Foxwing/Batwing Awnings - Your Thoughts?

[OLgadgets]

So I'm looking into a Foxwing or Batwing type of awning that covers up to 270 degrees around the rig. I've heard that Rhino Rack's batwing awning(which is an improvement on their Foxwing awning) is still not made of the highest quality. Just wanted to get your thoughts on this if you've either done a review/research on it, or if you own one. These awnings are in the $700 range, versus the Alu Cab one at $1400.

Wonder if the highest cost ones truly make a difference in their quality.

Thanks in advance!

 

[GordyP]

I have an Eezi Awn bat 270 and it is very well made and can free stand in some fairly decent wind.

 

[OLgadgets]

I have an Eezi Awn bat 270 and it is very well made and can free stand in some fairly decent wind.

I see that this is Australian made. Must be good.

Thanks.

 

[grubworm]

i have the rhino batwing, and as you see in the pic, a small gust of wind broke the plastic pivot hinges and rendered the awning useless. i was able to buy the parts for around $20 to repair it. its an OK awning, but the hinge pivots are extremely weak and the zipper for its case is garbage and always sticking...the awning deploys in under 2 minutes after i spend 20 minutes trying to get the cover unzipped

 

[OLgadgets]

i have the rhino batwing, and as you see in the pic, a small gust of wind broke the plastic pivot hinges and rendered the awning useless. i was able to buy the parts for around $20 to repair it. its an OK awning, but the hinge pivots are extremely weak and the zipper for its case is garbage and always sticking...the awning deploys in under 2 minutes after i spend 20 minutes trying to get the cover unzipped

View attachment 165164

Thanks for sharing this. Very good to know. This is the 2nd negative issue I've heard re: the RR Batwing awning. Glad I haven't pushed the trigger to buy it yet.

 

[grubworm]

Thanks for sharing this. Very good to know. This is the 2nd negative issue I've heard re: the RR Batwing awning. Glad I haven't pushed the trigger to buy it yet.

yeah, i definitely expected better for the $700+ spent on it. not to beat a dead horse, but there are also issues with the telescoping legs. the legs are a hollow tube with a smaller tube inside of it and the inside tube pulls out to the length you need and then twist to lock the two tubes together so it stays at that length. well, there is another cheap plastic insert that expands when you twist, locking the two tubes together that fails a lot. that has also been a thing where i am out at the campsite and have to spend an hour taking the leg apart and trying to get the insert to lock properly. the awning is nice to have, but is a SERIOUS pain in the ass to get to work right. i also have rhino kayak carriers that are expensive and total crap....i pretty much feel like rhino is just throwing garbage out there because there are not many players in this game

 

[ChambersFamily]

I'll admit, I just ordered a Batwing, I've read good and bad. I was willing to take the risk... fingers crossed

 

[OLgadgets]

yeah, i definitely expected better for the $700+ spent on it. not to beat a dead horse, but there are also issues with the telescoping legs. the legs are a hollow tube with a smaller tube inside of it and the inside tube pulls out to the length you need and then twist to lock the two tubes together so it stays at that length. well, there is another cheap plastic insert that expands when you twist, locking the two tubes together that fails a lot. that has also been a thing where i am out at the campsite and have to spend an hour taking the leg apart and trying to get the insert to lock properly. the awning is nice to have, but is a SERIOUS pain in the ass to get to work right. i also have rhino kayak carriers that are expensive and total crap....i pretty much feel like rhino is just throwing garbage out there because there are not many players in this game

There are always the Australian made ones that seem to be much higher quality. And the Alu Cab one for $1400 which my buddy has that seems more heavy duty. I guess at the end of it all, we get what we pay for.

 

[OLgadgets]

I'll admit, I just ordered a Batwing, I've read good and bad. I was willing to take the risk... fingers crossed

Let me know how it goes when it's windy. Report back. Nothing to judge when it's standing still and not under pressure. Thanks!!!

 

[GordyP]

I see that this is Australian made. Must be good.

Thanks.

I thought they were made in South Africa?

 

[OLgadgets]

I thought they were made in South Africa?

My bad, you are correct that they are made is SA. Thanks!

 

[Big Blue]

I bought my Batwing Compact two trips ago and have been very pleased with it thus far. It provides sufficient shade for my family of 5, and sets up and breaks down in a matter of minutes.

I deployed the Batwing in fairly heavy wind (about 25mph) during the first use. You’ll have to open and anchor one section at a time to protect the hinges. Essentially it became a 2 person setup, since I held the awning while my son anchored it.

To me, The awning is pretty good quality and comes with 2 replacement hinges. No issues with the zipper, legs, supports, or anything else so far. I’m happy with the purchase so far.

 

[OLgadgets]

I bought my Batwing Compact two trips ago and have been very pleased with it thus far. It provides sufficient shade for my family of 5, and sets up and breaks down in a matter of minutes.

I deployed the Batwing in fairly heavy wind (about 25mph) during the first use. You’ll have to open and anchor one section at a time to protect the hinges. Essentially it became a 2 person setup, since I held the awning while my son anchored it.

To me, The awning is pretty good quality and comes with 2 replacement hinges. No issues with the zipper, legs, supports, or anything else so far. I’m happy with the purchase so far.

It's great to finally hear a positive on the batwing. I know there are many variables when it comes to securing the awning, especially with aluminum poles that can twist off at any moment. There is definitely a fine balance between guy line tension, pole height and balance, guy line angles and wind strength. With the right combo any wind can take even the most durable awning I suppose. But 25mph is quite strong and yours help up. WIN!

 

[systemdelete]

I’ve grown up with freestanding rain flys in scouting, and prefer them in many instances, but I love my batwing as well. One thing a user needs to understand is the bigger the awning, the larger a sail it becomes if not properly erected and anchored. The pivots are not a design flaw, they are an engineered and planned point of failure to protect the hinge and poles. If the corner pointing into the wind is dipped and anchored properly the awning will be fine in most weather. If I expect rough winds I set up my MSR parawing to give us shelter regardless of what direction the wind shifts to while we sleep. Now the poles are less than stellar but they adjust reasonably well and are lightweight. More solid poles unfortunately have a habit of gaining weight rapidly, especially when the tarp needs multiples of them. Most awnings I’ve found more robust than the batwing also weigh more, and I wanted the lightest I could get since it’s mounted so high on the vehicle nearly permanently.

 

[OLgadgets]

I’ve grown up with freestanding rain flys in scouting, and prefer them in many instances, but I love my batwing as well. One thing a user needs to understand is the bigger the awning, the larger a sail it becomes if not properly erected and anchored. The pivots are not a design flaw, they are an engineered and planned point of failure to protect the hinge and poles. If the corner pointing into the wind is dipped and anchored properly the awning will be fine in most weather. If I expect rough winds I set up my MSR parawing to give us shelter regardless of what direction the wind shifts to while we sleep. Now the poles are less than stellar but they adjust reasonably well and are lightweight. More solid poles unfortunately have a habit of gaining weight rapidly, especially when the tarp needs multiples of them. Most awnings I’ve found more robust than the batwing also weigh more, and I wanted the lightest I could get since it’s mounted so high on the vehicle nearly permanently.

Thanks for the generous insight. My thoughts were exactly when using any kind of awning (about pointing them lower in high wind days, whilst properly anchored). The issue would still be the quality of the poles and whether they fall apart often. I'll have to look for more feedback to see if that's a known issue or one that has been fixed in the current model. Thanks again.

 

[ROgletree]

I am a new owner of the Batwing. We installed it last weekend and took it out for a shakedown in a heavy rain. First disappointment was the box says Made in China which I was not aware of before ordering it. My bad, I should have checked. They send you 2 spare pivot arms which tells me they know they are going to break. The awning deploys easy enough but I didn’t want to let the weight of the awning stress the pivot points so use 2 people if you can. We did have one leak at a seam which is disappointing. We originally were going to get the 23 Zero awning but we would have had to fabricate brackets for it to fit on the Frontrunner rack and I was able to buy brackets from Frontrunner that were specifically made for the Batwing. If you use all of the tie downs and stakes it is pretty solid and should hold up to some pretty stiff winds. Overall I’m pretty happy with it.

 

[grubworm]

and as is with most things, you can modify certain parts and get better results for little money. i can't modify the plastic hinges, but i can easily slip a small hose clamp over the telescoping leg that is slipping and clamp it down at the desired length and it will hold just fine with less than $1 spent for the clamp. my rhino kayak carrier is a plastic base with knurled inserts that immediately stripped out so i just drilled out the inserts and used 3/8" stainless bolts and the carrier is now way stronger than original and it was less than $5 in parts to modify.

 

[OLgadgets]

and as is with most things, you can modify certain parts and get better results for little money. i can't modify the plastic hinges, but i can easily slip a small hose clamp over the telescoping leg that is slipping and clamp it down at the desired length and it will hold just fine with less than $1 spent for the clamp. my rhino kayak carrier is a plastic base with knurled inserts that immediately stripped out so i just drilled out the inserts and used 3/8" stainless bolts and the carrier is now way stronger than original and it was less than $5 in parts to modify.

GREAT IDEA!!

 

[OLgadgets]

I am a new owner of the Batwing. We installed it last weekend and took it out for a shakedown in a heavy rain. First disappointment was the box says Made in China which I was not aware of before ordering it. My bad, I should have checked. They send you 2 spare pivot arms which tells me they know they are going to break. The awning deploys easy enough but I didn’t want to let the weight of the awning stress the pivot points so use 2 people if you can. We did have one leak at a seam which is disappointing. We originally were going to get the 23 Zero awning but we would have had to fabricate brackets for it to fit on the Frontrunner rack and I was able to buy brackets from Frontrunner that were specifically made for the Batwing. If you use all of the tie downs and stakes it is pretty solid and should hold up to some pretty stiff winds. Overall I’m pretty happy with it.

Interesting insights. Thank you. I've heard that even the more expensive awnings out there sometimes have defects. As long as the manufacturer honors the warranty and sends a replacement, I'm okay with that. Someone else in this thread said that the pivot arm broke, but not sure how it broke. I mean, you would have to be putting pressure(either down or up) on it while pivoting the awning for it to potentially crack. I heard they were made out of plastic. What type of reinforcement (DIY) could you make for it? Just curious. Don't own the awning but curious to know if anything could be reinforced. Thanks.

 

[Grendel]

I have the batwing for 2 ish years and haven't had any problems with the awning itself. But, I hate the fracking zipper on the case. Opening is no problem, closing it sucks. It takes me about 10 min to get the zipper closed. I soap it every time so it works, otherwise it separates as soon as zipper connects it.