April 7, 2024

Awning

Unless you can park under some trees, your best option is to set up camp late in the day and wait for sunset. Or have some kind of awning.

A company called "ARB" makes some nice stuff. They are popular and have a good reputation. Lots of talk about their awnings online.

It is 6.5 feet long and extends out 8.2 feet. They say you can set it up in 30 seconds, so figure on 5 minutes (and more if there is wind). With wind you probably would want at least 2 people. They don't list the weight anywhere I can find.

They also offer an 8.2 foot square model. People like this for the extra room and rain coverage. They call this the "2500" as that is 8.2 feet in millimeters. This would work on the 4runner, might stick out forward a bit, depending on whether or not it would clear the rear hatch. See the forums on this.

Other recommendations are "Ironman" and "Roam" -- check the forums. People like the "quick release" feature on the ironman. (Do I want quick release on something mounted outside the vehicle??)

You need to buy brackets separately to mount this to your roof rack. Gobi sells them. But they are expensive!! $200 for the set. RCI has a different design for $75.

Batwing

Another option is the following "batwing". Here you cover the rear and the side. Cost is $912 (double the cost of the ARB 6 awning). And now you have 3 poles and setup complexity. And added cost. And you wonder about opening the rear hatch on the 4runner. Also it costs more.

Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's Auto repair pages / tom@mmto.org