Aluminium Canopy Review (3+ Years)

I’ve been rocking a generic Aluminium Canopy for over 3 years now.

And this canopy has been through it.

Between standard road usage, as a work car and on the road travelling.

It’s been on dunes, 4wd tracks, beaches, boat ramps, just about as much sand, salt and dust as you can throw at it.

And the canopy reflects this.

Now I will preface with this.

I’m not expecting high quality or longevity with these imported, flat packed canopies.

I’m not expecting it to do things a $8k+ canopy is built to do.

But as a cheap alternative to hit the road and keep your gear somewhat secured, it’s great.

Now lets get into how this thing has held up over the last few years.

Visually, the oxidation is coming through the paint work.

This canopy has spent a lot of time by the ocean and the oxidation is becoming more apparent.

It doesn’t impact anything at all, more of an aesthetic thing.

Once we get a little closer, the next issue are the hinges.

They all seemed to fail at the same time.

At around the 3 year mark, give or take a few days, the hinges started to crack and fail.

They’re only cast zinc so I’m not expecting anything durable, but it was perfect timing the way they all went.

Lucky they’re an easy fix and the guys at SelectLok had them in stock so I picked up a new set.

The gas struts on the back canopy door went within about a year, lucky the replacements from Bunnings were like for like.

The side doors still have the original gas struts.

What hasn’t faired so well are the gas strut mounting points.

One of the side doors is down a gas strut, just because the mounting point failed and snapped.

For now it’ll rock one strut but I may need to TIG it back together if both kark it.

There’s a few other gas strut mounting tabs that have stress cracks which I have to keep an eye on.

Lucky last it’s the sealing and locking.

The pinch weld is well on its way out.

It doesn’t really seal anything any more and the internal steel is pretty corroded.

Not hard to replace but the bigger issue is the locking mechanism.

The locks seem to have a high degree of flex, not ideal when their main function is locking.

It essentially allows enough play between the door and canopy to get something in there and pry it open.

Which is not exactly ideal.

The locks all seem to have this play that can’t be adjusted with the tensioning bolts.

So it feels like replacing them is the only option.

Now I know I have shown a bunch of the flaws, but there are definitely positives.

Structurally, it has been fine especially with close to 100kgs shared between the canopy and cabin roof.

The price point is great and they’re readily available so I could be on the road very quickly with very little turn around time.

If you want to hit the road fast and without spending a heap, I think they’re great and would definitely recommend them knowing full well, you might need to give it some love after a few years.