Built a quick awning this past weekend after learning an easy way to make telescoping poles out of PVC tubing. I used 1 1/4" OD tubes as the base and 1" OD tubes that slide into the larger ones. Drilled a few holes through all of them so they have extended heights of 5' or 6' tall. I used regular PVC end caps for the tops and bottoms and drilled a small hole in the tops and placed a bolt through it and nutted it off on top for the awnings grommet to slide over. I plasti-dipped the bolts so they're not as sharp. The poles unextended length is 4' long so they can be easily strapped to the roof rack. The 5' x 7' awning was purchased at Harbor Freight for $4. Since the awning width was longer than my roof rack, I had to make another pole that extends to just over 5'. All told, I spent about $45. Can't wait to try it out on our trip in a couple of weeks to sunny Canyonlands, UT and CO.

And yes, as you'll see in some of the pictures, our neighbor's house did get TPed last weekend.