How To Choose A Great Caravan Awning Side Wall, Privacy Screen, End Wall?

Caravan Side Wall, End Wall, Privacy Screens

Caravan Side Wall, End Wall, Privacy Screens is a highly competitive market, with a huge price and quality range from below $50 to over $200 a set depending on size and quality.

The price difference isn’t just a number. To compare and get the best value for money purchase, the material used, design & features, and accessories included are all factors of cost variation.

Some go for a cheaper option by assuming all privacy screens on the marketplace are the same. However, they are very different. “You get what you pay for” is always valid & true when comes to purchasing.

For newbies in Caravaning, here is some information for your reference when choosing your privacy screens.

What is an awning side wall, end wall, privacy screen?

Basically, privacy screens, sidewall/side shades, and end walls are referring to the same thing. It is an optional shade attached to caravan awning by rope track.

Rope track size varies between brands of the awning, mainly 5mm track and 7mm track.

The main purposes of the shade are blocking sunlight/heat and providing privacy when resting under the caravan awning/annex area.

Types of caravan privacy screen side shades

Mesh Screen – mesh material made from HDPE (High-density polyethylene) and PE(polyethylene) Whilst, by using HDPE, especially virgin HDPE rather than recycled HDPE, it is more durable under Australian weather conditions.
PVC coated Oxford – lightweight waterproof material which can prevent rain from leaking through
Canvas walls – heavyweight, waterproof canvas material, built with windows. Ideal for long stay due to much longer setup time.

Caravan privacy screen mesh materials & color

Choosing mesh type or waterproof type depends on your usual application. Here are some points of comparison between mesh shade cloth and oxford shade cloth for your considerations:

Mesh shade allows wind to blow through, release pressure from the wind. PVC-coated Oxford, however, acts like a sail, catching all the wind pressure. If you frequently camp in windy areas or seasons, a mesh shade would be more ideal.

HDPE Mesh Shade
PVC-coated Oxford stops rain from leaking into the annex area. However, it catches wind causing great pressure on D-ring stitching and pegs. Another drawback is that it is not breathable.
Polyester PVC coated Oxford

In general, the majority of users are going for mesh type of caravan side walls rather than waterproof Oxford shades.

Design & Features

Design & features of off-the-shelf caravan privacy screens vary from brand to brand. Following are some common differences in terms of design and features:

Sidewall drop
Many available caravan privacy screen is 1.8m drop which is rather short for many modern caravans, especially offroad type. We are aware of this and offer an extended drop of 1.9m to provide better cover for the modern caravan sidewalls
Kedar
Rope track is the common method to attach a sidewall with caravan awnings. However, different manufacturers of caravan awnings have their own specifications of rope tracks. Some awnings come with 5mm track, some 7mm.
We make dual kedar in our caravan privacy screens so that users do not need to worry about the brand of the awning. Our caravan privacy screens fit the majority of the awnings.
Side D-rings
Years ago, caravan sidewalls come with bottom edge D-rings only, for securing and stretching the awning side wall with pegs. Our caravan shades provide D-rings on 3 sides, bottom, left, and right side.
Side D-rings allow users to secure privacy screens with guy ropes on windy days, or simply use them for attaching the screen to awning supporting legs.

Because D-ring will take great pressure when tension the shade, or, in windy days, D-ring reinforcement is critical to ensure stitching withholds the tension. We reinforced D-ring with a triangle patch so that more area shares and relief the tension, prolonging the life of the shade.
Pegs
Traditional tent pegs are simple metal “7” shape, or more recent design with plastic, angle bend, hand screw pegs, etc.
Our shades all come with galvanized screw pegs, where users can simply screw it into clay soil easily with a cordless impact drill, which many campers will carry with them these years.
The free-spinning design makes it very easy for the user to screw it down by holding the plastic molding hook.
Furthermore, the plastic molding hook section of our pegs is glow-in-the-dark. This is a great feature when campers can see pegs clearly in the dark, avoid tripping over by kicking on “invisible” pegs. Save your toes.

Strength & Durability

Despite that it is not an expensive item compared to caravan cost, you still want to buy the best quality, provides the best privacy without blocking outward vision, is durable, and long-lasting.

We use 220g Virgin HDPE, UV stabilized mesh material, not cheaper 180-190g, or recycle HDPE. This ensures our caravan shades are strong and durable under Australian harsh weather conditions.

Does Color matter? Is Black better or Silver better?

It is a misconception to believe that the lighter color shade provides better shading and cooler ambient than the black screens. Such misunderstanding is raised from the theory that black color attracts heat while silver/light color reflects radiation.

This is a misunderstanding. Why?

Direct radiation and Indirect radiation are the terms you may want to know more about.

Direct radiation refers to the radiation hitting directly on the shade cloth.

Indirect radiation refers to the radiation entering the annex area from sideway.

Both black and silver materials block direct radiation. However, for indirect radiation, when entering the annex area, a black shade absorbs it, while a silver shade bounces it into the annex area.

Thus, it is not difficult to understand that the black shade provides a cooler annex area than the silver/light color ones.

Where to Buy RVSUNSHADES Caravan Privacy Screen & End Wall

We offer caravan side walls length from 2.8m suit 10ft awning, all the way to 5.5m to suit 19ft awning. Please visit our caravan shades section and select one to fit your awning.

2.8m Side Wall to suit 10ft

3.1m Side Wall to suit 11ft

3.4m Side Wall to suit 12ft

3.7m Side Wall to suit 13ft

4.0m Side Wall to suit 14ft

4.3m Side Wall to suit 15ft

4.6m Side Wall to suit 16ft

4.9m Side Wall to suit 17ft

5.2m Side Wall to suit 18ft

5.5m Side Wall to suit 19ft

5.8m Side Wall to suit 20ft

6.1m Side Wall to suit 21ft