Question for AF 990 Owners

[GeoBoy]

We are seriously thinking about buying a 2016 AF 990 with the side awning but the side awning is located on the drivers side of the truck because the slide is on the passenger side of the truck. Most campgrounds have the utilities on the drivers side of the camper, also most TT's and motorhomes have their side awnings on the passenger side of the truck. So if you wanted some private time from your neighbors you would actually have to drive the truck straight in and then the utilities are on the wrong side. Help!

[skyhammer]

Why would a slide dictate which side the awning is on? I have slides on both sides and the rear.
My awning(which I haven't used), is on the passenger side because that is the side the door is on.

[kerry4951]

AF includes the rear awnings as a standard item so we took it. We do use it occasionally and it is nice, especially when it rains. We definitely wanted the optional slide out awning as we always had awning toppers and liked them a lot. The optional drivers side awning never made much sense for us so we did not order it as an option. I dont recall ever wishing we had an awning off the left side.

[Jeepers92]

We have the slideout awning, the rear awning, and the drivers side awning. We very seldom use the drivers side awning. We dont boondock for long periods of time though, when we do ,we are in a camp site with hookups attached and dont use the awning. We do use the rear awning quite often.

[Big_Rig1]

We have a 2015 AF 990 with the rear awning & no side awning. We are not big awning folks & rarely use it. Had a manual one on the last camper but thought I would use an electric one more but so far haven't done it, but that could possibly change.

I saw a guy once put up a light weight tarp to sit under. He put it up so one side was 6 ft off the ground & the opposite side was 1 or 2 ft off the ground. He used 2 poles in the front side & guyed them with ropes & stakes, the back was held by long ropes tied to stakes that were far enough away from the tarp to keep the back of the tarp a foot or two off the ground. I thought it was pretty neat & I hung out there with him, keeping out of the sun.

Big Rig (John)

[stickyeye]

You may want to give AF a call and see if there is enough support to mount a box awning on the slideout or if they can do it when building it.
Box Awning

Sticky

[My_Blue_Heaven]

Like Bedlam above, we have a rear awning on our 990 but also travel with a stand alone screened shelter. Works for us.

[NorseNW]

We got the driver's side awning option as well as the rear door awning. We have an AF1150 and it's our first truck camper so we didn't really think all this stuff through having not camped before. Several people have since told me it wasn't need. We camp 50/50 campgrounds and not. We have used it several times. What we have found nice about it is the outside shower is on the driver's side. We we clam dig or fish this gives a covered area (shade from sun or dry from rain) to do set up a cleaning station. We've done this in campground and not. Without the sewer lines hooked up it's just more covered space. We like it.

[Bedlam]

I suggest an awning over the door and use a popup for additional cover. We have a slide awning that keeps needles and rain off the top of the slide. We have not had trouble with it like some have with wind and snow.

[Joe417]

I have only the rear awning. I have pulled into a spot so the awning/door faced a certain direction regardless of where the hookups are. I usually only hook up power and water anyway.

I don't think I would like a side awning any better than the one we have. Especially on the left side.

If you don't park in RV parks then the left side awning is very usable.

Contrary to what I read above, lots of TCers use RV parks / campgrounds and, as far as privacy, a lot of campgrounds have the RVs park back to back so they save money and space by installing two services in one location.

I don't normally connect my sewer hose except to drain the tanks but I personally wouldn't want to be sitting around enjoying life next to another campers sewer connection. That being said, if you park in a slot backward, the left side awning will work.

The fix to your dilemma, if it were still available, there was a Carefree Guardi-Awn slide out cover several years back that was also an awning. I searched for one last year and it seams they are no longer in production (Carefree's discontinued list). I couldn't find anyone selling them. They are in some of my old catalogs.

[bighatnohorse]

The passenger side slide has one big advantage - road side pullouts where you may stop for lunch and enjoy the view, not the road.
When head-in to a campsite I use to simply toss the electric hookup under the truck in order to reach the electric box.
Water and sewer may have to wait until departure time.

[fpoole]

I always thought it was on the passenger side...

Tried to search some and the few I found were on the passenger side off the slide out..

I thought the drivers side was another "option" as it is on the side (might be an option for either side??)... and in the brochure it shows in the options as a "Side Box Awning", I assumed it was on the slide out side..
Waiting to hear.

[jmtandem]

We are seriously thinking about buying a 2016 AF 990 with the side awning but the side awning is located on the drivers side of the truck because the slide is on the passenger side of the truck. Most campgrounds have the utilities on the drivers side of the camper, also most TT's and motorhomes have their side awnings on the passenger side of the truck. So if you wanted some private time from your neighbors you would actually have to drive the truck straight in and then the utilities are on the wrong side. Help!

It is critically important to remember that the TC crowd does not typically use RV parks or in some cases even campgrounds. TC's work well for boondocking and the awning issue is moot if you are miles from your neighbor. As mentioned previously, I would seriously think through the awning issue especially if you like to stay in RV parks or organized campgrounds where the next site is a only 15-20 feet away.

[jimh406]

I have a rear awning on my Host. I suggest doing that. I don't think it makes sense to have a slide side awning if it only covers the slide. I suppose it would be fine with a giant awning but TCs don't normally have an awning that is that big.