MoonShade - The Best Van Awning Under $400.

Photo Credit - www.moonfab.com

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Living in Southern California, beach and desert camping is the biggest part of Van Life so not having any type shade to protect us from the sun isn't an option. Since we spent a majority of our van build budget on buying the actual van itself, we did't have the extra cash to throw at a top of the line RV awning system like ones you can purchase from Fiamma. Optimizing storage and available room in your camper is essential so lugging around a large ez-up tent wasn't an option and even small collapsible umbrellas just don't provide enough shade. The pickle we found ourselves in was finding a product that wasn't going to break the bank, stores well and takes up minimal space, isn't a piece of shit, and most importantly, provides the ample amount of shade we desired.

MoonShade has entered the conversation.

Back in October of 2022 my family and I were enjoying a nice Saturday in Big Bear Lake Village when we noticed there was this fairly large van event going on. We finished up some lunch and decided to walk through the event and check out what all this van craze stuff was about. Important to note that at this time we had not purchase a van let along had any desire to get into the van life "trend".

Fast forward to November 2023, my wife and I welcomed our brand new Mercedes Sprinter to the family. As soon as the van arrived to our home from San Diego we immediately began planning our trips and adventures. We started making a list of everything we needed for this next chapter in our life and one of my absolute nonnegotiables was shade. I'm pretty fair skin and burn easy so I wasn't interested in letting the sun ruin my trip or vacation. So with shade on our mind I started researching awning solutions that weren't going to run me past $500.

Within two minutes of doing an internet search for awnings I remembered this company we came across while walking around the Adventure Van Expo back in October 2022. The company was MoonShade and I remember them standing out to me because even though I wasn't into the van life trend back then, I remember how innovative and well made their product was. I hopped on their website and was pleasantly surprised to see their awning system was only $395. Without hesitation we made our purchase and in a few days our new awning arrived.

The Search for The Best Van Awning.

Right off the bat and what I think is probably the most important feature of the MoonShade Awning is the ease of setting up, tearing down, and packing away. The product itself is very similar in make up to a standard camping tent. The same materials and composite rods that interlock to create the skeleton of the system. Different from a tent though is how much easier and less frustrating the MoonShade is to use and especially put away.

After several camping trips and traveling across the United States we can definitely say that purchasing the MoonShade was a great decision. From quality to price point I think believe any person looking for a budget friendly awning system whether it be for their van, truck, or SUV, you won't be disappointed with this product. Ultimately, I don't think we will even consider upgrading to a more advanced or rugged system. The convenience and comfort the MoonShade provides is exactly what we need and allows us to put our money into other things that are more essential than an expensive RV style awning system.

What We Love About Our MoonShade Awning.

• Easy set-up, teardown, and pack away. < 15 minutes.
• Quality materials and construction.
• Lightweight. Only 8 lbs.
• Easy to attached to vehicle.

FAVORITE MOONSHADE FEATURES

The biggest recommendation we can give you is to find a solution other than the suction cups provided to connect your awning system to your vehicle. After purchasing and testing out the awning we found that the suction cups just didn't hold well to our van and kept popping off. It was clear that if there was a large gust that came across the van it would have easily ripped the cups right off and we would have to watch our awning fly away with the wind.

Our solution was a couple carabiners and our roof rack. We simply picked up a couple large carabiners from a local hardware store and used these to connect the two corners of the awning to our Backwoods Adventure Roof Rack. Not only did this provide a much more secure fitting to our van and guarantee we wouldn't loose it to the wind, it also made the process that much quicker to set-up and teardown.

Happy adventuring, and always remember to have fun!

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS