New ARB Awning Installed, Ready To Go Camping! (2 Viewers)

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That one I'd like to get. Enjoy!
 
x much on more snaps, thanks!

X2 on the ease of mounting to a Yakima system. If you go with the 2500 awning you will need 3 mounting points. You can buy with the smaller awning and get away with 2 mounting points. The key will be the vertical bolt hole placement, the horizontal are infinitely adjustable along the length of the awning.

my outsider 2c:
if yr going w/3 yakima mounts, might as well do the yak sliders at the same time, as they require precise hole drilling in the bars.

edit: https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/287941-roof-rack-sliders.html
 
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x much on more snaps, thanks!



my outsider 2c:
if yr going w/3 yakima mounts, might as well do the yak sliders at the same time, as they require precise hole drilling in the bars. (link to follow)

Yak sliders?
 
Very easy to set up especially with 2. Will be replacing the zipper tabs with Marmot zip tabs- jiggle free- no noise.

Working with fab shop for Thule and Yakima load bar adapters since we are planning to add these to our rental gear to complement our rental RTTs and ARB fridges
 
...I'm going on a four day 150 mile mountain bike trip in September and I am using my 62 as a chase vehicle. This would be perfect for a bike repair area and a Margarita at the end of the day area.

Next time your over remind me to set up mine, I've got the ARB S1 on my Tacoma and usually have a couple of the newer models here too. I wasn't too 'in' to them before going on a series of trips with customers that had them, absolutely one of the more useful things you can have attached to your truck.
 
That ARB looks at home up there. Nicely done!

Overland Journal did a review on a hand full of these awnings in the latest issue....can't remember who won.....Great test job they did using a plane for the wind:cool:


Too bad they didn't include the Fiamma 45 in their review...

And ditto the comments on the usefullness of a rig attached awning!
 
So how good are the ARB awnings in wind? anyone has real world experience?
I understand that no awning will survive a real storm, but how about some unexpected strong gusts?
thanks
J
 
Jan,

Mine did fine during a night of "unexpected strong gust" while camping at the beach? The ARB tent and awning made a lot of noise all night long but the next morning both were good to go.

sbly
 
Link for my install using Yakima towers below.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/395804-new-arb-awning-my-80-a.html

One warning, if it's super windy, don't leave it deployed unattended for a long time. I stepped away to watch a race and came back and someone luckily had tied it up to my truck as it had come loose and was flapping all over. Put a couple pin size holes in the awning, and the vinyl cover. The aluminum framework isn't bulletproof so I'd baby it as much as you can. Mine bent a bit when it came loose. If done right though, it should give you no problems IMO.

Very happy with mine and it's used every week at least twice at bmx races as well as camping. The simplicity of just being able to pull in and have coverage in about 3 minutes is awesome. Just wish it was about 10' wider and 10' longer. :)
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So how good are the ARB awnings in wind? anyone has real world experience?
I understand that no awning will survive a real storm, but how about some unexpected strong gusts?
thanks
J

I've spent some very windy nights with the awning setup, when staked down and both guy wires tight, no problems at all. In fact the roof-top-tents were more of a concern as they were starting to 'lift' in the wind.
 
Link for my install using Yakima towers below....

I'm not sure if you've experiences any bending or tweaking out of those "L" brackets? They look a bit on the light side? If you do ARB actually makes some really heavy duty stainless L brackets, 1/4" thick and drilled on the awning side for the spacing between the extruded channels. Makes for a clean sturdy mount that won't bend or deflect in the wind or as you bounce down the road.
 
Hey Kurt,
They were really supposed to just be temporary brackets to make sure they fit ok and didn't obstruct the tent when deployed. (Which I found out they do interfere with a couple of the tent rods, so I need to tweak them a bit to be "perfect" before making the beefier ones).

As-is they're actually plenty strong and haven't been an issue. Either going down the road with a 40 mph wind, or with the awning deployed and staked down.

When I lost the awning at the track the one day, the ground was so hard/compacted it was tough to get the awning stakes pounded into the ground good enough. I think I may even have had some slack in the ropes just enough to let it start buffeting. Didn't take long to wiggle everything loose and come undone.

Just have to be more careful next time to make sure everything's tight and secure. My own fault. :eek:


edit: Just noticed the other comments on having 3 attachment points for the 2500 as recommended. I'm only using 2 since I was too lazy to install an extra Yakima tower I have laying around. For what it's worth, this thing isn't going anywhere, even with only 2 mounting points and my cheesy brackets.

When driving forward the frontal(?) area is really next to nothing so there really isn't that much pressure being applied IMO. I can grab it with my hand and move the whole truck around before those brackets deform. (Though I do plan to make 3 sets when I make the stronger ones. Just for the record :)

Deployed in a hurricane, the brackets are the least of my concerns for it blowing away. Just my observations from the umpteen wicked T storms we've had this year. (tonight especially). Bring on winter already. :cheers:
 
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...As-is they're actually plenty strong and haven't been an issue. Either going down the road with a 40 mph wind, or with the awning deployed and staked down...

Cool, sounds like you've got it setup! :cool:
 
Cool, sounds like you've got it setup! :cool:
We'll see. Usually once I spout off about how I have something "figured out", I get smited pretty good. Look for my next thread titled "ARB awning launches itself to Canada due to owners negligence" :)

Full weekend of bmx starts tonight and nothing but thunderstorms and hail possible all weekend. Should be interesting.. :beer:
 
^ lols. look forward to the after action report.

had a different brand of awning, sold it w/the RTT, and while it met one person set-up requirements, didn't seem very sturdy for weather.

considering something like this for dog show set-ups, where the consequence of failure ranges from liability to death, all of which is a no-go.

worst case: awning falls onto dog in x-pen, dog freaks out and tips it over, runs amok, bites a pocket dog, and runs skeerdy into traffic. kinda like a hurricane plus tornado plus skeeter bite, but it could happen, the day before I buy a lottery ticket.

Kurt: would love to see Arb's mounting option.

ps: VFRdude - bolt heads down reduce moisture on yr mounts.
 
Races canceled tonight. Bummer. Too wet. Should be good to go tomorrow.

The bolts have to go just like they are or you can't spin the Yakima tnuts. Not enough clearance. Still tweaking it. :)
 
Races canceled tonight. Bummer. Too wet. Should be good to go tomorrow.

The bolts have to go just like they are or you can't spin the Yakima tnuts. Not enough clearance. Still tweaking it. :)

true dat yakkity aint tweaked that best yet. can be done by hand if you use the secret squirrel locking method + the golden key.

that sounded kinda Harry Potter, eh? :cookie:

pm me if you want details, but it's pretty simple. a few :hmm: and you could figure it out on yr own.
 
...Kurt: would love to see Arb's mounting option...

Similar to the above, just much thicker stainless. I'll try and remember to grab some pics tomorrow, remind me if I forget :D
 

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