Best Vehicle Tailgate Awning
I tend to think “spend more, get better.” Usually works for tools, optics, vehicles—things where quality and engineering still matter. So I lined up a handful of vehicle awnings, expecting the premium-priced ones to crush the cheap junk. Instead, the best-performing one turned out to be the flimsiest, clumsiest, bottom-shelf contraption of the lot. Go figure.
The original design came from REDCAMP years ago. Imagine a hybrid of a tent and a tarp, with none of the elegance of either. It costs around $100–125, takes a minor weightlifting competition to set up, and feels like it was machined in someone’s garage. And yet, when deployed, it’s an absolute fortress against rain and wind. Huge coverage, side flaps that block horizontal rain, fabric that’s actually waterproof. It works. Annoyingly well.
REDCAMP’s 10’x7’ tailgate awning and my ‘22 Tacoma Off-Road at Sherando Lake Recreation Area, VA, October 2024.
But let’s not sugarcoat it: the flaws are glaring. Those aluminum poles? Machined with all the finesse of a butter knife. Their sharp edges chew through the shock cord as if it were dental floss. The setup is also a circus act. Technically “a two-person job,” though one person can wrestle it into submission if it’s calm out and they don’t mind a workout. Threading the three flex poles into their corner pockets requires arms like an archer. Taking it down isn’t any more pleasant.
You can comfortably sit six people under this awning to get through the rain.
REDCAMP bailed on this design, but clones live on: VEVOR at Target, SVOPES at Lowe’s and Home Depot. They all hover at the $100 mark. But if you want this thing to survive more than one road trip, you’ll need upgrades.
First swap: ditch the two factory poles for telescoping tarp poles. They solve the cord-chewing issue and let you adjust the canopy angle—critical when the rain comes sideways. Second, keep a shock cord repair kit handy. One of mine snapped in the field. Third: a tent repair kit, because the fabric is solid but the seams thin out over time. No, this won’t last a decade. Two or three years, tops. But those years will be dry.
I spent three full days in West Virginia under relentless rain. This awning is the reason I didn’t have to cut my vacation short.
My costs: $86 for the awning, $56 for decent tarp poles, $10 for a shock cord kit, and $12 for a tent repair kit. Total: $164 for a serviceable, semi-reliable rain solution. Add $25 for waterproofing spray if you want to squeeze a little more life out of it. With practice, you can even leave it pitched while you drive off, then back into position and reattach it later. I’ve pulled this stunt solo more than once. Not graceful, but possible.
Bottom line: this thing is junk, but it’s cheap junk that works. If you’re willing to tinker, you’ll end up with one of the most cost-effective ways to keep yourself dry in the woods. If not, stick to getting soaked.
Camping in Shenandoah in October.
Here’s the lineup of gear I actually own and use. If you buy through the links, I get a small kickback. Doesn’t change the fact that I don’t work for, represent, or particularly care about the sellers or manufacturers.
