DIY awning for minivan camper 

Artist - Don't underestimate those artsy kids! Thanks so much for the kind words, it is really appreciated.

NoProGoPronto: Yes! I love your comment and wholeheartedly agree. I wish I had her ingenuity and tenacity. Very inspiring. That's why I subscribe. ;- ) . Many thanks to 'a very small camper van', for all your dedicated work, and for sharing it with the the rest of us.

A better question is who is the person with their face blurred out? LOL

❤

Wow, thank you Doris, such kind words! I am sharing all this as a way of giving back for all the great videos I watched to plan, dream and learn on the way to building this camper van! Glad the layout is helpful to you!

Thanks - it also helps to have access to the rigth tools and materials!

Cool! I guess you are in a warmer and drier part of the world!

Glad you like it Pam! Just trying to make the kind of video I like to see!

You're not lazy! I probably put in the same time and money as it would cost to buy the ARB. I was thinking of your comment this weekend when a storm was picking up! gotta remember to stake it down even if it doesn't look windy!

Thanks so much and I am glad you found them useful

Glad to help!

Glad you liked it - I had a look at your tailgate tent mods on your channel; looks really professional, right down to the double zippers and tie-backs. I really like your build so far - my kind of making and building! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QAHH_ftuphg.html

@@averysmallcampervan Thanks! Glad to have found your channel!

Good luck with your channel - your build is great, nice attention to detail

Thanks and welcome

Thank you so much 😀

Wow, thank you! All the compliments will go to my head :-)

Thanks so much, and I do hope your niece finds the videos interesting!

Great to hear!

Thank you very much!

It is a fine club to be a part of! Thanks for watching!

Thank you so much!

Awesome! Thanks so much. Right now the van is back to boring minivan mode waiting for spring :-(

You're very welcome 😊

Yeah! I don't know why I have this weird compulsion to save money on things I put so much work into! Not worth it in the end.

Hi Mark, a lot of people love having roof boxes and all kinds of stuff on the roof but I have tried to keep the van as streamlined as possible. It is mostly for the gas mileage but also to keep the van as stealth as possible should we need it. The awning can be stored inside the van, under the bed, if we are doing a lot of highway driving. The solar panel used to store inside but I had to compromise because it was just too darn useful to have it on the roof all the time. Good luck with your car camping set up. Those Napier tents look great.

Thank you!

Thanks Laura!

Thanks so much! I'm still tweaking it, and for sure I should have used better poles!

Thanks - it is the culmination (thought still ongoing) of 3 years of testing and building

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks Donna! Glad you liked it!

Glad you liked it!

So glad it is helpful!

thanks

Great! glad it was helpful - and yes, I have a lot of obscure skills but moldmaking is not for everyone

Glad you like it!

Thanks for watching

Hey, whatever gets the job done 😉 For me this is two hobbies in one - camping AND making things, so I get a little obsessed with the building aspect.

Thanks so much!

Thank you very much!

Thank you 🙂

So glad!

Thanks

Thanks!

Glad to help ;-)

Thanks

thanks!

Thanks, glad you liked it. Good luck with your Van

Friends, we send you greetings from Russia, let's be friends with the channels, we have already subscribed to your channel

I`ll see what I can do, I am planning a full van tour, just haven`t had time to edit the footage, I'll maybe add a comprehensive list to that.

glad you like it

Good luck!

So many vans/cars/station wagons, so little time!

They are sold for Biminis (part of a boat- google it up :-) I got them via Amazon

Thanks! You too!

Glad it was helpful - just look up Bimini fittings on amazon. They come in different sizes - 3/4, 7/8 and 1 inch diameter. I used 3/4 inch for the tarp poles but for the electrical conduit I had to make the 1 inch one bigger because the 3/4 I.D. is a bit over 1 in on the outside.

Oh yeah!

Sorry, I'm not set up for making more of these. Just wanted to share the ideas, to give back to the community that gave me so many ideas!

This one is kinda based on ones you can buy, like ARB and others. There are lots of knock off awnings available on Amazon, etc. So not much point BUYING one made by me, it would cost more than a similar manufactured one.

The ones that hinge the horizontal poles? Bimini hardware. They are made for the little awnings over the cockpits of small boats. You can find them on amazon

Hi Nicole, the hardware that allows the poles to hinge out is called Bimini hardware. A bimini is a kind of awning that goes on a boat. Each hinging part is made up of an "external eye end" and a "jaw slide" that fit onto the ends of the poles and interlock with each other. A quick search for bimini hardware should turn up some images.

I guess the short answer is that I liked the challenge of making it myself - which is a recurring theme in my build.

They already make very similar ones - that's what I based my design on - the fun for me was the making!

Ce sont de la quincaillerie pour les BIMINIs- genre de toit en toile pour les bateaux. Je les ai trouvés sur amazon sinon chez les fournisseurs de produits marines.

@@averysmallcampervan merci beaucoup

They are called bimini hardware. Bimini are (I found out looking it up) awning things on boats. An amazon search should turn some up

a very small camper van thank you

Ha! no, same model for a quarter century. He just knows too much about internet security.

Nope, sculptor

Thanks!

Thanks