ARB Awning

[Baja Don]

Get the NAPA 8x8 Maxi Trac awning instead!
It's a virtually identical copy of the ARB awning, but it's only $100
I paid $106 out the door at NAPA and I've compared it side by side with the ARB and they are identical.

Also, save another $80+ and make your own brackets from a set of old beetle bumper brackets!
A couple of cuts, drill one hole, a few bends, and they are perfect!

[Abscate]

Ouch. $355 for the ARB FROM GW and out of stock/ no date

capitalism is a harsh teacher
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.ssS!

[Vanlife Geek]

And the experiment continues! On this camp, for the first time I used all three of the 3-wall tent sections added to the screen room for extra rain and wind protection. For the side section with the door, I rolled up one side to keep as much view as possible, but could roll it down and zip it up when it rained. It rained a lot during this trip and the additional protection was fantastic. They also create quite a bit of extra protected space for tripods, water containers, etc. The two front corners are exposed to the elements, but it still offers a ton of extra protection.

A couple of night/star shots just for grins

Drone view from above. My goofy tarp setup on the driver's side is working great for additional weather protected space and is the perfect place for my gas generator and other stuff I want to keep out of my "living area".

With the entry area all rolled down and me pondering about how much of a pain it will be to enter via the zippered entrance, with another zippered entrance to the screen room right behind it. A tripping accident just waiting to happen... Trippy Zippers!

Then it occurred to me that I can just enter through the side... much easier!

All staked down and ready for wind and rain. This also pulls the wall out a bit and makes entering from the side a little easier.

View from the inside showing exposed corner. Note that the two windows on the 3-wall tent have two sections. The bottom half is clear plastic and the top half is mesh. I roll mine half way to maintain a view while keeping the rain out. They can be rolled all the way up if the weather is nice for even more views and allow the breezes to flow through better.

I think I have taken the screen room/3-wall tent experiment about as far as I can take it now. I'm very happy with the results. The screen room by itself it great until it rains hard with any wind. The rain hits the fine mesh of the screen room and "mists" everything inside. This really keeps that to a minimum. I suppose the newer ARB "Awning Room" accomplishes a similar result, but this is what I already own.
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Vanlife Geek
Current:
1986 Syncro Westy
Previous:
1983 Westy
1981 Westy
1972 Bug (Last year you could buy a new one for under $2,000)
1965/66 Bug (2 bugs from a junk yard combined to make 1 functional bug)
1959 Bug (Pre Gas Gauge Era)

[Timwhy]