One of the last additions to the van was a cheap, DIY awning. In the sun, an awning creates shade to keep the inside of the van cooler. In the rain, the awning allows us to leave the slider open without rain entering the van. No matter the weather, it makes an extension of our living space and a nice area for us to hang out outside.

We always liked the idea of an awning, but couldn't justify the price tag on some of the commercial offerings. We have also heard that awnings are often the first thing to break and so a low cost awning seemed like a plus. A DIY awning was in order!

Parts list:

2 - 1/2" by 6" Lag Screws - Hardware Store
Paracord (Buy on Amazon)
Tarp (Buy on Amazon) - For the Promaster 159" non extended we would recommend a tarp of 12 feet long (parallel to van) by 10 feet wide (perpendicular to van)
2-3 Carabiners (Buy on Amazon)
2 Adjustable Tarp Poles (Buy on Amazon)
2 U Bolts (Buy on Amazon)
1 Hose Clamp - Hardware Store
1 1/8" Quick Link Carabiner - Hardware Store

The installation process:

Attaching the awning to the roof of the van is a very van-specific process. It depends on what you have on your roof. On our roof, we attached a roof rack to the top of the van, then attached aluminum square tubing to the rack and mounted the solar panels to the aluminum tubing. That gave us a ton of different options for attaching the tarp to the van. We looked at the grommets on the tarp as it was lined up with the van to determine where to put attachment points on the roof.

On the front of the van, we simply attached a hose clamp to the aluminum tubing and attached a quick link carabiner to the hose clamp. In the middle and the back of the van, we used U bolts tightened to the aluminum tubing. You could use U bolts for all three. The quick link carabiner is used on the hose clamp to provide an attachment point for the larger tarp carabiners and the tarp carabiners can be used directly on the U bolts on the middle and back of the van.

Once the mounting points were installed, we attached bigger tarp carabiners to the grommets in the tarp and hooked these onto the quick link carabiner in the front and the U bolts in the middle and back of the van.

Once the van roof was figured out, we prepared the paracord and lag screws.

We cut two pieces of paracord to 12 feet each and then burnt the ends with a lighter to prevent it from fraying.

Then, we tied a knot on one end that loops around the top of the lag screw, but wont pull off over the head of the screw.

Finally, we tied another knot around the other side of the paracord which will slip over the top metal tip of the adjustable awning pole.

To set up the awning, Andrew first stands on the rear bumper and attaches the rear tarp carabiner to the U bolt. He then attaches the front tarp carabiner to the quick link carabiner. We have a middle attachment point, but we usually don't use it as water stays out of the van slider area with just two points of attachment in our installation.

Then he extends one tent pole. He puts the metal tip of the tent pole through a grommet on the far side of the tarp from the van. The knotted end of the paracord then goes on top of the grommet and its topped off by the rubber cap for the metal tip of the tent pole to keep everything in place.

From there, he keeps the paracord taut while walking away from the tent pole and then uses our cordless drill to drive the lag screw with the paracord around it into the ground. Then he repeats the process for the other tent pole.

The awning can be set up alone (by Andrew, who is 5'10") in less than 5 minutes. We use a cordless drill to drive the lag screws into the ground which speeds up the set up and take down process but you could also use a socket wrench.

Our attachment method has stood up to strong winds with the only issue being that the tarp can catch the wind and actually rock the van, which can be annoying when trying to go to bed! Sometimes the tarp poles get some water inside them, but we haven't had any issues with the mechanism rusting or getting the water out before leaving. When you lower the tarp poles and turn them over, water can come out. Sometimes it helps to do it a few times and water will push out.

When it is raining or forecast to rain, we often set up one tarp pole lower than the other to allow water to drain to that corner instead of the potential for pooling in the middle.

We fold up the tarp and store everything in the garage. It folds up into a pretty compact footprint and fits with a bunch of other stuff in a small bin.

We hope this awning guide helps others build one of their own. If you have questions or something isn't clear, please don't hesitate to email us or reach out on social media!

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