Silnylon vehicle awning ideas for a lightweight compact flexible design

rayra

Expedition Leader
big box hardware stores are really killing variety, couldn't find a local source for some flat stock, wound up getting a saddle bracket that was right-sized enough for me to chop two brackets out of. The bolt hole on the bracket was just in the right place. So I chopped it up, shaped it, ground it, sanded edges and smoothed things up and same for the bolt / attachment hole. Primed and painted. It's pretty rigid, enough for a tarp anyway. Good enough for a 'Mk1' version. The bracket had a few nailer holes and edge details, didn't matter they're all hidden when mounted.

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rayra

Expedition Leader
'Help! I need rescue!'

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'Can't see me!'

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eta note the way the fabric just overlaps the roof rack. That's a happy accident. The fabric in its native form is 60" wide. I elected to leave it at that size for simplification of design and manufacture.
In this panel with its simple folded-over edge of 1-1/2" on each side it comes to ~57" which is juuusssst right on the tall GMT400 Z71 rack.
As a solo piece, the rear corners are tied to each other, looped around the hinge edge of the rear glass window, the front to the brackets I added.
When combined with a side awning panel, the off side would be tied to the rack rail at the grommets every 2'. Then the size trapezoid tarp attached either way on its 8' side or 14' side to the roof panel, such that several inches of the roof panel extend out to that side.

The next stage, making the side panels, I have yet to nail down where I'll make my seams. Easiest would be to run the fabric parallel to the vehicle. The trapezoidal panels will be a little over 7' wide. But I am considering wider. 7'+ could be done with a 60" wide strip and a half-wide strip, an easy division with the other half going for the other side / duplicate panel. But I'm leery of there being a seam in that aspect. Lashed to the vehicle and corner poles, that middle seam would bear the brunt of strains from high winds, as well as the lateral strain of just stringing it up. It might be wiser to make the side panels from three fabric panels run perpendicular to the vehicle, such that the strain is on a whole unjoined sheet. But that adds two seams across the panel (albeit perpendicular). Have to think / sketch on that a bit.
 
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rayra

Expedition Leader
An exercise in Euclidean and Pythagorean Geometry

On the trapezoidal side panels. I figured they'd be about 7' x 14' for various reasons. Could be a good bit larger, probably ought to be a good bit wider. Problem further compounded by my choosing NOT to have the ends be at a 45deg angle, which would have brought them together nicely in the 'L' / 'batwing' configuration. MY thinking on the sizing was shaped by the idea of having two side awnings that could be re-arranged at will. That 7' was enough and if more was needed or there was room for more, the two side awnings could be paired on one side to make a larger pavilion.
And along the way I chose an edge grommeting scheme on 2' centers.
So as part of that multi-arrangement scheme, the angled sides of the trapezoidal panels ought to work as a length of 8' 1-1/2", to keep the 2' centers even on those edges.
So I threw the Pythagorean Theorem at it, starting with the desired length as the hypotenuse of a right-angle triangle. And thus deriving the two base legs, giving me an overall tarp width of 7'2" and a base leg of 3'11", x2, subtracted from the 14'1-1/2" length of the vehicle cover. Givinga central square portion of the trapezoid of only 6'3-1/2". And that comes very close to a length needed for the top of the trapezoid to keep the 2' centers alignment. Close enough to fudge, anyway.

I may find I need to make everything a 'size' bigger in the end. Wont' really know until I finish it all and try to live with it in the field.

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This diagram was for counting grommets, but it shows the proportions of the panels in relation to each other.

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dstefan

Well-known member
Silvered Materiel?

Great project and thread. I'm thinking through an awning for my hard shell tonneau cover to replace my umbrella rig. The thing I do like about the umbrella is the silvered underside that stops heat bleed through (important where I go in the SW even in the fall/spring. Searched through Rip Stop by the Roll, but couldn't find any. Anybody know of a source of a coated silvered material?

BTW, I just noticed everything in the picture is blue except my wife! Not intentional, but I guess I like blue. Maybe I can trade her in on a smurf . . .

Close up of the umbrella attachment if anyone cares. It's a golf cart umbrella holder modified to clamp to some standard brass plumbing parts. Sways a bit too
much , so had to put a steadier at the top of the tailgate. Not enough shade either. Thinking of an awning coming off the back or even the side on an angle. There's Yakima rack on the tonneau you can't see with it up that I can use for attachment.
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David in Phoenix
 

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rayra

Expedition Leader
I looked around a bit for such fabric when I first did my telescope cover and only found some cotton/poly stuff touted as 'heat reflective' but really it's just the inherent melt-temp of the fabric. Didn't really find anything proving it was more effective than just using a light colored rayon / nylon, as a screen against the sun. Seems the primary focus is uses like potholders and ironing board covers, in contact with a heat source. There's even a fabric made from aluminum and backed with a cotton batting but it's not heat blocking, it's heat resistant in contact.


eta - you'd probably do well with something like their 1.9oz ripstop (over the 1.1oz) in a light color, you could even use their 'robin's egg blue' to keep with your accidental blue theme.
http://ripstopbytheroll.com/collect.../products/1-9-oz-ripstop-nylon-robin-egg-blue
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
Just quickly thinking on stringing an awning from a pickup with a bed cap on it and looking at your umbrella mount gives me an idea for a mount setup that could act similar to a surf-fishing pole holder. A fitting at the rear bumper corner and another projecting out from the frame near the bed / cab gap or on the front bumper corner. A bracket endign in a short tube like an upright pipe akin to your umbrella holder, but open at the bottom. Fitted with a set screw. Then use some lengths of 1/2" dia EMT as your awning uprights. Flatten and cut the ground end to a point so you can jam it in the ground. Or drive a tent-stake in to lash the bottom of the conduit to it. That should be a sturdy enough mount to loft an awning from, with 'normal' poles and stays at the other corners.


I once improvised a camper shell on my old pickup using PVC pipes, standard blue tarps and bungee cords, on a Yosemite trip in late October. Used the stakebed holes built into the pickup bed. It looked like crap but it worked great. Even managed to loft the side facing the campfire by tying it off to some trees, in a feeble attempt to warm things up before bed. Back in the days of my yout when the only concerns were beer and gas money and cooler space was grudgingly given over to a bulk pack of hot dogs (called 'breakfast sausages' in the morning).
Same pickup in the pics above. Had that damn thing for 29yrs / 360k mi.
 

dstefan

Well-known member
Actually I'm now thinking of buying a Busdepot Ezy awning cause I like the tensioned fabric and ditching their complicated bars and just using some tensioned tarp poles I have as spreaders (for faster set up) and using a slightly different connection to the shackle mounts to butt two more tarp poles in to support the edges of the awning. I may also just drill two holes in the bumper to insert the pointy ends of the tarp poles too. Have to fool with it some. Problem is, I need to clear the tail gate when down, so holes in the bumper corners may work better. Can't use the gate down now with the umbrella set up. Not a big deal as I just use the umbrella for lunch shade and fast set up is paramount. Use a Noah's tarp for in camp, but would like more shade for lunch and camp and still quick set up.

FYI, if you haven't looked on Busdepot's site, they also show a simple bracket that goes under a tire to hold the butt of the tarp poles. Easy to fab a similar thing.

Thanks for the feedback on the silvered material too.
 

MaineFarmer

Observer
If you are trying to stop heat. Try sewing a sheet of space blanket into the middle of the two layers is a good method. It's how some people make curtains in Maine to keep the cold out in winter.
Edit: very cool project btw
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
dstefan the straight-up holes make the most sense. Nothing to add. As long as you can place a hole in a manner that gives you a good angle with a pole stuck in the ground. Even better if you drill thru both top and bottom lips of the bumpers. You just predetermin your pole angle by where you put the holes in relation to each other. You could angle the pole tops away from each other as a way to 'pre-tension' the tarp / awning, if you take my meaning.
I just recently did some similar bumper holes for running some antennae, I used a jack and an angle-cut chunk of 2x6 as a backing for using a hole saw, as my hole center was a factory square hole
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...wer-lines-under-vehicle?p=1848235#post1848235



MaineFarmer, thanks very much. Sounds like a real easy way to make some true 'blackout' curtains too. And those mylar space blankets are very inexpensive in bulk on Amazon.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
alrighty a 'false alarm' of sorts. Just reporting that I've received the remainder of the fabric I need (14yds) to finish my Mk1 Awnings and I'm planning to get things done by Labor Day weekend and take an extensive set of configuration photos.

I've been scribbling notes on designs, considering the different ways to stitch these panels together, as the fabric comes in 5' strips. I'm figuring (maybe erroneously) that most of the stress on the awning will be perpendicular to the vehicle side, as the awning is strung taught between the vehicle and the stays / stakes. And further added to by wind strain. So despite the easier assembly being two parallel strips (or portions of), I'm going with three panels arranged so their joins / seams run perpendicular to the vehicle. It will be an overlapped / 'felled' seam, which will both encompass the frayed edges of the sheets as well as provide a good overlap for a strong pair of stitching runs. This may not be the best for rain, but rain isn't really an issue out here, even without a major drought. You may decide to orient the seam the other way and lap the seam to aid in shedding rainwater.

I'm getting a bit too clever in how I'll be cutting the right angle triangles for each end of the trapezoidal panels, I'll detail that later after I've succeeded. But I'll be saving a few yards of fabric by doing so. The idea is to get the 3 pieces of each side awning stitched together then treat them as a whole when doing the multi-fold edges I've already detailed. I've got to take care to incorporate those extra inches of fabric when working things up.

I should have some real progress to show in 7-10 days.

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Here's 14yds of fabric, enough for both side awning panels @ 16'L x 7' W. Just about 1-lb each.

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This is 1.9oz/yard ripstop nylon, not silnylon or the lighter 1.1oz ripstop. The 1.9 is the least expensive. After I live with this design and make the inevitable changes, I'll execute it again in the silnylon.


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emtmark

Austere Medical Provider
I'm totally following along as I want to do something similar with my xterra


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rayra

Expedition Leader
That's cool, I really look forward to seeing what other folks come up with, what ideas this kicks off for others. Might give me some new ideas too.

--

Step 1 was breaking this 5'x42' piece of fabric into manageable chunks. I have a multipurpose rolling table in my garage, mostly for woodworking projects. It's large and it's on wheels, but it's only 3.5'x8' (I also have a router table embedded in it and it's the same height as my tablesaw, so it serves as a feeding support as well). But even that big it's nowhere near large enough for working on something with this big of a footprint. So things have to be done to make things manageable, lots of folding and rolling.

I did some sketchwork (already posted) figuring the sections needed. Then I got down to the gritty math to make sure things work out. A large felled seam takes an inch away from each piece of fabric you are joining together. That can be squeezed down to a 1/2" but that has to be of the solid woven fabric, doesn't include the loose threads on the edge of the sheet, the 'selvedge'. I also have to have ~5" on the outer boundaries of my finished pieces for the complicated multi-folded edge I am using. Or an extra 1-1/2" (including selvedge) for a simple folded edge.

I also wanted to get fancy and minimize the waste, so the roughly triangular end pieces would be fit to each other as tight as possible, while still incorporating the extra amounts on the edges, such that the finished piece still has an 8'2" hypotenuse. SO I worked that out on some graph paper to figure the overall length for a rectangular piece that will hold two right angle triangles of the size and shap I need. That just happens to be 11'.

On the middle rectangles of the trapezoids, they worked out in the earlier geometry exercise to be 7'2" deep. Which happens to be an even 8' to start, with 5" for the foldings on each end. So I needed to cut (2) 5'x8' pieces and (2) 5'x11' pieces. Sounds super ridiculous easy, right? Notsomuch. This very lightweight fabric has a lot of give and stretch. You have to take some pains to keep it square and a bit taut, to make your cuts square and true. Otherwise when you sew things together it will be puckered and uneven. And that brings us back around to the big table. I was basically able to clamp the fabric to the edges of the table and use it as a giant square. I then used a 2' level as a measuring stick and ticked off the edge lengths in increments, moving and clamping the fabric tight for each pair of markings. Then I used a big piece of scrap trim moulding as a long straightedge for marking my cut lines. Just as with woodworking, MEASURE TWICE CUT ONCE.

Tomorrow I'll work around the edges of the triangles and my table is JUST long enough diagonally that I can lay out the diagonal cut on it, clamp and cut triangles out. After that it's a sewing the large pieces into two large 3-panel assemblies / trapezoids. After that comes my fold and iron trick and creation of the complicated edges. All told it's at least 272 linear feet of stiching for these two trapezoids. nearly the length of a football field.


pictures

Here I'm unpacking the shipped fabric and loosely wrapping it around a scrap flat of cardboard, turning it into a bolt to make it easier to handle. If I did this a lot I'd make a spindle attachment for the back of the table so I could reel it up.

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Here's the squaring and stretching and clamping and marking

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Here's the 4 big pieces, tagged and set aside, ready for the next work.

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here's my graph paper work laying it out

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rayra

Expedition Leader
Some words on felled seams. A felled seam is a join of two panels of fabric. It basically folds over the loose / cut edges of each piece into the other in such a way to bury them inside the seam / joint. It's the same sort of sewing seam that is used on the sides of the legs of your pants / jeans.

In an application like a tent or an awning, it helps to pay attention how you arrange the pieces, such that you arrange this seam to better shed water, orienting the 'open' side of the seam join on the downhill side. Like lapping roof shingles. That will go a long way to shedding most of the water, instead of it piling up on an egde and seeping in / thru.

Further compounding the arrangement, some fabrics have a 'top' side. For either appearance or finish or water / moisture control.

So you have to go through the combinations of these factors to arrive at an assembled panel, with the seams oriented the preferred direction, with the right sides up on the fabric.

As an illustration, I've done a crude mockup in paper, which I'll walk thru now. There's lots of sewing diagrams out there on flat-felled or french-felled seams (same thing). In clothing assembly the first stitch joining the two pieces gets buried within the join. For assemblies needing greater strength this is varied and you basically sew right thru both edges of the join, two seams, one join. But you have to take care to sew far enough inward from the folded edges of this join to stitch thru the woven fabric and not just thru the loose thread edges.
Either way you make two passes with a standard sewing machine. But the clothing way might be better, in that first seam is the one 'buried' and is the one I'm talking about being on the 'downhill' side.

So here's an 'assembled' panel end, with the 'open' side of the join facing the end of the panel. That's what we want as a finished arrangement.

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To get there, we first lay down our end segment, top surface UP, join edge to the right (since when sewing the bulk of the material goes to the left of the machine)

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Then we lay our next piece on top of the first, top surface DOWN. And keep in mind the other orientation, in the perpendicular axis if your pattern has specific odd shapes. Ignore the crease in the edge of the paper. You want the second piece staggered about 1/2" to the left of the first. This can be varied, depending how wide the factor selvedge (fray) is on the panels, or if they are fresh scissor-cut edges you can crowd the join a bit tighter. If it matters to your design or available fabric run.

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At this point we pin them togther. This is important with lightweight and stretchy fabrics. I had some trouble with the first double-layer panel I did (earlier in this topic) as I was holding the workpiece taught between my hands and feeding it thru the machine. But I was rolling my hands in such a way that the top layer was being stretched more. My first attempt I got to the end of the 14' run and teh top layer was 5" longer. Oops. Undid the stitch and tried again. Anyway, pin it, use some low-tack tape as a large guideline adjacent to the foot of your sewing machine and run it thru, pulling the pins as you go. When pinning, place the pins so their points will face the machine as you feed the project thru, that way you can easily pull the pins out toward you as they approach the needle / foot.
You wind up with something like this:

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Then you fold that second piece back over the seam you just sowed. I'm missing a picture here, this shot is after doing that and then also flipping over the entire assembly, left to right. Your fabric should be bottom surface UP.

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Then you tuck the loose end of the first / end piece into the join, up against the first seam you sowed. this both wraps the loose edge of the 2nd piece AND tucks in the loose edge of the 1st piece. The inked 'seam' in this picture is the first sewing. Once this tuck is made you put it thru the machine again sewing to the left of that first seam, near the edge of the fold you just made, sewing thru all four fabric layers of the join.

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When you are done you should wind up with this, the felled seam oriented so the 'open' edge on the top side is oriented towards the end / downhill.

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I might have got something turned around in there, you'll have to verify it for yourselves. It's late and I just whipped this together.

Anyway, my next steps are to assemble the 6 large pieces I have now - (2) 8'x5' rectangles and (4) 8'x5' almost-triangles - into two large trapezoids, using two felled seams on each. Once each trapezoid panel is assembled, I can get to the more complicated work of my multi-folded and grommeted edges. As soon as the heat wave breaks in my garage sweatshop.


eta. I've also been figuring out my various configurations for these 3 awning panels. I have 11 configurations so far, using up to 4 poles and 6 stakes. One config is putting the two trapezoids together on the ground like an old skool pup tent, totally off the vehicle. Make that 12 / 13. This could also have one or both sides lifted off the ground to varying degress, acting together as one large hex tarp. I'll be erecting all of these configs in a suburban park and taking pictures of each to present.


5500 views! so many people looking in, would love to hear some feedback or suggestions
 
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