vickersdesign.com>
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I'll second Jeff's recco, although I don't see how the Shady Boy can be
called "domed." Peaked, maybe.
It's a flat piece of fabric with one edge anchored to the van, and the
other edge held out from the van with three poles that radiate out from
above the sliding door: one pole per outer corner, and a center pole.
It's pretty easy to set up, pretty easy to take down.
I've used this thing in quite high winds. A couple of light nylon lines
attached to the van's bumpers keep the outer corners, thus the outer
edge, from flying up with updrafts, and the optional corner downpoles
keep the outer edge from being mashed down by downdrafts. It's stable
and solid in wind.
In heavy rain, the outer corners can be lowered by tightening the corner
lines, allowing water to spill onto the ground instead of pooling.
A bit of a gap above the sliding door lets water drip in heavy rain, but
a strip of foam weatherstripping mashed into it solves that problem.
In hot weather, the fabric becomes quite hot to the touch, even the
silver fabric version. You can feel the heat radiating down on your
head, and hot air gathers under the awning and sluices up into the van
through the open door. I solve that by attaching an "under roof" beneath
the awning with (tie-died) fabric and binder clips. Miles cooler
underneath then.
Like many tents and tent-like products, once open, it can't be put back
into the box it came out of. The aluminum case over the door is too
small for any normal human to get the awning and poles into. I carry the
poles in the back of the van, using only one for rolling up the fabric
into the case.
The fiberglass poles are amazingly sturdy -- I was once caught by a
surprise updraft before I had the tiedowns tied down, and the wind bent
the awning straight up, the poles were curved 90 degrees or more, and
were unfazed. Mine have microscopic glass fibers that poke into and
irritate my skin, like handling fiberglass insulation, so I handle the
poles with gloves.
I used a BD awning several years ago, thought it was a PITA to assemble
up and disassemble, and it felt clunky. The design may have changed.
--
Rocky J Squirrel
On Tue, 2010-08-17 at 13:32 -0700, Jeffrey Vickers wrote:
> I have a Shady Boy and like it a lot. The crank-out Fiamma is
> definitely the easiest to deploy but more expensive, heavier and also
> not "domed" like Troy says. The Shady Boy is domed and being 6 ft, it
> gives me the sense of more head room. It takes about 5 minutes to set
> up and with no wind, you don't need the vertical poles at the corners
> - its self supporting and just kinda "floats". You can essentially
> "drop" the Shady Boy in about 30 seconds by pulling out two poles and
> unclipping the vertical poles. Pretty easy - and a good thing when the
> wind comes up fast.
>
> Jeff
> On Aug 17, 2010, at 12:28 PM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
>
> > Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:45:17 -0800
> > From: Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET>
> > Subject: Which awning is best
> >
> > "But the second choice is the cheapest on the market, the Shady
> > Boy. Several friends
> > have them and are happy with them."
> >
> > The cheapest awning on the market is the bus depot awning at $119.
> > One consideration not mentioned is the fact the gutter rail that the
> > awning attaches to is only 6 feet tall, and if you want water to
> > drain that means your awning is going to be lower at the furthest
> > edge from the van. If you're taller than 6 feet, it can get pretty
> > cramped under the awning. This is where the bus depot dome shaped
> > awning really excels. Is it as convenient as being able to crank out
> > the awning?, heck no, but you do tend to get what you pay for. The
> > BD awning can be assembled in about five minutes though. Of course
> > the subject was "best" awning, but best can be subjective too.
> >
> > Troy
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