# advice  needed for a home made awning  please



## delicagirl (May 5, 2016)

its really scorchiooo   today and i dont have an awning on the van ...  and dont really want to spend lots on getting one ..    it occurs to me that i might need some shade if this summer is hot.....   

I  have a telescopic washing line support pole, some bungees ropes, tent pegs, 2 collapsible walking sticks, velcro, and lots of material....    

do any of you clever guys and gals have any ideas on how i could make myself some shade .....

thank you


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## 1 Cup (May 5, 2016)

*home made*

We use a rail across door and hang blind of that.
the rails call fig 8
Ours is ajustable to. Hight and lenght
Good luck


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## Robmac (May 5, 2016)

I would buy a 3x3 metre DD Tarp, use your poles to support at the front (With guy ropes), and tie it over the top.

DD Tarp 3x3 - Olive Green


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## Martlet (May 5, 2016)

Robmac said:


> I would buy a 3x3 metre DD Tarp, use your poles to support at the front (With guy ropes), and tie it over the top.
> 
> DD Tarp 3x3 - Olive Green



HI,

Ditto to Robmac's suggestion.
Ebay has lots of tarpaulins/plastic sheets in various colours (mostly green or blue) and in various weights and sizes.

If you can make some base plates for the poles it will stop them sinking into the soil. Possibly put a dowel through the bottom of the supporting pole and then put the pole through a hole in the centre of a plastic plate, so that the cross dowel puts weight on the plate, and the plate spreads the load over the soil.

Regards,
Martlet.


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## izwozral (May 5, 2016)

Sombrero? :lol-053:


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## harrow (May 5, 2016)

delicagirl said:


> its really scorchiooo   today and i dont have an awning on the van ...  and dont really want to spend lots on getting one ..    it occurs to me that i might need some shade if this summer is hot.....
> 
> I  have a telescopic washing line support pole, some bungees ropes, tent pegs, 2 collapsible walking sticks, velcro, and lots of material....
> 
> ...



Even a 6 by 4 blue plastic ground sheet from poundland, oh an they also do nylon guy rope cord.

You really want some sort of awning rail on the van, but that could be in the form of 2 points to attach the awning to the van, maybe with those bungee cords.

The ground sheet has pre-punched eyelets holes on the edges.

Spend a could of pounds in poundland or you can go the whole hog and as delboy would say "the world is you lobster".


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## Robmac (May 5, 2016)

harrow said:


> Even a 6 by 4 blue plastic ground sheet from poundland, oh an they also do nylon guy rope cord..............


 
Only problem with the cheap Tarps/Groundsheets is that they can be very noisy in even a slight breeze, sound a bit like a crisp packet being screwed up.

I would spend a little more and get a better quality one.


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## csd4t (May 5, 2016)

Decathalon tarp works for me


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## BessieBambi (May 5, 2016)

band driver said:


> We use a rail across door and hang blind of that.View attachment 41330View attachment 41329View attachment 41328the rails call fig 8
> Ours is ajustable to. Hight and lenght
> Good luck



Ahhah! I am so glad I have seen this - hubby and I have been discussing today how we could make an awning for Bessie (who is just like your camper). We were considering collapsible washing line props and a piece of tarpaulin or I had seen some Gazebo side panels in Aldi £12.99 for 2, which i was thinking of amending in some way. Can't wait to show him your photos when he gets in!:dance:


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## AuldTam (May 5, 2016)

I have a Renault Master it has a rubber that protrudes from the roof the length of the van, I use market stall clamps to get the tarp tight to the roof and guy ropes right over and down the other side of the van. I know it sounds a lot of work but when you've done it several times it takes ten minutes to set up. 
If you use an awning cross rail between the upright poles it makes a huge difference, this setup works so long as it's not too windy.


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## badgerdid (May 5, 2016)

Or get one of THESE, there quick to put up and fairly cheap, i have one and love it, You will have to attach an awning rail if you dont have one though.


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## delicagirl (May 5, 2016)

thanks everyone....    the crux of my challenge seems to be how  can i reach the top of the van to attach the top of the tarp to either the roof guard rail or a new tarp rail (if i can get one fitted in time) - 

storage is also a challenge as i dont have a garage and my storage is now almost chokka block......


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## Robmac (May 5, 2016)

delicagirl said:


> thanks everyone....    the crux of my challenge seems to be how  can i reach the top of the van to attach the top of the tarp to either the roof guard rail or a new tarp rail (if i can get one fitted in time) -
> 
> storage is also a challenge as i dont have a garage and my storage is now almost chokka block......



If using a Tarp, I would fix 2 or 3 lines to one end, throw them over the roof and haul up from the other side and then tie to the van (mirror, bumper?).

You can then erect the poles at the front and guy them out.


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## Deleted member 56601 (May 5, 2016)

There's always the other option, move to the shady side of the van? :lol-049:


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## delicagirl (May 5, 2016)

Robmac said:


> If using a Tarp, I would fix 2 or 3 lines to one end, throw them over the roof and haul up from the other side and then tie to the van (mirror, bumper?).
> 
> You can then erect the poles at the front and guy them out.



I'm sat here looking at the van realising that if i want to be in the shade, i shall probably be sitting down, reading or drawing, so the roof of my sunshade does not have to be as high as my van   .... so the wing mirrors are a good height -   but how would i then keep the tarp horizontally above the ground so that i could sit under it and still see out !!!   My walking sticks are not as high as the van mirrors - and i now discover that what i thought were collapsible washing line props - aren't collapsible.


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## Robmac (May 5, 2016)

delicagirl said:


> I'm sat here looking at the van realising that if i want to be in the shade, i shall probably be sitting down, reading or drawing, so the roof of my sunshade does not have to be as high as my van   .... so the wing mirrors are a good height -   but how would i then keep the tarp horizontally above the ground so that i could sit under it and still see out !!!   My walking sticks are not as high as the van mirrors - a*nd i now discover that what i thought were collapsible washing line props - aren't collapsible.*



I'd get a couple of these;

Hi Gear Upright 7 ft Adjustable Porch Pole | GO Outdoors


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## AuldTam (May 5, 2016)

delicagirl said:


> I'm sat here looking at the van realising that if i want to be in the shade, i shall probably be sitting down, reading or drawing, so the roof of my sunshade does not have to be as high as my van   .... so the wing mirrors are a good height -   but how would i then keep the tarp horizontally above the ground so that i could sit under it and still see out !!!   My walking sticks are not as high as the van mirrors - and i now discover that what i thought were collapsible washing line props - aren't collapsible.



If you don't need it high Robmacs idea of the DD tarp is probably the best option as they are very light but extremely strong and withstand windy conditions if erected properly, you can use with extending poles too.


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## whitevanwoman (May 6, 2016)

Robmac said:


> Only problem with the cheap Tarps/Groundsheets is that they can be very noisy in even a slight breeze, sound a bit like a crisp packet being screwed up.
> 
> I would spend a little more and get a better quality one.



Ha ha, the infamous crips packet awning of farmer phil's 2014....  but it survived the hurricane that hit us. Although I seem to remember the noise being equated to a thousand crisp packets. Robmac, if you don't know the story and it was just by chance you mentioned crisp packets, ask Tom or Vern to tell the tale. 

Have just skim read all the posts but I had the same basic equipment as you to make an awning but also have a roof rack plus a huge (far too big really) thin cheap tarp and was able to rig something up at farmer phil's fest for a week using same equipment, anchored to roof rack, around wing mirrors etc using bungees. I used walking poles upside down with the spike through the tarp eyelets and secured the poles to the ground using peg through the handle and bungees wrapped around the pole and pegged down. Plus the extending washing poles as props along edges. It worked ok and did the job and survived ok, though tarp was damaged, it lost most of the eyelets and it ripped around the eyelets in places, but there were several "design flaws" to my plan. 


Things that didn't work well for me were...
- noisy rustly tarpaulin (although I slept underneath it just fine)
- thin plastic tarpaulin not strong enough, needs to be heavy duty
- eyelets were a weak point - need to think about reinforcing them and maybe doubling along the edge of the tarp to strengthen it. You can buy snap together eyelets which have worked well for me in the past, consider adding more eyelets to reduce gaps and to reduce the pull on the existing eyelets. The eyelets which failed first were ones which were tied down using rope as I'd run out of bungees. 
- I didn't consider how I would pack it up neatly after use - I took it in the packaging it came in all neat and tidy and folded and had to take home a huge bundle. I would practice packing up and have separate bags for bungees, pegs, tarp etc. 

Things that worked well were...
- Bungees are invaluable - have at least a dozen, and various different lengths - as they prevent ripping of tarp by stretching when it's windy. Beware the ones from the discount shops which aren't great quality and don't last long. Best place for decent bungees at a decent price is an army surplus store.
- if you can find an old inner tube from a tyre and cut it up into rings, they make really good strong elastic bands which you can use in eyelets etc to add some extra shock absorbtion to reduce pull on the fabric or eyelet.
- I was glad I got a white tarpaulin as it really was much cooler and shadier on warm days. 
- Having the roof rack gave me loads of easy anchors to attach the tarp to. But as an alternative, try the suction dent pullers as they could be a good alternative.
- Having lots of spare tent pegs (you can get them in poundshops) so that you can double up pegs per pole for extra strength
- Having a mallet and a tent peg puller - it makes it all sooooo much quicker and easier
- solar lights by each pole and guyline to stop me tripping over it at night


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## rugbyken (May 6, 2016)

my present van has a built in awning but in reality we use it only about 5% of the nights we are away and I have often thought as we all do "on my next van" I would just get a pop up,awning and only take it when likely to use it, a mate has a Coleman sports shelter very elegant and packs up tiny and lightweight,


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## delicagirl (May 7, 2016)

thank you all for your amazingly eclectic ideas for a sunshade  -  i took them over to my neighbour who has been vanning for years, and we looked at them all in turn.   There is so much "stuff" on my roof   (3 domed vents-windows, gas flue, spare tyre, guard rail, solar panel)  that i did  not want to risk damaging those things by throwing ropes over them and tightening them up.  i looked at his tarps  - both heavy weight and less robust ones and had no idea they were so big and decided i did not have sufficient storage for them - especially when wet. I don't have time to fit a rail of any sort. 

So i decided to use my sticks to create a sun shade with one of my throws from inside the van clipped onto my wing mirrors, and in addition my neighbour has also loaned me a sun umbrella which fits into my vertical storage area perfectly..

so  -  as usual a solution was found... thanks one and all


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## trixie88 (May 7, 2016)

*trixie88*



delicagirl said:


> thank you all for your amazingly eclectic ideas for a sunshade  -  i took them over to my neighbour who has been vanning for years, and we looked at them all in turn.   There is so much "stuff" on my roof   (3 domed vents-windows, gas flue, spare tyre, guard rail, solar panel)  that i did  not want to risk damaging those things by throwing ropes over them and tightening them up.  i looked at his tarps  - both heavy weight and less robust ones and had no idea they were so big and decided i did not have sufficient storage for them - especially when wet. I don't have time to fit a rail of any sort.
> 
> So i decided to use my sticks to create a sun shade with one of my throws from inside the van clipped onto my wing mirrors, and in addition my neighbour has also loaned me a sun umbrella which fits into my vertical storage area perfectly..
> 
> so  -  as usual a solution was found... thanks one and all


ahhhhhh SORTED   a good job by all


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## rugbyken (May 7, 2016)

at this time of year lidl normally do a camping theme specials week one the normally have is a sail comes with a couple of awning poles and guy ropes I bought one years ago it's made a tent in the garden for the grandkids we took it Egypt a couple of times and used it as a windbreaker on the Red Sea it stores in a bag with collapsed poles and is only about the size of a bottle of wine and weighs about a quarter of one got lots of eylet holes and tie points,


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## idetika (May 7, 2016)

I adapted a cheap tarp from Decathlon, stitched on some kador strip and attached it to the figure of eight.


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## delicagirl (May 7, 2016)

i will see how i get on this summer  with my fabric-wing-mirror-lash up and my umbrella..   but getting a rail put on my van does seems to be a way to get a lot of shade fairly easily....

Thanks


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## Chris356 (May 7, 2016)

We used to use some camouflage netting with 2 adjustable poles worked a treat only thing was it was hard to find the carlsbergs


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## trixie88 (May 8, 2016)

*trixie88*



idetika said:


> I adapted a cheap tarp from Decathlon, stitched on some kador strip and attached it to the figure of eight.



how did you attach it to the van....i can see a bit is probably   clamped by thepassenger door window.   what about the remainder...  i see it is probably a sliding door.    thanks


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## delicagirl (May 8, 2016)

thanks david   -  thats a decent price i guess.  But its too big for me to store.


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## izwozral (May 8, 2016)

I use the tried and trusted sombrero method for maximum shade, I just change the sombreros over when a beach babe passes.


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## idetika (May 8, 2016)

trixie88 said:


> how did you attach it to the van....i can see a bit is probably   clamped by thepassenger door window.   what about the remainder...  i see it is probably a sliding door.    thanks



I sewed  a length of kador strip to the tarp that could then attach to the gutter on the van using a figure of eight strip 

kador strip - Google Search


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## turnpike (Sep 19, 2016)

I know this is a few months old but I wanted to ask idetika if you stitched the kador strip on yourself? Is it easy done with a regular sowing machine? Cheers! Carl.



idetika said:


> I adapted a cheap tarp from Decathlon, stitched on some kador strip and attached it to the figure of eight.


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## Easterndawn (Sep 22, 2016)

*Awning*

I bought one just last week from eBay, the one i purchased has all four sides which I can use or not, two with Windows it is 2x2 metres,   I haven't used it yet but I look forward to having it for shade and extra area to set up in and leave when I leave a campground when I am using one.  I only paid £44.00 as opposed to £400 for a Park and Drive Air Awning.


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## Auld Pharrrt (Sep 28, 2016)

Personally I used "Lift The Dot" fasteners ... a couple of the wee studs on my roof (Renault Trafic has wee brackets for roof rack fitment) and the other half of the fastener attached to a cheap B&Q tarpaulin ... I then bought a couple of extending tent poles and a couple of guy ropes ... I've never used it yet as WC'ing is all about not being too intrusive so I don't put the "awning" up but I also configured it so it can go on the side or the back of my van.


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## Easterndawn (Sep 29, 2016)

*Awning*



Easterndawn said:


> I bought one just last week from eBay, the one i purchased has all four sides which I can use or not, two with Windows it is 2x2 metres,   I haven't used it yet but I look forward to having it for shade and extra area to set up in and leave when I leave a campground when I am using one.  I only paid £44.00 as opposed to £400 for a Park and Drive Air Awning.



I also forgot to say that the space it takes up when not set up is very minimal and I don't find it hard to move around.


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## Cabaret (Jul 23, 2017)

idetika said:


> I adapted a cheap tarp from Decathlon, stitched on some kador strip and attached it to the figure of eight.



Hi, long shot I know, but how did you finish off your kador attachment? I'm doing something similar with kador strip and decathlon tarp but can't quite figure out what sort of finish to use at either end of the kador strip. Can you advise, or even better supply a photo??
Many thanks.


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