Straight awning: 2–2.5 m, deploy on the side opposite your largest rear door. Lighter (4–8 kg), faster to set up, better for road stops and solo travel.
270° batwing: mount on the side opposite your largest rear door — a 270° opening into that door destroys the last 90° wing and is a common install error. Expect 10–18 kg; budget accordingly.
Mounting: DVA DualTrack crossbars + Awning Mount V2 ($69, set of 2) bolt into the T-slot extrusion at any position — no clamps, no drilling, tool-free adjustment in under 20 minutes.
Straight Pull-Out vs. 270° Batwing
The straight pull-out awning extends perpendicular to the vehicle on one side. Typical coverage: 2 m × 2.5 m shade footprint. Deploy and retract in under two minutes. Weight: 4–8 kg depending on fabric and housing material. These are the practical choice for owners who stop frequently, camp solo, or prioritize simplicity.
The 270° batwing wraps around the rear of the vehicle, covering both sides minus the door zone. It takes more time to deploy — freestanding setups can be under five minutes, pole-and-rope configurations take ten to fifteen. Weight: 10–18 kg. The coverage advantage is real: you get shelter over a camp kitchen zone, a seating area, and a luggage area simultaneously. But the weight, cost, and install complexity are significantly higher.
| Factor | Straight Pull-Out | 270° Batwing |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | One side + partial rear | Both sides + full rear |
| Deploy time | Under 2 min | 2–15 min depending on type |
| Weight | 4–8 kg | 10–18 kg |
| Rear door clearance | Less critical | Critical — wrong side = destroyed wing |
| Freestanding option | No (needs vehicle) | Yes (quality units) |
| Typical cost range | $300–$700 | $900–$2,500 |
One frequently underweighted consideration: frame quality matters more for batwings than straights. A straight awning works fine even with a lighter frame — wind loads are manageable and you can retract quickly. A batwing with a substandard hinge will buckle in a gust the first time you leave it deployed unattended.
The Side Question: What the Forum Worked Out
This is the question that fills the most threads on TheIneosForum. The answer depends on your Grenadier's door configuration and how you camp — but there's a near-universal rule that prevents the most common install error.
Always to the side that is opposite to the largest of the boot/rear doors when open. That is the only logical choice in my opinion. I have seen 270s installed where the tailgate opens 'in' to the 270 and chews the last 90 off and I just laugh a little.
— TheIneosForum, thread #12411876 (Awning: which side?)
The Grenadier's standard rear door configuration — asymmetric barn doors — makes the side decision partially mechanical. The large right-hand door on most markets swings wide when you access the cargo area. A 270° installed on that same side will have its final wing destroyed by the door swing. This happens. Forum members document it.
For straight awnings, the door concern is less critical but the camping-setup logic still applies. Most owners with LHD vehicles (US market) settle on passenger side for a straight awning because it keeps the awning shade over the living/sitting area while driver-side access remains clear for recovery gear and fuel.
Always passenger side for a standard awning for me. Same for a batwing I think if I fitted one. For me it's just made for a better camping set up — swag and chair under the awning, access to other stuff from the driver's side. Probably not of consequence but the fridge is also on the passenger side, so not as far to walk for a beer.
— bigleonski, TheIneosForum #12411876
I plan to have a pull kitchen in the rear and don't want to be fighting the large right door while moving to the rear under the awning. The large door will also function as an impromptu wall. So, LHD driver's side for me.
— loc-nar, TheIneosForum #12411876
The kitchen-in-rear setup inverts the default recommendation: if your gear layout puts the kitchen at the rear left, the driver-side awning covers it and the large door closes against the awning's perimeter rather than into its wing. Map your own cargo layout before you commit to a side.
For 270° installs, there's one more variable: roof tent placement. If you're running a roof tent that opens to one side, the awning should go on the opposite side so both can deploy simultaneously without obstruction.
270° awning on the driver side. Roof top tent opens out on the other side. To some extent it reflects how and what you access from the back of the vehicle where stuff is stored.
— tazzieman, TheIneosForum #12411876
Sizing an Awning for the Grenadier Roof
The Grenadier's roof rail tracks give you a usable longitudinal mounting span that suits awnings up to approximately 2.5 m in folded length for a straight pull-out. A 270° batwing needs to extend further fore and aft, which means checking that both mounting arms clear the DualTrack bar positions you're using — typically bars 2 and 3 out of a 4-bar DualTrack setup.
Arm extension when deployed: add 1.5–2.5 m laterally to whatever clearance you planned. On campsites with trees, this catches most owners by surprise. Survey your site before full deployment.
Weight in the load budget
INEOS rates the Grenadier's roof at 150 kg total on-road and 75 kg off-road. The OEM factory-supplied crossbars carry 75 kg per pair in off-road conditions, per the INEOS fitting instructions. The DVA DualTrack system bolts to the Grenadier's factory roof rail attachment points and is designed to operate within those INEOS-rated limits.
Practical awning load budget for a standard DualTrack + awning build:
- DualTrack bars (4-bar kit): ~4.5 kg
- Straight awning (mid-spec): 6 kg
- Awning Mount V2 brackets: 0.6 kg
- Running total: ~11 kg — comfortably inside the 75 kg off-road budget
- DualTrack bars (4-bar kit): ~4.5 kg
- 270° batwing (quality unit): 14 kg
- Awning Mount V2 brackets: 0.6 kg
- Running total: ~19 kg — still inside the 75 kg off-road budget, but factor in any other roof gear
Off-road tip: retract and stow the awning before driving on rough tracks. Vibration loads on an extended awning arm at any speed above walking pace will exceed the arm's design load rating. The brackets hold — the awning mechanism doesn't.
Mounting Options: OEM Crossbars vs DualTrack
Both systems support awning mounting — but the mechanics are different enough to matter.
OEM INEOS factory load bars
The factory crossbars use a standard T-bolt clamp profile. Awning manufacturers supply clamp brackets that bolt onto the bar. The position is adjustable along the bar before tightening. Load rating: 75 kg per pair in off-road conditions per INEOS fitting instructions. One limitation flagged on the forum: some aftermarket crossbar systems restrict the awning mount to their proprietary tent bracket only — verify awning compatibility before purchasing any third-party crossbar system.
Heads up: with [that aftermarket crossbar system] you can only mount the awning to their specific tent bracket — it won't accept a standard awning arm directly.
— TheIneosForum #12413777 (aftermarket crossbar fitment thread)
DVA DualTrack
The DualTrack extrusion runs a dual L-Track channel plus a 25mm T-slot. The DVA Awning Mount V2 slides into the T-slot at any point along the bar — no fixed clamp positions, no tools required to reposition. When you change awning side (or mount a second awning for a tent + awning combo), you slide the brackets rather than drilling new holes. The 3-inch clearance between the bar and the roofline gives deployed awning arms full articulation range.
The DualTrack also lets you run other L-Track accessories — lights, tie-down points, cargo bars — on the same extrusion without giving up bar real estate to clamps. This matters on the Grenadier where the usable rail span is finite.
Install Walkthrough: DualTrack + Awning Mount V2
If you already have DualTrack bars installed, adding an awning mount is a 20-minute job with no special tools.
- Mark your awning arm positions. With the awning held at the correct fore-aft position (typically centered on bars 2 and 3), mark the T-slot locations on both bars. The arm spacing must match the awning manufacturer's spec — verify before you order the mount brackets.
- Slide the Awning Mount V2 brackets into the T-slot. The T-nut end enters the slot from any open bar end and slides to position. No bar removal required.
- Torque to spec and route the awning arm bolt. The V2 bracket has a fixed bolt pattern that accepts standard awning arm fittings. Torque the T-nut fasteners before the awning arm bolts — sequence matters for bracket alignment.
- Check 3-inch arm clearance. With the awning in stowed position, confirm 3 inches of clearance between the arm and the roofline at the narrowest point. If you're borderline, reposition the brackets inboard slightly before final torque.
For a detailed install photo sequence with torque specifications, see the DVA DualTrack Awning Mount 20-Min Bolt-On Guide. For 270° vs straight awning positioning specifics on DualTrack, see the 270° vs Straight Pull-Out on DualTrack Guide.
Deployment and Wind Load
Awning arm ratings are specified for static loads, not dynamic. A straight awning rated to 15 km/h wind at full extension will fail sooner if you're setting up in gusts — the spec assumes steady-state wind, not peak gust loads. Batwing frames vary significantly in their real-world wind resistance.
The forum consensus on frame quality:
I've had a batwing 270 that didn't last the first camping trip — buckled the frame in a wind gust. Supposed to be freestanding but needed poles and guy ropes in any real wind. No comparison to the frame strength of a properly built wing awning. The cheaper ones just aren't there yet.
— logsplitter, TheIneosForum #12411297 (Batwing Awning thread)
Practical rules: retract before driving at any speed. Add guy ropes in winds above 20 km/h regardless of rating. Freestanding doesn't mean wind-resistant — it means it stands without vehicle attachment, which is different.
The DualTrack mount brackets are not the weak point in any wind load scenario. The awning arm hinge and fabric are. The brackets are aluminum-extruded and designed to operate well within the Grenadier's rated roof capacity — the limiting factor in high wind is always the awning mechanism itself, not the mount.
