DIY AWNING FOR CHEAP

I'm still interested in camping. I recently tripped over a DIY awning project on @softroadingthewest channel and simply had to try it for myself. I used a few more expensive parts for a clean install, but it's still far less expensive than buying a purpose built vehicle awning. Have a look at how to build your own awning for cheap. This video marks the second in a new line of camping videos that I will call "microlanding." See this video for more info: • CHANGES TO STEALTH GTI... . I've also written a companion article, which can be found at wp.me/p7YnQB-1Fo. #microlanding #softroadingthewest
My Amazon Storefront: www.amazon.com/shop/stealthgti
Equipment featured in this video:
Anyoo Camping Tarp Shelter Kit - amzn.to/38t93ke
Anyoo Adjustable Telescoping Tarp Poles - amzn.to/38oHQzf
Yakima TopGrip Paddle Holders - amzn.to/2vJxSLx
Increway 4pcs Wire Lock Pin - amzn.to/3aows7M
10-ft Schedule 42 1-inch PVC Pipe - Local hardware store
10-ft 3/4-inch Electrical Conduit - Local hardware store
Mods to the car and links to blog write-ups (all links go to my blog, most are shortened):
APR Stage 2 with Downpipe and Intercooler - wp.me/P7YnQB-dP
RSR Clutch w/DMF by HS Tuning - wp.me/p7YnQB-su
Steel Oil Pan - wp.me/p7YnQB-wv
Lots of Electronics - stealthgti.com/electronics/
EcoHitch by TorkLift - wp.me/P7YnQB-hW
Group 48 AGM Battery - wp.me/p7YnQB-1ev
Gun Metal Gray Nogaro Wheels - wp.me/p7YnQB-Dg
Various Accessories - stealthgti.com/accessories/
My Camera Setup:
Samsung Galaxy S9+ for Close-Quarters
Canon 80D Video Creator Kit - amzn.to/36EJDiG
Rode VideoMic - amzn.to/2RyOYnk
Lapel Microphone for Smartphone - amzn.to/3aU5Dt5
ZOMEi 75'' Tripod - amzn.to/3aRYBFl
Neewer Camera LED Video Light - amzn.to/36Dbznc
Studio Lighting - amzn.to/36uEycM
Visit me at StealthGTI.com.
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Visit my Instagram page at / stealth_gti
DISCLAIMER: StealthGTI is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Affiliate, I may receive a small commission from Amazon if you purchase a product or service with a link that I provide. There is no additional charge to you!
#microlanding #carcamping #overlanding

[@softroadingthewest]

Nice work and thanks for the shoutout! That turned out great...I really like how you adapted the general idea to your needs. The mounting system is clever...nice that you can easily remove it when you don't need it. Plus if you ever get fed up with the DIY awning and decide to get the real deal, I'm sure those mounts will come in handy for something else down the line. Also love the heat shrink instead of paint on the pipe...I wish I had thought of that. Mine gets pretty battered from overgrown trees on the trail and constantly needs touch ups (which I almost never bother to do, so it simply looks battered as a matter of course, LOL). Also, dang, I'm jealous of the carry bag you got with your Anyoo kit...much nicer than the flimsy, too-small stuff sack that came with mine. I really like those quick-extend poles, that's a nice touch. With practice you'll be able to set that up much much faster. I can do it in well under 5 minutes. I keep each guy line wrapped around a stake. It keeps them from getting tangled up in the bag and I don't have to fumble around with anything, I can just grab one stake/guy line and bring it out to a corner as I unwind it, then repeat. I'm a firm believer in Just Get Out There With What You Have. That will be the best way to determine what additional gear makes the most sense to you. My first time going out solo camping in the Forester, I had a camping mattress and a sleeping bag in the back, a folding chair, a shovel, a flashlight, a 1-gallon jug of water, a small cooler, and a bin with a single burner stove, a handful of kitchen basics, and some food. I made adjustments and additions with each subsequent trip as I determined what I was critically missing and what would make camp life better. Oh, and I went two years and many trips using only a single burner stove, I have only just now moved to a two-burner stove. With some pre-planning you can cook complete and entirely decent meals on a single burner. :-) Anyway, excellent job on the awning and I look forward to seeing how your camping project progresses!

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for all of that. BTW, I tried paint on my PVC pipe first. It looked awful. I had painted in the cold and had some runs. Sanding it smooth was easy, then the heat shrink right over top. Give it a try. I'll tag you in a future camping video someday. Take Care!

[@clear_gray_sky539]

On a KZbin channel called suv rving .a guy uses a small piece of plywood tied to the head rest of the front set of his rav 4 with the rear seats folded and the front seats pushed all the way up it makes a bed in the back long enough for a person 6’2” to sleep . Not sure if your car is long enough . Also magnet window screens for the windows and just sleep in the car . Tents are a pain to deal with especially in the rain . Another outside the box idea , I have seen hammock stands that have a base you drive over ( the stands stay under your car tires ) you could maybe have a hammock set up under your car awning. The annoying part of camping if folding up the wet tent or tarp in the morning . Then having to let it dry out when your done with it camping

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for sharing that. The Golf/GTI is quite a bit shorter than a RAV4. I've seen two Golf/GTI owners who, as solo travelers, remove their front passenger seat when they camp. That allows them to extend a sleeping platform to the front of the car. I could certainly sleep that way. Not sure if I'd want to yet. Thanks for visiting.

[@vitaflo]

I did a 2-month road trip in my GTI this past summer all over the western US. No camping, but a lot of parks and back roads and I did learn a LOT just by going that long driving with all my stuff in the car over 10k miles. I think your idea of not going overboard with all sorts of gear and "things" right off the bat is absolutely the right call. By the time I got home I was a pro at loading/unloading my stuff in the most economical way. I knew what I really needed and what I didn't. I knew where my car could take me and where I needed to say "nope, the GTI ain't gonna do that". But it took going out and trying things to get to that point. So get out and explore! You'll make mistakes but learn a lot more about your car and yourself that you didn't realize before. I certainly did, and it was amazing.

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Take Care.

[@tashatorrid]

I lived in my GTI for a few weeks. Pulled a pop up with it all over too. Built a van I live in full-time, but thinking about converting the GTI for stealth missions to the keys. Nice set up you got.

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the comment! Oddly enough, I'm on the verge of putting a 35L refrigerator in the back for an upcoming road trip. The car's already too short for me to sleep in. So, I might as well make it the "equipment space" or kitchen. HAHA! Take care!

[@kawabus]

This is awesome! Going to do this on my Alltrack.

[@StealthGTI]

Excellent! I'm glad someone found it helpful. Thanks for visiting.

[@junglisticsound78]

Now that you showed me that. I gotta get the tent that goes in the back. Beach or grounds. Especially car shows. Thank you. Love it.

[@StealthGTI]

Excellent! Glad you liked it. Thanks for visiting.

[@winc06]

I am a new GTI owner and just love it. I had six years with a Subaru Forester XT and even though it was a good car the little use it got soft roading was never worth having to drive an SUV all the time. Even the good ones are not fun to drive. Drive the car you love everyday and rent something for the occasional adventure, or camp like a backpacker.

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for sharing! I think about getting a softroader from time to time. But I think my GTI will still be my high mileage queen.

[@aleksanderkac1494]

Awesome awning. I'm thinking of building one also. To sleep outside, a tent would be best in your situation. I would pick a detached (standalone) model with enough room to sleep in, and maybe room for your camping kitchen box in front, so you can make a cup of coffee sheltered in the morning. This is just in case you didn't raise your awning in the evening. A tent with a small sheltered area in front of the "bedroom" is not that heavier than a tent that is just meant for sleeping. A light Outwell Cloud 2 is cheap enough (3 pole, 4.5 kilos) and very sturdy. In the EU it sells at about 150 euros, (it's from Denmark). But: you will not be able to stand inside. I have an Outwell franklin 3 earlier incarnation, in which you can stand inside, but this more expensive at 450 euros, and quite a lot heavier at almost 14 kilos. If you do not want to raise poles, there are a lot of inflatable tents, starting 200 € if you're not fixated on a brand name, at about 12 kilos, (but it is a large bag, those air chambers take up a lot of volume).

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the note, Aleksander! I'm working on a tiny cargo trailer conversion that I plan to treat as a "hard-sided tent." We'll see how that works out. I recently published a video about it. I'm making progress and expect to show more videos about that trailer soon.

[@aleksanderkac1494]

@@StealthGTI Looking forward to the build.

[@KzLollapalooza]

Ingenious!!!

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks! Ironically, I haven't used it in this fashion even once. But I did use the tarp to make a "lean-to" sort of awning for a camp-out in my tiny trailer conversion last month.

[@KzLollapalooza]

@@StealthGTI thank you for your reply! Just the thought of building this setup gets me excited already!

[@christineninh7381]

My mk6 and I have been across the US four times and now working on our fifth crossing. The first four times I did solo. This fifth time is with my partner and we've been on the road for 6 months. All these trips have included camping at both formal campgrounds and on BLM land - granted you do your research on road conditions and accessibility. A skid plate really helps with minor roading. We use a standalone tent as sleeping inside isn't too much of an option without having to move all our gear back and forth. I've dreamed about doing trunk conversions to create a better kitchen, but in lieu of tools and wood working skills, we use a simple fold up table (alps mountaineering) for our two burner stove and various boxes strategically packed to allow for access to cooking gear. I've 100 percent dreamed of an awning for the camp set up. With my girl at 142k miles I'm not sure how much effort I'll put into converting the trunk... But that fridge you put in looks pretty excellent. Cold beverages at the ready? Yes please. Love your stuff! Keep it up!

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks! I appreciate your remarks and road trip stories. As an outdoors type, you may appreciate reading about some off-pavement driving that I shared at stealthgti.com/2022/08/10/my-first-pota-road-trip/, especially my "discovery" at a primitive campground. A different topic that's not mentioned in the article is that I had a microwave with me! 😳 My Jackery will power it for about 20 minutes, which is good for several lunches. 😀 I didn't share a video since I'm not good at capturing that sort of content. Thanks for visiting!

[@ACHILLESR32]

Love the reflex silver 😊, wish the Mk6 GTI came in reflex silver. Entertaining video!

[@StealthGTI]

I didn't realize the Mk6 did not have Reflex Silver. My Mk6 Jetta was RS. I'm saddened by VW's decision to discontinue RS on current GTIs. I'm not fond of the new silver. Thanks for visiting.

[@crashjump1849]

As a solo camper I sleep inside my gen1 cr-v and have a roof basket on top. The basket allows me to mount the awning up higher ....

[@StealthGTI]

Nice! I'm too tall and the car's too short for me to sleep inside. I don't have a video yet, but see my write-up about my part-time micro-camper at wp.me/p7YnQB-3fb. Thanks for visiting!

[@michaelharris4503]

Great video Sir. I believe that if you can afford keeping things clean makes a lot of sense. Regarding camping in car or tent as well as the tarp uses here’s my thoughts. I have a Toyota RAV 4 and bought some 4 inch high density foam covered in vinyl for sleeping inside the vehicle. I use the tarp off of the driver side back seat so that I can get ventilation through the car even in a rain shower ( even though it rarely rains out here in southern Arizona).it is lovely when I am out by myself and when I don’t want to sleep on the hard ground or in a tent. Full transparency: I own 2 high end tents and when my wife and I go car camping we mostly sleep in a tent.

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the note. I think the Golf body is shorter than a RAV4. So, there's no way either of us can sleep inside the car. Thanks for visiting.

[@thomascanfield2502]

I camp in my GTI, I do a DYI awning sorta like yours but off the back of the car with the hatch open. two long flatter tots store ALL my camping gear. I have to HD buckets, I push both front seats as far forward as I can, then behind each seat I but the set the buckets upside down. then I inflate my air mattress. I normally sleep the passenger side of the car and use my two flat storage tots stacked on top on one another as a makeshift table + stores all my camping stuff. Now you can turn the inside lights to the off position so it's not to kill the battery, or simply remove one of the leads from your car battery. I use a folding 5 mini panel solar charging bank to charge my iPad and iPhone at night while I sleep. VENTILATION I use a 1"/1" breathable solid form foam of some type and slightly open the two front windows, then hold the foam between the window and the car and close the window until the foam is snuggly in place being held in position by the window it self. I use quick fold privacy screens to block out light and so others can easilly peek inside while I'm away from camp or inside my GTI. I normally will book DRY sites at state park campgrounds here in PA in that it's only $19 a night. And I have all my dry/canned foods, lots of water, led lanterns, solar charging stuff and I set. Now I don't have a roof rack so I use bungy cords to keep the tarp in place in the car it self.

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for sharing all of that! I'm too tall to sleep in a GTI, even with the seats pushed forward. I had considered getting one of those tents that attach at the hatchback. I could either sleep on the ground or fabricate a support that plugs into the trailer hitch. The support would be for the lower portion of a bed. Kinda kooky, but it would work. Instead, I'm converting my cargo trailer into a mini-sleeper. I have videos about it on my channel. I'm almost done with the interior and hope to post that portion next week. Thanks for visiting.

[@LostInDistance]

This is brilliant! Would like to see a little camping setup in the Golf itself? Maybe some sort of table setup from the rear of the boot? I own a Golf Mk5, keep thinking of doing something similar to this for a days camp.

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the comment! I haven't taken the car camping so far. I had explored some concepts, but never put them to use. Camping is a growing fad these days. Ironically, the point of camping is to "get away from it all," but when you get there, "it" (the people) has come, too. ;-) I could "get farther away from it all" with a different vehicle. However, it's not a priority right now. Take Care!

[@GiantMeteor2024]

That awning will handle most wind situations by using 2 guy lines per pole rather than 1. 😎

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks! I'll have to try that. Thanks for visiting.

[@thefoolsadventures]

I turned I just brought a Hyundai i30 wagon and turning into a car camper...made diy boot drawers that fold into a bed when seats are down..just now got to do awning

[@StealthGTI]

Nicely done! I'm too tall and the Golf body is too short for me to sleep inside. But I'm working on ideas. Thanks for visiting.

[@clifficus]

I really like your idea, for me, the cleaver part is using the 1” pipe with the extending 3/4” inside, that’s genius, perfect for 3 season camping, I have a 3x3 mtr D & D tarp, BUT never thought in my wildest dreams of putting it to this use, thanks for sharing, 73 de GI3HNM

[@StealthGTI]

Thank you for your comments!

[@marks-0-0]

Hi I like your simple awning design and general way of thinking. I'm about to sell my small (by US standards) campervan and move back down to a car, think Transit Connect for shape and size. In the UK we have lots of small van based car choices at good prices. So glass all round, 5 seats with rears removable, rear tailgate and a high level of spec. Think i will get a big tarp and lay it over the open tailgate and fold it into the right shape to form a shelter while pinning the folds. Cut and sew the excess and voila!

[@StealthGTI]

Very nice! Good luck and thanks for visiting.

[@m.l.3649]

Hi, how durable have you found those separate, taller tarp poles so far? Have you used the car awning setup much so far? Thanks for sharing

[@StealthGTI]

I have not used the awing in the wild just yet. Realistically, the tarp poles will easily outlast the tarp itself in windy conditions. I have no concerns about the durability of the poles. Stability in windy conditions could be an issue. But I think most will retract or stow their awnings when winds pick-up. Thanks for visiting.

[@johnq6123]

Wish my K04 Bug had racks available for it ☹️.... Awesome set up!!!

[@StealthGTI]

What is a "K04 Bug?" I suspect it's a K04-powered 1.8T. But what year?

[@johnq6123]

@@StealthGTI 2012, & stage 2 turbo Beetle

[@StealthGTI]

Wow! I had no idea there is no rack system for the Beetle. Check out SeaSucker.com. Perhaps their "Monkey Bars" can work for you.

[@johnq6123]

@@StealthGTI Yeah, there is a Bug I follow that has that set-up but you can't drive highways with that system so I'm very on the fence about it. Even considered perm mount for rack system.

[@StealthGTI]

@@johnq6123 - No highways? WOW! Another "wow" is you considering a permanent rack. That's commitment! BTW, it's cool to hear about your modded bug. I considered a Beetle since my first car was a '73 Beetle in 1986. But I wasn't confident that the automatic transmission (apparently the only trans offered?) could handle any extra power. Perhaps I'll reconsider if I ever decide to get a "nostalgia car" for good ol' times' sake. For now, I'm pleased with my GTI. I bought it simply for knowing what this little engine can do!

[@illiteratebeef]

HF on the GTI? Maybe some of the more automatic digital modes like WSPR? Excited to see what you've done!

[@StealthGTI]

I've picked a weird time to add HF, given that we're at the bottom of the solar cycle. I need to look into some digital modes. Thanks for visiting.

[@illiteratebeef]

@@StealthGTI The bands are supposed to open up a bit this weekend and there's a DX phone contest, it'll be good timing for testing the new setup!

[@StealthGTI]

@@illiteratebeef -Thanks for sharing that. I'm not much of a contester. But I'll be glad to make a few QSOs.

[@elizabethkeith6882]

Not clear how you attached the tarp to the PVC and boom? Drill holes in that and use the locking pins through the tarp grommets?

[@StealthGTI]

Yes, there are holes drilled at both ends of the PVC and the steel rod. They're spaced so that the rear holes align when stowed; the rear pin keeps the rod from sliding out on the road and the front pin keeps the end cap in place. When extended, the holes align with the grommets in the tarp and the pins hold the tarp in place. Thanks for visiting!

[@lornaoldham6087]

Try a swag - Darche Dawn to Dusk 1100

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[@adam03957]

You’ll never go bike packing with a swag, for lazy camping I have a 4wd, swag on roof, fridge etc. for motorcycle camping I use a macpack bush cocoon, nemo tensor, and small down bag, pack volume is less than a tenth of the size of my swag. My recommendation would be this. Try, try, try and try, there’s no such thing as the perfect setup for all occasions, you’ll always want more, or less, or different gear, but what you are willing to spend, sell what you don’t like and keep going till you know what works for you.

[@kenj.8897]

If you have adult supervision it takes all the fun out of it , this is coming from a 51 year old . lol

[@StealthGTI]

HAHA! Thanks for visiting.