Which fox-wing awning should I buy?

Fox-wing, bat-wing, call it what you like, I need one for my Range Rover orangemobile camper. Now, here's the dilemma ...

You can buy the full monty, a 270° fold-around awning with six sides from Tuff-Trek for only £545, yet the versions from the big boys like Hannibal/Oztent/Howling Moon/Eezi Awn all cost three times as much. The question is, are the big brand names three times better, or would I be simply paying for the name?

Or put it another way - am I just being a skinflint or am I on to something good here?

The Tuff-Trek TT-H1AR 'wrap around awning' with and without sides:-

I bought a awning for the back of our Discovery 1 from tuff track

realy happy with it, also tuff track are good to deal with

Speak with Dara

In a conversation at Billing I heard someone bought a Tuff Trek one and basically it could not support it's own weight on the fixing brackets. The chap had to re-enforce them after just 3rd use. Now take this with a pinch of salt as I don't normally share information I am not certain with but maybe it is one thing to look at. Can you wait for Peterborough show before you part with any cash meaning you can view most types on the market and haggle over prices?

For what it's worth again, I have heard fantastic things about genuine FOX wings.

Thanks Dave. Hear what you're saying, it's not 100% about the brackets but it is something I will look out for. Forewarned is forearmed an' all that.

Apart from Peterborough, the majority of the rooftent/awning dealers (plus two manufacturers, a real scoop!!!) will be going to ADVENTURE OVERLAND at Stratford Racecourse the following weekend, so between them I will be able to make an informed choice.

Tom what type of roof rack will you be using, can't remeber if the orangemobil has roof guters, or will you have to weld or bolt rack through the roof.

The latter. Will have to bolt directly on to the roof, but it's the right height and I know the body is really solid.

Recently I fixed an internal handle on the back door, and when drilling it was first fabric, then fibreglass, then steel (or some kind of metal - it definitely wasn't aluminium, it was far too resistance), then back to fibreglass. So, if this is the same throughout the body, aand surely there would be no reason not to, then the roof would easily support an awning with two or more fixings.

Before long I'll could have loads up there - spare tyre, jerricans, portable winch, emergency gearbox ...

I'm following this post with interest as I have been thinking about one of these awnings for a while now.

After watching 2 guys from a well known overland company, no name but the initials are NO trying to put up one of there Hannibal self supporting awnings for 20 minutes at Billing (now this could be because they wanted it to be perfect as it was a demo) i was some what put off spending that amount of money I just want something I can erect in about 2 minutes to have my lunch under in the midday sun or cook under if the weather is iffy. I have even contemplated a caravan type Fiammia I think they are called, it winds out and has 2 sprung loaded legs attached my only concern is it would get shaken to bits on rough ground mile after mile.

I have a basic side awning from Powerful 4x4 but due to the conditions of some of the tracks I drive I made my own heavy duty brackets.

I have an Eezi-Awn pull out awning fitted ti my Defender gutters. Not been on long ? I fitted it in 2004? Last year in Devon I cut a 2" thick sapling with that fitting. Yep the brackets moved back a bit but soon hammered forward. Good stuff Land Rover and Eezi-Awn.

I had a Fiamma wind out awning on my van that I used for valeting. The awnings are very robust and strong. They also don't appear to use lots of parts, just what is needed for strength/reliability.

O.K. Van never went off road but the only part I can see would fail, if anything at all is the mounting. However the mounting could easily be modified for extra piece of mind, by bolting it through the back of the awning main box. (the bit the awning winds into for storage)

Dave.