Bush Company Awning

[alia176]

@alia176 ... thank for compiling the awning options available. That’s a big help shopping and comparing all the models.

You're welcome! I learned yesterday that the Darche Gen2 units aren't being imported by Backwoods Overland any longer and I'm not sure who I should go to next! But, the newcomer Wraptor 4k & 6k caught my eye from Overland Pros and at a price point that's quite decent.

 

[arndog123]

You're welcome! I learned yesterday that the Darche Gen2 units aren't being imported by Backwoods Overland any longer and I'm not sure who I should go to next! But, the newcomer Wraptor 4k & 6k caught my eye from Overland Pros and at a price point that's quite decent.

Have you decided on one yet? I thought I had my mind made up on the OVS 270 one but having second thoughts due to the weight. Considering the Wraptor 4K but keep thinking I’ll be happier with the bigger coverage of the 6K or OVS 270. I can’t make my mind up.

 

[alia176]

Have you decided on one yet? I thought I had my mind made up on the OVS 270 one but having second thoughts due to the weight. Considering the Wraptor 4K but keep thinking I’ll be happier with the bigger coverage of the 6K or OVS 270. I can’t make my mind up.

I've been thinking a LOT about my next awning and currently leaning towards the Bush 270XT. While the 270XT MAX, OVS Nomad and Wraptor 6k all have additional coverage over the driver's door, they're also around 70# before you add the mondo bracket weights.

I thought long and hard about do I really need to have coverage over the driver door and my answer is no. I'd rather have less weight and cost but my most important requirement is free standing. I want a beefy rafter system that is truly a free standing awning so the 270XT fits that bill.

Next requirement was that it had to be less than my Batwing closed length of 98". Why? I HATE looking at the BW poking out beyond my RTT and windshield. This is truly an aesthetic thing, nothing to do with practicality. So, I'm giving up square footage for better symmetry on the side of my 80. Otherwise, I'd have looked at the Shadow awning or the Quick pitch which are over 100" in length.

Lastly, I love quality workmanship and material that'll take years of abuse. I'm not sure if the Chinese units with their awesome price points can handle such rigor. I'm not easy on my equipment, hence I have a landcruiser so I want a similarly made awning and RTT. I'm also hard on women

 

[arndog123]

I've been thinking a LOT about my next awning and currently leaning towards the Bush 270XT. While the 270XT MAX, OVS Nomad and Wraptor 6k all have additional coverage over the driver's door, they're also around 70# before you add the mondo bracket weights.

I thought long and hard about do I really need to have coverage over the driver door and my answer is no. I'd rather have less weight and cost but my most important requirement is free standing. I want a beefy rafter system that is truly a free standing awning so the 270XT fits that bill.

Next requirement was that it had to be less than my Batwing closed length of 98". Why? I HATE looking at the BW poking out beyond my RTT and windshield. This is truly an aesthetic thing, nothing to do with practicality. So, I'm giving up square footage for better symmetry on the side of my 80. Otherwise, I'd have looked at the Shadow awning or the Quick pitch which are over 100" in length.

Lastly, I love quality workmanship and material that'll take years of abuse. I'm not sure if the Chinese units with their awesome price points can handle such rigor. I'm not easy on my equipment, hence I have a landcruiser so I want a similarly made awning and RTT. I'm also hard on women

Good points. I need to stick to my budget though. Need to buy another rear Slee bumper when they come back in stock for my other 80.

 

[Grimgar]

Love the 270XT Max on my Jeep - it is easy to setup and looks rock solid.
However ... it is probably not the right choice if you are planning to do a lot of off-camber rock-crawling - so I wasn't able to take it with me on the Rubicon trails. Since I recently got another non 270 awning on my offroad trailer I might end up selling the Max ... feel free to pm me if interested.

 

[txtrucklvr]

Anyone water proof theirs? Mine collects water babies like no other. Not sure where water coming from either. As clearly bottom seems to be water proof because the water collects.

 

[alia176]

I never have water proofed mine but I really try to create runoffs by tying down the middle of the spans so that water doesn't pool up.

 

[txtrucklvr]

I never have water proofed mine but I really try to create runoffs by tying down the middle of the spans so that water doesn't pool up.

Have a pic of what you mean?

 

[alia176]

Have a pic of what you mean?

You know those rings that are on the edges of your awnings and the ropes that came with your unit? I tie those ropes to those rings and anchor them to the ground. This creates a dip in the material so that water runs off. This is explained in your manual.

 

[txtrucklvr]

You know those rings that are on the edges of your awnings and the ropes that came with your unit? I tie those ropes to those rings and anchor them to the ground. This creates a dip in the material so that water runs off. This is explained in your manual.

No I meant the water accumulation happens when the thing is zipped up

 

[gnob]

Its either coming in through the zipper, your mount holes or a tear in the cover.
I was under the impression that the bag was weather proof/resistant.

I always park my zippers on the bottom somewhere.

 

[reddog90]

@gnob are you still happy with your 270XT?

 

[gnob]

ya. i don't really have any complaints. we're planning on doing a two year review video shortly.
i missed the Max release by a few weeks. if i had to do it over, id have gotten the larger one.
we had the opportunity to meet dean at pnw overland expo. genuine guy. the new west coast distributor is a guy local to me. we were/are able to display product for him if he doesn't have any on hand.
i have not seen the alumacab up close but it appears to be very nice as well.

@gnob are you still happy with your 270XT?

 

[gnob]

here is our quick two year review.

 

[concretejungle]

Couple of notes... Been running the 270XTMax for about a year. First mounted on load bars... that worked but to really experience this awning you need to mount it on one of their tents. So, I purchased the Alpha RTT and mounted the awning to it. ROCK SOLID! It's really that good.

On the comment about the bag leaking, I had the same issue at first. They told me it was because I cut my holes in the bag too large or I didn't clamp the mounting bolts and washers down enough to make it water tight. Not sure, I personally think the way you have to cut the bag is just silly. They need to have this awning set up like other awnings with a mounting rail on the awning. If you mount it and then decide later to mount it on something different you might end up having to buy another bag because you will have to cut holes in it to line up on the new surface.

Luckily they replaced my bag since it came delivered damaged. When I mounted the awning on the RTT with the new bag, snugged down the bolts and washers nice and tight, it doesn't get wet inside (mostly... if it rains for days there is a chance it could be moist inside). I will unzip it and just leave it open. I was told by The Bush Company that the fabric is mold and mildew resistant, I guess we will see.

Overall, I'm happy with it. Really looking forward to seeing how heavy and bulky the walls will be.

 

[80t0ylc]

Overall, I'm happy with it. Really looking forward to seeing how heavy and bulky the walls will be.

The walls to my Alu Cab Shadow attach the same way - Velcro to edge of awning. They also zip together at the poles. Not real heavy and they provide privacy and some wind/sideways rain protection, but not much else. No bug protection at all (despite the screens in the walls...lol) and need to provide my own floor, which a simple tarp will do. Setup and take down can be time consuming until you get used to it. My wall kit came in a bag with a "map" on the bag, to tell you which identified wall goes where. Bag is roughly 10" tall x 18" x 24" and stores walls nicely when not in use. Not fun taking down wet or snow or mud covered and folding up nice to fit in bag. But, hey that's overlanding, right?

Pix of wall kit:

Room to throw in a couple of tarps for floor in addition to tie down ropes and pegs

 

[alia176]

Couple of notes... Been running the 270XTMax for about a year. First mounted on load bars... that worked but to really experience this awning you need to mount it on one of their tents. So, I purchased the Alpha RTT and mounted the awning to it. ROCK SOLID! It's really that good.

On the comment about the bag leaking, I had the same issue at first. They told me it was because I cut my holes in the bag too large or I didn't clamp the mounting bolts and washers down enough to make it water tight. Not sure, I personally think the way you have to cut the bag is just silly. They need to have this awning set up like other awnings with a mounting rail on the awning. If you mount it and then decide later to mount it on something different you might end up having to buy another bag because you will have to cut holes in it to line up on the new surface.

Luckily they replaced my bag since it came delivered damaged. When I mounted the awning on the RTT with the new bag, snugged down the bolts and washers nice and tight, it doesn't get wet inside (mostly... if it rains for days there is a chance it could be moist inside). I will unzip it and just leave it open. I was told by The Bush Company that the fabric is mold and mildew resistant, I guess we will see.
View attachment 3136768
Overall, I'm happy with it. Really looking forward to seeing how heavy and bulky the walls will be.

I agree with you, they have a weird way of attaching the bag to the backplane and they're the only ones doing it, as far as I know. Congrats on purchasing their RTT!!

 

[reklund5]

I got a bad case of awning envy when on the Rubicon this year. Some guys in our group had Bush Company awnings and made my ezi-awn look like a tarp.

I came home and scoured the internet. Turns out there was a very gently used one in Seattle for 1/2 of retail. I have family there so I arranged a pickup and as luck would have it my cousin was headed this way anyway.

Fast forward 30 days and here it is. Not sure about having to cut new holes in the bag to make it work, so I ordered some tenacious tape from Amazon to patch them. The seller included a new vinyl bag but I'm saving it for when the canvas one finally is done.

All said, I'm very happy. I need a couple webbing anchors for the tie back straps which Mr. Bezos will deliver here tomorrow. Now I just gotta get out and use it!

 

[alia176]

I posted this in another forum but it belongs here as well:

copy/paste

Last weekend was the first test of rain water not pooling with the noodles. It rained all night off and on, even hailed at one point. In the middle of the night I was able to open one of the doors of the RTT, and looked on top of the awning with phone light to confirm water not pooling. Looks like about six inch long noodles act as a decent wedge to stop the flapping and rain water repellent. If it's too windy, the noodles just fall off so that's the next mod I need to deal with .

first pic is before the rain, second pic is the following morning after it rained on/off all night.

 

[reklund5]

I posted this in another forum but it belongs here as well:

copy/paste

Last weekend was the first test of rain water not pooling with the noodles. It rained all night off and on, even hailed at one point. In the middle of the night I was able to open one of the doors of the RTT, and looked on top of the awning with phone light to confirm water not pooling. Looks like about six inch long noodles act as a decent wedge to stop the flapping and rain water repellent. If it's too windy, the noodles just fall off so that's the next mod I need to deal with .

first pic is before the rain, second pic is the following morning after it rained on/off all night.

View attachment 3975723

View attachment 3975724

I need to sort out the hatch rubbing on the rear awning support...don't really want to move the awning up on the mounts any more, so that one may get a piece of pipe insulation. I dig the pool noodles for rain support Might have to employ that, and then I could add some LED strip lights to the tops of the arms for a nice soft light effect too....