The VanDea
A DIY awning for you vehicle.
(TODO pic)
Now you can take your patio anywhere.
The Build
Materials
- A tarp, with metal ring holes ideally.
- Eye bolt and nut
- A drill
- Carabiners or a way to hook the Eye bolts to the tarp
- Poles to keep the tarp up. Ideally foldable for nicer packing and travelling.
- Para-cord and tent stakes, or a way to secure the poles to stay up (a hammer too if you plan on using stakes)
- Paint to prevent rusting if you need to cut an eye bolt
- Some beer
The Process
If you are using a GMC / Chevy van like me, you’ll notice you have these “wings” on the roof of the vehicle. This proved to be a great spot to install the eye bolts. If you don’t have something similar, you will want to figure out how you’ll be drilling and putting these in. Going straight into the roof is always an option, but be conscious because with the wind these eye bolts will receiving a lot of force.
Start marking on your vehicle the spots where you will drill. Drill the holes and get ready to place the eye bolts through the holes. Check to be sure you can still close and open your doors if the holes are above the doors. I had to cut a couple of these eye bolts. If you do that too, paint the cut part so it will not rust.
When you have all eye bolts installed, you are done with the building portion! Every time you want to setup the awning, hook the tarp to the eye bolts, setup the poles, and tie up the stakes to the poles. This does take a little bit of time, so I usually only do this if I plan on staying for more than one day.
Well
I’d give this idea an 8/10. If you experience severe winds like I did at Pike National Forest, you will need to take it down or risk breaking something. I didn’t take it down in time and it ripped a little bit of the tarp, ripped my para-cord, as well as bending and throwing my tent poles clear over my van. Don’t be like me, check the weather and if serious winds are approaching, take the awning down.