"custom" nylon awning fly

[theresa p]

when we were at the kingston rally, alistair camelford kindly loaned us a tarp to use as an added sunscreen---our awning helped alot, but the use of the tarp allowed us an extension of the shaded space.

we have talked alot about making some kind of fly for 3-4 years now, but as they say, talk is cheap.

the awning we have is from carefree...and it is excellent. goes up and down easily, is sturdy and it works well. but----it doesn't completely cover the opening of the back window so we cannot leave that window open in the rain. we have a maxx air vent on the other window by the dinette, but cross-ventilation would so much improve air flow and with the arm of the awning in the way, we cannot install a vent on this side.

alistair's tarp got us spurred into action! we measured how we'd like the fly to sit----we decided that we'd still like to be able to open the gravel guard, open the window and possibly store lawnchairs, small tables, etc. underneath its cover. we didn't want it to blow off of the roof, or allow water to run underneath and down into the window, so we planned for the fly to butt up against the vent cover for the fantastic fan and in along the molded grooves of the roof design.
also, we wanted to utilize the frame for securing the fly---i made it with loops to accommodate either bungees or fly ropes (no grommets).
i evenly spaced out attachment loops but we mostly use just 2 per side, pegging it like a tent fly.

i used nylon tent material and chose white to reflect the sun, accented with black to match the belly band.
we lucked out by finding it at the marden's store in houlton, maine for the steal-of-a-deal price of $1/yard.

very simple to construct. very simple to make. and cheap....my favourite!
but most importantly---IT WORKS!!!

[Ron F]

I extended our awning with one that I found on the web. With shipping, it was about $125. It works great. I sewed a couple of straps at the corners that just loop around the casing for the original awning. The only glitch is that, although it is made by Coleman, I could only order it from a shop in England.
It's called the Coleman Classic Awning.