Bush Company 270 XT Awning - Info, Install and Review (1 Viewer)

[TheGrrrrr]

Well folks, I ended up making some changes to my planned interior mods in favor of what appears to be the most robust 270 degree awning option out there. Its from The Bush Company and it is a beast. The awning arrived today, but the brackets I ordered have not arrived yet. The shipping weight was 72lbs and the awning is supposed to be about 61lbs. In this thread I'll post up the details and some videos in this first post, then I will document the install in the second post and finish up with a review in the 3rd post.

The details:

The Bush Company appears to be a South African Company, popular in Australia and has well reviewed products across a variety of 4x4 forums.

I learned of this awning on the Youtube channel "Fire to Fork" and started doing some research. Most of what I found indicated that this is one of the very few (maybe only) awning that requires no poles under any wind conditions. A bold claim that seems to be backed up by reviews. It does not ship with poles and no poles are made for it. It does have D rings sewn into the outer surfaces for tie-ing it down and comes with ropes for this purpose, but it seems this is only necessary in the most absurd of conditions. We shall see.

Here is a link to the Awning on Bush Company's USA site: 270 XT Awning | The Bush Company USA

They also have a number of videos that were somewhat useful/informative but I have yet to find a detailed install video that deals with mounting. It seems purchasing brackets is required, but there is very limited info on how many you need and which are best under what circumstance. I chose the Heavy Duty L Brackets here as they mention working well with the RhinoRack Pioneer Platform. I also switched things up and purchased the awning to mount on the Passenger side of the vehicle. In the past I have had my awnings on the driver side, which is what you typically see. I chose the passenger side because I read somewhere recently that people in the US often mount on the left side of the vehicle because 'everybody does', but the arguments went that people in the US had been mimicking folks in Australia without realizing that the Aussies had it on the left side because that is the passenger side, which allows its use when pulled over on the side of a road. Who knows if that theory is true, but it made sense to me.

In watching various videos about the awning, it appears they use 2 sets (4 total) of the L brackets to mount it. I have yet to find anything explaining this (I'm sure its due to weight and I don't mind it) but it also seems that mounting it requires you to cut holes in the back of the cover to get to the mounting plate. This is something I have an email into the company about. One other thing to note is that there has been some forum discussion that this awning does not interfere with the lift gate if mounted properly, but that is something I will be very interested in confirming.

Here is the video where it caught my eye:


Here is a video that helped me make my decision:

 

[TheGrrrrr]

I didn't get to document the install with photos because it was done in a hurry, in the dark on Christmas night when I happened to have an extra set of hands. Some notes on the install though:

• Install is not difficult but its more work than other awning due to a couple of differences in the construction.
• The awning is heavy by design and in my opinion should utilize at least 3 substantial attach points. I purchased 2 sets (4 total) of the Bush Company's Heavy Duty L Brackets to use with my rhino rack pioneer platform.
• I positioned two of the brackets at the pivot end where there is an extra layer of metal, and where I believe the bulk of the load would be concentrated during use.
• The other two brackets were placed about 50% and 80% positions from the pivot end. This provides good load distribution while packed away.
• The backplate with the channels for the bolt heads is positioned inside the cover, which is the main difference in mounting this awning. This means you have to identify where you want the brackets position in relation to the awning and the roof, then mark the bolt positions on the cover and make incisions in those spots for the bolts to travel through. The cover material is ripstop canvas with the grid pattern, so I expect there won't be any creeping of incisions, plus those spots are being compressed between the backplate and the bracket.
• Planning, test fitting, adjusting and measuring before making incisions and final mounting will save a lot of headache so take your time and think it out before you start. Plan for a couple of hours to do it right the first time.
• Once installed, it removes easily and remounts easily in minutes, but in either motion an extra set of hand will make a huge difference. With past awnings, I would just bungee the awning to the roof rack while removing bolts to unmount, making removal and install a one person job. The heft of this one would make that approach less effective. Two people is my recommendation.
• Functionally its the easier awning I have used in both deployment and pack up. The cover has plenty of room which makes rolling up the material and zipping up much easier than other awnings I've owned.
• There is no question in my mind now that this is the strongest awning on the market. Its a monster. In massive winds, I'd be more worried about the awning ripping the roof rack out of the roof mounts before the awning itself failed, which could be a negative for some, but in those conditions I would just close the awning and drive to more adequate cover.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Initial Review:

The awning arrived packed well, but with no instructions or guidance on how best to mount or install. No explanation of needing to puncture the cover to get the bolts through, though that was pretty self explanatory. Mounting brackets must be ordered separately and there is very little guidance on the website as to what brackets should be used in which situations. Despite all of this, I was able to figure it out and place my order. The awning arrived in about a week but they forgot to send the brackets and I had to email them. They got them out next day and I received them in about two days.

After the install I did a shakedown drive around the neighborhood and on the freeway. I did not notice any shaking, rattling or other indications of mounting issues. I did notice a bit of wind noise coming from the forward top corner of the cover buzzing in the wind. I solved this by stuffing the strap up into that corner which stabilized it enough to stop making noise. The room in the cover is what allows for that buzzing, but its worth it because of how much easier it is to pack up and the solution to the buzzing was simple. My other awnings have been tight to the point of me worrying about the sticking on the zippers giving way under the stress.

I have done one long highway drive and barely noticed it was up there on the interstate. A few times I was lined up with the wind just right to where there was some wind noise, but most of the time I didn't notice anything. Certainly never heard it while listening to a podcast, so not very loud anyway.

The awning in use itself has been very limited thus far. Mostly just testing in the driveway. Its rock solid and in a completely different league from both my OzTent Foxwing and my OVS Nomad. Both were very good awnings, but the poles were annoyances I couldn't get over. This awning is not only structurally beyond comparison, it works easily and flawlessly the way well engineered parts are supposed to just feel good. The best way I can describe that feeling is to compare it with the how an LC just feels more solid and well built than a 4Runner or how closing a door on a BMW feels different than closing a door on a Ford. Just a more solid, fluid feel.

I don't love the way the packed awning looks on the truck, but that isn't unique to this awning. It looks fine for an awning but not the best looking option and not the worst. The cover and zippers seem very well built and I expect them to be durable. The ripstop canvas seems like it would breathe better than other materials and having some experience with the material I might expect it to puncture with the right contact but likely not degrade significantly.

Once I have had the opportunity to use it camping, modify it a bit with maybe some lighting and get a sense for how willing I am to deploy it for short term use (Not setting up camp or the like) I will have a lot more thoughts to share. As of now, I am very happy with the purchase and believe it will get more use than my previous awnings simply because of the ease in packing it up and not having to ever deal with poles.

 

[grinchy]

Glad to see you are tracking your thoughts. There is a video of a guy doing pull-ups on this or another similar.
i think right / us passenger is going to be great. Definitely the move if you don’t have a right side swing out tire carrier.

 

[Slow Paddler]

Looking forward to your opinion. I too first saw this awning on Harry’s cooking vids. He mentioned two layers for the top, but I haven’t seen that mentioned elsewhere (or I missed it)

I’ve had my ARB awning on the passenger side on two consecutive vehicles now. Seems the logical side for roadside shade or when backed in to a camping spot with my squareback trailer.

 

[alia176]

Well come on now, it's 2021, let's see more details

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Well come on now, it's 2021, let's see more details

Post #2 Updated.

 

[alia176]

Nice update dude, thank you.

I'm leaning toward the 270MAX myself but that cost is a hard pill to swallow

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Post #3 - Initial review Updated.

 

[Washingtontaco]

Did you just order direct or purchase through a vender? I have ordered direct from Kaon but nothing over 36" in length. After exchange rate cost with shipping? Fire To Fork uses a Front Runner roof rack so I know it'll fit mine. Thanks in advance!

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Did you just order direct or purchase through a vender? I have ordered direct from Kaon but nothing over 36" in length. After exchange rate cost with shipping? Fire To Fork uses a Front Runner roof rack so I know it'll fit mine. Thanks in advance!

The Bush Company has a US website that I ordered from. I believe that site is run by an authorized distributor in Texas, but it is branded as Bush Company USA. I think the awning came from US stock already in Texas, but not sure about the brackets.

 

[Washingtontaco]

The Bush Company has a US website that I ordered from. I believe that site is run by an authorized distributor in Texas, but it is branded as Bush Company USA. I think the awning came from US stock already in Texas, but not sure about the brackets.

Found it, thanks!!

 

[RobW0]

Thanks for the review on this. I am wanting to change the awning on my trailer from the Rhino Batwing. I am looking at this one or the 23 Zero Peregrine 270.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Couple more photos...

 

[alia176]

It's interesting why Bush decided to setup their bag the way they did. I think they may be the only company who does this. Everyone else, has an exposed back plate and it's really handy for mounting HAM radio antenna to get as high as possible w/o interfering with anything.

 

[ElRob]

im interested to see it deployed with the rear hatch open. any pictures of that?

 

[Slow Paddler]

Those look like good heavy duty brackets. Once my LC200 arrives, I'm considering doing the Prinsu-style crossbars on the OEM rails, using @tbisaacs modifications. The OEM rails do not go as far forward as your roof rack. Given your limited use so far, does more unsupported awning forward seem reason for concern? I could still use four brackets. They'd just be less spread out. Thanks!

For reference, I'm used to my ARB 8' awning having about 25-30" unsupported on my 4Runner and previously on my Outback. Not the same thing of course...

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Those look like good heavy duty brackets. Once my LC200 arrives, I'm considering doing the Prinsu-style crossbars on the OEM rails, using @tbisaacs modifications. The OEM rails do not go as far forward as your roof rack. Given your limited use so far, does more unsupported awning forward seem reason for concern? I could still use four brackets. They'd just be less spread out. Thanks!

For reference, I'm used to my ARB 8' awning having about 25-30" unsupported on my 4Runner and previously on my Outback. Not the same thing of course...

No, I wouldn't be worried about that. It you have 4 attach points with two towards the rear and the other two spaced out, you should be fine. The forward portion doesn't take on much load at all in use, and when pack up and driving the load would be more than adequately distributed with 4 brackets.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Just shot a quick video showing the set-up and some close-ups of the components as well as how it avoids the rear hatch. Sorry for the poor quality, just wanted to get it knocked out between conference calls. Notice that no part of the awning structure makes contact with the rear spoiler, only the material. This is unique among awnings I have tried, and I have the scratches to prove it. Also, I tried to shoot a video of putting it away but the neighbor came by to talk about a fuel pump problem he had, so I'll have to reshoot that another time.

 

[Slow Paddler]

No, I wouldn't be worried about that. It you have 4 attach points with two towards the rear and the other two spaced out, you should be fine. The forward portion doesn't take on much load at all in use, and when pack up and driving the load would be more than adequately distributed with 4 brackets.

Thanks!