Hey
@dstefan, could you rustle up a link to the Bud Depot awning? I did a little search and came up short. I have a conceptually similar awning from amazon that I like, once set up. But it sure does take longer to set up than I'd like. Also, it's constructed like a Walmart tent, which doesn't speak well for its future reliability.
I'm also interested in the mods you made to it, including the integrating the keter rope.
Here you go:
https://www.busdepot.com/a7905 Sorry, I see I had a typo in the name! Didja find a lot of beer or some new friends?? ?
Its a good ripstop fabric, semi-opaque, reflective (in the grey color) about 8’ square. It comes with a ridiculous amount of heavy formed steel poles that go around the perimeter and two support poles with clips to attach to a VW van gutter as well as two 11’ or 13’ heavy shock corded fiberglass poles to form the dome shape. Takes about an hour to setup that way. Holds in hurricanes up to level 4!
Throw all that ********t away, except the fabric. Buy 8’ of Keder strip from Sailrite, or your favorite local Keder strip emporium. Find somebody to sew it on one edge - regular sewing machines cant handle it. I got a local awning shop to do it for $20, and have also had a local shoe repair shop do it on another project (gutter for my 23Zero).
The awning fabric has interior corner flaps that velcro together for their silly perimeter pole system. I sewed by hand one side shut on each to form a pocket. Better to have whoever sews your Keder on do that for you, but I didn't realize in time. Not hard, but you need a real HD needle and a thimble.
Ask the Amazon Fairy to leave these at your door:
I don’t recall, but I think I needed either roughly 11 or 13 foot lengths to form the cross pieces that dome up the center. Figure that out, or in a day or two I can measure mine, and reduce the length of the shock corded poles (real easy to remove a section and cut one to exact length with a hacksaw as the end ferrules are held by the shock cord and pop out real easily).
Set up by sliding the awning in the track and putting the shock corded poles in the interior pockets you sewed and add your favorite awning poles. If you can tension out your awning poles the way I described in my first reply you can get away with no guylines or stakes if its not too windy. REI carries some real nice telescoping poles if you need them.
Nemo and others have similar awnings for about the same price, but they’re rectangular or narrowed to fit an SUV backhatch width. I really like the width and depth of my setup better for shade. The awning itself is really well made Has 2-3“ drop down sides and velcroed flaps on the inside edges you could attach a wall to, etc.
Hope that helps. It sounds more complicated than it is to do. Here’s a better picture from my old rig. You can sort of see how the tailgate cables help spread the poles.
![1649973498202.jpeg 1649973498202.jpeg](https://expeditionportal.com/forum/data/attachments/620/620089-28c88fc0f9fe9d342fed433570e63efe.jpg)