DIY Awning or Tent Poles

[Im4duke]

Was considering purchasing a nice vehicle awning (ARB, CVT, etc.) but convinced myself it would be worth trying a simple tarp setup first. I have a tarp, really just needed some adjustable poles for legs. Went to home depot hoping painters poles would be cheap. The sturdier ones were about $25 each. Thought about PVC, but too bulky for good stiffness. I decided to use electrical conduit and am pretty pleased with the results for $31 and 45 minutes of my time.

Materials:
2 5' pieces of 3/4" conduit (cut down and debured from 10' length)
2 2.5' pieces of 1/2" conduit (cut down and debured from 10' length)
2 1.5" 1/4"-20 stainless screws
2 1/4"-20 stainless nylock nuts
2 1/4"-20 stainless wingnuts
4 1/4" stainless washers
2 1/4"x1.25" hitch pins
4 3/4" rubber leg tips
2 1/2" rubber leg tips

1. Drilled 1/4" holes straight through the 3/4" tube about 2" from the one end
2. Drilled 1/4" holes through the 1/2" tube every 6" from the end
3. Press 2 3/4" rubber leg tips to ends of 3/4" tubes, opposite the drilled holes
4. Cut 1/2" hole in the bottom of 2 3/4" rubber leg tips using exacto knife. Cut a little less than 1/2" hole so there is some friction.
5. Press the cut 3/4" rubber leg tips onto the 3/4" tubes on the ends close to the drilled holes
6. Insert the 1/2" tube into the 3/4" tube through the rubber leg tips
7. Insert hitch pins through 1/2" and 3/4" tubes
8. Drill 1/4" hole through the 1/2" rubber leg tips
9. Assemble screw>washer>rubber>washer>nylock>wingnut
10. Press assembly onto 1/2" tube ends

These turned out quite solid. I plan to paint them black.

If I was doing it again, I would use 4' long 3/4" pieces and 3.5' long 1/2". The overall collapsed length would be shorter, slightly lighter and still plently rigid.

 

[TACTICALJEEP]

I like it...I like it a lot!!!

 

[ober27]

Im4duke,

I've been pondering a similar set up. I hope you don't mind if I copy your idea. I really like the simplicity of it. Have you had a chance to try it out yet? Any photos?

 

[Im4duke]

Im4duke,

I've been pondering a similar set up. I hope you don't mind if I copy your idea. I really like the simplicity of it. Have you had a chance to try it out yet? Any photos?

Haven't tried it out as I actually just made them late yesterday, and I don't yet have a way to connect the tarp to my Jeep. Need to order a Gobi rack first. Anyone know of a discount program/membership for Gobi?

 

[uscg2008]

Here is my set up that I put together this weekend. Everything will be tightly attached when I go to actually use it. It s just loosely attached in the pics

Or I can pack it way with my alps mountaineering roll up table and go into my drawer

 

[bluehash]

Haven't tried it out as I actually just made them late yesterday, and I don't yet have a way to connect the tarp to my Jeep. Need to order a Gobi rack first. Anyone know of a discount program/membership for Gobi?

Thanks for sharing. I was in the same delima : http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/116256-Awning-without-roofrack
I finally broke down and got a gobi rack for stuff to put on it as well as tie to it.

Gobi normally has free accessory sales going on.. still do. I got mine from Trail Duty.

 

[jruba]

Looks real nice , what is your estimated final cost ? do you have pics of actual awning all set up ?

 

[Im4duke]

Ordered my gobi from trailduty last night. Got a better than advertised deal just for asking! Can't wait.

Total cost for the 2 poles was $31. The texsport poles posted above seem to be a less expensive option. They look less stout than these from the pics, but if if I had done the research, might have been an easier choice. Oh well, sometimes making your own stuff is half the fun.

No pics yet. Maybe this weekend.

 

[Matto]

Interesting idea with the conduit Im4Duke - not something I'd have thought of. Well done. I'm guessing they would be very light? I agree with the "making yourself" ethic.

When I made our tarp/awning I took the simple route and went with aluminium twist-lock poles (http://www.polesapart.com.au/aluminium_tent_poles.html). They worked out somewhere between $15-$20 ea, so more expensive than yours. Actually, I admit I bought steel poles first (because I am / they were cheap), but I can carry 6 aluminium poles for about the same weight as 1 steel pole. It didn't take long for me to switch over.

REALLY old (2008!) pic of the car with our silver-tarp awning. It was one of the first things we made for it:

Can't wait to see some pics of yours.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[raven1911]

How are you guys attaching the poles to the tarp?

Matto, I like that setup! How big is that tarp in the pic? How do you get it looking so tight? Any secrets??

 

[Matto]

Matto, I like that setup! How big is that tarp in the pic? How do you get it looking so tight? Any secrets??

Thanks mate.

The tarp I used has metal D-rings sewn into the corners, so I use poles with a tall spigot and that seems to work quite well. I like Im4Duke's idea of threaded rod on the spigots, with the wingnut. I thought the D-rings were stainless, but after all the years on the car out in the weather, they've started to rust. Nothing serious, just looks ugly.

The tarp itself is 2m wide, and it comes out probably 3.5-4m. The length makes it a bit unweildy and it takes longer to set up than a shorter awning. Up-side is that you get a lot of room, you can put a peak in it as shown, or you can bring it out 2m then peg the end of it down as a windbreak.

As for getting it nice and taught, I generally set it up with the centre poles at the sorta-right height, peg it down, then extend the centre poles up a tad more. I find I can get better tension on it that way. I've also changed from the fluro-yellow DIY guy ropes to proper ropes with springs, for a bit of give in windy situations.

Between the lift and the tyres, the car's now about 3.5"-4" taller than it was in that pic, so you can get some good height out of the tarp. I'm 6"4, which is why I wanted to be able to set a peak in the centre for additional headroom.

Not shown is the long bag that the poles, pegs and ropes go in. It sits nicely on top of the rolled up tarp against the edge of the roof basket, and a couple of occy-straps around the whole lot hold everything on well. It's all sort of self-contained. You can sorta see how it all packs up in this shot:

Some photos of putting it together that might help:

If you loosen off the U-bolts that hold the aluminium tube to the roof rack cross bars, you can slide the whole thing off the car and set it up freestanding:

Since getting the camper back in 2010 we've tended not to use the tarp/awning, and it was relegated to a corner of the garage. But we had a trip last year where any additional shade would have been good. As soon as we got home I bolted it back up and now it goes everywhere with us. Takes up no space, so why not. I'd like one of the fancy commercial awnings for speed of setup, but this dodgy home-brew one works fine for our needs.

Cheers,
Matto

 

[mmaattppoo]

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[REMOTEPLACES]

I completely get why people build their own awning, and in fact I began building my own but quickly realized the cost would approach that of a cvt or arb (cvt group buy $200 for 79'). With my cvt I'll get the quality, 2 year warranty, and a bag to keep everything protected and clean. I love dyi stuff but the awning for me just didn't prove to be worth it. That said, your awning looks great!


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[mmaattppoo]

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[REMOTEPLACES]

I see why you made your own, and it makes perfect sense. I would have done the same thing if I was in your situation. It was hard for me to pass up the CVT group buy deal, and I can pick it up as I live in Bend. Making a good deal great without those pesky shipping cost. Cheers


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