270 Awning... Driver side or Passenger side?

[dsmithers]

So! I'm about to pick up an Alu-Cab Shadow Awning to mount to the side of my Gen 3 tent, and with it being a 270 degree awning, its obviously side specific. However, I am really struggling to decide which side is best, or better than the other. I realize it's an incredibly subjective decision, but I was hoping to get a little guidance from people who have/had a 270 degree awning, about which side they mounted theirs to, and why. Maybe there are some considerations I hadn't thought of.

Couple things to note...

1. Entrance into the tent, whether that be driver or passenger side, doesn't really matter. Thats not driving my decision.
2. I heard at one point in time, that putting awnings on the passenger side of vehicles is "better". Since, on the off chance you need to pull over to the side of the road in the US, the awning would open into the ditch or where-ever, rather than into the road/open-highway. This has always driven my general decision on the matter considering it seemed like a good rule of thumb. But does it REALLY matter all that much? I feel like if there's an emergency and you need to pull off the road, you should be so far off that wouldn't matter what side it's on.

Im just not too sure at the moment. I would love to hear some opinions, past experiences, considerations, etc. from that community though.

Thanks!

 

[alanymarce]

Very simple - our rear door opens anticlockwise (i.e. when looking at the rear of the vehicle it opens to the right) so if the awning's on the RHS too and you want to go from the open rear of the vehicle to below the side awning you have to go around the open door. This may not seem much, but if you're going back and forth between "kitchen" (back of the vehicle (under a shorter awning, in our case) and "dining room" (under the awning, if it's hot or raining) it's inconvenient. With a 270 degree awning this becomes more evident.

Another reason - if you've stopped in hot sun at the side of the road for lunch (obviously a road with little traffic, not an autobahn/motorway/interstate) then you can put out the awning if it's on the right side (left hand side in RHD countries, right hand side in LHD countries).

Another - if there are two of you and one of you (i.e., me) needs to leave the vehicle at night a couple of times, then if it's raining and you've put the awning out you're protected on that side. I sleep on the left hand side of the vehicle so the awning's being on the same side is convenient for me.

Another - if you have a second spare wheel, and it's mounted on the roof on the same side as the awning, if oyu need to get it down and the awning's out you have to close the awning or move the spare across to the other side. This can be sorted out by ensuring that you mount the spare on the opposite side to the awning, BUT since you want the spare accessible from the side away from the traffic, the awning's then on the wrong side to put out at the roadside.

Another - really a subset of the last, if you have reserve fuel on the roof you'll want it on the same side as the filler to the fuel tank. Now refer to the previous points for the possible disadvantages.

That's all I can think of for now...

 

[Winterpeg]

I have a CB antenna on the driver side of my rear door hinge.... so I THINK I'll need to put it on the passenger side when I buy it.... the door also opens on the passenger side.

 

[codertimt]

My only additive comment would be on the drivers side it's possible to lean out and check for clearance on tight trails. This is definitely depending on what type of trails you run, but I run some tight trails in the Ozarks being able to easily check that clearance could mean keeping it out of a tree quite often...

 

[Mtpisgah]

I have an AluCab Canopy Camper so obviously my awning is on the drivers side. when I was originally planning to get a canopy and add a roof rack and awning and still would have placed it on the driver’s side. I like being able to see it easier in my mirror or by sticking my head out the window.

 

[Winterpeg]

My only additive comment would be on the drivers side it's possible to lean out and check for clearance on tight trails. This is definitely depending on what type of trails you run, but I run some tight trails in the Ozarks being able to easily check that clearance could mean keeping it out of a tree quite often...

Yeah, that's my biggest concern.... my trails are very tight.... I use limb-risers and the whole nine yards..... I have yet to get an awning but it's only a matter of time.

 

[dsmithers]

Thank you for all the insight guys! I appreciate it. Honestly.

Sounds like there are quite a few people either running or planning to run a driver’s side 270. I get it, and the more I think I about it, the more I lean that direction. It’s just against the plan or vision I had set for the way I wanted things and what I thought was best, so it’s taking some time for me to come around to that thought.


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[Mighty Dodge Ram]

My $.02...I mounted my RR Batwing on the driver‘s side due to a spare tire swingarm opening to the passenger side, as already mentioned. I no longer have that tire carrier so it’s a moot point. But, the RR Batwing must use its poles for support and be guyed down in anything other than a whisper so quick deployment is not it’s strong suit. Your awning is of superior quality and build so it can handle more wind. If I had your awning I’d mount it on the passenger side so that I could quickly deploy it when pulled over on the side of the road at some picturesque spot; I’m thinking along the coast, deep canyons, etc. As always YMMV, you can’t go wrong with that awning whichever side you choose.

 

[dsmithers]

My $.02...I mounted my RR Batwing on the driver‘s side due to a spare tire swingarm opening to the passenger side, as already mentioned. I no longer have that tire carrier so it’s a moot point. But, the RR Batwing must use its poles for support and be guyed down in anything other than a whisper so quick deployment is not it’s strong suit. Your awning is of superior quality and build so it can handle more wind. If I had your awning I’d mount it on the passenger side so that I could quickly deploy it when pulled over on the side of the road at some picturesque spot; I’m thinking along the coast, deep canyons, etc. As always YMMV, you can’t go wrong with that awning whichever side you choose.

Yeah I feel this. My spare tire is currently in the bed of my truck, which is more than fine right now, but I have thought of a tire carrier or something in the future. The problem is that most, if not all of them open to the passenger side like you said. And I think that is what is mostly holding me back from making a decision.

I really like the thought of having it on the passenger side because of the “side of the road” situation. And like I mentioned in my post, that has mostly driven my thought process. But I also don’t want to go down that path, only to buy some kind of tire carrier in a year or two and bork my entire camp Feng shui. Lol

It’s a dumb dilemma.


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[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Not dumb at all. I drive a full-size pickup and I found that for the vast majority of the time, having to open/close a tire carrier to access the bed was a PITA. I can imagine it would be even worse for someone driving an SUV type vehicle unless...this was a full time overlanding rig used primarily in remote locations where being bogged and not being able to access a spare mounted underneath was a potentially dangerous situation. Mine is a longbed so, like you, if I needed a 2nd spare I’d mount it in the bed, old school. Just my experience, I could be wrong and frequently am!

 

[dsmithers]

I drive a Colorado ZR2 short bed, and the upgraded 33 inch spare tire doesn’t fit under the bed anymore unfortunately. But, it’s up against the back of the bed and generally out of the way, so it’s not really that big of a deal. And honestly, it is kinda nice to have it there, since it centers the weight on the truck rather than towards the back of the frame. Maybe in the end, a tire carrier isn’t all that necessary. Probably more of a PITA like you mentioned, since this isn’t a full “overland” rig. It’s still my daily driver.

Another thing that I haven’t really mentioned, is the fact that if I were to go with the passenger side awning, the tire its current location would be in the “living area” of the bed. Rather than the electrical and tool box being in the “living area” with a driver’s side awning. And swapping those two things is more work than what it’s worth. Again, I’m not too sure if that really matters and is more personal preference than anything, but that has also been on the back of my mind.


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[Milamr]

I have my Bush Company awning on the drivers side due to the tire carrier opening to the passenger side.

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[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Good looking rig. Do you have a build thread? Which canopy are you running?

 

[dsmithers]

Thank you very much! I do not have a build thread on here. I probably should, but honestly I just don’t have the attention span to sit down and actually write it all out. Haha. However, I do have an Instagram (@midnight.zr2), where I’ve snapped some pictures of building, as I go. Nothing crazy, but its something.

And the canopy is an Alu-Cab Explorer Canopy. It’s actually the Colorado prototype, serial #001, that I picked up from Rin over at OK4WD, back when I was living in DC. I’m really loving it. I looked at some fiberglass ones when searching around, but this takes the cake. Not just from a strength standpoint, but from a functionality (with fully opening side doors) and mounting (bolts, not clamps) standpoint. Super happy and super impressed.

Pre-Gen 3 tent…

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[dsmithers]

Good looking rig. Do you have a build thread? Which canopy are you running?

Whoop… forgot to quote ya.


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