Awnings - What to get? (1 Viewer)

Dave and Ginny

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Hi all

I can see a few threads running here on awnings but none really hitting the few questions I have.

I want something to give us that bit more space for longer stays, hopefully Benidorm this coming winter. Currently have an F45ti which is 3.5 wide on our Hymer B544 for which we have a Lillypad safari room which is great, but I'm thinking maybe not be enough for an extended stay, great as a sunblocker is for keeping a bit of wind and rain at bay, I'm not up for leaving it out when the wind gets up! Which also puts me off the Fiamma Privacy room somewhat plus the weight and space.

Not really wanting a drive a way either, liking the more traditional look of a lean too style awning. Now to the questions...:rolleyes:

The track on the Fiamma is 4mm?

All awnings I'm seeing advertised seem to be either 280 or 390 wide. I would need a 280 then but would prefer to be able to step out of van into awning which I'm thinking will not be possible as my door opening is less than 1/2 metre from the end of the awning track?

And finally, I'm fairly restricted space wise for storage. Do the advantages of the inflatable awning far outweigh the traditional pole type in terms of weight and space packed?

I've had loads of awnings as a 'tugger' and I may be looking at this for a motorhome all wrong...do tell me ;)

Many thanks, Dave
 

mjltigger

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I'm with you. I don't know either and now we have the pup Ms Tiggs wants some inside outside space. No idea what good it's gonna do us on an aire or in a bloody layby though..

I also have a sliding door being a PVC so think that adds to the complexity.. mind you I don't have an awning or rail at the moment so I guess I could fit it wherever it needs to be
 
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We will be using the panel van for 5 months in winter and as we are towing a car we will use a caravan type awning which will fit into the Fiamma awning. The awning we are using has both sizes of bead as we had the smaller one for the Fiamma sewn on a few years ago. I have also fitted a awning channel on the bottom of the van so we can slide the skirt on as well.

Mike
 
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Dave and Ginny

Dave and Ginny

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We will be using the panel van for 5 months in winter and as we are towing a car we will use a caravan type awning which will fit into the Fiamma awning. The awning we are using has both sizes of bead as we had the smaller one for the Fiamma sewn on a few years ago. I have also fitted a awning channel on the bottom of the van so we can slide the skirt on as well.

Mike

That's a good point, a skirt I hadn't thought about that one! o_O
 

Minxy

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Hi all

I can see a few threads running here on awnings but none really hitting the few questions I have.

I want something to give us that bit more space for longer stays, hopefully Benidorm this coming winter. Currently have an F45ti which is 3.5 wide on our Hymer B544 for which we have a Lillypad safari room which is great, but I'm thinking maybe not be enough for an extended stay, great as a sunblocker is for keeping a bit of wind and rain at bay, I'm not up for leaving it out when the wind gets up! Which also puts me off the Fiamma Privacy room somewhat plus the weight and space.

Not really wanting a drive a way either, liking the more traditional look of a lean too style awning. Now to the questions...:rolleyes:

The track on the Fiamma is 4mm?

All awnings I'm seeing advertised seem to be either 280 or 390 wide. I would need a 280 then but would prefer to be able to step out of van into awning which I'm thinking will not be possible as my door opening is less than 1/2 metre from the end of the awning track?
You can put the awning anywhere on the awning rail so could place it so it covers your door.

And finally, I'm fairly restricted space wise for storage. Do the advantages of the inflatable awning far outweigh the traditional pole type in terms of weight and space packed?
Inflatable awnings can actually be quite bulky and heavy when packed away, especially if you get the ones with the sewn in ground sheet as they are then one large unit, rather than in 2 parts (material and poles) which can be easier to store. I did notice there's a new model out by Vango now called the Idris which is similar to the Kela but has a detachable ground sheet, and doesn't come with the bedroom pod as standard so is cheaper too.

One thing to be aware of though is that some people have used the airbeam type awnings for a long term stay and problems which have then developed have not been covered by warranty as apparently they are not mean to be used in this way!

Personally, I'd stick with a pole awning for long term use as once it's up it doesn't matter which you have and they are quite a bit cheaper and don't appear to fall foul of the 'long term' use warranty scenario.

If you do intend to move your MH though whilst away I'd suggest you reconsider a drive away awning to avoid having to put everything away, take down your awning, then when you return put it all back up/in again.

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mjltigger

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Spoilt for choice with us, so many to choose from !

http://www.johnscross.co.uk/awnings-annexes-groundsheets.html

I get so lost perhaps I can tell you what we need. When we were huggers we had an awning with bedroom extensions.. it could take 4 - each end and the front 2 bay's.. these added on independently and we could take what we needed depending on how many kids came with us.. we really want a drive away that has similar flexibility.. a bit of an extension when it's just us, but we can add the bedrooms as we need them.. we have a Renault master xlwb PVC with the side sliding door still in use..
 
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Minxy

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I get so lost perhaps I can tell you what we need. When we were huggers we had an awning with bedroom extensions.. it could take 4 - each end and the front 2 bay's.. these added on independently and we could take what we needed depending on how many kids came with us.. we really want a drive away that has similar flexibility.. a bit of an extension when it's just us, but we can add the bedrooms as we need them.. we have a Renault master xlwb PVC with the side sliding door still in use..
Outdoor Revolution do a Movelite XLF drive away awning which can have a bedroom annex attached and comes with one ... you can probably add another if needed. You can also buy a universal awning annex too which you could use with other drive away awnings.

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mjltigger

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Outdoor Revolution do a Movelite XLF drive away awning which can have a bedroom annex attached and comes with one ... you can probably add another if needed. You can also buy a universal awning annex too which you could use with other drive away awnings.

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@Johns_Cross_Motorhomes has this one too.. I think it is just the one bedroom though and we have 4 kids who all need their own space.. we have one of these but it is old and needs replacing.. plus it doesn't attach meaning we sometimes get charged as 2 units and we get wet if it rains
hartfordxxl_plan.JPG

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Minxy

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... I think that's called .... a TENT! :D
 

sdc77

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We have a movelite xlf that we used a couple of times.. it's big enough and has two double bedrooms in the bedroom pod. If you are looking for one you could have this for £60 ... it's got the carpet too I think. It attaches either to your awning channel or by straps over the top
 

mjltigger

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... I think that's called .... a TENT! :D
Lol yep.. legacy of our pre tugger days.. hence worn out.. only used once a year these days which is why we don't want a massive fixed awning to replace it.

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Minxy

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I bought a Ventura Cumulus drive away awning (made by Isabella, the caravan awning people) this year and took it to France. We found the fact that it is stand alone really useful. When the weather was fine we pitched the awning about 4ft from the moho, wound out the fiamma awning and attached to the rail. This gave us the separate awning space and a 4ft tunnel for storage of the kids bikes, scooters etc. We have used it in the UK pitched approx 18ins from the van and used the tunnel to walk directly into the awning from the Moho to keep the mud and such out. Like all good awnings it has some weight to it but the benefits out weigh the drawbacks.
 

DBK

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I bought a Ventura Cumulus drive away awning (made by Isabella, the caravan awning people) this year and took it to France. We found the fact that it is stand alone really useful. When the weather was fine we pitched the awning about 4ft from the moho, wound out the fiamma awning and attached to the rail. This gave us the separate awning space and a 4ft tunnel for storage of the kids bikes, scooters etc. We have used it in the UK pitched approx 18ins from the van and used the tunnel to walk directly into the awning from the Moho to keep the mud and such out. Like all good awnings it has some weight to it but the benefits out weigh the drawbacks.
That's clever!

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Teasy2007

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Hi, we have had Kampa pole 390 awnings, Kampa air 330, and Isabella Minor, we found problems with all of them, mostly to do with weight, problems putting them up and even more problems when strong winds blew them down, or away.

We have just bought one of the new Quest easy-up awnings, it arrived this morning. We decided to try it and within 5 mins it was out of the box and erected on the lawn, we have never had an awning which was so quick and easy. It was just like being in the Windblocker but even better, with the real advantage of being able to take down as easily as it was to put up!

We want it for long term use in Spain to keep us out of the wind and rain, or sun - from whatever element we need relief. We hope it stands up to the weather ok and feel that it was £159 well spent.

Ginny
 
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Dave and Ginny

Dave and Ginny

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Hi Ginny and Mike, @Teasy2007, just had a look at the Quest on utube, looks really easy and great value for money. Hope to see you both about in Spain later this year/ next.

Dave and Ginny
 
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Hi Teasy2007, reading a this relatively old forum and saw your report about the Quest 'easy up' did it stand muster, and are you still pleased with it?
Ray

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tonka

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Hi Teasy2007, reading a this relatively old forum and saw your report about the Quest 'easy up' did it stand muster, and are you still pleased with it?
Ray

If you want Ginny to see and react to your question you need to put "@" in front of name so it highlights. You should get the name pop up once you start typing. Then that person gets an alert.... :) @RGR723
 
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Hi @Teasy2007, reading this relatively old forum and saw your report about the Quest 'easy up' did it stand muster, and are you still pleased with it?
Ray

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Hi @tonka thank you for your advice as a very new fun member one does need it!
Ray
 

SUGGY

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We fitted an awning rail to the mh for the porch awning and now use the windout over the top of the porch awning .
This keeps the heat off and the night air and also the rain when putting it up and down . We also use the wind blockers as sun on the sides as in the photo .

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May 12, 2011
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We were in a similar situation. We bought a Kampa Motor Awning at the Peterborough show in April, the old type with poles, as having a garage full of other good ideas for the van, we got it under £200.
It has dual beading on the connecting tape, so no problem sliding the beading into the Fiamma awning. On our Hymer 504, we have the reverse of your problem, the habitation door hinges are close to the end of the track, but at the cab end. Took it on tour for the first time in May for 7 weeks, and now wouldn't be without it. It gives us outside space that feels secure.
We were planning to purchase a new Hymer 580 MLT on our return, then found the Fiamma awning can't clear the hab. door, so we apologised to the dealer, but we need a van that can accomodate the awning.
The poles are heavy as a 'lump' but we haven't had a problem. We looked for a solution for the gap between the van and the awning caused by the stand off from the fiamma awning. In poundland we saw some swimming aids called 'noodles', 2 metre long circular section extruded foam, 2 of those with stick on velcro, no gap.
 
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Well that`s our 13th year & still loving it.
We saw the Vango Kalari inflatable awning fitted to a caravan looked fantastic unfortunately it appears that non of the current inflatable awnings are made to fit the height of a motorhome.
The rep at the show said there wasn`t enough interest from Motorhome owners, I did point out that their brochure had lots of photos of awnings fitted to caravans but NON fitted to motorhomes, not a great sales pitch alienating motorhome owners.
 

JockandRita

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Hi @Teasy2007, reading this relatively old forum and saw your report about the Quest 'easy up' did it stand muster, and are you still pleased with it?
Ray
@Teasy (Ginny & Mike) may not be online at this meet, however, as a result of them and @Carol & Eddie having the same awning at the York meet, several others have ordered, so much so, that the supplier is now out of stock. We've had four delivered here in the last two days. :eek: The side walls are optional an extras.

HTH,

Jock. :)

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Minxy

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The Hull Greyhound Trust have just bought one of the Quest Easy Up square awnings to replace the gazebo they use at fairs/events and it's proved great for their needs, so easy to put up and take down.
 

Teasy2007

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Hi @Teasy2007, reading this relatively old forum and saw your report about the Quest 'easy up' did it stand muster, and are you still pleased with it?
Ray

Hi Ray, it certainly stood up to a lot of wind in Spain over the winter, and it has been up and down more than I can remember! It is very resilient and the only minor complaint is that the top has lost its blue colour in the sun. The newer model has a gutter which you can fasten over the screens which is a good modification. All in all the best we have bought so far.

Ginny
 
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We have just got the Kampa Rally Air Pro 260 it's a great bit of kit easy to pump up I fitted an awning rail rather than use the wind out as it's easier to fit to just riveted it to bottom of the wind out, works a treat.

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