[threshold]

Hi everybody,

Was just wondering if anyone had used the freestanding gazebos or if you all prefer the awnings on the side of the car. Want to know which one to get. Half thinking a gazebo as itll be cheaper as i dont have a roof rack and might avoid getting one to keep fuel economy where it is.

[zooks4life]

I had a gazebo before an awning and the later is so much better. Don't have to store it, run LEDs in it ready to go, quicker to put up pull down. Plus there super cheap these days.

[laurie]

Same started with a gazebo then a home made awning using sail track which was better and now i got a 2 x 2.5 savannah brand one from Aldi a couple of weeks ago ( not fitted yet )

[striker99]

I have a 2x 2m awning on the Jimny. Bought an oztrail 2x 2.9m extention which slides onto the sail track. Bought 2 collapsible tent poles and it's great for the beach gives you heaps of shade!

[Scrawny]

^^ What do you use for anchoring into the sand?

[striker99]

Scrawn wrote:

^^ What do you use for anchoring into the sand?

Sand pegs, they are like $5 for a pack of 6 of them from BigW/Kmart/the camping stores. They are usually yellow and made of plastic.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=sand ... 2&ie=UTF-8

[Skippy]

Foxwing, my Oztent connects to it. You can also get sides to enclose the awning.

[buzbox]

I had one before, Never again. It just wasn't as practical as what I expected it to be and is more for show than a necessity.

[striker99]

Skippy wrote:

Foxwing, my Oztent connects to it. You can also get sides to enclose the awning.

Do you think those oztents are much better than a double swag? Obviously you get the extra height....but I wouldn't imagine you could stand up in the tent, and all the space would be taken up with a inflatable bed or matress?

[threshold]

Bought a el cheapo adventure kings awning 2m long by 2.5m off the car. $159 delivered. Cant argue with that. A couple of my mates have bought them recently and reckon they are sweet. So well see when im home in a few weeks i guess.

[striker99]

threshold wrote:

Bought a el cheapo adventure kings awning 2m long by 2.5m off the car. $159 delivered. Cant argue with that. A couple of my mates have bought them recently and reckon they are sweet. So well see when im home in a few weeks i guess.

I've had my 2x2m cheap awning on the car, worked great for the last year and a half until I found the rivets started popping out that hold the frame of the awning together on the car...drilled the rivets out and replaced them with 6mm bolts which worked perfectly.

[threshold]

Few of my mates said theyre all good. With somr minor mods

[christover1]

These are another option. Designed for cars, vans etc.

[threshold]

What are they called christover? Car dome?

[pete_79]

Anaconda call them a Deluxe RV Shade.
http://www.anacondastores.com/camping-hiking/tents/gazebos-screens-shades/dune-deluxe-rv-shade/p/BP90028813

Usual Dune quality product (rubbish).

But they pack up tiny, they only weigh a couple of KG max and they only take a minute or 2 to set up.

Ours lives in the trailer for quick stops in fine weather.
Good for keeping the sun out and a light dew off your gear. Absolutely useless in windy or raining conditions.

[christover1]

Mine is the heavier duty delux version, which has held up well.
It was 2nd hand, quite old when I got it for $50.
So no idea on todays quality.
I am certain there would be some quality ones as well.

My search on ebay was best with rv shade, rv annex, car tent words

[threshold]

In case anyone was interested i bought a kings awning from 4x4 supacrapcentre and it broke in ten mins haha

[striker99]

threshold wrote:

In case anyone was interested i bought a kings awning from 4x4 supacrapcentre and it broke in ten mins haha

Which part ended up breaking?

[THE_DICTATOR]

I have a repco 1.8x2, from memory it was only $130. Haven't managed to wreck it yet

[Qthefun]

Kathmandu have awnings that pack down small and bugger all kgs, not permeant on your roof racks but small enough to go under a seat and fast enough to set up, plus can be set up away from your 4x4 so you can leave it at camp. think $20 or so and tough as nails!

[threshold]

The channel that the legs sit in. The horizontal bits male part tore a new hole in it. Should be able to bodge it up, but I have not had the time.

[Toomanycars]

Awnings are excellent for travelling or day trips or the weekend but once you start adding to them, connecting them to tents etc it becomes a pain to take your car anywhere. Ours is 2.5 x 3 but it is a much bigger car. We have a kitchen set up at the back that can also be used from the inside with the tailgate shut in bad weather and a full queen bed with rolling storage under. We chose light weigh waterproof nylon type rather than the heavy canvas type. Nylon is good if you are using it in the wet. We have 3 walls which we can attach for privacy but have never used them as we never go to "camping grounds".






This is my son playing in our dry creek.. It has reasonably good suspension and climbs it's way through most situations easily. Auto is great.

[shakes]

So school me on these things. I've never been a fan, more to set up/pack up. More weight etc etc....

But kids an wife need shade when base camping on hot days. And we don't have the space for a gunnebo or the energy for a big tarp.

The main thing I want is simple. If it's easy to set up and easier to pack up that's likely what will sway my decision.

From what I can see kings/dune/eBay are roughly $160ish with a sidewall/wind break. But quality is meh and I'm supporting brands that have dominated/killed a portion of the marked.

Darche / ARB are in the $400 range. Maybe better quality than kings, maybe?

And the oztent/rhino Eco fox wing is $600ish. (Which is where I'm leaning as fridge/cooking is in the back of the GV, and they should zip to our ozten RV4 for bulk coverage and ease of camping in poor weather. Quality is better than the others but $600..

[bumstein]

shakes wrote:

Darche / ARB are in the $400 range. Maybe better quality than kings, maybe?

Nope I don’t think so. Exactly the same as the Ironman 4x4 version just different brand and higher price tag.

I haven’t used the foxwing myself but a mate showed me his and it looks the goods!! Expensive but super easy to use and functional. The easier the setup the more it’s likely to get used.

[Slug]

I've had a rhino rack one since 2010 on a triton,2014 Dmax and now on the GV3 for 12 months and still working fine
From 2010 to 2016 it was mostly used in the Pilbra and at times on a daily use (we Volinteer in WA Nat Parks) the only thing that failed was the cover which ended up sunburnt and fraying there were no cheap ones around when I bought ours (cover is a part No for $50 sent out) mind you the 4x4 was always parked in the full sun every day
Now have a oztrail 1.2 mt one for the tail gate seams fine at 12 months of regular use
Bought the son Inlaw a kings one for the trip to Inaminka last year seams ok but not as robust as the rhino but not construction wise any weaker then the oz trail one and the only reason for the oz trail as not many make them smaller than 1.4mt wide for smaller width roofs
James