Which side to mount an awning?
Posted by armchairracer@reddit | overlanding | View on Reddit | 44 comments
For those that have a vehicle mounted awning which side do you have it mounted on? What was the deciding factor for you? I'm planning on buy a 180 degree awning and a shower enclosure and I'm not sure which to put on which side of the rig.
ghouly-rudiani@reddit
Buy a cheap pop up and put it wherever it's needed.
estunum@reddit
Reading the comments seems I went against the grain mounting on the drivers side. My fridge is behind the drivers seat, so it made the most sense to me.
armchairracer@reddit (OP)
I have a sleeping platform in the back of my rig and usually enter/exit through the driver side, which is why I was thinking that side, but some of the comments here are making me wonder if I'd be better off moving things around and using the passenger side to enter/exit.
AnonymousSpelunking@reddit
I'm in the same boat, my fridge and awnings are driver side.
treskaz@reddit
Mine is driver too, but only because I got my 23zero on sale. Just the driver side was on sale lol.
ANeonBlueDecember@reddit
Passenger side.
Not because of the campground layout that everyone else is mentioning, but I guess if I stay at a campground, I'll appreciate it. My biggest use case is afternoon shade when we stop for lunch. That's often just off the side of the trail or road. Being passenger side means I'm hanging out in the shade on the opposite side of traffic.
armchairracer@reddit (OP)
That was the main reason I was thinking passenger. I very rarely camp in established campgrounds so that reasoning hadn't really crossed my mind. Driver side makes sense to me because I have a sleeping platform in the back of my rig and I usually enter/exit through the rear driver door, though nothing is stopping me from flipping that set up to the passenger side.
dbrmn73@reddit
180 on passenger side and an regular 6x8 on the driver side
armchairracer@reddit (OP)
Having one on each side would be the dream, but that's hard to justify.
dbrmn73@reddit
I camp a lot plus do several multi week overlanding trips a year. I actually have a 180 and a 6x8 on my truck and another 180 and 8x8 on my squaredrop camper.
MrTomat0Face@reddit
Part of why I chose passenger side was because the gas cap was on the driver side. I had a driver side one and realized one morning when heating up water that I didn't want to do it there. Chance of anything happening is probably very slim, but why not mitigate something small if I can and it doesn't inconvenience me? I also like being able to access more storage on the passenger side while keeping everything covered.
armchairracer@reddit (OP)
That's a fair point about the gas cap that hadn't crossed my mind.
DeezNutz365247@reddit
Drivers side on my LJ primarily because my rear gate opens towards the passenger side and my 180° awning leg would be in the way when opening the rear gate up.
211logos@reddit
Doesn't matter. The sun will always be on the wrong side of the awning. It's a law of nature.
That's why we don't permanently mount one. We then always win. Until the wind comes up.... :)
gloe64@reddit
Passenger side
joey12342323@reddit
Away from traffic, matches RV campground layouts, dining/living shade. Put your shower enclosure on driver side, dirty side separation.
MilitantPotato@reddit
When we had one I did the passenger side, most camp sites tend to put your space on the passenger site here in the west at least.
Got rid of it cause they suck in anything but calm dry days and picked up a Clam quick set and a cheap Walmart popup.
Humble_Cactus@reddit
That’s an unfortunate experience. My 270 has been absolutely rock solid in winds up to 15 mph without it even being staked down and pole reinforced. Just this past spring in Mojave we had gusts of 25 mph and it was fine with guy ropes and vertical poles.
That same awning did just fine shedding the 3 inches of rain we saw in AZ when the remnants of Hurricane Priscilla trampled Mexico. We got enough rain in one night that a previously dry creek bed was a river that covered the running boards on my Silverado. (20”)
MilitantPotato@reddit
I mean it held up fine, and absolutely blocked rain falling straight down.
After the second day of trying to get the awnings attached in blowing rain/winter mix, dropping one in the sand making it absolutely impossible to put together without washing it off, and just dreading breaking it all down and trying to cram it back into the bags I said F that. I also hated it was always on the side of the vehicle, making it useless for sunny camp spots with a table.
Sold the whole thing and got a clam+Walmart canopy for basically what I sold it for.
Takes maybe 60 seconds now to have a fully enclosed shelter that can be heated if needed, even less time to break it down.
Humble_Cactus@reddit
I guess that’s fair. I have a wall kit for my awning kit. The 270 awning takes literally 15 seconds to “unwrap” and latch. If it gets windy or stormy, there’s wall sections that Velcro to the awning and loop around the pole supports. I can put up 2, 4, or 6 panels: if I do 2, it’s a wind break. 4, it walls off the exterior perimeter of the 270 awning. 6 panels cover the “interior perimeter” that touch the truck side and tailgate, making it a crescent shaped tent.
MilitantPotato@reddit
Yea the extra pannel game just didn't cut it with being convenient or easy for us, messing with a half dozen panels when all we wanted was a warm dry space that can be setup and breakdown quickly. Yea with a bunch of panels you can get a comfy space, but it's at best finicky, and at worst impossible if velcro or zippers get full of sand/mud. The clam deal can be pushed against a vehicle or trailer, thrown over a camp table, or just be used with camp chairs without any more work than setting it up and moving it around.
Im 100% convinced the awnings are a waste of money and time, and aside from freeing up storage space offer no to negative benefits over free standing shelter.
marenott@reddit
Yeah I’ve taken my awning to the playas in Nevada and had zero issues with wind.
samchoi924@reddit
Rookie question, can't you park the other way around?
MilitantPotato@reddit
Yea absolutely, most campsites are setup for rvs of some sort or trailer with a passenger exit. If you're just using a vehicle you can do whatever though. I use a trailer and have unhooked it after pulling/backing in and turned the truck around for convenience or whatever.
TowelAcrobatic4478@reddit
I can’t imagine any reason you would put it anywhere other than your passenger side
chickenknickers@reddit
My Disco has a big ol’ barn door that swings to the right, so a driver side 270 awning covers my accessible area just right.
gu19frgtn@reddit
Drivers side because RTT opens to passenger side
IdRatherBeDriving@reddit
I couldn’t decide so mine is bi. It can mount on either side when I get to camp. Or off the back.
marenott@reddit
Yeah my set up is ambidextrous too. If I roll up to a campsite and I need to switch awning to passenger side I can do so fairly easily.
marenott@reddit
I have it on my driver side most of the time. But I also have a quick(ish) disconnect and can swap it to passenger side if the camp space requires it
marenott@reddit
Ok_Impression3324@reddit
Do you want to nose in or back into a public campsite?
kunstmilch@reddit
You want passenger side for awning, so that if you pull over not too far from the road for a snack, or say, need to change a tire and it’s hot or whatever, you’re under the awning away from the traffic side of the vehicle. Not likely to shower in those situations, so drivers side is more common for shower.
Many people also tend to choose a “clean side” and “dirty side” so passenger would be clean side: eat meals, relax, hang out. While the drivers side would be for: cleaning dishes, showering, bathroom, etc.
Hops_n_Boost@reddit
I put mine on the same side as my tent opening, which happens to be the passenger side.
ADMINlSTRAT0R@reddit
Passenger side. When you pull over roadside and need to quickly open an awning, passenger's side is the only side you can open it.
clauderbaugh@reddit
Unless you have a Jeep or vehicle with a passenger side rear swinging tailgate the preference is passenger side awning mount do back in compatibility at camp grounds and pulling off to the side of the road to take a break you can have coverage.
TruCrimson@reddit
By "passenger side rear swinging tailgate", do you mean that the hinge for the tailgate is on the passenger side? I have a JLR Defender 110, and the handle for the tailgate is on the left side of the door and swings open toward the passenger side.
clauderbaugh@reddit
Yes. The idea is that with a 180 or 270 awning (270 more-so) that you want the rear door opening hinges on the opposite side of the awning so when the rear door is swung open you don’t have to walk out around it and it’a not in your sitting area under an awing. Rather it forms a “wall” on the edge of the awning instead of a divider of the coverage space.
TruCrimson@reddit
Ah that makes sense. I should install my awning (when I get one) on the driver side then. Thank you for explaining!
Humble_Cactus@reddit
I bought a driver side 270 because my first RTT opened over the passenger side. I initially mounted the tent like that because most RV camp sites have space on the passenger side. I think we only camped one time in a park/CG, but it is what it is. I recently traded my SmittyBilt tent that overhangs for a GFC that doesn’t, but the 270 awning was already bought. Most RV sites are passenger biased
THAT SAID- It’s actually fine, because there’s a LOT of drive-in tent sites that are driver biased. I’ve camped at several sites that were designed around a tent pad, and my truck backs into those spots just fine, with RTT on top. So driver awning has never prevented me from camping anywhere- I just have to find one of the spots with opening on that side.
drewforty@reddit
Driver side, because GX.
VonGrippyGreen@reddit
I chose passenger because it's much more likely that a campground will be oriented for passenger or when parking on the side of a road by a recreational area, where lawn chairs and BBQs are part of the jam.
usernameS4@reddit
Our trailer has it on the left side to cover the kitchen while our van has it on the right to cover the sliding door opening.
OldDiehl@reddit
Most put awnings on the passenger side. I'm not sure why that standard was picked. I suppose it is to be compatible with RV and RV parks.