270 Degree Vehicle Awning 2m & 2.5m | Roof Rack Mount

There is no shade where you have parked.

Anyone who has camped in this country knows the drill. You find the spot, and the only tree is fifty metres away and full of ants. By eleven the vehicle is too hot to lean on, and everyone is sitting in the car with the aircon running because there is nowhere else to be.

A 270 degree awning fixes that in about a minute. It bolts to your roof rack, folds out in an arc that covers the side and both ends of the vehicle, and gives you a shaded outdoor room wherever you stop. Unlike a straight side awning, the wrap-around shape means you get cover at the back door as well — which is where the fridge, the drawers and the kitchen usually live.

The frame is aluminium alloy and the canopy is 600D Oxford, in a double-layer construction. It mounts on four T-bolts into standard roof rack channels, and packs back into its own cover along the side of the rack.

What It Does

• Wraps three sides: 270 degrees of cover — down one side and around both ends, so the tailgate is shaded too.
• Bolts to what you already have: four T-bolts into a roof rack channel. No drilling into the roof.
• Two sizes: 2 m and 2.5 m arm length. The 2.5 m covers more ground; the 2 m suits a shorter wheelbase and weighs less on the rack.
• Folding legs: the support poles fold away against the frame and drop down when you deploy it.
• Aluminium, not steel: lighter on the roof, and it will not rust where the coating gets chipped.

Key Features

• 600D Oxford canopy: a heavy weave, double-layer construction.
• Three colours: sand, black and khaki, depending on which option you choose.
• Wall panels on the Wall options: the two Poles Model Wall options are the versions that include the zip-on sides, which close the awning in and turn it into a room.
• Packs into its own cover: stows along the rack in a fitted case.
• Ships heavy: 23 kg for the 2 m, 26 kg for the 2.5 m, packed.

Limits

An awning is a sail. The supplier calls the fabric waterproof, windproof and UV-proof and quotes a water column of over 3000 mm. There is no UV or UPF rating, and no wind rating of any kind. Peg the legs and guy it out properly, and take it down before the weather turns. An awning left standing in a gust is how they get bent, and no awning on the market is rated to be left out in one.

You need a roof rack, and it has to be a real one. This bolts to rack channels, not to bare factory crossbars or raised side rails. A 2.5 m awning is a long lever arm on the roof — check your vehicle's dynamic and static roof load limits before you fit it, and if you are already running a rooftop tent, check the total. That is a load-rating question for your vehicle, and only your vehicle's handbook answers it.

The supplier does not spell out how the Roof Mount and Poles options differ once the awning is out. Both fix to the rack. Beyond that the documentation is thin, and we would rather tell you that than invent a difference and have you find out in a campsite.

The supplier quotes two model numbers for it — BNT5805 and SY-16 — and two slightly different packed lengths for the 2 m. Both are recorded in the table as given. Nothing hangs on it, but you should know the paperwork is not tidy.

Fitting is on you. No installation service is offered, and torque figures for the T-bolts are not published.

Q & A

Will it fit my vehicle?

If you have a roof rack with a channel that takes T-bolts, most likely yes — that covers the common flat platform racks. It does not bolt to bare factory crossbars or raised side rails on their own. Measure your rack length against the 2 m or 2.5 m arm first.

2 m or 2.5 m?

The 2.5 m throws more shade and suits a wagon or a dual cab with a canopy. The 2 m is lighter, packs shorter, and is the safer pick on a smaller vehicle or a rack that is already carrying a tent. On roof load, lighter is always the easier answer.

What do the Wall options include?

The two Poles Model Wall options are the ones with the zip-on wall panels — the sides you can see in the photographs, which close the awning in on three sides and turn it from shade into an enclosed room with mesh windows. The Roof Mount and Poles Khaki options are the canopy on its own.

Can I leave it on the car permanently?

People do. It lives in its cover on the rack. Expect a fuel penalty from the extra weight and drag, and remember it counts toward your dynamic roof load while you are driving.

Can one person put it up?

Deploying it, yes — unclip the cover, swing it out, drop the legs. Fitting it to the rack in the first place is a two-person job; it is 23 to 26 kg and it goes up over your head.

How long does delivery take?

10–14 days from the day you order — not from dispatch. Allow up to 3 weeks, longer again for regional and remote addresses. Shipping is free to Australia and New Zealand. This is a long, heavy item at over 2 m packed, so remote freight can take longer.

Specs