Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:52:44 -0700
Reply-To: Jeffrey Vickers <jeff@VICKERSDESIGN.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jeffrey Vickers <jeff@VICKERSDESIGN.COM>
Subject: Re: Which awning is best
In-Reply-To: <1282084089.6049.99.camel@TheJackUbuntuNetbook>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
OK, "peaked" it is. That's a better description.
Believe it or not, the poles and fabric CAN be rolled up together and
put back in the case - although I've only done it sober. As a matter
of fact, its probably a good way to judge your driving abilities after
a particularly festive camping session: if you can get all the Shady
Boy poles and fabric back into the case, you are ready to navigate the
coming miles ahead.
Jeff
On Aug 17, 2010, at 3:28 PM, Rocket J Squirrel wrote:
> I'll second Jeff's recco, although I don't see how the Shady Boy can
> be
> called "domed." Peaked, maybe.
>
> It's a flat piece of fabric with one edge anchored to the van, and the
> other edge held out from the van with three poles that radiate out
> from
> above the sliding door: one pole per outer corner, and a center pole.
>
> It's pretty easy to set up, pretty easy to take down.
>
> I've used this thing in quite high winds. A couple of light nylon
> lines
> attached to the van's bumpers keep the outer corners, thus the outer
> edge, from flying up with updrafts, and the optional corner downpoles
> keep the outer edge from being mashed down by downdrafts. It's stable
> and solid in wind.
>
> In heavy rain, the outer corners can be lowered by tightening the
> corner
> lines, allowing water to spill onto the ground instead of pooling.
>
> A bit of a gap above the sliding door lets water drip in heavy rain,
> but
> a strip of foam weatherstripping mashed into it solves that problem.
>
> In hot weather, the fabric becomes quite hot to the touch, even the
> silver fabric version. You can feel the heat radiating down on your
> head, and hot air gathers under the awning and sluices up into the van
> through the open door. I solve that by attaching an "under roof"
> beneath
> the awning with (tie-died) fabric and binder clips. Miles cooler
> underneath then.
>
> Like many tents and tent-like products, once open, it can't be put
> back
> into the box it came out of. The aluminum case over the door is too
> small for any normal human to get the awning and poles into. I carry
> the
> poles in the back of the van, using only one for rolling up the fabric
> into the case.
>
> The fiberglass poles are amazingly sturdy -- I was once caught by a
> surprise updraft before I had the tiedowns tied down, and the wind
> bent
> the awning straight up, the poles were curved 90 degrees or more, and
> were unfazed. Mine have microscopic glass fibers that poke into and
> irritate my skin, like handling fiberglass insulation, so I handle the
> poles with gloves.
>
> I used a BD awning several years ago, thought it was a PITA to
> assemble
> up and disassemble, and it felt clunky. The design may have changed.
>
> --
> Rocky J Squirrel
>
>
> On Tue, 2010-08-17 at 13:32 -0700, Jeffrey Vickers wrote:
>> I have a Shady Boy and like it a lot. The crank-out Fiamma is
>> definitely the easiest to deploy but more expensive, heavier and also
>> not "domed" like Troy says. The Shady Boy is domed and being 6 ft, it
>> gives me the sense of more head room. It takes about 5 minutes to set
>> up and with no wind, you don't need the vertical poles at the corners
>> - its self supporting and just kinda "floats". You can essentially
>> "drop" the Shady Boy in about 30 seconds by pulling out two poles and
>> unclipping the vertical poles. Pretty easy - and a good thing when
>> the
>> wind comes up fast.
>>
>> Jeff
>> On Aug 17, 2010, at 12:28 PM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
>>
>>> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:45:17 -0800
>>> From: Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET>
>>> Subject: Which awning is best
>>>
>>> "But the second choice is the cheapest on the market, the Shady
>>> Boy. Several friends
>>> have them and are happy with them."
>>>
>>> The cheapest awning on the market is the bus depot awning at $119.
>>> One consideration not mentioned is the fact the gutter rail that the
>>> awning attaches to is only 6 feet tall, and if you want water to
>>> drain that means your awning is going to be lower at the furthest
>>> edge from the van. If you're taller than 6 feet, it can get pretty
>>> cramped under the awning. This is where the bus depot dome shaped
>>> awning really excels. Is it as convenient as being able to crank out
>>> the awning?, heck no, but you do tend to get what you pay for. The
>>> BD awning can be assembled in about five minutes though. Of course
>>> the subject was "best" awning, but best can be subjective too.
>>>
>>> Troy
>
>
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