Moon Shade Awning

[slowpat]

Does anybody have experience with one of these? I'm aware of wind and awnings, and also wonder whether this would shed rain. I've got an awningless Casita and do not want to purchase a tent or clam shell. Part of the reason to switch from a tent to a trailer was to get away from dealing with tents. This thing looks small enough to not be much of a hassle when it comes to drying it out, and is not heavy. Comments? Experience?

https://moonfab.com/

[Captleemo]

Looks like a pretty nice setup.

[herons]

I use a similar item and attach the two corners to the front of the Scamp with SUP heavy-duty suction cups. Depending on the set-up, I can use it as a shade cover or take out 1-2 sections of legs and lower it for windy conditions OR stake the other two corners directly to the ground in instances of heavy rain.

But $325? Waaay too expensive for a tarp and two legs.

Google car shade tarps. Here is an example:

https://www.amazon.com/Hasika-Waterp...274701&sr=8-42

[Larry Singer]

This looks nice, but it is a little pricy, and does require some effort to set up.

Take a look at the FiberglassRV home page. There's an image of a camper with what appears to be a home-made awning. It consists of a tarp attached to the camper (probably with GOOD suction cups), two expandable poles, and a pair of guy-ropes for each pole.

I did this years ago on our 13' Scamp, and it's been quite successful. The only minor challenge is the curved roof of the Scamp.

I can attach pictures of my set-up, if someone can tell me how.

Hope this may give you some ideas.

[Jon in AZ]

The type of awning on the home page is a rope-and-pole awning. They do not do well in wind and especially rain, which tends to pool because there is no center support.

$325 for a simple dome awning seems overpriced to me, though. A few years ago I could have purchased a simple nylon dome awning for $40 at Tractor Supply. I hesitated and lost out. I don't know why there aren't more out there. A 4-pole dome awning can be easily modified to attach to an egg trailer with corner loops or a keder rail.

As another alternative, for a little more than the price of the Moon Shade you have have a Shady Boy with similar wind and rain capability, no vertical poles, self-stores in an aluminum case that mounts to the side of the trailer, around 15# including poles and case.

[GatorCasita]

That awning and the others mentioned look pretty good for the price. However, be advised that a 9' x 7' (63 sq. ft.) is relatively small and will give shade in the right place only for a small part of the day (depending on the N,E,S,W orientation of the trailer).

We have the Fiamma (yes, very pricey) which is about 90 sq. ft. and it does not always provide the shade we need. What I do is that I use a cheap (Harbor Freight) 8 x 10 tarp that attached to the outer edge of the Fiamma awning poles/legs, and then stake out two other poles that are only telescoped to about 5' high. That way there is a good slope for any rain to run off and not accumulate. That gives shade for most of the day, and it keeps driving rain from blowing in under the Fiamma.

A simple and cheap 10 x 10 awning erected with four corner poles and a central pole (we usually try to relocate the site's picnic table under the Fiamma) from the picnic table would give much more shade, at a small cost.

However, the 10 x 10 awning has the major disadvantage of requiring guy ropes that can be a trip hazard.

Also, realize that water is still going to come down off of the trailer vehicle in all those cases, because unless you make a major mods , the awning side next to the trailer is not sealed. Some have used pool noodle material to make a gutter to keep the rain from running down the top and side of the trailer and making a big puddle under the awning.

I also have a sun sail type of triangular awning that I use on one side of the awning to keep the sun out when the sun is low on that side.

The sun sails are very nice, inexpensive. and probably could be rigged by ropes running over the trailer and tied to the frame or something. Only one pole would then be required to be set up and kept in place with guy ropes.

Back in the day , people used to tie canopies to trees growing around the campsite. However, most state and national parks and no longer allow tying ropes to trees, even though I do not think that they hurt the trees if tied carefully.

BTW -- We do most of our camping in sunny and usually hot Florida, so shade is more important to us than it would be in northern, temperate regions.

Hope this helps,

[Alex Adams]

Originally Posted by GatorCasita

Back in the day , people used to tie canopies to trees growing around the campsite. However, most state and national parks and no longer allow tying ropes to trees, even though I do not think that they hurt the trees if tied carefully.

I still do this but not for my trailer. I do it for my older brother's tent. Instead of tying the canopy (tarp) to the trees, I use thick bungie cords. It works really well. I also bring one of those folding ladders to get the cords high enough into the trees.

[slowpat]

I have a Kelty awning that I've used. It requires poles and thanks to an Amazon goof, I have poles, lots of poles. Except the pole tips are larger than the grommet holes in the awning. This required some additional rigging. I then stuck some of those removable hooks for picture hanging to the Casita, but some stayed put, some did not. The guyline rigging was also a pain to do.

I maybe could put bigger grommets in and then try to rig up some of those tent poles to shape the roof. I like the taut roof on the Moon Shade. This will require thinking and work and I am feeling adverse to both right now.

[nancyrnfit]

When we had our 16 foot, we replaced the aggravating Dometic awning with a Fiamma, and were very happy with it.

Then, we got a 19 foot, with another aggravating Dometic awning. Wasn't wanting to spend the $1000 this time, so we got a Moon Shade. So far, very happy with it. We actually bungee it to the Dometic! Very easy to set up and take down. Does shed rain. Like ANY awning, needs to come down in high wind. It is a bit small, but does the trick for us. Very lightweight and small, packed up.

It comes with heavy duty suction cups, which actually worked well when setting up the awning on my truck.
However, with the Dometic awining still in place on the Scamp, and the weirdness of the 19 foot, rising up front, I could not get the suction cups to work, thus the bungees.

It also comes with the world's strongest magnets!! I attached one to my truck bumper, just to see,,,, and my Lord, just about never got the thing off!

It also comes with guylines and stakes. Just my 2 cents, but we are happy with it!

[Casita Greg]

Just something a bit different, but they've actually been around for a long time. A Keder rail slide in welt awning with a "Rope & Pole" setup. It just slides into the permanent rail that I mounted on the side of the trailer, and also gives me adequate headroom when rigged up, (and I'm 6'2".)

I also have a Clam screen tent as well, but I know that is not what you're looking for. Just something else to consider as an option. I really like it anyway, and I much prefer it to the original factory installed Fiamma awning that I removed. The Fiamma, to me, was always a PITA, and I thought it was very flimsy. In short, it just didn't impress me at all.

I love the work that Marti does, (and all she does is awnings,) {Link below,} and is very well respected in the "Vintage Trailers" groups for her wonderful "retro" awnings. Her prices are quite reasonable as well. Quality awning, and I'm very picky. Just one more option to think about.

When not being used, it just slides out of the track and it folds up into a small stuff sack about the size of a football. Probably weighs maybe 5 pounds. Easily to deploy and retrieve from the Keder rail. It just slides in and out, (how easy is that!) A few telescoping aluminum poles and a few tensionable guy ropes with stakes and you're set. And unlike the Fiamma awnings, this one seals tight to the side of the trailer to keep the rain from running down under it like the Fiamma did. (And it's a heck of a lot cheaper too.)

Marti's Vintage Trailer Awnings

Here's a few pics of my setup.

[Jack Walter]

I have had a couple of awnings similar to the moon shade that I got at Bus Depot, a site for stuff for VW camper vans. Around $150.

[Tami B]

I met a couple at a campground that were using this moon shade awning recently, and they highly recommended it. They said it was easy to put up and take down, and it was all around great.

[Junkndisorderly]

If you have a C channel rail I have a tutorial for using shower curtain and 2 poles. It gives a nice shaded area, light weight folds up into baggy, rain proof and dries quickly. easy to put up fast and light weight.

[slowpat]

Originally Posted by nancyrnfit

When we had our 16 foot, we replaced the aggravating Dometic awning with a Fiamma, and were very happy with it.

Then, we got a 19 foot, with another aggravating Dometic awning. Wasn't wanting to spend the $1000 this time, so we got a Moon Shade. So far, very happy with it. We actually bungee it to the Dometic! Very easy to set up and take down. Does shed rain. Like ANY awning, needs to come down in high wind. It is a bit small, but does the trick for us. Very lightweight and small, packed up.

It comes with heavy duty suction cups, which actually worked well when setting up the awning on my truck.
However, with the Dometic awining still in place on the Scamp, and the weirdness of the 19 foot, rising up front, I could not get the suction cups to work, thus the bungees.

It also comes with the world's strongest magnets!! I attached one to my truck bumper, just to see,,,, and my Lord, just about never got the thing off!

It also comes with guylines and stakes. Just my 2 cents, but we are happy with it!

Thanks for the input.

[Natalie21]

I have just bought Shade Pro RV Vinyl Awning Replacement Fabric. Overall, it’s a really good choice for an awning fabric replacement in your RV. It’s ideal for covering cracks and tears while demonstrating a reliable resistance to fading. Perhaps the only problem I experienced so far is the presence of smudges on its paint in certain areas. However, they’re not really a major issue.

[Phil Underwood]

Originally Posted by herons

I use a similar item and attach the two corners to the front of the Scamp with SUP heavy-duty suction cups. Depending on the set-up, I can use it as a shade cover or take out 1-2 sections of legs and lower it for windy conditions OR stake the other two corners directly to the ground in instances of heavy rain.

But $325? Waaay too expensive for a tarp and two legs.

Google car shade tarps. Here is an example:

https://www.amazon.com/Hasika-Waterp...274701&sr=8-42

i like the amazon one.. im gonna give it a try