Update Awning for Hawk

[A.Smith]

I have been reading everything I can find on Awnings. Seems a lot written years ago.
Any new comments ?
Brand ? Fiamma ? Where to purchase ?
Any and all help, pro and con wil help!
Thanks

Oh what I have learned. There is so much information one this site !
I purchased the Fiamma 45s. Great.
I purchased a set of Das Mule brackets. A, 9' 1/4"x4" plate of aluminum.

I did not want to drill into the camper, so like an article suggested I tried installing the awning to the aluminum plate. Too much flex and twist.

I ended up bolting the awning to the camper with large sheet metal screws like the article by Stan from Four Wheel Campers.

Now I have a set of Das Mule brackets For Sale, going to be posted in Gear Exchange.

Thank You to all the posts and articles about awnings.

 

[goinoregon]

i put an alu cab 360 on my atc. it was great. bullet proof. and covered door area. not cheap.

 

[A.Smith]

Thanks,

 

[CPT Davenport]

We went with a product from KICKASS (silly name, great products). We needed to save on weight and this awning is only 24lbs and at a cost of only $199 (free delivery) we gave it a shot. Been using it now for over a year and it has kept us dry in the rain and shaded from the sun. It is easily deployed with one person, packing it back up is a snap and it has a dimmable led light in the track. We also have their shower enclosure mounted to the other side which has been working great as well. The foldable floor is also awesome so you are not standing in the mud when you shower.

Price and weight comparison:

Faima awning: $1,575 @ 45lbs

Wraparound (bat wing) awning: $2,695 @ 58lbs

Lots of options out there, just need to pick one that fits your application and your budget. If I didn't mind the weight or the price, the wraparound sure is slick.

 

[A.Smith]

Fantastic, Thanks

 

[ExSwat]

I also have the 8' Ironman 4x4 awning...mounted on the Ironman 4x4 quick release brackets...stinking love it...

 

[fourwheeltristan]

https://www.alu-cab.com/product/270-shadow-awning/

 

[Herbie]

Our previously-owned 2020 Hawk came with the Fiamma awning. It's not necessarily what I would have picked for myself, but in retrospect, I'm really glad that's what's on there.

To explain - I had a hard-case awning on my GTRV camper van, and I found it exceedingly heavy and a little hard to use, so I switched out to the ARB bag-style awning. I *really* liked the ARB - it was WAY lighter, was very easy to deploy, and had great accessories and parts support. We ended up with the screen room, side-shades, etc., plus I was able to very easily replace a few parts after a surprise wind gust in the desert yanked out three guy lines and flipped it inside out, bending a couple of poles and breaking some of the pivot joints. Cost me about $25 to replace all the broken stuff. In short, ARB had earned my repeat business.

HOWEVER, when we got our Hawk Flatbed model, it immediately became apparent that the ARB style awning would never have worked for us - the rig is simply too tall! I'd need to use the step-ladder just to reach the zipper, and I'm sure the poles would have come up short. The accessories definitely would have come up short as we were near the edge of their "height range" when we had the awning on our lifted van.

The Fiamma, in contrast, is VERY easy to deploy despite the height. The included cranking-pole makes it a simple matter to deploy even when I'm solo (which is an important test), and the ease and security of the leg adjusters, etc. is all very solid.

Stowing is ever slightly more complicated - there is one slightly tricky pivoting joint where the leg swivels into the case, and I can foresee that if that got jammed with grit and mungo the gorilla wasn't careful about applying force in the wrong direction with the long leg as a lever arm, I suppose one could damage that joint, but with a little mechanical empathy, it works well.

I still prefer the "straight out" style awnings since they seem to give "deeper" coverage. The 270° awnings wrap around nicely, but they don't come out as far, so I find that often the only usable shade is right up against the wall of the truck.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Our previously-owned 2020 Hawk came with the Fiamma awning. It's not necessarily what I would have picked for myself, but in retrospect, I'm really glad that's what's on there.

To explain - I had a hard-case awning on my GTRV camper van, and I found it exceedingly heavy and a little hard to use, so I switched out to the ARB bag-style awning. I *really* liked the ARB - it was WAY lighter, was very easy to deploy, and had great accessories and parts support. We ended up with the screen room, side-shades, etc., plus I was able to very easily replace a few parts after a surprise wind gust in the desert yanked out three guy lines and flipped it inside out, bending a couple of poles and breaking some of the pivot joints. Cost me about $25 to replace all the broken stuff. In short, ARB had earned my repeat business.

HOWEVER, when we got our Hawk Flatbed model, it immediately became apparent that the ARB style awning would never have worked for us - the rig is simply too tall! I'd need to use the step-ladder just to reach the zipper, and I'm sure the poles would have come up short. The accessories definitely would have come up short as we were near the edge of their "height range" when we had the awning on our lifted van.

The Fiamma, in contrast, is VERY easy to deploy despite the height. The included cranking-pole makes it a simple matter to deploy even when I'm solo (which is an important test), and the ease and security of the leg adjusters, etc. is all very solid.

Stowing is ever slightly more complicated - there is one slightly tricky pivoting joint where the leg swivels into the case, and I can foresee that if that got jammed with grit and mungo the gorilla wasn't careful about applying force in the wrong direction with the long leg as a lever arm, I suppose one could damage that joint, but with a little mechanical empathy, it works well.

I still prefer the "straight out" style awnings since they seem to give "deeper" coverage. The 270° awnings wrap around nicely, but they don't come out as far, so I find that often the only usable shade is right up against the wall of the truck.

Nice analysis, and I agree. My only complaint about the Fiamma style awning is they rattle on rough roads, and it makes open window driving unpleasant. Yes, you do need to be diligent when running the legs back in, and a stool makes life easier doing that on tall campers.

 

[CPT Davenport]

I'm curious, do the Fiamma awnings have the ability to be lowered at the leading edge? We have found that by dropping ours ( Kickass) down and increasing the angle we can block out more sun. This has also come in handy when it is cold and snowing. It is easier to knock off the snow and with the front edge lower it creates a little pocket of warmth against the camper. We often huddle there in front of the LRC and the heat produced deflects back down on us.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

They typically dip quite a bit, so leg extension is the controlling factor. You can extend one to be longer than the other to direct drainage. I have Capri awnings on the TT, and I think that is what Marty put on my Cougar. IMO, they’re all similar in function.

 

[Ronin]

I use a King Camp Awning. It's cheap, light, and easy to setup. It packs like a small tent and I throw it in the back of my cab for trips to the desert when I know there won't be any shade. Otherwise it stays at home.

 

[craig333]

The Alu Cab 270 Shadow awning has a short post in the middle your can raise to help the rain run off. Yes, you can lower a leg on the fiamma. I've never noticed any rattling on mine, Maybe its everything else that rattles hiding the noise

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

The Alu Cab 270 Shadow awning has a short post in the middle your can raise to help the rain run off. Yes, you can lower a leg on the fiamma. I've never noticed any rattling on mine, Maybe its everything else that rattles hiding the noise

By chance are you referring to the sound of a Cummins diesel?

 

[DavidGraves]

Hello A. Smith

It may help or not in your thoughts about an awning....we find that an awning is of almost no value during our winters in the southwest.......simply because the sun is so low in the sky that it comes under the awning ....

It is far easier to just sit on the other side of the camper....our FWC came with two sides...an early option.

In the early spring camping in the northwest we sometimes use the rear mount FWC awning....which makes a porch roof for the entry door.

D. Graves

 

[fish more]

I had FWC install a Fiamma Awning on my Hawk. Have been pleased with it's operation, easy and fast to set up. I haven't had any issues with rattles from the awning on rough roads. Had it installed in 2009 and no issues.

 

[craig333]

The cummins isn't that loud. I think its mostly 20 years of use that makes it rattle.

 

[tstumpfig]

We went with a product from KICKASS (silly name, great products). We needed to save on weight and this awning is only 24lbs and at a cost of only $199 (free delivery) we gave it a shot. Been using it now for over a year and it has kept us dry in the rain and shaded from the sun. It is easily deployed with one person, packing it back up is a snap and it has a dimmable led light in the track. We also have their shower enclosure mounted to the other side which has been working great as well. The foldable floor is also awesome so you are not standing in the mud when you shower.

Price and weight comparison:

Faima awning: $1,575 @ 45lbs

Wraparound (bat wing) awning: $2,695 @ 58lbs

Lots of options out there, just need to pick one that fits your application and your budget. If I didn't mind the weight or the price, the wraparound sure is slick.

Really digging that shower awning, pretty good price too. Can you provide any detail on how you mounted that?

 

[Jsoboti]

I purchased an ARB awning and used Mule Expedition Outfitters' jack bracket mounts. It's been a great setup.

https://dasmule.com/collections/four-wheel-camper-parts-accessories/products/mule-four-wheel-camper-arb-awning-brackets-pre_order

 

[CPT Davenport]

Really digging that shower awning, pretty good price too. Can you provide any detail on how you mounted that?

It has been a great awning for us. It makes a great changing room and also a private place to use the porta potty

I fabricated some aluminum standoffs that I attached to the top channel of the camper with 1/4" aluminum rivets. The rivets have an extremely high holding value so I also used them for the awning on the other side as well. I like the rivets as I did not want any nuts or bolts on the interior of the camper to interfere with the sliding of the bed.

I would look into the quick release option from Ironman 4x4 if I were to do it again.

https://ironman4x4america.com/camping/awning-quick-release-mounting-brackets/

Wish I knew about these when I did my instal. I would just rivet those babys on there and be done!

Attached are some photos of what I made. I mounted my shower stall in front of my heater vent. I MUST make sure the back wall is unzipped once the stall is deployed so it doesn't get burnt from the exhaust. Kinda nice though as I unzip it as soon as I deploy, and when I shower I crank the heater. This blows warm air on me while showering! The back wall zipped down also allows me access to the little cubby on the Hawk where we keep our toiletries.