Shade awning made Simple!
I have a vintage Nomad trailer. I live in Arizona and we need shade. Of course we are also in the midst of a heatwave right now so its even more important.
My trailer has a typical vintage awning rail, which is a channel that a side of a fabric awning which has a cord sewn into it would have been slide through. With the typical Southwestern states winds, the potential is for the awning to get ripped off the side of the trailer causing damage to both the awning and the trailer.
In order to avoid all the damage I used a tarp made of shade cloth. Bought for $25 at Harbour Freight, mine is sold as a mesh tarp and is 8 feet x 10 feet in size.
Being frugal, I was looking for tent poles and since my friend Wolf is visiting, I asked his advice! Omgosh why didn't I think this up on my own - wooden closet poles with a screw in the top! At a few cents a foot I bought one for close to $4 and one was free...whooo!
Now to attach to the awning rail I wanted a way to use elastic based bungee balls so the awning could stay up most of the time. The give of the bungee balls allows the awning to flap in a breeze without damage. Though over time I expect wear. How to attach bungee balls to an awning rail took some research on Pinterest! Some cleaver guy used aluminum tubing and paracord to make these loops. Well I had some copper tubing lining around and some cord that fit through it well, so I piddled one afternoon and made enough for me and Kathleen too.
For tie outs, Wolf having 20 years experience in the desert and at Burning Man, suggested I forgo tent stakes and simply use 3 foot long rebar. We pounded it in using a 3 pound sledgehammer. Then using the last of my paracord, tied out the shade tarp and placed the poles. For safety, I picked up a 99 cent pool noodle, cut it in half with a knife and slid it over the rebar.
Thats it! Grab a chair and a cold drink and you too can manage a heatwave!
Keep it Simple Silly!
Simply,
Lesa
My trailer has a typical vintage awning rail, which is a channel that a side of a fabric awning which has a cord sewn into it would have been slide through. With the typical Southwestern states winds, the potential is for the awning to get ripped off the side of the trailer causing damage to both the awning and the trailer.
In order to avoid all the damage I used a tarp made of shade cloth. Bought for $25 at Harbour Freight, mine is sold as a mesh tarp and is 8 feet x 10 feet in size.
Being frugal, I was looking for tent poles and since my friend Wolf is visiting, I asked his advice! Omgosh why didn't I think this up on my own - wooden closet poles with a screw in the top! At a few cents a foot I bought one for close to $4 and one was free...whooo!
Now to attach to the awning rail I wanted a way to use elastic based bungee balls so the awning could stay up most of the time. The give of the bungee balls allows the awning to flap in a breeze without damage. Though over time I expect wear. How to attach bungee balls to an awning rail took some research on Pinterest! Some cleaver guy used aluminum tubing and paracord to make these loops. Well I had some copper tubing lining around and some cord that fit through it well, so I piddled one afternoon and made enough for me and Kathleen too.
For tie outs, Wolf having 20 years experience in the desert and at Burning Man, suggested I forgo tent stakes and simply use 3 foot long rebar. We pounded it in using a 3 pound sledgehammer. Then using the last of my paracord, tied out the shade tarp and placed the poles. For safety, I picked up a 99 cent pool noodle, cut it in half with a knife and slid it over the rebar.
Thats it! Grab a chair and a cold drink and you too can manage a heatwave!
Keep it Simple Silly!
Simply,
Lesa
This is such a great idea for a full camping car TBH
ReplyDeleteAwning Company In Chicago
Yes, I'm considering an old fashioned awning rail for the Tracker to keep both the weight down and the "stuff" on the outside of the car at a minimum
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Lesa
ReplyDelete