Just as the vehicle you choose to be the “mobile” in your mobile adventuring is essential to the success of that venture, the right awning can turn you from a weekend warrior to a semi-pro outdoor nomad who takes their Monday morning Zoom meeting in the middle of their favorite state forest. It’s a slippery slope that leads you toward more gear to complete the setup, but believe me when I tell you – there are worse things you could be spending your time and money on.
I’m no stranger to the benefits of having an awning on my rig. I originally had a Thule Professional awning which served me well for five years. For the last ten years, I relied on the Oztent Foxwing 270 to work remotely and for shelter. However, after years of being exposed to the elements of the seasons in New England, the Foxwing 270 finally bit the dust in April. So, it was time for me to hunt down something new to use and abuse for work and play.
Last year, iKamper released their ExoShell 270 vehicle awning. Unlike most of the awnings out there that travel in a vinyl sleeve, the ExoShell 270 comes wrapped in an aluminum case. This not only protects the awning from the elements when you’re bouncing between tree branches in four-high, but it also serves as a more sufficient housing for the 270’s substantial frame. Additionally, it extends the life of the awning, which at $1800 you’ll want to get as much time with as possible.
That said, its exceptional build isn’t the only standout feature of the ExoShell 270. The awning has an intuitive setup and take-down process, provides up to 121 square feet of coverage, can be deployed without the use of its legs, which are conveniently stored in the frame, and has an accessory rail on the casing to mount a trailside clothesline, solar panel, lighting, etc.
All-in-all, the ExoShell 270 is not only well thought out and very well made, but it’s also an effective form of coverage for you, whether from the sun, the elements, or the bugs that fall from the trees while you’re trying to sleep at night.
Specs
More substantial builds mean more weight, which is always a concern when you’re mounting something to the roof of your vehicle. That said, and with ten years of designing and testing roof racks behind me, I wouldn’t recommend installing the ExoShell 270 on anything less than a platform. iKamper does a really good job with the mounting kit for the awning but at nearly 70 lbs and over 8 feet long, you’re going to need something burlier than a couple of crossbars.
Closed Dimensions: 103.5” l x 7” w x 7.25” h
Open Dimensions: 153” l x 196” w x 44-90” h
Coverage Area: 121 sq. ft.
Weight: 66lbs.
Shell, Frame, and Pole Material: Powder Coated Aluminum
Awning Material: 45D Ripstop Polycotton w. Eco-Friendly DWR Coating
What Is The ExoShell 270
In a time and place where 270-degree, wrap-around vehicle awnings are more popular than ever, iKamper’s ExoShell 270 is the most premium of them all. From the materials used to the easy setup and take down, as well as the amount of coverage the awning provides, you get a feeling that a lot of time went into bringing this concept to reality. Part of that must have been listening to the wants and needs of off-roaders, overlanders, and people looking to have some fun on four wheels and a place to hang out.
Where most vehicle awnings are stored in a PVC soft shell while traveling, the ExoShell 270 rides along in an aluminum case. This hard-shell upgrade helps protect the 45D ripstop fabric of the awning from the elements. It also protects the awning when you’re driving off-road in tight spaces on the trail. This helps preserve and prolong the life of the awning. This also adds to its overall weight, but it’s a drop in a bucket compared to the substantial frame that the awning is built on. That frame is also made from aluminum and provides enough structure for the awning to be deployed without the use of its integrated legs.
Overall, the ExoShell 270 provides up to 121 sq. feet of coverage. This equates to almost seven feet of coverage extending off the side and back of your vehicle. With that much space, you can be assured that you’ll be protected from the elements without having to huddle in a specific area. This amount of coverage allows you to move around comfortably, relax without worry, and have a full three-course meal with your family without getting a sunburn or feeling a drop of rain.
Mounting The ExoShell 270
It’s hard to find the perfect, out-of-the-box, mounting solution when you’re pairing up a platform from one brand to accessories from another. I have a Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform on my 4-Runner. It’s ridiculously well-made and its channels have worked directly with a lot of different things, however – the ExoShell 270 isn’t one of them.
The mounting kit that comes with the awning couldn’t be more straightforward. But depending on the platform you’re mounting it to, you might have to go off-script and source new hardware to replace the M8 bolts and nuts that connect the L Bracket to the platform channel. The heads on an M8 (or M10) bolt aren’t large enough to be captured by the walls of the channel on the Pioneer platform and therefore spin freely.
In the past, for other products bolted on top of my 4Runner, I swapped out M8x25 bolts for 3/8″ bolts so they could work with strut channel spring nuts. I also added flat washers and lock washers. The spring nuts, which are designed to go into channels to hang heavy lighting fixtures, go into the channel of the platform. They provide an excellent bite into the walls of the platform channel and may even be overkill for this application. However, I would rather have something designed to do more than I need than the alternative and risk the awning falling off of the rack.
As far as getting the awning itself onto the brackets, you’re working with tight tolerances so you might want to bring in a friend to assist you or create a makeshift hoist with load straps. I like to work alone and I like to know I can work alone, so I opted for the makeshift hoist. My roof rack is full up and the awning was getting mounted directly next to my cargo box. So I sat on top of a ladder which allowed me to tilt the ExoShell 270 and finesse it in place.
Using the Awning
The ExoShell 270 was on my 4Runner for more than a week before I had the chance to use it. I was setting up a base camp a few miles off the beaten path in a local state forest. The plan was to spend a few days out there working during the day and exploring the adjacent trails when I wasn’t. Anytime you set up camp, it’s a process – especially when you’re going all out. I am happy to say that deploying the awning was intuitive. From start to finish, it took about 10 minutes to get it all dialed in.
iKamper says you can use the awning without legs when it’s a calm day, but being that I was planning to stay a while, I deployed them. They’re connected to the frame and nest in the arms when not in use. They adjust easily with an attached eye bolt screw. Those legs adjust high enough so that you can clear the hatch of almost any SUV as well. This is a nice feature as some of the other awnings out there don’t allow you to fully open the hatch without making some possibly damaging contact.
For my second time out, and with the threat of some crazy weather coming through, I used the legs as well as the guylines. This gave me a little more peace of mind and took the slight sag out of the awning panels. Taking that sag out keeps water from pooling up on those panels when it rains. Considering the INSANE rainstorms we’ve been getting, I like the fact that I can stave off the pooling with little effort. But it’s not a perfect solution, there will always be a little bit of a lull between the panels.
Down the road, I might consider investing in the Side Wall Kit that integrates into the ExoShell. This setup transforms the awning into a fully walled shelter. For the time being, I am more than happy to bring my tent along and set it up to the side.
Hex Pegs & Ratcheting Tie Downs
I opted to upgrade the tent pegs that came with the ExoShell 270 to Hex Pegs. Their Long Hook Top stakes drill into the ground and provide a strong and secure tie-off point. With all the other tools and gadgets I brought out with me when I set up basecamp, I figured that throwing a drill into the mix wouldn’t be a big deal. And I am glad I did. When that storm rolled through there wasn’t enough time to take the awning down. The Hex Pegs and rope kept everything in place while we watched the wind and rain rip through the woods from inside the truck.
Hex Pegs work on grass, dirt, clay, gravel, and a variety of other easy-to-penetrate surfaces. For sand and snow, Hex Pegs make their SandnSnow Stakes. At almost 16” long, they screw down and hold incredibly tight. When setting the iKamper up on a beach I wouldn’t risk not tethering it to the Earth. There’s no wind block on beaches. That’s the trade-off for catching rays and tasty waves!
I also recommend upgrading the rope tie-downs that come with the ExoShell 270 to ratcheting tie-downs. After using the awning a few times, I realized that the standard rope lines were losing tension after a day or so. I found some inexpensive, but effective, ratcheting tie-downs on Amazon that used reflective rope. For less than $30 for all four, I eliminated the need to make adjustments to the tension to keep the panels from sagging as well as the need for any of those cool knots I learned how to tie in camp but never figured out how to untie.
The reflective rope was a nice addition. I don’t care how aware you are of your surroundings, you’re going to trip over a tie-down or guyline at least once on every trip you go on. And it’s usually going to happen in the middle of the night while you’re trying to find your way back from the bathroom.
The Takedown Process
Taking the ExoShell 270 down is easy if you remember how it deployed. I’ve seen some reviews where people couldn’t get the shell to close, or it bulged and the whole process was a little temperamental. However, if you make sure that you push the fabric up and over the frame arms so that they lay over the outermost leg, and store the arms into the bracket that sits in the top section of the shell, there is ample room to tuck the awning into the cavity below them.
Because the ExoShell 270 lives inside a hard, aluminum shell there’s not a lot of give. It may take a few small adjustments here and there to get it right, but you will get it right. That said, it will close with a bulge in the middle. This leaves enough gap for rain to get up into the cavity and leave the awning moist. That can lead to mold and even a breakdown in materials over time.
I currently have my take-down time down to five minutes, without guy lines and tent pegs. Eight minutes with them. That’s still a bargain in my book.
The Accessory Rails
Most awnings are really only good at being awnings, but with the ExoShell 270 – you have built-in accessory rails with unlimited possibilities. They’re great for drying clothes and towels, as well as hanging my Dakota Lithium solar panel when the awning is stored.
But it needs to be said that it wasn’t easy tracking the right bolts down and the slots do not fit any off-the-shelf bolts. So, if you want them – get them directly from iKamper. They’re not on the website, so you’ll need to call and ask for “Heavy Duty Accessory Rings”. They’re made from 304 stainless steel, sold in pairs, and have a weight capacity of 150 lbs.
$1750 (Before Shipping)
Having been involved with roof racks, off-roading, and Overlanding in different capacities for nearly thirty years I can tell you that none of this stuff is cheap. So when you consider the $1750 price tag of the ExoShell 270, look at it as an investment.
This isn’t a pop-up canopy from Wal-Mart. It’s also not a standard awning. This is a first-of-its-kind premium awning that is feature-packed, provides ample shelter, and is built from quality materials designed the last longer than the competition. The aluminum case alone is a stand-out in the industry as no one else is doing it.
Considering the competition, the pricing is all over the place as it is. At a minimum, you could expect to pay $400 for a vehicle awning. The ExoShell is on the other side of that spectrum, for good reasons – as I have mentioned. So, my advice to you would be to consider what you’re using it for and how many times you plan to use it.
Both solo and with my kids, I am always out and about on an adventure in my 4Runner. For me, this solution makes sense.
Conclusion
I wrote the bones of this article back in the beginning of June when I first received the ExoShell 270 and was able to take it all in, and get it installed. In the three months since, I have come to appreciate everything about this awning – from its ease of use, to its quality build, and to how much protection from the elements it provides.
As someone who spent a decade as a roof rack engineer, I was a little concerned about the overall strain the ExoShell 270 would put on my Rhino-Rack Platform, and the factory side rails on my 2005 4Runner in general. But here we are, with over 3,000 miles – through four different states – with the awning up there and (knock on wood) there have been zero issues. However, I urge you to make sure you’re regularly checking your rack. You should be in general, but when you have something big and bulky up there, that’s a force to be reckoned with.
From a weekend at the beach to a long rainy night on an island that’s only accessible by 4WD, and random events that have popped up this summer, I have used the ExoShell 270 a dozen times. On all those occasions I only had one problem taking it down, and putting it away. That was the second time I used it and missed a step while rushing to avoid getting caught in a downpour. After that, the process just clicked. Thankfully, YouTube has this great video for reference.
If you’re serious about the gear you bolt to your vehicle, what it can do for you, and how long it will last, it’s hard to beat the iKamper ExoShell 270. From any angle. It checks off all the major boxes for quality, ease of use, and all of the fun you can have hanging out underneath it.
