Homemade Awning
- Thread starter Mg-rover1
- Start date
Wiley
Adventurer
I was thinking of taking this gem from evldaves DIY awning, and doing something like your PVC case so it could survive the elements, now that I see something in action I like it a bit more than I thought I would, thanks! For rolling the tarp, I would just use a bar like he did across the end of the tarp, and roll it up into your PVC case. Is it a height issue where its tough to reach, or do you want it to roll easier for convenience?
Let us know how it holds up, thanks for the idea.
Let us know how it holds up, thanks for the idea.
very nice job! I like the Mr.Longarm painter adjustable pole they are alumi and sturdy, and id keep it simple with the bar on the in for rolling it like Wiley suggested. I like the pvc casing when i was planing mine i was going with this same idea. But i opted out and got the arb becuase of time restrains. I think the pvc would hold up much better in the trees with only scatches. Yours really came out nice and the price was right! Well done!
Mg-rover1
Observer
Thanks Guys! I am going to walmart today and look for that 6 dollar adjustable pole. I am still deciding on the handle part to crank the tarp in. I agree on keeping it simple and would like it to be removable. I will keep u guys posted when I found what i' looking for. thanks again!
Mg-rover1
Observer
I just saw that Mr. Longarm youre talking about looks really sturdy so I'll hit up hardware store. Thanks!
This is AWESOME! I had a similar idea for my awning cover, but I was just gonna cut the pipe in 1/2, not actually notch out a portion where the awning comes out - genius!! (as a note, I have a 10' pipe cut in half in my garage that ended up way to flimsy to use...I wish I'd had your idea before, would have saved me some grief lol)
re: your question on attach to truck or standup poles...these are just my thoughts/experiences.
If this is pretty much a sun shade, and you won't be in much windy conditions, go with the freestanding (attached to truck) approach. Unless you build a strong swingarm like the Hannibal, the tarp will be somewhat 'floppy' and will easily be tossed around by the wind and collapsed by the rain. I've tested my awning using just the cheapo wally world poles attached to the roof (about 6" below where the tarp attaches to get some geometry going) and for me it just didn't seem beefy enough.
If you anticipate using this in inclement weather, I'd strongly suggest going with a the standing poles approach, just more support for rain basically.
When I made my first awning, I had a 'free' outside edge of the tarp - basically I was attaching poles to the grommets just like you have here. I found that adding a rigid outside edge (I used EMT) made 100x difference in how the awning responded to wind/rain/etc. Based on your pics, if you wanted, you could probably screw an emt conduit to the outside edge and still have enough space in your awning containment vessel for everything
The other benefit to having an outside rigid edge is that you can use a 5 gal water container and a bungee cord to hold down the awning in winds without the need for stakes - something that comes in handy in sandy or uber-rocky terrain. I can attest that 1 5 gallon water container will hold my awning down in 20-30mph winds easy.
One possible way to balance the two possibilities is to have the stakes attach somewhere lower on your truck...the further down from where the tarp attaches, the better the geometry and stronger the wind/rain resistance - think RV awning attachments.
As for rolling up the awning, it looks like the spinning end thing stick out just past your roof rack? If that's true, I would get a 1' x 3/8 solid round bar, drill a 3/8"+ hole in your rollup tube, and when you need to roll it up, just slide the round bar through the hole and spin it with both hands. When you are done you can just through the bar into the bottom of the pipe and close it all up. (does any of that make sense?)
Honestly though, gotta say it again, the way you have the tube cut and designed is AWESOME! I will definitely be stealing that idea
re: your question on attach to truck or standup poles...these are just my thoughts/experiences.
If this is pretty much a sun shade, and you won't be in much windy conditions, go with the freestanding (attached to truck) approach. Unless you build a strong swingarm like the Hannibal, the tarp will be somewhat 'floppy' and will easily be tossed around by the wind and collapsed by the rain. I've tested my awning using just the cheapo wally world poles attached to the roof (about 6" below where the tarp attaches to get some geometry going) and for me it just didn't seem beefy enough.
If you anticipate using this in inclement weather, I'd strongly suggest going with a the standing poles approach, just more support for rain basically.
When I made my first awning, I had a 'free' outside edge of the tarp - basically I was attaching poles to the grommets just like you have here. I found that adding a rigid outside edge (I used EMT) made 100x difference in how the awning responded to wind/rain/etc. Based on your pics, if you wanted, you could probably screw an emt conduit to the outside edge and still have enough space in your awning containment vessel for everything
The other benefit to having an outside rigid edge is that you can use a 5 gal water container and a bungee cord to hold down the awning in winds without the need for stakes - something that comes in handy in sandy or uber-rocky terrain. I can attest that 1 5 gallon water container will hold my awning down in 20-30mph winds easy.
One possible way to balance the two possibilities is to have the stakes attach somewhere lower on your truck...the further down from where the tarp attaches, the better the geometry and stronger the wind/rain resistance - think RV awning attachments.
As for rolling up the awning, it looks like the spinning end thing stick out just past your roof rack? If that's true, I would get a 1' x 3/8 solid round bar, drill a 3/8"+ hole in your rollup tube, and when you need to roll it up, just slide the round bar through the hole and spin it with both hands. When you are done you can just through the bar into the bottom of the pipe and close it all up. (does any of that make sense?)
Honestly though, gotta say it again, the way you have the tube cut and designed is AWESOME! I will definitely be stealing that idea
Mg-rover1
Observer
This is AWESOME! I had a similar idea for my awning cover, but I was just gonna cut the pipe in 1/2, not actually notch out a portion where the awning comes out - genius!! (as a note, I have a 10' pipe cut in half in my garage that ended up way to flimsy to use...I wish I'd had your idea before, would have saved me some grief lol)
re: your question on attach to truck or standup poles...these are just my thoughts/experiences.
If this is pretty much a sun shade, and you won't be in much windy conditions, go with the freestanding (attached to truck) approach. Unless you build a strong swingarm like the Hannibal, the tarp will be somewhat 'floppy' and will easily be tossed around by the wind and collapsed by the rain. I've tested my awning using just the cheapo wally world poles attached to the roof (about 6" below where the tarp attaches to get some geometry going) and for me it just didn't seem beefy enough.
If you anticipate using this in inclement weather, I'd strongly suggest going with a the standing poles approach, just more support for rain basically.
When I made my first awning, I had a 'free' outside edge of the tarp - basically I was attaching poles to the grommets just like you have here. I found that adding a rigid outside edge (I used EMT) made 100x difference in how the awning responded to wind/rain/etc. Based on your pics, if you wanted, you could probably screw an emt conduit to the outside edge and still have enough space in your awning containment vessel for everything
The other benefit to having an outside rigid edge is that you can use a 5 gal water container and a bungee cord to hold down the awning in winds without the need for stakes - something that comes in handy in sandy or uber-rocky terrain. I can attest that 1 5 gallon water container will hold my awning down in 20-30mph winds easy.
One possible way to balance the two possibilities is to have the stakes attach somewhere lower on your truck...the further down from where the tarp attaches, the better the geometry and stronger the wind/rain resistance - think RV awning attachments.
As for rolling up the awning, it looks like the spinning end thing stick out just past your roof rack? If that's true, I would get a 1' x 3/8 solid round bar, drill a 3/8"+ hole in your rollup tube, and when you need to roll it up, just slide the round bar through the hole and spin it with both hands. When you are done you can just through the bar into the bottom of the pipe and close it all up. (does any of that make sense?)
Honestly though, gotta say it again, the way you have the tube cut and designed is AWESOME! I will definitely be stealing that idea
Thanks! This is still pretty much a prototype and I would change the rods to a stronger one. I'm going to work on it this weekend and start sealing up gaps. I will definitely try the options you mentioned for the placement of poles to see which one is better.
Thanks again,
Mark
Mg-rover1
Observer
I thought about that and i'm still thinking how to attach it to the brackets. The part to keep the poles spaced and tight is a good idea...Thanks!
thecriscokid
Explorer
Nice! how much do you have into it?
Mg-rover1
Observer
I spent about 20 bucks...I got the pvc pipe for free then the rest I pretty much have it laying around the garage, like the door hinges, curtain rods. etc
Hafwit
Adventurer
I had some similar ideas and was looking at the possibility of a retractable awning that could be wound back into the case using a hand crank. If you buy perforated drain pipe instead of PVC, you can cut out the perforations to create the opening--this would be easier to make "straight" as you just connect the dots when cutting. I am not sure what is most UV-resistant--drain pipe/PVC/ABS/etc, but if it is going to be mounted on the rack where it is constantly exposed to the sun, I would be concerned about material degradation over time. I wouldn't want it to get brittle and break apart while traveling. Does anybody know which of these materials is best?