ARB Awning Long-Term Review

Out of all of the modification on my 4Runner, none gets as many comments as the roof rack-mounted awning.  The comments come from 1 of two types – (1-the majority) those that think it is pretty ridiculous to permanently mount a sun shade to anything but an RV/porch or (2) curious overland-types that want to know who makes it, how I like it, and where to get one.

The ARB awning was one of my early modifications to the 4Runner, shortly after the sliders, roof rack, lift and tires  and has been continuously installed on the 4Runner for over 3.5 years.  Before I go into the reasons why I ultimately chose the ARB, here’s a quick rundown of the three segments of the 4×4 awning market, should you be looking to buy:

• Bag Awnings: The least expensive of the bunch, these awnings are usually made of canvas and roll up into a water-resistant PVC fabric “bag” that zips up to secure the rolled awning cover.  The awning offerings from ARB, Cascade Vehicle Tents, and Ironman fall into this category and are usually less than $350.

Photo Credits: thesamba.com, ARB USA

• Hard-Case Awnings: You guessed it, instead of the “bag”, these awnings roll up into a hard cylindrical case, usually made of metal but otherwise the awnings function the same as a bag awning.  The hard case is more durable and some of the awnings are self-retracting, which helps in deploying and stowing the awning.  Some of the most popular manufacturers of hard case awnings are Eezi-Awn and Fiamma.  Expect to spend at least $460 (and likely over $800) for one of these.

Photo credit: Equipt Expedition Outfitters

• “Wing” Awning: Unlike the bag and hard-case awnings that unfurl perpendicular to the truck, these awnings extend out in a radius from the rear corner of the vehicle, providing 270 degrees of coverage around the vehicle.  These are unique – the only one I’m familiar with are the OzTent FoxWing awning, which run $699.

Photo credit: Oztent USA

The same reasons I chose the ARB awning back then are the same reasons I’d strongly consider it again if I were back in the market:

• Coverage: I am using the ARB 2500 awning which is just over 8 feet long and extends 6 feet out from the vehicle (the newer version extends slightly over 8 feet).  This is plenty of space to get out of the sun and the rain (assuming it is not too windy out!).
• Value: Back when I purchased the awning, I think I paid around $235, or about the cost of 1 tire.  I knew that the PVC bag would not be as durable as a hard cover, but it was hard to justify the price differential.  I figured if I got a few years of use out of the awning I would have gotten my $235 out of it.

After my multi-year experience owning/using the ARB awning, there are several great selling points that drive me to recommend it:

• Ease of use: ARB makes claims about how easy it is to deploy the awning, and it does deploy in a pinch – with 2 people you can have the thing unfurled and staked in less than one minute, and stowing it takes the same amount of time.  If you are doing it solo, go ahead and budget 5 minutes and practice some yoga poses in advance – getting the thing stable without swinging any poles into the truck takes a little practice – but is for sure doable.
• Durability:  The awning is still in nearly perfect working order after spending 3.5 years and almost 100K miles mounted to the roof rack.  My concerns about durability were unfounded – the PVC bag has held up pretty great, with only 1-2 small abrasion tears that have not spread, and there’s only a little bit of staining/discoloration despite the sun, snow, road salt, and tree sap that have pummeled it.  The zipper still works well, even though I lost one of the zipper pulls along the way.
• Practicality: I don’t use the awning on every outing – in reality it probably gets used 6-10x a year, but in those instances, having shelter from either strong sun or rain dramatically improve our comfort level on the precious days when we are out exploring away from regular life.
• ARB Support:  I try not to bias too hard on brand, but with any ARB product I’ve bought, I’ve found that I get fantastic support, no questions asked.  For example, one of the twist-lock poles in the awning assembly ceased to function properly about a year after I got the awning.  With one phone call to ARB, and without providing any proof of purchase or warranty coverage, ARB sent me a new pole no questions asked.  Doesn’t get much better than that!

In summary, there’s a lot of awnings out there – and they definitely come in handy as a “nice to have”.  If you’re looking for one, the ARB provides great coverage in a value-oriented durable package backed with fantastic ARB support.