How to Make Your Own RV Awning

Traveling with your family and friends in your RV can be fun and provide a great bonding experience. Not only do you get to spend time with your travel companions, but you are also able to enjoy your trip in the comfort of your second home. To make it even more enjoyable experience, you would want to attach an awning to the RV to protect you from the sun, rain and the other forces of nature when you are resting at a camping or RV site.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

Tarp
Self-adhesive Velcro
Needle and Thread
Measuring Tape
Pencil
Scissors
Silicone Glue
Awning Frame

Step 1

Measure. First you need to measure the height of the RV from the bottom of the RV to the top. You'll want to make sure that the awning is smaller than the height of your RV so you can fold and secure the awning when you're on the road. Then you need to measure how far out from the side of the RV you want your awning to reach (how much coverage the awning will provide). Write down the measurements for future reference.

Step 2

Choose a tarp and awning frame. Local home improvement stores and camping stores sell standard sized awning frames and traps. Choose an awning frame and tarp that fall within your RV measurements. You'll want to buy a tarp material that is slightly larger than the awning size to allow for the tarp to be attached to the frame.

Step 3

Lay out the tarp. Make sure the tarp is lying perfectly flat on the floor or your work table. With a measuring tape, measure two inches from each corner of the tarp and use a pencil to trace a line marking the two inches from each corner of the tarp.

Step 4

Using your scissors, cut along the pencil line that you have measured. Be careful not to cut through to the edge of the tarp but to only cut up to the lines that you have marked with the pencil so that it creates two slits at each corner.

Step 5

Velcro strips. Measure two inches of Velcro. Once you have measured two inches, cut eight strips of Velcro---two strips for each corner of the tarp.

Step 6

Stitch your Velcro strips in place. Separate the Velcro strips and stitch one side of the Velcro to one side of the slit in one corner of the tarp. Then stitch the Velcro mate to the other side of the slit in the same corner. Repeat this in each corner of the trap---making sure that you are stitching the Velcro strips to what you have chosen to be the bottom side of the tarp. This is the area of the tarp that will be attached to the awning frame.

Step 7

Stitch the corners. Where your cut ended in each corner, use the needle thread to sew four or five stitches along the edge of the flap. Repeat this for each of the four corners of the tarp. After you've stitched each corner, apply some silicone glue on top of the stitching. You can apply it with your finger. This helps to reinforce the stitching. Allow the tarp to dry over night.

Step 8

Attach tarp to the awning frame. After the tarp has dried, you can install your awning to the frame. Simply wrap the corners of each side of the awning, loop the corners around the awning bars and attaching the Velcro mates in each corner. Make sure each corner is secure so that the tarp is taught and tight.

Article Written By Kristie Lorette

Kristie Lorette started writing professionally in 1996. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and multinational business from Florida State University and a Master of Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University. Her work has appeared online at Bill Savings, Money Smart Life and Mortgage Loan.

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