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Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:30 am

In the "post pic of front of your Van" thread a few of us commented on the "awning" that Backcountrymedic was sporting in his picture. It is called the carport by Kelty. Anyone who has done even avid camping or hiking knows the Kelty namebrand to be superior quality and build. I have had a Kelty pack/tent/sleeping bag for gonig on ten years now and all the seams are in tact and every piece,grommet and fittings are still like new and operate perfectly. You pay for quality like my tent was over $250 compared to a $75 coleman from Walmart but you know how the saying goes: get what you pay for. It weighs 3.4 lbs paked ect.ect.

I think alot of us have checked into Fiamma awnings that cost 600-700 bucks and screw into your roof or other brands like Shadyboy that are kinda small also permanent mount and cost hundreds. I wasn't happy with these choices or the others on the market untill I saw the Kelty. I ordered it immediatly from campmor.com for $199 plus $6 to ship and showed up last night!

I cannot be happier with it. It fits in its own carrying case about size of a tent. NO drilling onto your Van! Velcro straps onto your rack. It sets up in like ten minutes the first time and I'm on crutches, ha ha. Forget those minimal measurements like 54" wide barely covering the opening of your sliding door, this thing is monsterous!!!! 9 feet wide by 10 feet long with a window and drop down sides mang! :shock: It is a shelter!

I leaned it onto my back porch so you don't have to have a rack but you could come up with a suction cup or other interesting means of fixing it down.

Nifty window with noseum to watch the kids play on the set. Or scenic campground without being ate up by skeeters.

I can't wait for our trip to Fort Desoto park! I can't say enough for how perfect this set-up is to me. No drilling.Light weight.Ease of assembly.Huge coverage.Fantastic build quality. Cudos for a great product. :D

Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:06 am

What I did for my home made awning was use ratchiting plastic clamps from Home Depot. You can use them to clamp the end to the rain gutter. They hold very tightly and do not mar your car.

I just ordered one (it is the Large model). Looks way better than what I made. It is also available from REI at the same price, if you use thier 20% off coupon MEMB26. Since I had that much available as a dividend, it worked out great.

Thanks for posting that, it is a great idea.

Cheers,
James

Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:39 am

Thanks for the great tip! What a cool awning. I'm on my way to REI now pick up the deluxe model ( with of coarse the 20% off coupon in hand).

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?pro...view=large

Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:46 am

looked on the campmor site need to know which on you have

Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:33 am

Sorry , I opted for the Large, the medium seems more suited for stationwagons or something shorter. I looked on the REI store and only saw the Large for $300 but it also seemed to have additional poles holding the front lip higher?

Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:26 am

The link I posted to the one at REI is for the deluxe for $300. They also have the large and medium available. You can buy the large on ebay for $149. I went with the deluxe at $240 with the 20% off coupon at REI. :wink:

Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:41 am

What I got was this one:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?sto...REI_SEARCH

It is $250 with 20% off it came to $199.

Cheers,
james

Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:29 am

James - The one you bought (large) is/was available on ebay for $159 buy it now with $14.95 shipping. The deluxe model is nicer & worth the extra $ to me.

Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:46 pm

just orderd a large one cant wait to see how it looks set up got it at campmor for $199+s&h :D deves

Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:09 pm

Fox,

I saw that one on eBay also. However, I had a huge dividend. You have to wait until the summer to get it in cash. Besides, you get dividend on the purchase, another 10%. So getting it from REI was woth the ultimate $11 difference to me, besides, the clown wanted $17 to ship, vice $9 from REI.

The delux model is cool, but if you do astronomy at night, like I do from the van, poles are deadly. The lean-to is a better concept to me, softer on my face. Ok, I a clumsy clutz. At the moment, I'm sporting a smashed thumb (war with a CV joint), and a scab on my head (replacing coolent lines on the bottom of the radiatior). Poles would complete the picture with a nice vertical bruise. Kind of round out my bridge troll look.

Cheers,
James

Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:15 pm

I like the setup of the deluxe better, but it seems like the large could be made into a deluxe easily enough. Could someone who bought the large comment on this? Are there rings at the corner or some other acceptable way to attach poles and support strings to turn it into a deluxe? Thanks.

Justin

Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:54 am

Hey all! I found the best way to attach my Kelty Carport (large model) to was to the raingutters, using spring clamps around the top most pole. My Yakima racks are mounted to the pop top, so attaching the velcro straps up there wasn't an option. For the 1/2 dozen times I've used it so far, this system works great! I used the 1" or so ones, available for a couple of buck in the tool part of Home Depot.

Glad my awning has been so inspiring! Woohoo!!

-Jared

Thu Jun 15, 2006 2:40 pm

Anyone tried the Bus Depot EZ-Awning? Looks like a pretty good deal...

http://busdepot.com/details/awning.jsp

Thu Jun 15, 2006 3:38 pm

I have a Bus Depot awning and for the money I love it.
The directions are a little confusing but it goes together quickly once you figure it out. You have to figure out how to attach the monting brackets on your own though, 10 mins, but how about a little instruction ?
I bought it because it was affordable, didn't have to drill holes in the van and I can use it on the rear, front or side of the van...
The attachments for the jack points/under tires is worth the few extra bux. It comes in a tent sized nylon bag and I just keep it in back.
Jefe'

Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:00 pm

I got the Bus Depot awning too. After some small modifications it goes up in about 10 mins and is good and sturdy for the rain and wind. It just stores in the closet along with mr heaterbuddy.

Fri Jun 16, 2006 9:23 am

what about just an EZ-up?

Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:09 pm

I have an EZ Awning from Bus Depot and dig it:

Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:10 pm

Why do I suck at posting pictures? I swear, I can do a freaking engine conversion but I can't follow simple directions? Don't I just click "img" put in the link and click "img" again? Have I completely lost my mind?

Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:39 pm

any body have one of these?
http://www.springbar.com/explore/canopies/auto.html
i am considering one
i have the original kelty and its ok but in my opinion has a couple of faults for my westy application -
it is really designed for attachment to roof racks and because of that, when attached to my westy there is a gap between the vehicle and the kelty and the rain comes thru
- is the bus depot any better in this regard? i cant tell from the pics
joetiger, i would be interested in see your photos
also the keltys window flap is designed wrong. you can see it clearly in the pics above. the flap rolls from top to bottom and is inside. this also results in rain coming thru. i am not sure if the new kelty deluxe corrected this.

Fri Jun 16, 2006 7:01 pm

joetiger - are those images on a website somewhere? They have to be posted online first. I would like to see them.

mtac - what looks good abut the bus depot awning to me is that it's purpose-built for our vehicles so should be easy to set up like tomswesty and xmedic said. I don't have racks on my van (yet) so this really appeals to me.