Have you ever seen a square room setup underneath an awning at campsites? Connected to your car’s side awning, awning tents are changing the way people go camping. A Kings awning tent is feature-packed and leaves traditional dome tents and other camping setups in its wake. Like thousands of Aussies every year, join the camping revolution and jump into an Adventure Kings awning tent.

What do I need?

You need two things to go camping with an awning tent – a side awning secured to your 4×4 or car, and the awning tent of the corresponding size. 4WD Supacentre sells three types of side awning and awning tents and are all unbeatable value for money. The three sizes are 2×2.5m (two metres along the car, and 2.5m out), 2.5×2.5m and 2x3m (two metres along the car, three metres out). All three sizes are terrific value for money, but the most popular awning in Australia is without doubt the Kings 2.5×2.5m awning.

You can pick up a Kings awning with an included mounting kit for about $100, and the awning tent costs approximately $200 more. So, a complete Kings awning and awning tent setup will only cost around $300-$350 for most people, which is the cost of what many people pay for a dome tent, single swag and a fraction of the price of other camping options like trailers and roof top tents.

Why choose an awning tent?

Awning tents are so popular because they give people the freedom to camp in comfort. An awning tent offers 100% privacy if you need to stand up to get changed – you can’t stand up in a swag. An awning tent is also much bigger than many dome tents, and much more versatile. You can set a table and chairs up inside it to eat dinner away from the bugs, thanks to the fully sealed walls, roof and floor as well as large mozzie proof mesh windows for ventilation.

You can also sleep on the floor of the awning tent by lying on a Kings Sumo stretcher or queen or king size self-inflating mattress. Many people prefer sleeping like this compared to sleeping in a swag or dome tent as they feel less stuffy and claustrophobic. Many young families like this as well because mum, dad and the kids can all share a king-size mattress, which makes kids much more comfortable when they’re just getting started in camping and can get scared at night if they’re sleeping in a separate swag or tent than mum and dad.

Are they easy to set up?

Awning tents are very simple to set up, and just as easy to pack away. After your side awning is set up, the awning tent slides in along one side of the awning tracks, and then utilises strong Velcro ties around the remaining edges. Included pegs help bring the corners out, and more Velcro straps running down the awning’s legs add extra stability and strength to the setup.

From the inside you can unzip the back door of the awning tent to access your car or 4WD’s back doors – how good is that! If it starts raining in the middle of the night while you’re playing board games with the family, but you want to grab another beer, you don’t have to get wet again – just grab one from the car through the back door!

More comfortable living

At camp, we spend much more time lazying around or enjoying camp compared to just sleeping. An awning tent with its huge mesh windows and high ceiling allow plenty of airflow and ventilation, meaning you’ll never feel stuff and stinking hot like you can in a dome tent during the middle of the day. The sandfly and midge proof mesh and doors mean that even if you set up by a river, you won’t get eaten alive while you relax (this is also a huge advantage when tropical camping/sleeping on a stretcher or mattress).

The 100% waterproof PVC base is very easy to keep clean as well. No water seeps up from the ground, and any sand or dirt you bring in can be swept out with no hassle – this tent is durable and built to use.

Inside you can hang LED strip lights and camp lights from your awning tent’s roof to give you plenty of light to cook, eat, play games or get the kids ready for bed. Again, take advantage of the high roof and hang everything up high and out of the way where you won’t trip or grab cords.

You can even use a couple of Kings 2 in 1 LED fan/lights to really take your comfort levels up a notch by providing a cool breeze, even on still summer nights.

Make your gear more multi-purpose

We love awning tents because they’re a natural addition to your Kings side awning. We believe you should be able to customise your camping setup depending on whether you are going away for a night or a fortnight, solo or with the family.

Unlike a dome tent that you can quickly outgrow, an awning tent can grow with you. If you originally purchase it to sleep in and then upgrade to a roof top tent, your awning tent is still a fully functioning loungeroom at camp. You can’t do that with a dome tent! Many people even put an awning tent on each side of their 4WD or car and sleep in one while living out of the other.

Awning tents also make use of an existing bit of camping gear you already have and love. They’re easy to transport (they fold up into a bag that you can fit in you Titan Rear Drawers, tray, rear cargo space or back seat) and don’t take up much space when not in use.