Hey there, My awning bag is nearing the end of the road, it's been fixed a couple of time, new rubber attachment liner, and the bag has rips at both ends where there zipper makes the U-turn on each end. I know I could get the bag fixed, but the closest (and only ) canvas repair shop for this sort of thing has an owner that's an A-hole, and don't want to give him more business if I can avoid it. So this go me thinking.... what is the difference between a TT awning, and the Highwall? The TT type have a crank or remote open feature, which is nice considering the highwall awning is nightmare, even with two people. I started thinking, is the only difference the connection point/sliders on the sides that support the awning as it moves out? or the type that have a fixed position and rotate out? All they need to do is be modified so the poles/support bracket can collapse the 4 feet needed to accommodate the roof. This modification to the brackets could be done with two sized metal poles, one inside the other, with holes to pin them once the top is up and awning is out. When closing, retract the awning, pull the pins, lower the roof. any issues with this idea? I think I can pickup a used TT type manual awning pretty cheap. Thanks. R.
Let us know what you come up with. Bag awnings are terrible. My awning hasn't been repaired or replaced because there's gotta be something better out there--something you can work from the ground. I was looking at some of the Fiamma awnings but I'm not sure about weight and attachment and they aren't all that cheap.
Most TT awnings screw down the side of the camper.... some manufacturers like Intec & Lance use an awning with horizontal arms which may work (depending on weight), but I am unsure of the brand of awning.
I’m happy with my Carefree Campout Bag Awning. It’s still a bag awning, but it’s sucks less than most. And I can attach the legs to the camper body
My last Popup had one similar to that of @Eric Webber - I liked that far better than most other pup awnings.
Any idea on the typical weight of a 12’ (roll out) awning? I did a temp fix to a cable that broke last summer, and calculated the roof weights about 1000lbs. No AC, 100watt solar panel, two aluminum box roof rack rails and 4 bike racks. (Plus Oem awning bag).
I, like @Eric Webber, love the Carefree Campout Awning. I had one on my Palomino and really miss it on the current camper.
We often struggle with awning set up/take down with our current bag awning, especially on windy days where we have to take it down often. I'm considering upgrading to the Thule hideaway awning, as they seem to be lightweight and have a winding pole: https://www.thule.com/en-ca/van-accessories/awnings/thule-hideaway---wall-mount-85-ft-_-490018 Does anyone have any experience with the Thule awnings?
I liked it so much on the Santa Fe, that when it died, I bought another one for my Arcadia and put the smaller Santa Fe one on the slide out side. Its sometimes nice to have two
It's "human rolled" but at least has a nice little velcro strip to hold it in place when opening and closing the bag zipper
Being able to close it (or set it up) from the ground is really important to me. The Thule looks good--similar to the Fiammas. They're heavy though. I wonder if it would take my roof apart.
Any bag awning sucks with a highwall popup. I considered the manual TT ones when I had my highwall 277. They are alot heavier than the bag awnings and the roof is not properly braced for it. So I decided not to do it.
The up right poles are about 7ft long in height and are sliders, meaning they are 2 pieces that give you about 14ft total length.. trying to modify them down to 4ft, yet still allowing then to extend their full distance will be your problem... that and the added weight, specially on a breezy day and the amount of flex a popups lift system has..
I think that would be a very bad idea and turn into a what was I thinking moment. I helped my buddy change his out on his TT and i was surprised how much the thing weighed, it was a 16 foot awning but still. A TT walls are tied into the floor and roof. As cheaply built as they may be they still have a lot of structure tied together. Unlike a pop up roof which is only tied into the lifting posts by the side boards. I can not imagine it not wanting to tear the side boards off while pulling the whole roof to the door side causing a lot of collateral damage. Like bent or binding posts. It could get real ugly.
