Awning owners... 6.5' or 8'?

[indiana4runner]

I plan on buying an awning soon. I'll be attaching it to my stock rack, and then in the future probably a Prinsu. Looking into Ironman4x4 or Roam. The 8' looks a little long, but for an extra $25 idk if i should pass on it. Also, can you buy a room from ARB and use it on an Ironman4x4, or any other awning?


2018 Toyota 4runner ORP

 

[dezertbomber]

I have the TuffStuff 6.5'x8'. The 6.5' width is clean looking, never liked when the awning sticks past the windshield or rear hatch. But I would also say, it depends on how many people will be under it at once? I can squeeze 5 under it with our chairs, but we're all at the edge of the shade midday.

Re the room attachment, depends on the design and how it would mount. If it uses the side tubes, I'd imagine that it'd be pretty universal.

 

[comtn4x4]

I've had an ARB 2000 (6.5') with floor-less room for about three years. At some point here I'll be getting a 2500 (8'). For me and how we use it the extra space would be a plus.

The other thing to look at is how far it extends out. Different brands of awnings extend different lengths. For example the ARB extends 2500 on both the 2000 and 2500 model. The CVT extends 2000 on both the 2000 and 2500 models. IIRC the Dobinson's is completely unique and extends 3000 mm. So then this also would apply to the rooms. Many rooms are cross compatible so long as the dimensions and the attachment method are the same.

When I look at the room the only other thing I have considered is that I would like a room with a removable floor and the ability to only use one or two sides for when I use it as cooking/dining area. The only one I am aware of with this ability is the CVT awning. There are separate sides available for many awnings however they don't zip together. Any way lot's to consider. I'd look at the Eezi-Awn awnings, if you can afford them they are pretty sweet.

 

[NotaTRD]

I went through the same dilemma before buying. If the whole point is shade, might as well go with the 8ft. Glad I went with the 8ft ROAM. There’s no need to try and squeeze my family of four under it, plenty of room for them all. It also doesn’t stick very far out and looks better than I thought it would. Sorry don’t have any pictures of the awning open.

 

[jetmechG550]

I plan on buying an awning soon. I'll be attaching it to my stock rack, and then in the future probably a Prinsu. Looking into Ironman4x4 or Roam. The 8' looks a little long, but for an extra $25 idk if i should pass on it. Also, can you buy a room from ARB and use it on an Ironman4x4, or any other awning?


2018 Toyota 4runner ORP

Just got my 2.5 x 2.5 Ironman 4x4. Unfortunately my rack isn’t in yet so I haven’t set it up yet. Look at Trail 4Runner for reviews on both brands mentioned. I felt for the extra couple bucks the extra room would be worth, especially if we are tailgating at hockey games or god forbid the kids have to get dressed in the parking lot again. I live in Indiana as well and had mine in like four days from OR

 

[indiana4runner]

I went through the same dilemma before buying. If the whole point is shade, might as well go with the 8ft. Glad I went with the 8ft ROAM. There’s no need to try and squeeze my family of four under it, plenty of room for them all. It also doesn’t stick very far out and looks better than I thought it would. Sorry don’t have any pictures of the awning open.

Thanks for the picture! Do you happen to have a side shot so I could see the overhang when it's closed by chance?

Do you like the quality of the ROAM? It costs roughly $25 more than the Ironman4x4 and doesn't have an LED strip.

 

[indiana4runner]

Just got my 2.5 x 2.5 Ironman 4x4. Unfortunately my rack isn’t in yet so I haven’t set it up yet. Look at Trail 4Runner for reviews on both brands mentioned. I felt for the extra couple bucks the extra room would be worth, especially if we are tailgating at hockey games or god forbid the kids have to get dressed in the parking lot again. I live in Indiana as well and had mine in like four days from OR

Thanks for your opinion! And awesome that you're from Indiana too! Did you happen to have a discount code or anything from Ironman?

 

[NotaTRD]

Thanks for the picture! Do you happen to have a side shot so I could see the overhang when it's closed by chance?

Do you like the quality of the ROAM? It costs roughly $25 more than the Ironman4x4 and doesn't have an LED strip.

I’ll get a side shot this evening and post it. I don’t have anything to compare it to, but quality seems worth the price to me.

 

[Jetboy]

FWIW - I have the 8' length and I would buy the longer one again. It does stick past the front of the roof, but has never bothered me. YMMV on that. It seems like most of the tents and such are for the larger one. I have the full ARB Delux awning tent. It's pretty great honestly. It gives you a ton of expansion space if you are car camping or for camping in the awning tent.

I don't think the 6.5' would be a bad choice either. They both work well I'm sure. When I bought mine it was basically the same price for either one.

It's one of the inexpensive add-ons that I really like and use a lot. I have an off brand out-sunny or something like that. It's very similar to the ARB - and uses the same hardware. The difference when I compared them is that the ARB has much better quality fabric. My fabric is still in good shape. But I might spend the extra $ for an ARB if I were buying again. The ARB awning room was well built for the price.

 

[DabberAZ]

I went with 8’ were in Az and shade is king. Really no limitation deploying or storming. Mounted on stock rails with supplied hardware.

Here's the one I got. No name, but super affordable. Been on for nearly a year, no issues.

Amazon.com: DANCHEL OUTDOOR Car Side Awning for Camping SUV Trailer Offroad Gear Canopy Sunshade Tent Tarp Khaki 6.5x8.2ft: Automotive

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NotaTRD]

Thanks for the picture! Do you happen to have a side shot so I could see the overhang when it's closed by chance?

Do you like the quality of the ROAM? It costs roughly $25 more than the Ironman4x4 and doesn't have an LED strip.

Side shot as requested.

 

[indiana4runner]

I went with 8’ were in Az and shade is king. Really no limitation deploying or storming. Mounted on stock rails with supplied hardware.

Here's the one I got. No name, but super affordable. Been on for nearly a year, no issues.

Amazon.com: DANCHEL OUTDOOR Car Side Awning for Camping SUV Trailer Offroad Gear Canopy Sunshade Tent Tarp Khaki 6.5x8.2ft: Automotive

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for sharing! The size definitely looks very roomy!

 

[indiana4runner]

Side shot as requested.

Perfect! That honestly doesn't look as bad as i thought it would.. It'd definitely be more practical too.. I think I will go with the ROAM. I see nothing but good reviews on their quality.

 

[silverado1957]

Perfect! That honestly doesn't look as bad as i thought it would.. It'd definitely be more practical too.. I think I will go with the ROAM. I see nothing but good reviews on their quality.

Love my ROAM...plus the guys there are very responsive when needed.

If I had a full rack I'd get the 8x8 but the 6.5x8 works really well for just 2 of us...

 

[Cymon]

6.5' Ironman. Great quality for the price, and the integrated LED light is a nice addition. Ironman does sell rooms for all of the models (mine is currently on order). ARB room should also fit on any of them as they are essentially the same design and size. If I had a full-length rack I would have thought harder about the larger awning, but I have found this one is fine for our purposes. Ironman also makes quick release mounts that I just mounted and if you don't want to permanently have the awning on the vehicle I highly recommend. I added 1/4" diameter padlocks to keep it secure, it takes more time to unlock the locks than to remove the awning. I'm now modifying the Thule racks on my camper with the quick release as well so that I swap the awning back and forth between the two depending on situation.

 

[jetmechG550]

Thanks for your opinion! And awesome that you're from Indiana too! Did you happen to have a discount code or anything from Ironman?

I believe they are currently on sale, also if you sign up for their email list they send you a 10% off code. Also qualified for free shipping

 

[DabberAZ]

[MENTION=120701]Cymon[/MENTION] - "integrated LED light is a nice addition" I want that! nice feature. And dang jealous of your beachfront picnic. too cool.

 

[Sp00ner]

Love my ROAM...plus the guys there are very responsive when needed.

If I had a full rack I'd get the 8x8 but the 6.5x8 works really well for just 2 of us...

Looks like that's on the OEM Pro rack?

Did they have mounts for the tubes or did you have to put that together separately?

 

[Cymon]

[MENTION=120701]Cymon[/MENTION] - "integrated LED light is a nice addition" I want that! nice feature. And dang jealous of your beachfront picnic. too cool.

They sell it as an “accessory” if your awning doesn’t have one.Awning 12V LED Sail Track Light Strip And Dimmer Set

 

[brianjasinski2003]

Get the 6. The 8 is way too wide for our trucks and looks wierd. But I guess if you have a family of 6 best get the big one