Whether it’s shade from the sun, protection from the rain, or just wanting a little more outdoor living space, awnings are a great deal for the money and at times are one of the best tools to restore morale when dealing with Mother Nature. In this particular instance, I want to give you some insight on the Bundutec BunduAwn. The BunduAwn is manufactured in South Africa and intended for the purpose of providing protection from outside elements on three sides of your overlanding vehicle of choice. Our winter project this past winter was to build an offroad camper that would withstand whatever we put it through. We chose the BunduAwn so that we would have more outdoor living space than indoor because what’s the purpose of going camping and enjoying the great outdoors if you aren’t outside?
Bundutec BunduAwn
When it comes to quality, well...let’s just say it isn’t top-notch quality standards as advertised. In reality, you can easily tell they are hand-built with several minor imperfections, but so far it has done its job! The top of the awning is covered with an aluminized spray that reflects heat and you can literally feel the temperature difference when standing under it. It is full aluminum construction with a durable olive green Ripstop canvas (yep, only one color). It was tested to withstand up to 50 mph winds when the guy ropes are used, although, luckily we have not had any opportunity to actually test its performance in winds that high. It performs quite well during heavy rainstorms; although, there is some puddling that occurs and minute drips that occur at the seams, but overall, it keeps you dry. Unlike most awnings sold in the US it is self supporting meaning that it does not need poles to hold it up. This is one of the biggest reasons why we chose it. They do manufacture both canvas and mesh side panels that Velcro on to create a wind/weather break, but not intended to create a room without additional supports for load bearing. The BunduAwn comes in two different lengths 96” or 112” and gives you 270° of coverage. It weighs about 40-55lbs depending on which length and extrudes 10” above what you are mounting it to.
The installation is quite easy as long as you have 2 tall people or a vertically challenged person (like myself) on a ladder: there are brackets that you fit to your vehicle and then fit the awning to the brackets using 6 bolts. Deploying the awning is a breeze! You unzip the cover, loosen two retaining straps and then walk one side at a time and anchor it the opposite side of your vehicle with the hook and the tensioner strap on each end. Closing the awning can be quite tricky if you don’t remember how it opened up. We still have not gotten use to closing it after this summer’s camping trips, but it is getting faster and better. The trick is fold the back first and pull the very center of the canvas over the rail so that the front folds neatly over and everything fits in the cover.
Overall, this 3-sided awning, BunduAwn, is as easy as 1 unzip and loosen straps, 2 walk it out, and 3 anchor! In my opinion, the 3 sides is great for a camping trailer, but I don’t think it would be practical for a vehicle, but they do make a 2 sided one that would be excellent for a vehicle.
