Sonoranrunner
New member
I bought the same awning and mounted it to my 99 4runner. With a couple mods and some ingenuity I mounted directly to stock crossbars and fitted it with a remote controlled LED light strip. Happy with the end result.
Smittybilt 6' Awning
- Thread starter exporunner
- Start date
Boconnor303
New member
I bought the same awning and mounted it to my 99 4runner. With a couple mods and some ingenuity I mounted directly to stock crossbars and fitted it with a remote controlled LED light strip. Happy with the end result.
Sonoran,
Does your runner have a full length roof rack or the short/sunroof style?
Also, would it be possible to see a picture of your mounting method?
Thanks
VagabondExpedition
Adventurer
I'm way late to this thread, but for those interested, here is the included mounting system with the Smitybuilt awning. I got a good deal on the awning and with the 4wheelparts no hassle 3 year warranty, figured I can't go wrong.
Here, the L bracket and tube clamp come with the awning (two of them). This is mounted to a Gobi roof rack on my Jeep, but would think it's fairly flexible to mount to any tube type roof rack. The L bracket has multiple holes for positioning closer or farther from the vehicle as required. You could also ditch the tube clamp if your roof rack is different and you could maybe bolt the L brackets direct to the rack.
I didn't take a picture of the rear of the awning itself, but it just bolts to that L bracket - takes two minutes or so to finish the install at this point.
I did replace the zipper pulls with paracord pretty quickly - wasn't a fan of extra 'jingly noises' while driving down the road.
It's definitely something you want to tie down in anything other than a very light breeze. It includes two strong pegs and tie down cords.
The finished product. I've used it a fair bit and have had no issues - a bit of a pain for one person to handle, but they're all like that.
more info on my blog: http://vagabondexpedition.com/smitybuilt-awning/
Here, the L bracket and tube clamp come with the awning (two of them). This is mounted to a Gobi roof rack on my Jeep, but would think it's fairly flexible to mount to any tube type roof rack. The L bracket has multiple holes for positioning closer or farther from the vehicle as required. You could also ditch the tube clamp if your roof rack is different and you could maybe bolt the L brackets direct to the rack.
I didn't take a picture of the rear of the awning itself, but it just bolts to that L bracket - takes two minutes or so to finish the install at this point.
I did replace the zipper pulls with paracord pretty quickly - wasn't a fan of extra 'jingly noises' while driving down the road.
It's definitely something you want to tie down in anything other than a very light breeze. It includes two strong pegs and tie down cords.
The finished product. I've used it a fair bit and have had no issues - a bit of a pain for one person to handle, but they're all like that.
more info on my blog: http://vagabondexpedition.com/smitybuilt-awning/
Sonoranrunner
New member
Way cool mrcoyote! Yeah I dig the setup you've done. And very good idea about the zipper pulls. 
Crikeymike
Adventurer
I think it all comes down to making sure it is setup properly (with guy ropes and pegs, etc) and knowing when to put it away. It's a lot like $10 camp chairs. If you take care of them and know their limitations, they can last a while.
So many of these are the same these days, and have been for some time. Ours is $225, and comes with the L-brackets, but ours extends out 3 meters instead of the standard 2.5 meters, giving more cover. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M1F59IE
So many of these are the same these days, and have been for some time. Ours is $225, and comes with the L-brackets, but ours extends out 3 meters instead of the standard 2.5 meters, giving more cover. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M1F59IE
Crikeymike
Adventurer
It has to be fully extended to be used. Poles come out to make it right, in addition to the legs that make it stand up
truman3
New member
campintruck2
New member
Does anyone know if the ARB annex will work with Smittybilt?
I bought the 8.2 ft awning and found an arb mosquioto room and annex that fit. just make sure its the same size .
SilicaRich
Wandering Inverted
I bought the same awning and mounted it to my 99 4runner. With a couple mods and some ingenuity I mounted directly to stock crossbars and fitted it with a remote controlled LED light strip. Happy with the end result.
Stealing your LED strip idea. That's awesome
Kyle Kelso
Adventurer
Just ordered an 8' today for my suburban, along with an xl rtt. I was always skeptical of their products but the prices are too good and the 4WP warranty can't be beat. Thanks for the LED idea!
Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
Kyle Kelso
Adventurer
8' awning mounted to Thule cross bars with supplied L brackets.
