Safarivan,
Did you get a chance to look at how I went about building mine in the the "Vanconversion" website below ?
What I learned in building mine is what it would take to operate it once I built it. LOL I would caution everyone here to remember that when designing their awning to take into account what it would require of you to operate it.
Would it lend itself to "one person" operation ?
I had to first loosen the left front ladder rack and move it a couple inches forward before moving to the right side of the Van to do the same while holding the end of the awning in one hand to pull the plastic tube off the spool the awning was tied onto. (the tube protected it from the wind while on the road and rain water that would seep into it if uncovered)
THEN, to insert the end of the spool back into the eyelet mount on the ladder rack and tighten the right clamp (these clamps held the rain gutter of the roof of the Van) before going back to the left side to reset that end of the ladder rack. Whew !!!
But I reasoned that it would still better than sitting in the sun or rain so it would be worth undergoing this setup or take down.
Then I had to untie the straps roughly one foot apart of each other before pulling the blue plastic tarp come awning out to set up the tent poles and establish the four guy wires. (again challenging for one person, but still "doable")
Taking down the awning was the next "learning experience". I at first enlisted anyone I could find to assist but
soon realized that I could use weights attached to the far end of the awning to keep the tension on it so that it would roll up tightly to the spool. (so that the plastic tube would fit over it again. (quite important)
The rolling the awning back in was accomplished with a speed handle from my socket tools and a couple of extensions which were 3/8" drive. I found a socket that fit inside the conduit tube I made the spool from in a flea market. I drilled through it and then through the conduit to put a small eyelet bolt through that socket.
This held it in place so that the handle with a small universal socket would allow me to turn the spool to reel the awning in. the small eyelet bolt I mentioned allowed me to take a piece of nylon zip tie or a shoe lace from a boot to tie it down so the spool could be tied down if I only wanted the awning 1/2 or 2/3 of the way out. (which in windy weather often worked better).
But this is the side of the DIY of an awning that you won't experience until you get into designing/building/operating one. Those are the three corners of your design parameter. After I used it a few times I got to where I could set up or take down in less than 15 minutes. But in high winds it's almost impossible to get a good tight roll up on the awning. When I encountered that I tied the awning to the spool as best as I could and knew the plastic tube wouldn't fit over it. I tied a long nylon cord thru the tube and to the front and rear
racks and lashed it to the awning so it would be safe to drive at high way speeds.
Still, am I happy with what I built. Yes. It's easy enough to change the blue plastic tarp when it rips or degrades. Duct tape makes "OK" repairs. Didn't have "Gorilla Tape" back then. I learned to use a heavier grade of the blue plastic tarps when I could find them. I once found a silver one and I liked it and would loved to have found a light beige one. But the blue color was for some reason the most common.
Today if I were building the spool again I'd go to a "Fastenall" store (where they sell nuts & bolts etc) to find the washers that have the inside dimension to fit over the conduit an the outside diameter to fit into the plastic tube used to cover the awning.
The guy who did my welding on the spool didn't like the galvanize coating on the conduit that I used so I sanded it down. He made about 3 spot welds to hold the washers in place. (without much danger of toxic fumes) I laid out the dots on the side of the conduit to drill with my electric drill such that the self tapping screws I used would hold the tarp to the spool.
This may seem like a lot of work to someone reading this for the first time, but believe me it isn't.
On the ends of the spool (the open conduit tube) I found rubber caps like you would use on the ends of the legs of a stool at a hardware store. They kept water and insects out of the center of the spool. These could be easily removed or replaced to set up or take down the awning.
I write this to help those considering a DIY awning for themselves. An awning has been one of the most
beneficial and enjoyable aspects of my rig.
