Car awnings: which one to choose? The ultimate buying guide

You're probably a four-wheeled traveler like us, with an itch for space optimization and a desire to experience every vacation outdoors. If so, trust us, buying a car awning will make all the difference!

In case you don't know yet, an awning is a shader mounted on the roof rack of your vehicle that allows you to cover a larger or smaller area near your car or van in order to keep it dry during the rain and cool during sunny days.

At Carcamp, we love car awnings because they create a cozy, intimate space and often turn the area in front of our off-road vehicle into a small backyard for a few days. The sun awning is the accessory you don't think about but it helps you to live your vacation more peacefully, leaving you to concentrate only on the important things: nature, company and fun.

Why buy a car awning?

Those who are new to camping vacations think that the awning is a superfluous accessory that can be overlooked. That's actually not the case, and below we give you 4 reasons why you need to buy your own car awning before your next outdoor trip:

1. With an awning, you always have shelter, both from the sun and the water, wherever you go, so you can always relax outside your vehicle.
2. They are convenient to use and to install and some models once closed are also very small and therefore not at all bulky.
3. Having an awning attached to your van or car will be useful to offer shelter to more people and adding the right accessories will almost turn your car into a mini apartment where you can relax and have fun with friends.
4. Awnings are great allies against insects. If this motivation is the most important for you, know that there is also a special awning consisting only of mosquito netting.

Because outdoors is great, but without sacrificing comfort!

Buying guide: how to choose the right awning for you

If we've managed to get you to understand the importance and benefit of having a car awning during your travels, we're now ready to help you step by step to make the best purchase. First, before you buy your awning you need to answer three basic questions:

1. What vehicle will you be traveling in? Whether it's a car, off-road vehicle, van or RV, the size of the vehicle is important in choosing the right awning.
2. What will be your pace of travel? Will you choose a different place each day during your trip, or will you only stay in one place for a longer period of time? If you will be leaving every day you will need an awning with simple opening and closing, while if you will be stationary for longer you can also think of a more fixed structure.
3. What do you want to use it for? The ideal size will obviously change depending on its use.

Key features to consider when buying a car awning

1. Dimensions of the awning. The width and length of your awning is the first key feature. To figure out what the right size is, you need to consider its use. Who will be under it? The whole family? Only you? Are you going to use it to put chairs or maybe a table and lawn chairs? Take some time and carefully consider what it will be used for.
2. Direction of the shadow. Once you've determined the dimensions you need to consider where you want your awning to shade. Side, rear, or both sides? The side-opening awning is the most common and provides shelter along the side of your vehicle. The tents that cover both sides (side and back) are instead suitable for those who are looking for a very abundant coverage, ideal for example for families.
3. Type of awning. Choosing the type of car awning is also not trivial. In fact, there are two types of awnings: self-supporting awnings and awnings that need to be mounted on the ground to support the structure. Both have their merits and demerits, and choosing the right type of awning for you, again, depends on the type of trip you'll be taking and your vehicle. Self-supporting awnings are very practical and quick to open and close, so they are very suitable for itinerant tourism that changes location very often. They come with parking legs to be mounted in case it's windy. On the other hand, awnings with supports, although they require a little extra time to open and close, are lighter and less bulky when closed, so they fit even smaller vehicles. In case of wind, we recommend that you always anchor your awning to pegs, whatever model it is.
4. Type of material. It is very important that these camping accessories are made from high quality materials, which is why most tents are made from a cotton-polyester blend fabric. Our advice is to choose one that is UV resistant, this will help protect you from the sun. Another key feature is that it be waterproof. The material from which the parking legs and frame are made is also very important and should never be underestimated. We recommend that you choose awnings that have aluminum legs and frame, to minimize the weight of the structure.
5. Assembly. Not all awnings are the same which means that the assembly and its configuration will also vary depending on the model you prefer. In general, the car or van awning is mounted on the top or side of the vehicle, in some cases directly on the roof rack or rail system of the van.

Car awning with or without walls: which one to choose?

Many travelers initially feel bewildered by the different options for expanding the space in their vehicles, especially those who are new to camping but are drawn to car camping experiences. In this regard, the question many people ask is: an awning with or without walls?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer; the two products actually complement each other. You can choose to buy a simple awning that will protect you from the sun and the weather, or you can decide to add walls as well, to be attached to the awning itself, to create a real veranda. This accessory will provide you with shelter, privacy, comfort and increase the living space of your vehicle. What do we mean? That with the walls, your car will turn into a small apartment with a really high level of comfort, also allowing you to offer shelter to more people than just the awning. The walls can also consist of perimeter mosquito nets, allowing you to fully enjoy your outdoor experience, but protected from insects and mosquitoes.

As with any purchase, it is always necessary to evaluate the pros and cons of a product and the use you will make of it once purchased.

Starting with their qualities, among the advantages of the van or car awning without walls you have to consider that it is definitely faster to open and close and lighter. Assembling the accessories and building the wallls instead will give you more shelter and more space to work with. Both options therefore have merits that should not be underestimated during the choice of purchase.

At the end of the day, it's not a matter of making a choice between one and the other, just figuring out in which contexts to use one structure or the other. So our advice is to have as much gear as possible so you can be more free during your outdoor experiences.

For example, if your vacation is stationary, that is, if it involves staying in one spot for several nights (and you have ample space), it's probably best to mount an awning with walls. On the contrary, in case of itinerant vacations the car awning is probably more suitable because it is more comfortable to carry and faster to open and close. Another factor not to be underestimated is the climate of the destination: if the weather will be very cold or rainy, it is better to opt directly for the awning with walls, while if the climate will be hot, the simple awning will be an excellent choice.

Carcamp car awnings

Just as with roof tents, each car awning is personally tested by us. Our goal has always been to offer you the best products on the market so that you can camp without problems, sharing wonderful moments in the middle of nature with friends and family. Below you will find our selection of the best car awning models:

• LRS-100. This is a left side car awning with a collapsible opening up to 270° and parking legs to be mounted on the ground to support the structure. The fabric of the awning is a mixed polyester-cotton waterproof and with a high filtering power from sunlight, the frame is made of aluminum.
• NEW LRS-100. Left side sun awning with compass opening up to 270° self-supporting, i.e. it bears the overhanging load of the open awning. This new awning is also equipped with hinged parking legs to the structure that can be added if you want to give more rigidity and strength, for example in case of wind. Also in this case the fabric is a polyester-cotton blend that is waterproof and filters out the sun's rays, while the frame is made of black painted aluminum.
• LRA-700. This car awning is a side awning with roll out opening and parking legs. Also in this case the fabric is of excellent quality: waterproof polyester-cotton with high filtering power from sunlight and aluminum frame. The LR-700 awning is available in several sizes from the smallest (1.4 m X 2.0 m) to the largest (2.5 m X 3.0 m). Depending on the size you can decide whether to mount it on the side or rear of your car or van.

Discover all our awnings

Awning accessories: the must-haves recommended by Carcamp

There are several car awning accessories that you can add to make your outdoor space even more comfortable. Below we recommend our best accessories to use in conjunction with your car roof awning:

• Side walls for privacy. These walls are easy to mount and immediately give you some privacy and discretion. LRR-100 sidewalls are perimeter walls that attach to 270° compass opening awnings, where each side has a zipper opening protected by a mosquito net. These walls are the ideal accessory for the LRS-100 awning and can also be attached to PVC flooring. LRB-100 perimeter walls are privacy walls that can be connected to the LRA-700 awning. Their fabric is polyester while there is a nylon mosquito net in the passages. Thanks to the side walls you can create a real veranda on the outside of your car.
• Pvc Flooring. Flooring is a very important accessory to overcome the problem of moisture from the ground or even simply to have a safer surface for children to play on. The PVC FLOOR FOR LRS-100 is a 270° opening left side car awning floor. It is compatible with the LRS -100 awning and LRR-100 walls. For the awning LRA-700 instead the suitable PVC floor is the PVC FLOOR FOR LRA-700, adaptable to the different sizes of the awning.
• Mosquito net The mosquito netting is considered a must-have accessory by any person who has camped in the summer at least once in their life. The LRM-100 mosquito net covers the entire perimeter of the LRA-700 car awning and can come in different sizes as well as the reference awning.

Discover all our accessories for awnings

As you may have guessed, the benefits of buying a car awning are many and depend on your needs and your way of experiencing adventure on the road. If you still have any questions or concerns, please write to us without hesitation. We're ready to help you find exactly what you're looking for!