few questions on foxwing awning

concretejungle

Adventurer
I'm getting more and more serious about purchasing an awning for my 80 series cruiser. Right now i have a RTT and usually carry an ezi-up shelter. This works fine, but it takes a large amount of space up in the truck, and, it takes a little effort to set it up and take it down.

The regular awning seem to be great products. I'm looking for maximum coverage and it looks like the foxwing awning provides that.

My main question is regarding the rear hatch on my cruiser. Does anyone have any experience with one of these awnings while your rear hatch is open? I do not want to damage the awning by having it deployed over the rear of the truck and then not be able to pop the hatch to get things out of the truck and cook off the tailgate.

Does anyone have any first-hand experience with that?

Also, anyone who has one, would you get another of this model or would you opt for a standard awning if you were to buy again?
 

mhiscox

Expedition Leader
I am very happy with the Foxwing deployed on the XV-JP Jeep. It is, however, only by the barest of margins that my rear door does not foul on the awning, and I am quite sure that if I had it on my Sequoia, the rear liftgate could not raise enough to let me have decent access, since I would have to constrain the liftgate's travel range to miss the awning,

Every application is different, but as a rough rule of thumb, figure you'll need to have the bottom of the awning assembly mounted several inches above the height of the applicable door when it's open in order to allow for a bit of droop in the fabric, and more would be better.

It is a nice awning, but it is not for everyone regardless of whether it fits. It will be worrisome in a wind unless tied down quite well, and you are likely to damage it and/or your truck if you try to deploy it by yourself when it is windy. These drawbacks, however, are a consequence of the magnificent coverage it provides, so it becomes a personal matter of balancing the drawbacks against the considerable merit.
 

drifter_r6

Observer
I had my foxwing mounted on a 2000 Ford Expedition for awhile. The liftgate, when open, the bottom edge raised 4" above the roof line. I had to mount the foxwing on top of a 4" tall roof rack to get the liftgate to clear. Even then the liftgate contacted the awning and one of the horizontal support poles banged against the liftgate when windy. Because it was mounted so high it also made it difficult for me to deploy/repack the awning and the vertical support poles (max extension) would not reach at times. Ultimately I purchased some shorter gas struts to minimize how far the liftgate would open but then I had to duck to get under the liftgate. ********** your head on the corner of the liftgate a couple times and you'll learn real quick this was not an ideal setup. :yikes:

Great awning and I now have it mounted to a ladder rack on a truck, much better setup.
 
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concretejungle

Adventurer
Thank you for the replies!

I am also a little concerned on mounting it since i have the rino rack load bars with a RTT mounted on them. So, at least that does give me a little height for mounting. Still concerned on the tailgate hitting the awning and causing damage....
 

drifter_r6

Observer
If you have it mounted high enough, you should be fine, but you run into aerodynamics/aesthetics issues. Use a long straight edge (10ft long 2x4??) and lay it along your load bars. Does it clear the liftgate? How far up do you need to move it for it to clear? Let me know if you require any measurements of the awning.

Not the best pic but a visual to give you an idea what you are dealing with.
IMG_4479.JPG
 

RangerXLT

Adventurer
What's the average price you guys are paying? I found a brand new one for $250


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Ramjet

Explorer
I have a Foxwing mounted on my FrontRunner roof rack on my FJ. No problems what so ever. I have it mounted on the passenger side.

image.jpg

image.jpg
 

overlander

Expedition Leader
I have a foxwing. it is a fantastic awning. that said, you MUST have it staked down very well in winds. I broke two of the horizontal poles at expo west last year when the winds picked up in the camping area and it pulled my inferior stakes out. the blue screws by familycamping.com are very good. that's also who I got my awning from. they also sell repair parts.

of course all awnings are vulnerable to damage in winds, so don't let that be a discriminator.
 
I've had a driver side Foxwing mounted on my Jeep Cherokee XJ on Yakima cross bars using their gutter mounts for a few months now, it doesn't fully clear the rear hatch but it comes close enough to provide full access to the hatch and the doors open & close just fine once it is deployed. I've only deployed it once in strong winds and it performed like a champ, I parked the jeep to break as much of the prevailing wind as possible then used a juggling act to deploy one pole & stake out at a time as I was (stupidly) setting it up by myself, once it was deployed it was fine in the gusty beachside winds. It was a real challenge getting the extension deployed but once I got that up and staked out as a wall on the last section it really helped to block the wind, that wall piece was REALLY catching the wind but the angle of the stakes (just those that came with it) was enough to keep it tied down. It was gusseting a bit in the wind but that would have been stopped by adding the extra tie outs in the middle of each section but I was just too lazy for that and it was holding up well enough without them.
 

dpsmedic

Adventurer
Looking at a Foxwing myself for a 2013 Rubicon. What are the pros/cons of the passenger vs driver side versions?
 

JCTex

Observer
I looked long and hard at the Foxwing at Expo x 2. It just seemed too flimsy to make me feel good. I found EzeAwn thru Equip1 and, particularly the Manta model. It's bigger, sturdier, made with better parts, and much easier to set up. If just stopping for lunch or the equiv and winds are not too bad (15 mph or less), I don't even drop the vertical poles. It is so simple and easy to set up and stow. Mine is 8' long. I attached it to the rails of a Frontrunner rack. ILO a photo of my Jeep, find FR full rack on net and see a good idea of what spacial dimensions the rack gives you. For example, I have plenty of clearance in the rear raising my lift up window. That, however, is a benefit of attaching it to a rack, not a plus for the awning. The carry bag is really tough, thick coated vinyl. The full-length aluminum is extruded and 3/4" or better thick. If you call Equip1, tell them Jerry from TX sent you. I get nada for it; but he'll be glad to know of referring customers.

Re which side: For me this was no question. The swing away spare holder on my Jeep is on the PS. When it's open, I have to walk all around it to get to PS doors. Didn't want to do that. By putting it on DS, I have unobstructed walk from gally at the rear to DS side doors. Also, when I'm really off camber listing to starboard, it's harder for me to see high clearance on roof PS. So, it's easier to scrape stuff on the PS of my rack. Think Gateway on the Rubicon. I still have to be aware of the awning's sticking out on DS; but I can see it better.

In my case, I'm building an 8' zippered case to match the awning to stow zip-on screen walls, patio mat (small) and other soft stuff. It will all roll up to about the same diameter and length and be hung on the PS. However, the contents will,be much less damaged than if the bag was full,of bigger poles.

Jerry
 

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