We have just purchased a 2011 Travel Lite 840SBRX truck camper. It did not come with any awnings, however, on the curb side, it has the track for a bag awning. I called a Travel Lite dealer and they want about $400 Cdn for a bag awning for it. Are these awnings any good?Would we be better off simply setting up a free standing sun shelter type canopy (at much less cost)?Any suggestions for other solutions? Having a truck camper is a whole new venture for us. We spend a lot of time outdoors so some thing to keep the rain/wind off is needed.

We had them on our Coleman tent campers. They worked well.On our current 2007 Outfitter we have a crank box awning by Carefree that we prefer. Quicker setup and take down and so far holding up quite well.Rick

We have a factory installed awning which doesn't do much good because it doesn't extend out far enough from the camper to provide much shade. The other problem is that you have to be parked in the right direction or there is no point at all in extending it.A free standing canopy is more versatile, but also more difficult to deal with if the wind comes up. And speaking of wind, we never leave our awning extended when away from the rig. It doesn't take much to tear one off.

Any bag awning will work. My camper did not come with one and I installed a Dometic.

Do you really want a bag awning? Those things are hard to extend out without the help of a ladder. Do yourself a favor and get a Carefree of Colorado wall mount manual 8.5' boxed awning. It's much easier to open and unfold as you turn the hand crank and when you want to close it you just crank in the opposite direction and it rolls itself back in. I've got one and love it. The arms on mine attaches to the camper or you can have it free standing if you want.

An attached awning over the door is great so you have a dry area before you climb into the TC. For the side, it is more versatile to have a standalone popup but you need to room to store it when not in use.

Awning for Truck Camper | Good Sam Community

11 Replies

jimh406
Explorer III
Apr 20, 2016
I use this which also has a screened room. http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Instant-Screenhouse/dp/B00EHKP9QY It takes about a minute to put it up and the walls are 50 sunscreen.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Apr 20, 2016
I prefer the 10x10 EZ-up.
mkirsch
Nomad II
Apr 18, 2016
I helped a friend put up a bag awning once. Never again. It's a 3-man, 30-minute job. You need two holding poles, and one to stretch out and set the guy lines. With any fewer people, it just flops on the ground and you spend hours struggling with it.

I can put up and take down a 10x10 pop-up by myself in minutes. Seconds if I conscript a passerby to help me.
delosholly
Explorer
Apr 18, 2016
Here is a post to a DIY awning we made. Placed the hooks on both sides of the TC so we could put up the awning on whichever side we wanted.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28587438.cfm

Del
67avion
Explorer II
Apr 16, 2016
We use a triangular canvas that is attached to the camper on two points and attached to a pole on the third point. I believe it's around 14' on a side so it covers quite a bit of space. We place our table and chairs under the canvas. Its very easy to erect and quick to take down. It folds into an easily storable package. On the occasions when high winds have blown it around, there has been no damage.
bcbouy
Explorer
Apr 15, 2016
we had a bag awning on our old sunlite eagle.it was ok,untill the wind caught it and bent the leg.metal superstore fix me up with a new piece of tube.size wise it did the job but a pain to open and put up.our new northstar has 2 fiammas and we love them.we also carry an ez up sun shade with a privacy panel and bug screen,but it is really spendy.i think it was around 700 bucks,but it can be put up by 1 person in under a minute and is sturdy as hell.
Bedlam
Moderator
Apr 15, 2016
An attached awning over the door is great so you have a dry area before you climb into the TC. For the side, it is more versatile to have a standalone popup but you need to room to store it when not in use.
exhaustipated
Explorer
Apr 15, 2016
Do you really want a bag awning? Those things are hard to extend out without the help of a ladder. Do yourself a favor and get a Carefree of Colorado wall mount manual 8.5' boxed awning. It's much easier to open and unfold as you turn the hand crank and when you want to close it you just crank in the opposite direction and it rolls itself back in. I've got one and love it. The arms on mine attaches to the camper or you can have it free standing if you want.
BamaBen
Explorer
Apr 15, 2016
Any bag awning will work. My camper did not come with one and I installed a Dometic.
ralphnjoann
Explorer
Apr 15, 2016
We have a factory installed awning which doesn't do much good because it doesn't extend out far enough from the camper to provide much shade. The other problem is that you have to be parked in the right direction or there is no point at all in extending it.

A free standing canopy is more versatile, but also more difficult to deal with if the wind comes up. And speaking of wind, we never leave our awning extended when away from the rig. It doesn't take much to tear one off.