Truck Camper awnings

I have a Shademaker Supreme Bag Awning on my Palomino Bronco 1200. I put mounting rails on both sides of the camper so I can take advantage of any camp setup. I do not leave it attached when on the road, the zipper leaks and if you don't unroll to dry a wet awning it will mildew, I have seen many. I slide the bagged awning up between the bed and the back cabinet and bungie it to lift tube. If we don't use it at a site I just bugie to the top horizontal tubes out of the way. The Supreme is worth the extra cost over the standard model. Normally we just stake the bottom of the two legs and add no extra stakes or ties. I keep some cheap 1" straps handy and next run them from the outer ends to the camper tie downs on the truck if the wind is coming up. It has survived in some pretty high winds but it is noisy, the metal frame work will rattle. If very high winds are predicted we put in a couple of stakes and extra ropes or take it down. We also lower it part way, more in the direction the wind is coming to make less of a kite out of it.

Ordered through a local canvas and awning shop, had it the size and color I wanted in a couple of days and they carried the track.

raztec wrote:
@Isbram,

That is one sweet setup you got there. I love the idea of having two awnings, and it makes sense to put the heavy one on the side hard wall and not pop up.

Of the two, Carefree or Fiamma, which is the better product in your opinion?

On an unrelated note, I love my camper but am thinking of going full size because setting up quickly is a PIA. I'm wondering how much extra fuel I'll burn though.

Thanks for the suggestions,

Raz

The Carefree is a crank out so it is much easer to use, they both seem to be a good product. But take a look at the wrap around Foxwing, I'm told they do very well in the wind.

Figure a couple miles per gallon lose. My rig is a lot heavier than yours and I get about 11 mpg average at 65 - 70 mph.

Super_Dave wrote:
Raz, your truck is a gasser, yes? With a full height camper and a trailer, figure 8 - 10 mpg. I'm guessing that you might be getting 12 - 13 mpg now? ....

No, it's a 1 ton Diesel. I get about 15mpg with pop-up camper and pulling trailer.
(That should get the gassers eating their hearts out! ;)

Raz, your truck is a gasser, yes? With a full height camper and a trailer, figure 8 - 10 mpg. I'm guessing that you might be getting 12 - 13 mpg now? hemi or 5.9 V8?

P.S. - My camper has the Carefree awnings on both side and back. I use the back almost every outing. My only concern with the awnings is that the top of the rolled up awning is exposed to sun and UV 24/7. That is bound to fail at some point.

@Isbram,

That is one sweet setup you got there. I love the idea of having two awnings, and it makes sense to put the heavy one on the side hard wall and not pop up.

Of the two, Carefree or Fiamma, which is the better product in your opinion?

On an unrelated note, I love my camper but am thinking of going full size because setting up quickly is a PIA. I'm wondering how much extra fuel I'll burn though.

Thanks for the suggestions,

Raz

We have the Carefree on the side hard wall and the Fiamma F45 on the rear attached to the top. We use them almost every trip. Hallmark is selling the Foxwing Awning now also, they claim it works very well.

I used to use a popup standalone canopy. I also have used a light weight tarp attached to the camper edge using C-Clamps.

I have had several rigs with awnings. Two were canister type (the whole awning folds into a closed box on the upper edge of your camper).
The first was on/for a pop up. You deployed the awning before raising the roof or else you needed a ladder to get to it. The second canister uses a crank.

Both were marginal in wind, so I could not leave them unattended.

My preference is to use a separate popup awning or my favorite, a large beach umbrella. You can place the shade wherever you want.

The beach umbrella is compact, stand it in a corner or in a long cabinet. I use a piece of angle iron with a short length of pvc drain pipe duct taped to it as a stand.

Norm

We just use a tarp attached with S hooks and don't use that enough to justify a better one.
We mostly use a free standing screen room $50 from Walmart and it does double duty by reserving our site when gone as we don't remove camper from truck.
Good Luck, Mike