Rightline Gear SUV Tailgate Awning - 8' Long x 6' Wide

Video Transcript for Rightline Gear SUV Tailgate Awning Review

Hi everyone, it's Evangeline, here at etrailor.com, and today we are looking at our Rightline gear, SUV tailgate awning, here at etrailor. This is a great option if you are looking for something that is simple and quick and easy to install, as well as relatively affordable. We're here in etrailor's parking lot, and you can see how this awning creates some shade behind our SUV here. This is a great option for if you want to go tailgating or if you're at the ball game and you want to set up behind your vehicle, or even if you're at the beach and you just want a nice place to relax. This fits on all your SUV's that have a rear hatch just like this one, as well as your Jeeps, if they have these side hatch door. Even your smaller SUV's, like my Prius V, worked with it's smaller door, as long as you can wrap it around the hatch.

The awning is eight feet long, six feet wide, and eight and a half feet tall. So whether you're short like me or a tall like him there's plenty of space for a party. What's holding it up are these poles, as well as these sandbags. Now, if you fully fill the sandbags you have about 11 pounds of weight holding this down. One thing I did note, though, was that if it is really windy it may lift these poles up and apart.

So just keep that mind for really windy days. When strapping it down, another thing I noted is that we did try it on different vehicles. When we tried it on a Toyota Rav4, we noticed that the doors we're a little bit too round on the edge to hold them in. So just make sure that you strap it down as close to the inside as you can. And if you can, try to get an extra strap as well, that goes widthwise to keep it together.

Other awnings do attach to the side of your vehicle and add shade to the side and the back of your vehicle. In this case, it adds shade to the back of your vehicle. So just keep that in mind, wherever you park, try to park where you will actually have shade. With it down, let's take a look at the material this is made out of. So this is made of water resistant material.

So note that is not water proof. And while it will stand a light rain, try to tear it down if it gets too stormy. Also, if you have anything sharp, it may rip the fabric, so just be careful with that. It all comes inside this stuff sack, which is actually larger than what you usually need, which is great, because sometimes I don't fold it down compact enough, but it still fits in here. It also comes with instructions sewn into the sack, so that if you're not sure how to put it up even though it's quick and easy, you can find the instructions right there. Now let's take a look at that install process. To install it, this comes with rods, kind of like tent poles, and you're gonna feed them through the fabric this comes with. So, I already did the first two, which was a short one and one long one, and I will do the second and last long pole. So just feed it through until it reaches the other end. On each end, there's going to be an orange pocket, so make sure to get that orange end into the pocket on each side. Once you have all the pools installed, you're then gonna pop it in, and have it facing the correct way. At this point, I recommend grabbing your friend just to help you out, an extra set of hands is very helpful. As you get the straps, make sure they are on the right side and lift it over your hatch. Once you have your flap over your hatch the best way to do this is to make sure that your lengthwise straps are over on each side of the hatch, and that they're not in the corner, but as close to the middle as you can get them. If you have a hinge that's big enough to fit the buckle, try to get it inside of the hinge, but if not, it's okay, as long as you can get as close as you can. With that in place, then just buckle them down and tighten them up. To keep them in place, you have a widthwise strap, and that's gonna go underneath your lengthwise straps, and keep them in place right there. If you're in a rush and you just want a little bit of shade you can set it up like this, where you're kind of hidden from the sun, or you can set it up like an awning with sandbags and poles. You can insert your pole into your sandbags, make sure to fill up your sandbag with sand, of course. Now, hook it through those hook and loop straps, and then fasten those down, tight around the pole. Then you're gonna have this hook, that goes into the pole, and then tighten them down with these hook and loop straps on each end, and that's it for the sandbag portion. Now you're gonna put your pole through your awning. So you have a hook and loop loop that you need to get through, and then push it into that pocket on the top, right over there. Now you have this hook, that's gonna come down, and hold on to your pole. And make sure to strap that hook and loop strap around to keep it nice and snug. Just make sure that all your straps are nice and still attached to your hatch door and your tent poles are aligned. And with that done, you are done with the install of the awning. My final thoughts about this product is I really like how simple it was to install. I also like how light it was and that it allows me to use my tailgate and my vehicle to still create a great campsite, like what we have here. One thing, though, is that it didn't fit on all hatchbacks, especially because it would fall or slip out of the side of the door, and I needed to use an extra bungee cord to hold them in. So just keep that in mind. But still, it's great, it's relatively affordable, and it's a lot of fun. And that was look here at our Rightline gear SUV tailgate awning here at etrailor.com.