Awning, pop-up canopy, tents, or plain ole tarps for off-road/camping? Preferences?

[teotwaki]

If you don't lean your awning into trees or run it down tight, forested roads, that is fine, but realize that many people do. You are in the west and what works well out there doesn't necessarily work well out here in the Northeast. I need a durable awning and a Fiamma would end up in the trash after a single run. The Fiamma is a great unit and if I was more gentle on the truck, I would probably have one. Everyone has different needs. If there were a perfect product, everyone would be running the same thing and questions like this wouldn't have multiple replies.

In regards to your statements about the ARB cover not being durable; I have no idea where you get your information. The ARB cover is INCREDIBLY resistant to tree branches. I've used my ARB awning as a tree slider multiple times and dragged it through hundreds of miles of off-road trails this year, all in the Northeast with tight trails, tons of trees, and all on full size truck. My cover is still in fantastic condition with no holes or rips. The cover is absolutely durable.

I have the 8' ARB on my truck and I had a different 8' ARB on my Defender. They are very hard to set up alone. The shorter ones are pretty easy but I am short, have a tall truck, and I just can't reach all the things I need to at the same time to set it up easily. I would like something a little easier to deploy, but I do not want to give up the length.

I get my information from being an owner of both a Fiamma and the ARB and using them side by side for more than a few years. I don't think east coast trees are somehow more rugged and manly compared to any tree growing on the west coast. I was born on the east coast so I have more than an idea of what it is like there. It is more likely I am not careless about ramming an awning into tree branches but I guess that is somehow being gentle and less adventuresome in a non-full sized truck.

What is funny here is that the ARB awning troops are defending their purchase but they don't own a Fiamma. Let me emphasize that I own both and use both quite a lot in all sorts of terrain, weather and in and out of forests, deserts and other "gentler and tamer" west coast areas. The ARB is half the cost of the Fiamma for a reason and it is not because it has twice the quality.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Ain't got no nerves about Fiammas or ARB awnings but what I do have are unemotional facts and direct comparisons of both over years of use. I own both and use them side by side unlike someone who chose one and vigorously defends only one based on some odd parameters: slamming their angry fist into it, carelessly slamming a tree into it or opening it next to their buddies' trucks. As an ARB goes on in life it starts to break down. The internal plastic tensioners of the telescoping poles have a tiny screw that tears out. The vinyl bag starts to discolor and delaminate where UV takes its toll. All of the half-priced Chinese awnings such as ARB, Ironman, Black Widow and Bangz-U brands share the same shortcomings. Fiamma has been selling in the US since 1980 and continuously refined the design. Two years from now ARB won't even have a manual for today's awning let alone spare parts. Whatever local beach trails you and the ARB go on are not much of a selling point once your factory ARB brackets crack like mine did. I custom made some new ones from 6061 aluminum angle stock and replaced the rusting nuts and bolts too. My Fiamma lives on my trailer which is towed over lots of hard trails in California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Nothing has broken on it and it is older than the ARB. I realize that we live in a throw-away society and a cheaper ARB can be tossed when it breaks down but for the Fiamma I can order parts and keep using it for many more years.

You are pulling a trailer how tough can your trails be

Glad you are enjoying your Fiamma its a great awning for some given your needs.Im strongly consider one for my LX

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

@ landcruiserphill

nice looking rig you have there,looks as it needs to be put in a container and shipped to cape town.
good luck
kp

Thanks
I would love to some day

 

[TripLeader]

Tarps & Pop-Up Canopies

My experiences are with tarps and pop-up canopies. I've never had an awning, but it looks like it would be nice.
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Here's my setup with a pop-up canopy. I like that you can put them where you like, such as over a picnic table. They take up more space in the vehicle and cost a little more. I also had one destroyed by wind in Utah while I was away from camp.

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Here's an old photo of my tarp setup. They pack small and are cheap. The issues with them is that you need trees, and need to know a few knots to make them work well.

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So, I always take the tarp. If I have room to pack it, I take the canopy as well.

 

[teotwaki]

You are pulling a trailer how tough can your trails be

Glad you are enjoying your Fiamma its a great awning for some given your needs.Im strongly consider one for my LX

Pulling a Joe Biden in the middle of an Expedition Trailer forum? Well, yeah, how tough can pulling a trailer offroad be anyhow?
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Nowhere near as challenging as sitting at the beach :drool:

 

[teotwaki]

My experiences are with tarps and pop-up canopies. I've never had an awning, but it looks like it would be nice.
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Here's my setup with a pop-up canopy. I like that you can put them where you like, such as over a picnic table. They take up more space in the vehicle and cost a little more. I also had one destroyed by wind in Utah while I was away from camp.
_.

Pop-ups are nice in that you can drive off and leave the shelter in place as opposed to any sort of awning attached to a vehicle or trailer

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Pulling a Joe Biden in the middle of an Expedition Trailer forum? Well, yeah, how tough can pulling a trailer offroad be anyhow?
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Nowhere near as challenging as sitting at the beach :drool:

My trailer awning is a one of kind custom to match my off road trailer. With both section out it is over 100 Sq/ft. Made of light weight rip stop nylon and under 10lbs with poles. Because of the trailers small foot print and my goal to keep the trailers total wet weight under 600lbs no over the counter awning would work.

 

[JasonRedwood]

My trailer awning is a one of kind custom to match my off road trailer. With both section out it is over 100 Sq/ft. Made of light weight rip stop nylon and under 10lbs with poles. Because of the trailers small foot print and my goal to keep the trailers total wet weight under 600lbs no over the counter awning would work.

Hey LandcruiserPhil-
Would you mind posting or sending me a few detail shots of your awning off the trailer? I have the same trailer and that was up next on my trailer "to-do-list".
Did you sew in velcro to attach above the door?
Thanks,
Jason

 

[Petrolburner]

Are there any pop up awnings that aren't total crap? I understand they need to be tied down to prevent damage, but they all seem poorly built, at any price point.

 

[TripLeader]

Are there any pop up awnings that aren't total crap? I understand they need to be tied down to prevent damage, but they all seem poorly built, at any price point.

I'm not aware of any super high-quality pop-up canopies. My last one cost me $100 from a discount store. It was pretty decent (for what it was). It was the one that blew down and the frame bent.
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I only replaced it because I found a similar one on sale at a discount store for $30, marked down from $100. I expect it to last for years as long as it stays protected from wind.
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I really like having them for camping in Colorado. Having a way to stay dry in afternoon thunderstorms without having to sit in a tent or vehicle makes camping so much more comfortable.

 

[Phoenix]

Currently, I use tarps. My reasons include cost, durability, and multi-function.

My rig is a Jeep JKU, my trailer is a M101A3 that hasn't gone through any weight reduction, that is phase 3, I'm starting on phase 2.

Tarps are almost impossible to put up quickly with less than 2 people, but I rarely camp solo. I have poles and guy lines for each of the tarps.

I use 10 oz treated duck canvas tarps as I like the fact that if needed, I could convert the canopy to a variety of other needs. The tarp is held onto the trailer rack with bungee cords with balls. I don't use a cover, and the tarps get dried out after each trip. Between trips the entire trailer is covered with the military tarp that came with the trailer.

Ready to roll.


Set up (2 people, 30 minutes)

1 8x10 tarp for sitting under
1 6x8 tarp for cooking under.
Both have a PVC pipe at the end to give them a bit of structure.

Total cost including bungee, tarp, PVC, cable ties, poles, guy lines, and stakes; less than $150. $90 of that is in tarps. $28 in poles. About $5 or less each, for PVC, bungees, guy lines, stakes, and cable ties.

How the trailer looked on day 1


Based on how I use the trailer and awnings, I don't really see myself moving away from a tarp. I do see myself modifying the awning so water doesn't pool during a storm. I have some $10 - $20 answers for that. Schedule 80 PVC is stiff enough to do the job and can be broken down to easily fit in the trailer or stored on the rack.

 

[teotwaki]

My trailer awning is a one of kind custom to match my off road trailer. With both section out it is over 100 Sq/ft. Made of light weight rip stop nylon and under 10lbs with poles. Because of the trailers small foot print and my goal to keep the trailers total wet weight under 600lbs no over the counter awning would work.

I like the shaping of the awning to provide a path for water to run off. It matches the Venturcraft tent pretty well.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Hey LandcruiserPhil-
Would you mind posting or sending me a few detail shots of your awning off the trailer? I have the same trailer and that was up next on my trailer "to-do-list".
Did you sew in velcro to attach above the door?
Thanks,
Jason

Most Venturcraft and Kwik Kamp (my version) trailers I have seen have a ~1" strip of canvas above the door for an optional awning. Velcro was use to attach but it is recommended to to install button connector to secure it. My awning is ~5' wide were it attaches to the trailer, 10' wide at the outside, and extends 11' out. I also have a additional triangle awning add-on the attaches with velcro on either side that is the main awning full length and 8' wide off the trailer end. The awning is hemmed rip stop nylon and grommets for the poles making very light weight.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I like the shaping of the awning to provide a path for water to run off. It matches the Venturcraft tent pretty well.

Thanks
My trailer is not a Venturcraft actually it started its life as a Kwik Kamp (same company) that I upgrade to make it capable for off road travel.

 

[teotwaki]

Thanks
My trailer is not a Venturcraft actually it started its life as a Kwik Kamp (same company) that I upgrade to make it capable for off road travel.

Yeah, I read the build thread on Mud a year or two ago. Given that it is a hybrid of two company's versions and your upgrades I never knew what to call it other than a nice lightweight trailer.