A quality 4×4 side awning is one of the most useful upgrades you can ever add to your vehicle! Whether you use it for camping shelter, or even on the jobsite or at the kids’ sports, a 4WD side awning is a brilliant want to add almost instant shelter anywhere you need it – and in just about any kind of weather too! A question we get asked a lot is how hard a 4WD awning is to install. And the true is, it’s a piece of cake! In fact installing your own 4WD awning is one of the easiest upgrades you’ll ever do, especially if you purchase the Adventure Kings Premium Side Awning or the Adventure Kings 270° King Wing or 270° King Wing Deluxe wrap-around awnings, which come with their own side awning mounting kit. Let’s take a look at the steps involved!

1. UNBOX YOUR NEW AWNING AND LAY IT ALL OUT

First things first – you need to unbox your new 4WD awning! A word of warning here – if you use a knife to cut open the box, be extremely careful and only cut the packing tape that holds the box closed. If you try and cut through the cardboard you are very likely to cut straight through your 4WD awning’s PVC transit cover and slide a hole straight through it, ruining your brand new awning. Remove your awning from the box and lay it on the ground, and then open it up. Unroll it a little while it’s on the ground and you’ll find the awning mounting brackets and the mounting hardware, along with ropes and pegs (included with Adventure Kings Premium Side Awnings and King Wing wrap-around awnings, sold separately with regular Adventure Kings Side Awnings).

1. DECIDE ON POSITIONING OF YOUR 4WD AWNING

Next, decide on the positioning of your new 4WD awning – will it sit on the right or left hand side of your vehicle? If it’s a King Wing awning or a King Wing Deluxe then the choice is made for you – they only work on the left hand side of the vehicle. Most campers will run their awning on the left anyway as this is the side that’s away from the road if you pull over for a roadside stop. Sit your 4×4 awning on your roof racks and find the approximate position front-to-back along the vehicle. If it is a 270° wrap-around awning you’re fitting, then position it to join right up to the D-pillar at the rear of your vehicle for optimal positioning. Leave the awning sitting approximately in place for the moment.

1. ADD THE MOUNTING BRACKETS TO THE ROOFRACK

Next, you’ll need to add the awning mounting brackets to your roofrack using the supplied bolts and nuts. A word of advice here – get each of the bolts and nuts started, but don’t tighten them up yet. You want to make sure that you have the positioning of your 4×4 side awning exactly correct before you tighten all the bolts up, which is a general rule you should always follow when customising your 4WD with accessories – always add every single bolt and nut and make sure the threads are started before tightening any of them up. Get all of the brackets attached to your 4×4 roofrack with the nuts a little bit more than finger tight so they don’t fall off, and you’re ready for the next step.

1. ADD THE AWNING TO THE MOUNTING BRACKETS

Here’s where having a second person comes in handy when installing an Adventure Kings awning to your vehicle. Add the mounting bolts to the channels in the rear of the frame of the awning, and slide them out to their approximate position. Get a mate to help here, and then raise the awning up so that the bolts go through the brackets, add the nuts and get them a little past finger-tight and re-check for positioning of the awning.

1. FINAL POSITION CHECK & TIGHTEN ALL BOLTS

Now that your 4WD awning is in the approximately correct position, you’ll want to give it one final check to ensure you’re happy with its positioning. When you’re definitely certain that the positioning is correct you can now start to tighten up all of the nuts and bolts to ensure your 4WD awning is firmly secured. Take your time here and make sure you don’t miss any nuts – because the last thing you want is your awning coming loose while you’re travelling and damaging itself! Now that your 4×4 side awning is mounted there’s only one last step – and that’s to set it up and add the finishing touches.

1. INITIAL SETUP & ADD GUY ROPES

We highly recommend that at this stage, you take the opportunity to set your new 4×4 awning up in your driveway or your front or back yard. Have a mate on hand for this step because it will make life a lot easier. Take your time and slowly set the new 4WD awning up, and get your mate to hold it in place while you add all the guy ropes to each of the guy rope eyelets. Check all your knots to ensure that they are tight and that they won’t pull through the end of the tensioner, and then take the final step of pegging your awning down nice and tight into the ground. Now you can take a well-earned break, step back and enjoy your new awning! Finally, give it a good pack up, ensuring you roll up the guy ropes night and tight and that your camping awning is wrapped away neatly within the transit bag and you’re done – all ready for your next camping adventure. Way too easy!