If you love to pack up your 4WD and hit the open road as much as possible, then chances are you’re always looking for ways to get the perfect touring setup. If your vehicle could use some extra shade and shelter, then the Eclipse Awning 180° Gen 2 from Darche is a no-brainer.
Best for dual and single and space cabs and general canopy and wagon setups – this awning will give you up to 8.2m2 of cover over the length of your vehicle. The Eclipse can be quickly set up and packed down with just one person, so it can be used on solo adventures.
The awning is made from new robust 320 gsm polycotton grid ripstop canvas, with an updated lightweight box tube alloy rafter system, and an aluminium swivel hinge system on both ends. It will span 6m along your vehicle and has two pivoting alloy telescopic leg poles which can be packed away on the rafters. The good news is that this beauty can be mounted on either side of your vehicle.
This awning also comes with included mounting brackets that are suitable for most commercially available steel basket and flat rack setups. To add extra shade, you can get the separate wall which can be attached as an extra windbreak or extension of this awning. Complete your touring and camping set up, with the Eclipse Awning 180° Gen 2 from Darche.
Does this have to have the legs deployed to use the awning, or is it stable without them?
G'day Bronywn,
This isn't a free standing model, so you'll need to set the legs up.
If you want one without legs, check out the 180 Eclipse Freestanding option.
Hi, do the legs fold up and click onto the frame or do they need to be stored separately?
G'day Duncan,
It's a combination of both. Check out our 'How to Set Up & Pack Away' video for a run through of the pole system.
Hope that helps!
Can the 180 be fitted to a hybrid caravan?
G'day JD,
These awning comes with brackets and a basic kit to attach to roof racks. I have seen the kinds of awnings mounted to caravans of trailers, however, that's a custom set up that does require aftermarket/DIY fixings. If you're not a handy person or know someone with trade-based skillsets, you may have to get in touch with a caravan or roof rack specialist to see what the next steps would be.
Could this be mounted to roof bars such as the Rhino Rack Vortex?
G'day Russ,
This awning doesnt come with hardware for channel mounts, but can absolutely be done with Darches Channel Bolts.
Bare in mind this awning comes with 3 brackets, and all must be installed - meaning you need 3 x roof rails. You'll need 3 packets of channel bolts to cover this.
Hope that helps!
Can the be mounted on a darche rooftop tent?
G'day Will,
Generally awnings should not be mounted directly onto roof top tents.
The fixings required for the tents shouldn't interfere with or prevent an awning from being mounted to existing roof racks or platforms. There is room between the base of the roof top tent and the rack system for the awning brackets to be mounted, as the tents sit on additional raised rails.
Hi guys, can I mount this with 2 brackets to 2 roof bars over a Ute cab instead of using the all 3 supplied?
G'day Conor,
No unfortunately, due to the weight of the awning, the Eclipse 180 and 270 must be mounted with all 3 supplied brackets.
Can you run a rear wall all the way along the awning?
G'day Bill,
I'm not 100% sure what you are asking sorry!
If you are talking about a wall that goes along the full straight length against the car, then no unfortunately - no such wall exists.
You may be able to have something custom made by a canvas/awning specials that would be suitable, or doa DIY rig up with some tarps.
Can the awning withstand downpours?
G'day Sam,
The awning is waterproof and has a Waterhead rating of 1500mm.
Obviously it's only a canopy with open sides, so if you are wanting full rain protection you'll need to look at getting the compatible wall set.
Do you know if Darche have resolved the water ingress (into the awning bag) issue? I have seen that they have said that it is; “a known issue”, for the 270° & 180° awnings. Just wondering if they have addressed that and fixed the issue yet? Anybody know?
G'day Craig,
The issue is:
1. Some customers are not reinstalling the rubber grommets on the end track after they attach it to a car leaving it open for water to get in.
2. In seriously heavy rain a little water can get in the rear edge of the bag where it mounts to the aluminum track. This issue exists for ALL brands of 4WD awning where the bag is designed to be removable. The bag itself and the zip are waterproof.
Darche suggests that as best practice, after heavy rain, you should open up your awning bag zip to allow airflow and if any water has managed to get in through the bag, it will dry out.
They have indicated that its a known issue purely because they have had a handful of customers provide this feedback over the years, but it is not a "known issue" such as a warranty/batch/manufacturing problem.
Regardless of what brand of awning you have, the above should be part of your general care practice!
Cheers Lauren.
What is the difference bewteen this and the versitile awning, they look the same? Cheers
G'day Richard,
They are the same material and build quality, but the versatile 180 has been previously known as the Rear 180 or Compact 180.
Its a much smaller awning alround and has the versatility or being able to be mounted to the rear or side of a vehicle.
If you are wanting to rear mount, or have a smaller SUV or Wagon, the Versatile awning would be the preference.
Does the fitting kit suit Rhinorack HD bars?
G'day Mark,
We're not overly familiar with every different style of roof rack as we don't sell roof racks, but the final image on the product page shows the contents of the bracket kit. Generally they'll fit most roof rack styles.
Given that the perpendicular arms run straight from the vehicle, will my darche awning tent be able to be fitted? I have a 2x2.5 darche tent. Thanks
G'day Paul,
The Darche Awning Tents aren't designed to fit their 180 and 270 awnings, however, you could make some alterations to it in order to make it fit. It wouldn't be an exact fit, and you would need to add a spreader bar across the outer edge of your awning to secure that side.
You could consider the Eclipse Retreat as an alternative.
Does the eclipse retreat fit to this? Thanks
G'day Trent,
Yes, the Eclipse Retreat is compatible with the Eclipse 180 awning.
Do the walls on this 180 fit the walls for the 270 or vice versa?
G'day Jason,
Unfortunately these walls aren't interchangeable, the zip trackers specifically line up with the model they're designed for. The 270 awning has three separate walls, and therefore three separate zippers for attachment. The 180 awning has one long wall that attaches on one long zip tracker that goes the entire length of the awning edge. For this reason, they're not compatible or interchangeable.
What is the maximum length telescopic awning legs go to and can you purchase extensions if needed
G'day Karen
Darche indicates that the awning is designed to go up to 2.3m high (this is the maximum height the walls can fit). The poles themselves have a little more length in them and can go up to about 2.5m total length. There are no extension pieces available, but if you're handy you could most likely make some chocks to raise the base height up a little.
Could I get the length of the arms that come out on the 180 awning
G'day Jannene,
The arms of the Darche Eclipse 180 Awning Gen 2 are 200cm long or 203 if you take into consideration hinge depth.
Hope that helps!
Where do you buy, and how do you repair a snapped alloy hinge bracket for a gen 2 darche awning?
G'day Daniel,
It's not something we sell, however, Darche does supply Alloy Hinges directly on their site. Best bet will be to reach out to Darche for instructions and purchase, however, I'm lead to believe it is fairly straight forward.
How far apart are the mounting bolts spaced vertically.
G'day Stuart,
I've just measured the distance between the two channels for the mounting brackets, they are vertically 10.5cm apart.
Looking for an awning that covers the pull out camp kitchen on a Jayco JPod. Has 2 anchor points on the standard roof rack.
G'day Ann,
It's hard to know to be honest, these are designed to be fitted to the side of a vehicle with roof racks, so if your JPod has roof racks, or a way that L brackets can be attached it could work, but it's not something we'd be able to say yes or no to sorry.
Hi Ann, Check out the Jayco J-pod Owners Australia group on Facebook if you haven't already. Many owners have fitted 270 and 180 darche awnings to their pods
What’s thicker a 320gsm or 380 gsm poly cotton?
G'day John,
In terms of thickness of canvas, the number refers to the number of grams per square meter, so the higher the number, the thicker the canvas.
Could this awning fit onto a Hybrid Camper Trailer/caravan, if so what fittings would be needed. I have a Complete Campsite Exodus 11
G'day Karen,
This awning is designed to attach to a roof rack on a vehicle, in our experience its best to contact a roof rack specialist who can determine the best way to safely fit it to your exact setup.
Hi, can you set this up without the poles if it isn’t too windy?
G'day Pete
The Eclipse 180 Awning is self-supporting on setup, however, it must always be used with the poles to avoid damage and voiding of your warranty.
I've checked the videos so the question may be for Ben. I'm looking for a quick overnight solution for me and 2 kids. I was going to do a 3D scale model then thought it may just be easier to ask. I want to set this up with Wall Kit with 1 Wall up during the day and then enclosed at night. Will I get away with a Double Swag (Big Daddy) and a XL Single Swag with room to move and a bit of storage. It's hard to visualise how much room the sloped Walls add with Swags at ground level.
Hi John,
I just had a wander underneath the Eclipse 180 awning that we currently have on display in our Keswick store to try and give you a good answer here. We currently have a 2-person hiking tent underneath the Eclipse 180, and there is just enough room to walk around the tent whilst remaining completely under the awning.
So, I reckon that if you set the swags up along the outside edge i.e. utilising the extra space provided by the sloped walls, ensuring the poles are sloped outwards also, you'd be able to fit both swags underneath and still have room to move between them and the vehicle, possibly even enough to still completely open the vehicle doors.
It looks 3 mounting brackets are provided. Does it mean the awning should be installed on 3 roof bars ? Or 2 roof bar are still strong enough ?
G'day Jay,
Darche provides 3 brackets so we'd strongly suggest utilising all three. We'd also suggest you double-check the load rating of your roof racks as different manufacturers specify different weight load limits. It would also be wise to check that it is securely mounted and the load is evenly spread across the whole length of the awning.
is there a tag along tent that can be zipped up/connected to this like the oztent tag a long?
G'day Daniel,
Darche doesn't make a tent that will attach to the external edge of the Eclipse 180 Awning. Darche
From the pictures it appears a guy rope or strap is required at each end to hold the awning open. I envisage this would foul on the lift up tailgate of my wagon Is there any way around this?
G'day Simon,
I've just given Darche a buzz to double check this for you and they told me that you do need to have the Eclipse 180° Awning tied down at either end. If you opted to tie it off on a tree or peg it into the ground, rather than on the car, then you might be able to get away with it without it impeding your boot.
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