so we've given up on the idea of NOT having a roof-rack and will be saving my pennies for a wilderness rack sometime later in the summer of '07.   i like the idea of having a quick pull awning overhead to make a little kitchen that's out of the weather and gives us a place to sit.   Craig I thought maybe you could post up a bit more about yours, as it seemed to work pretty well?   A pre-fab roll-up awning isn't really in the cards price wise.  

Having the ability to put on at least one side would be cool, given the ability to move the car-side wall where ever you need to block wind and rain.    pointers for the day-dreaming?          

cheers
-ike

I know Craig is going back to the drawingboard.  I've thought about it for a while and am looking for something as well.  I like the Shady Boy pointed to over on ExPo.  But it doesn't seem to have sides and might not support them.  it's half the price of a hannibal and a lot less wieght.
http://www.shadyboy.com/vans/

I haven't completely given up on mine, but in general the ropes and stakes are a hassle. It worked ok when I had heavy fabric, heavy rope, and heavy stakes. It worked good at Quilomene except I kept breaking stakes. It worked so well at Gallagher Head Lake (when Isaac saw it) that I decided to spend more money on the setup and upgrade things a little bit (I went as cheap as possible originally). When I moved to lighter stakes/rope the whole solution sort of fell apart on me (Whipsaw). It also did very poor in the rain and snow (Whipsaw). It was always difficult to setup, although I think that this was largely due to the heavy canvas material I was using.

I am looking at a couple of different setups now. The one Peter linked to is one of them. There also these:
http://www.tailgatershade.com/tailgatingawning.htm ($119)
http://www.sportmasters.com/suv.html

The first one looks pretty easy to setup since it has a rigid front bar and the legs are permanately attached to it.  The biggest problem I had with mine was keeping the legs attached while I tried to apply tension to the cords.  This was partially due to the sheer weight of the canvas.

The one Peter linked to is nice because it is *way* wider than the point where it attaches. I'd like to put one of those over my rear door so I can unload gear, cook, etc without getting dowsed by the elements. It could stay permanently attached to the outside of the roof rack because it would be on the back end of the rack where it won't grab trees. It comes in other colors than the one shown.

---
My current setup:

Awning material: I used waxed canvas from an Army Surplus store originally. It was too heavy. I am going to replace it with impregnated nylon tarp material. This is what the ultralight tarps are made from that ultralight backpackers use. Strong, lightweight, and there are shops that will make them to your size specifications, grommet specs, etc (although I think even *I* could sew on a hem and insert a few grommets).

Poles: I started with cheap adjustable poles from the surplus store to *see* how it would work. I have since upgraded to some nice adjustable poles that I bought from REI.

Stakes: I started with big plastic ones but they broke a lot. I upgraded to MSR aluminum stakes, they also broke. Next I'm going for either circus tent style stakes or the titanium MSR stakes.

Rope: Originally I used some extremely heavy, bright red rope that I had laying around the house. After tripping over the rope a couple of times I decided that I was going to upgrade. I bought MSR reflective tent line, with length adjusters, and stakes. The cord broke with the heavy canvas, but the reflective rope was nice.

good feedback, keep the ideas coming

I don't like the looks of the shadyboy - no poles and no lines make me think that would turn into a giant wing and rip off the truck in the first good gust. and at $350, it's not much of a bargain, either!

Craig, I think you can get those MSR titanium stakes down at Federal surplus for not too much money. I almost grabbed some for our tent. On second thought, they may have been the aluminium ones; i can't remember.

Adjustable poles, impregnated nylon seem like a decent option. If you have any specific shops in mind or have talked about let me know.

Shops for the impregnated nylon? The other gear was all available at either REI or one of the ultralight backpacking web stores.

Unfortunately, I lost all my links a couple of weeks ago and don't have the link to the shop anymore. The impregnated nylon isn't cheap though. I think we need to come up with a design that causes the awning to bulge up like the shadyboy and the second of the two links I provided. Rain/snow pooling up on the awning are a very real concern and a point of failure.

--Craig

i remember seeing generic replacement tent poles in different sizes somewhere in a catalog ... with a few extra grommets, two poles would take care of the top issue easily enough! Just sew on a tie in the middle so you can tie the poles in the middle and I think you'd be set. I was thinking that a lightweight aluminum rail on one side could be made to fit on a simple hook on the roof-rack and extend out perpendicular to the vehicle, to be supported with a pole at the end. From the rail one could fashion a side panel made from the same material as the top and stake it down at the corners to keep wind and rain out. Between the vehicle and one panel I think you'd be fairly well covered. If you were REALLY clever, maybe there's a way to fold the rail and side panel back into the main roll as it's being stowed, so it can all stay connected all the time. Hmmm...

battens people, battens!

ooh, ultra pimp would be air-inflated battens! sweet...

Do you KNOW what a batten is?

Isaac,
If you look at hte other pictures you'll see where the are guy points for the Shady Boy so you can tie it off quickly to the bumpers. It has poles that are optional and it states you should use them when there is wind. I like it BECAUSE it doesn't have poles. I tripped over Craig's enough times, sober, to be relly annoyed with guy lines from poles.

Looking at the jeep over on the other thread it would be *really* easy to attach my roofrack flooring to a hinge on the rear of the vehicle. Then I could just flip it up and over the roofrack as the awning. Add a couple of poles that are also hinged on to the flooring that fold out and lock (like a folding table) and I'd have a very robust awning with virtually no extra weight.

It would be faster and easier to setup than the canvas setup too.

I believe Dan once designed a frame that slides under the existing roofrack. You just slide it out and voila you have an awning. It is additional weight up top, but wouldn't require that the roofrack be unloaded to use it. If it were made from aluminum tubing and had a lightweight vinyl top it sounds like it would work perfectly.

--Craig

now you're thinkin'!  

:chinscratch:   

If you have an air tank... think hydraulics. :-)

--C

a batten is a thin strip of  *something* like wood, aluminum, carbon fiber, etc, that is used (in this context) to give shape to craig's awning and provide internal support.  i stole the idea from sailing.

the battens in this windsurfing sail are the prominent horizontal bars.




here you can see how battens, along with cutting the fabric on a bias, can create a curve which would shed rain and/or snow (hopefully). 




this is a shows the end of the "awning" where the batten is introduced through a sleeve in the awning itself. 


who knows if it would work.  i think it could.  but the flipping the roofrack flooring into a ceiling is very clever.  having it be air actuated would be so cool!  what if you made the floor slide out (with mods to the rack, natch) in the manner dan described?  think a drawer rather than a table...then you could have it on linear actuators (if they make them that long) and have it push out.  sweet!

andy

If you check over on ExPo you will see Aaron describes how the Shady Boy works. It pretty much is a roll it up yourself deal and stores in a nice case, so really nothing more than what Craig has minus the case. Using Andy's batten idea is pretty much what they do with 5 of them going out in all directions. I was thinking of getting one and now I'm thinking about it more, since it might be cheaper to do it yourself and get the same result.

exactly - $350 is still kinda hefty for a tarp and a fancy aluminum cover!

It's actually $283 + shipping

IMHO you'll break even by the time you account for design errors, driving to/from sail makers, etc.

--Craig

well, i didn't think you'd have north sail make you an awning. all you need is a sewing machine really. the shady boy thing is cool but the outrigger/arms would be kinda lame. it's just hard to find another solution as something's got to hold the thing up.

andy

sail maker? battens? you guys missed the budget word in the title

Isaac, if you're fine with poles and guy lines, just get a piece of canvas or old tarp (we have plenty ) and roll it all up like Craig did. It's not elegant, but it is cheap. He rolled the poles into the fabric and with a little change of the loops to hold it closed, it's fairly simple to work.

And for the record, when Craig upgraded to the reflective cord, I still tripped over it.

Craig, you need a titanium version of the MSR T type stake. I have the normal titanium ones and they work well for a tent, but the high angle of the awning combined with the less surface area wouldn't be ideal.

For me, I dont' want poles unless it's really windy. But then again, I may have another solution in mind....