awning setups

I'm thinking of somehow coming up with a rear awning to cover the entry/exit of my topper sleep area. Anyone have good setups that they have configured already?

I've got a side facing awning, but it's simply too large to just cover the rear of the truck. The goal would be to minimize water dripping in and provide some dry ground to change and put shoes one.

 

I've seen the arb 4ft awning mounted back there. I'm looking for an alternative with slightly more coverage.

 

I am 6 foot with a DCSB. Originally, I bought a DAC tailgate tent so I could sleep with the gate opened. I can only say it was not designed for the Tacoma! The distance between the raised window and the lowered gate is way too short.

Since I have a Front Runner rack and an ARB awning (6.5' x 8') I decided to design a portable mounting system so I can easily move it from the side of the truck to the rear.

I have 3 mounting points on the side of my Front Runner rack. The top track of the awning has 6mm eye nuts that fit over the 8mm FR posts. To hold the awning in place, I secure it with 8mm eye nuts. These also provide lashing points for the rest of the rack. I am using the bottom track of the awning to hold 3 soft plastic/rubber spacers. These serve 2 purposes; to keep the awning vertical and to provide additional contact points to the rack. Note: I am also going to add one or two heavy-duty galvanized L brackets to the lower track which will rest over the FR side rail. This should take some of the stress off of the eye nuts. To ensure the awning is snug to the rack, I will lash the awning to the rack with two beefy velcro straps before traveling.


As a theft-deterrent, I have another 8mm eye nut next to the middle post. The purpose of this one is to allow me to lock the awning to the rack.

To relocate the awning to the rear of the truck, simply remove the 3 8mm eye nuts and set the awning onto the 2 rear posts, then secure with 2 of the 8mm eye nuts.

I have it set up with the driver side even with the truck. That leaves about 10 or 11 inches overhanging on the passenger side.

The awning cover should keep most of the elements from blowing into the tent area from the roof.

With the ARB 3-wall set attached to the awning, I will have a bedroom and a living room! lol


The wind was blowing pretty good when I was testing out my concept. This panel should be touching the truck. I can see where I will need to add some velcro loops to the side panels so I can attach the sides to the truck.

The opening on the passenger side is large enough to use as a entrance instead of rolling up the door panel.

I also have some ideas for a 4th wall that would close the air gaps around the back of the truck.

 

That's a pretty well done setup - My roof rack bars might be set too far from the tailgate to pull it off, but the living room concept is sweet for sure!

 

If you like a living room concept, I have one of these things. Comes with one door to wrap around tailgate/shell (shown in picture) and two doors that you can remove to make it total enclosed when wanting to use as a tent or just to cover the other open end (not shown).

 

Yea - that looks like a pretty intensive setup though. I've got a tarp that I just should mess around with and see if it works.

 

Its just two long poles and 6 short poles that clip onto the long poles. Easy 10 minute set up. Yeah if you can do something with a tarp, your wallet would thank you

 

The plus to this setup is that you can drive away and not have to take it down! How adjustable is the tailgate opening? A third gen is higher and has a bigger opening that the SUV in the picture.

 

Exactly. Also since we sleep in my truck bed on my platform, this adds so much more storage space and movement space on camping trips. It's pretty cool too because there is an optional insert you can buy which encloses the whole thing with a floor and netting so you have an actual tent and not just a shelter

 

Another member posted this setup.

Kelty 12' tarp.

I just purchased one for $42 (after discounts) on Groupon. Going to do the same setup.

Amazon sells them.

 

I would be concerned about somebody tripping over the guy wires. I would add a tent pole to each corner so you can shorten the angle of the rope.

 

They have glow in the dark guy lines

Can also just wrap a pool noodle over them

 

I've been thinking about something like this. How is the "front" corner attached to the truck?

 

Tied to the roof rack, it's my truck. Spent a week camping out of it, worked great. You become use to where the stakes are, just like a tent, never ran into the lines.

 

duh, I should have known. Awesome! will probably end up doing this same thing.

 

How does that fold up? Pretty large?

 

About 30 inches long and 9 inches tall by wide. So not too bad!

 

Ok so it's not on my Tacoma but my buddy has one on his 4Runner and it has been very useful. Easy setup and very tough even in high winds. Can't wait to put one on my camper top that I can't afford to buy.

 

Nice setup, thank you for the inspiration!

 

Awesome setup! This will have to go on my ever-growing list of things to get...
The way you have it mounted is great, i haven't seen someone else with a similar setup on here.