ARB Awning/tent in desert winds?

[travelinmyblood]

I am considering driving my 1997 Plymouth Van to Arizona, to try out the nomad life.  I saw a video Bob did on the ARB awning and tent, and would like to consider it, but I'm concerned about desert winds.  Does anyone use this awning/tent successfully in the desert?  Would be useful, at least some of the time, or would I not be able to have it out very often? As usual, thank you!

 

[Moxadox]

Hmm, I don't have this particular one, but I do have a truck tent. Wind can be a problem, but the thing I find more problematic is that any structure that attaches to your vehicle means that you are no longer mobile. If you want/need to move, you must first take apart your camp and fold everything back up. This is cumbersome and impedes spontaneity. If you are happy having your vehicle attached to your camp, so be it, but I find, having tried the arrangement I find I prefer a separate tent, not attached to my vehicle. Just my individual take, not meant to influence one way or the other.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[QinReno]

A lot of people I have seen in youtubes are using this sort of popup tent awning, basically a tent without walls. 


I can't say about how well they last, especially in wind storms, but if not attached to your vehicle then any damage will be separate. Plus your van will be more stealthy without an awning tube on the side. Plus I guess with the right popup awning you could un-deploy fairly quickly when going off for the day. So I don't think I will be buying any sort of awning to attach to my own van.

When I was down in Death Valley last Nov, there were dozens of trailers in the CG with awnings deployed. A huge wind came up one afternoon when most people were off visiting different places in their tow vehicles, and tore most of those awnings apart.

 

[Dingfelder]

Boy an awning is a lifesaver as a sunshade though ...

 

[Moxadox]

Boy an awning is a lifesaver as a sunshade though ...

Then, when they fly away, they become a nightmare.....[emoji38]

The Dire Wolfess

 

[QinReno]

Then, when they fly away, they become a nightmare.....[emoji38]

It's not widely known, but spiders spin little umbrella webs and use these to kite themselves across oceans. Improves ecological diversity. Who knew spiders were so smart. Fly away, little 8-legged bug.

So far in my travels, I've usually tried to find a tree to sit under when the sun is really hot. Therefore when it's hot I go to the forests. Also, in the winter time when the sun is low, as when I was boondocking near Lk Havasu last March, I found that if I parked my van at the right angle, the van actually provided adequate shade. So that covers summer and winter. In general, not needed to worry about an awning so far.

 

[Dingfelder]

No mosquitoes? They generally come toward the end of the afternoon here, and chase everyone indoors. Wasps too, if you're trying to eat or are sweaty.

 

[QinReno]

No mosquitoes?  They generally come toward the end of the afternoon here, and chase everyone indoors.  Wasps too, if you're trying to eat or are sweaty.

Some of those popup awnings have mosquito netting walls. 

For that matter, I do have my old 4-man tent which is tall enough that I can almost stand up inside, and large enough that I can put a small table and folding chair in, besides a sleeping bag is I ever actually wanted to sleep in there. So if I am camping somewheres for more than a couple of days, I can erect the tent and sit in there some of the time away from the mosquitos.

 

[Dingfelder]

That's nice. I definitely don't have an awning with mosquito netting.

Yet another good reason to get a tent.

 

[simply lesa]

I prefer my SportBrella either staked to the ground or attached to my hitch hall with a bungee ball on each side attached to the roof rack.
Tents and awnings are problematic in SW winds. I occasionally use a hikers tarp from WM attached to the roof rack with bungee balls and with two tent poles staked out - usually in a 14day camp set up.
I'm considering a shade cloth and rebar portable fence for RTR/WRTR it's simply too peopley there.

 

[QinReno]

Ha, rebar at RTR sounds good. Maybe you can bring extra, and sell it to others who are overloaded by the big crowd. Almost everyone on this forum claims to be in this last group, .

The SportBrella looks kind of cool and easy to carry. One problem with those popup tent awnings is they look very large and heavy when packed up, but I have noticed people using them in a number of youtube videos.

Nice thing about a 4-man tent is that it's really not very large or heavy when packed, and a high quality tent should be able to handle the wind fairly well.

 

[abnorm]

I hang a variety of tarps and tents while camping...………...for stakes in the hard desert soil I like SCREWS

I buy TimberLok screws about 12" long …………..and drive them into the soil using a battery powered impact driver

Fast and Easy to install or remove...…...YMMV

 

[QinReno]

I hang a variety of tarps and tents while camping...……

What do you find to be the most durable tarps?

 

[DLTooley]

Angling the awning into the wind helps a lot in addition to tying or weighing down. You do need to be wind forecast aware and take the awning down in high wind conditions.

Doug

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

For wind-resistant shelters check out the Burning Man site : https://eplaya.burningman.org/