Vehicle awnings compared: five roof-rack awnings, side by side (spec comparison)

A straight pull-out awning like the Easy-Out shades one side of the vehicle. A 270° or wrap-around awning swings around the back as well, giving shade on two sides and usually much more area. The trade-off is weight and length: the wrap-around models here weigh roughly 20 to 24 kg against 12.5 kg for the 2 m pull-out, and need a solid mounting point at the corner of the rack.

The awning's weight counts toward your roof load, along with its brackets. Closed length matters for fitting: a 2.6 m awning needs a rack or mounting rail long enough to carry it without unsupported overhang, and on some vehicles it can foul a rear door or tailgate. Check the maker's fitment list for your rack before buying.

Only Alu-Cab publishes a shade area (10 m² for the 270° Shadow Awning). For the Easy-Out we multiplied the published width and extension to get a rough 4.2 m²; that's our calculation, not Dometic's figure. The others give lengths or set-up dimensions but no area, so ask the seller or measure one on display. Remember the sun moves: the useful shade at 3 pm is often on a different side from where you parked it at noon.

This is the column to read carefully. Howling Moon is the only maker here that publishes a number: free-standing up to 20 km/h, with the legs down in anything stronger. 20 km/h is a moderate breeze, well below the wind you can get on the West Coast, in the Karoo or on an open pan in the afternoon. The others recommend legs, poles or guy ropes but give no figure, so don't read "free-standing" as "wind-proof".

Heavier canvas (Howling Moon's 380 gsm) tends to be more durable but adds weight and takes longer to dry before you pack it. Lighter polyester (Dometic's 400D) is lighter and dries quickly. Reflective or silver coatings (Alu-Cab, BunduTec) are meant to cut heat under the awning. Whatever the material, pack it dry where you can, or open it to dry as soon as possible, to avoid mildew.

Treat legs, poles and guy ropes as standard, not optional, whenever you leave camp or the wind starts to rise. Alu-Cab sells a storm tie-down kit for strong wind, Howling Moon gives 20 km/h as its free-standing limit, and the other makers supply guy ropes or legs for windy conditions. A gust can lift a wrap-around awning and damage the arms, the rack or the vehicle, so the safest habit is to roll it up before you go to bed or drive off for the day.

Water pooling on the canvas stretches the fabric and loads the arms. Alu-Cab advises using the guy ropes in bad weather to stop pooling and guide run-off; BunduTec builds a 500 mm downward slope into its design. Set one corner lower than the rest so water has somewhere to go, and don't let a pool build up overnight.

A 20 to 24 kg awning plus brackets uses part of your roof's load allowance, on top of anything else up there such as a rooftop tent. Add it into your total, and make sure the rack or rail it bolts to is rated for it. The forces on the mounting points are higher when the awning is open and the wind is pushing on it, which is another reason to peg it.

Most 270° awnings are made for one side. In South Africa we drive on the left, so a left-hand (passenger-side) awning opens on the verge side, away from traffic, when you stop at the roadside. But at a campsite, the tap, braai or view decides which side you want. Choose based on where you'll mostly set up camp.

Side walls, rooms, mosquito nets and gutter kits make an awning into a shelter, but each adds weight and packing time. Decide what you actually need for the way you camp before buying the full kit.