Enthusiast III
Overland Pros just released a new 180 degree fully freestanding awning. Perfect for 4 Runners and other vehicles with tall tailgates.
180 Degree freestanding awning
- Thread starter SpikeMD
- Start date
Advocate I
zgfiredude
Rank VI
Steward I
Wraptor 3K - 180 Degree Freestanding Vehicle Mounted Awning - FREE SHIPPING - Overland Pros
PRODUCT OVERVIEW Ships FREE to the lower 48! This is our newest freestanding awning. A 180 degree awning for those that have a rear hatch that gets in the way or doesn't want the wrap around features of our 4K/6K 270 degree models. Same hinges and arms as our awesome Wraptor 4k and 6k awnings...
overlandpros.com
Advocate I
Enthusiast III
Haven't tested directly in wind but it's the same hinges on the Wraptor 6k which withstands a decent amount of wind. It also comes with poles to guy it down if wind is an issue. Most of the time it will be fine on its own. Sets up really fast!
Advocate I
Hate to say it, but that seems to be misrepresented by the company. It looks like a clone of the 23Zero 180-degree with different material and it clearly has the same legs strapped to the arms like the 23Zero. Same loops. Same awning arms. Overland Pros' site even says "Includes rigid support poles and guy lines" right on the product page. Those are not meant to be free-standing except for setup and tear down or in very light breezes. If it were truly fully free-standing there would be no need for legs...
For reference, here's one that is supposed to be truly free-standing. They don't even include legs because they say they're not needed. 180 XT MAX™ Awning
For reference, here's one that is supposed to be truly free-standing. They don't even include legs because they say they're not needed. 180 XT MAX™ Awning
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Member III
Correct in what DRAX said. The Overland Pros awning pictured looks like similar framework & legs as my Overland Vehicle Systems 270 degree.
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Pathfinder III
Advocate I
That was going to be my next comment, I don't understand how they can be charging more than other companies for the same product. I wouldn't say 23Zero is the best, but they are well-known and would be the most likely to capitalize on brand recognition by charging more so for a lesser-known company to charge more and make dubious claims...I dunno, I don't think Overland Pros would earn my business. AFAIK, these all (23Zero, OVS, and now Overland Pros. Not sure who else) come from the same factory in China. Similar to CVT, OVS, and Smittybilt RTTs. Give me the least expensive one that has the best customer support.
I haven't owned an OVS awning but I did have one of their RTTs and had no complaints, if our trailer didn't come with 23Zero's awning I would've gone with another OVS-branded product and saved some coin.
Pathfinder III
Enthusiast III
It is freestanding. It doesn't need poles to be deployed and is very sturdy. Very similar to OVS but has velcro for walls which is makes them much easier to out up and down. The legs are for very windy conditions or if you have walls attached the awning to help with support.
Your choice...the 180 XT MAX may be more sturdy but costs twice as much!
Advocate I
EDIT: For clarity, SpikeMD is one of the founders of Overland Pros so this thread and their posts are ads for their products. I stand by what I've said about their claims.
OVS says...
The 23Zero unit is $750, $820 with shipping.
The Overland Pros unit is $850 with free shipping.
Don't buy into Overland Pros marketing claims. There is nothing special or different about their awning that makes it stronger and truly "fully freestanding" compared to the other brands that are identical.
Again, I feel like Overland Pros is misrepresenting a product clearly not developed by them. They claim the legs are only necessary when using the walls in high winds...
They also say the awning is "fully freestanding" but it's no better built than the 23Zero or OVS awnings because it's the same thing.
OVS says...
23Zero also says...
The OVS unit is $750 with free shipping.
The 23Zero unit is $750, $820 with shipping.
The Overland Pros unit is $850 with free shipping.
Don't buy into Overland Pros marketing claims. There is nothing special or different about their awning that makes it stronger and truly "fully freestanding" compared to the other brands that are identical.
Enthusiast III
Yes, I am part of Overland Pros, no secret. I am also friends with Michael and we sell product through Overland Bound.
I am not trying to misrepresent or make outlandish marketing claims. All those awnings are considered 'freestanding'. Ours is no different. In strong winds all of them should be guyed down with legs but they all can withstand a decent amount of wind.
I am not trying to misrepresent or make outlandish marketing claims. All those awnings are considered 'freestanding'. Ours is no different. In strong winds all of them should be guyed down with legs but they all can withstand a decent amount of wind.
Advocate I
Thank you for your honesty. Yes, they are freestanding for setup and teardown and for use in calm weather. The issue I have is with the claim that it is fully freestanding with no need for the legs unless the walls are attached, which is false and now you're also confirming what we've said in this thread, however the claim on the product page on the website doesn't say what you just said here. The way the product is presented it's made to sound like it's more sturdy or heavy-duty than the competition and your awning is fully free-standing while the competition isn't. That is misrepresentation and I really don't like it when product claims are easily debunked, it makes it hard to trust those companies and I feel bad for people that fall for false marketing claims, not only does it result in poor customer experience when the product doesn't live up to its claims, but it makes you/your company look bad.
I just wish folks would be honest from the start and it not take being called out on dubious claims first.
Enthusiast III
I'm trying to be honest. It's not a dubious claim to call it freestanding as all the above mentioned awnings are freestanding. We will revisit the website and make some changes as we don't want to deceive customers. We will remove 'fully' from the description.
They are very sturdy and we have beat our other awnings hard. We keep them up in strong winds to see how much abuse they can take.
They are very sturdy and we have beat our other awnings hard. We keep them up in strong winds to see how much abuse they can take.
Traveler III
Hi Drax, This is Nick. I'm the other owner of Overland Pros. i'd like to share a few things.
1) Regarding your comments on freestanding- the absence of legs does not constitute anything. Any awning can break if it gets windy enough. I think's that pretty obvious. Full disclosure- I've never used the legs on my 6k for wind or rain and its 2 years old. its been through the ringer in baja, death valley, mojave, etc. i've used the legs with the walls so i can pull the walls really tight without torquing the arms. I consider having legs if you want to use them a bonus. from my experience we have customers that don't have a great mounting solution to hold the awning rigidly. either their rack in flimsy or their mounting points are too close together (teardrop, tiny trailers, awning lift systems, yota with a 4' bed, etc). without legs they couldn't run it. food for thought!
2) Breakage- to date i've never had one of our awnings break due to wind unless someone hasn't told me. I've had my RTT blow closed on me in mojave once and in alabama hills once waking me up at night due to the wind. awning was fine. do I try to break it? no so much anymore but i did for a while. We have had 6 or 7 people break an arm and every one was because they either used only 2 mounting brackets or used their own mounting solution that failed. when their brackets bend the awning points straight vertical. when that happens the rear arm that is ratchet-strapped open can't move downward as the awning goes to point vertical so it snaps. not really the awning's fault. that being said if someone's goal is to break one i'm sure its entirely doable with our or any awning out there for that matter.
3) Features- The obvious ones that you can see- our awnings all feature velcro walls and the ability to make internal rooms. we use a stronger hinge than 23 zero which makes it heaving and increases shipping cost a bit. OVS uses a thinner, less expensive material that doesn't fair as well in repeated folding/unfolding. if you rarely use your awning that may not be an issue for you. There are 3 other differences you can't see easily and I won't disclose as they are minor but they are changes we've made and if I disclose them i'll sure the others will add them. no worries if you don't believe me. i'm just being honest. We never set out to make the cheapest route. that's what smittybilt is for lol.
4) Us- while this matters to some and not others i figured i'd put it down- We actually use these. I use them camping, after school with the kids at the river and lately at a lot of kids soccer and softball games! We use everything we sell. Come see us at expo and you'll see what I mean. When the show closes you don't see us close up and go to a hotel. we sleep in our tents, stay in our booths and actually use our products. I can't say that for the others. That's how we figure out what works and what needs tweaking. Just look at our baja tent. we redesigned the doors and windows because frankly the way the competition does it sucks if you actually use the product.
I'm by no means trying to persuade you to buy our product. Just trying to be transparent and to where i come from with the understanding you won't agree with me and that's ok. Its a big space with room for many. Some people will like it and some won't. i'm sorry if you felt Ted wasn't being transparent. i don't believe that was his intention.
Have a great day and come say hi if you see us at a show!
Nick
Advocate I
Thanks @SpikeMD and @ndamico, I appreciate your comments and professionalism. I'm not trying to create any drama, I've just seen these style awnings bend/break in a strong gust of wind if not properly secured so I get the excitement at the prospect of there being a stronger awning that doesn't need to be supported or tied down under the same conditions.
I would say fully free-standing or not, awnings must be properly secured. The fully free-standing awning I linked above is no different in that regard, it just doesn't require support legs to prevent sagging/bending when securing with guy lines. That's what the legs are there for, to provide support when the awning is tied down. Obviously the legs don't prevent wind from catching under the awning and bending it up and over, that's why they need to be tied down.
It's for that reason (awnings must be tied down and support legs used when provided) that these aren't fully free-standing. You cannot (shouldn't) secure them without the legs down or you risk bending the arms.
I would say fully free-standing or not, awnings must be properly secured. The fully free-standing awning I linked above is no different in that regard, it just doesn't require support legs to prevent sagging/bending when securing with guy lines. That's what the legs are there for, to provide support when the awning is tied down. Obviously the legs don't prevent wind from catching under the awning and bending it up and over, that's why they need to be tied down.
It's for that reason (awnings must be tied down and support legs used when provided) that these aren't fully free-standing. You cannot (shouldn't) secure them without the legs down or you risk bending the arms.
Trail Blazer III
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We run the Bush Company 270XT on our JKU, We have had a couple of other awnings on our other rigs and got tired of having to put down legs / tie downs in anything but calm weather, came across an Aussie youtuber running the Bush Co awning and after watching him use his out on the coast in pretty strong winds without poles (it does not come with any unless you get the wall package) or tie downs, that combined with the setup and takedown speed sold us. We have been using ours for about a year in all kinds of weather and just love it, the trusses are the tallest I have seen on an awning resulting in a longer hinge pin and much greater strength. Yes are expensive (I think ours was about $1400) but I fast forgot about that after the first couple of uses. We use awnings several times a month year round, probably the most used piece of gear on the rig. As mentioned by Nick above, key to any of these types of awning is how well its mounted to the vehicle. A huge amount of force is generated at the hinge point, not only do you need strong brackets, but they need to mount to a properly braced rack or other means of distributing the load to the vehicle. We do carry a set of tie downs provided by Bush for heavy wind (they do work well when placed mid span of the fabric panel to run rain water down) but have not had the need to use them for the wind yet. That being said, just because two items look like they are from the same assembly line, does not mean they are equal in quality, each company typically provides the overseas manufactures with a set of specifications and materials they want used for their product, The three awnings discussed above may have different wall thickness or materials on their arms, different types of canvas etc. Go to an Overland expo, avoid the display booths, walk around the camping area and talk to people who are actually using the products, see how they are holding up over time, and then decide where to put your hard earned money.
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Overland Vehicle Systems also makes a 180* which I just recently purchased for my 4Runner. I love it so far!
I used to have a Thule Outland which I liked because it was lightweight and had a hard cover but disliked because my dogs once wrapped his leash around one of the legs and the whole thing came crashing down on us. In his fearful effort to escape, the torsion from the leash around the leg caused it to bend so I had to buy a replacement. For this reason, I would not recommend an awning that requires legs for anyone who camps with their dogs.
I used to have a Thule Outland which I liked because it was lightweight and had a hard cover but disliked because my dogs once wrapped his leash around one of the legs and the whole thing came crashing down on us. In his fearful effort to escape, the torsion from the leash around the leg caused it to bend so I had to buy a replacement. For this reason, I would not recommend an awning that requires legs for anyone who camps with their dogs.
Advocate I
As much as I'd like to agree and believe that the China-made awnings are made to vendor specs, I've not seen that to be the case myself except for cosmetic differences (fabric colors, logos, etc). The 3 brands I listed all use the same fabric (280D), the hardware all looks the same, and they all come from China from companies that do allow customization but I highly doubt that includes engineering changes or any kind of R&D specific to one company and not another. Mass production and low cost is the name of the game.
What's really insulting is when these Chinese companies photoshop their products onto vehicles that are recognizable or flat out steal actual photos and then claim they are "real product photos" in their product listings on one of the more popular websites used to connect vendors with suppliers in China. Here's one such example of a company using @Michael's rig in 3 of their product photos.
[Hot Item] Outdoor Travelling Camping 270 Degree Auto Retractable Canvas SUV Shelter Car Side Awning Instant Open with Aluminum Pole
Top Style: Flat Capacity: 2-6 Material: Polyester Usage: Camping Tent Style: 1 Door Pole Material: Flexible Poles,aluminium Alloys
remaco.en.made-in-china.com
When a company engineers and manufactures the products they sell they tend to know exactly what the product is capable of and how they're built. When vendors place bulk orders with Chinese manufacturers that are already producing them for other vendors the ability to request engineering changes is minimal if at all. Having a company produce 100% custom or specific products increases R&D and manufacturing costs which results in the products being more expensive. The cost difference between the 3 brands I mentioned and the relatively low volume of sales for some of them pretty much guarantees the changes are cosmetic unless these vendors are taking the products they get from China and are upgrading them in-house. That's not impossible, but I haven't seen that be the case myself.
Anyway...not wanting to get into a debate about overseas manufacturing and product quality, I just tend to be more skeptical and not put much of any value in marketing claims when the vendor doesn't manufacture the product. They may have tested it themselves, but if there are no engineering differences then it's impossible for it to perform any better or worse than the other brands.
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