Better fit with Kampa Motor Rally Air Pro awning (1 Viewer)

[janeb]

After much thought and asking Kampa at various shows (to no avail), we have put another strip of awning rail under the Fiamma wind-out casing, hoping to achieve a closer fit to the van. We know that the 2016 Kampa air awning has an improved fit, but there is no way we could afford to change our 2015 model just like that !! So, with trepidation and not being keen to start drilling holes into the van body, (eeek!) we experimented with double sided tape and some awning rail, sticking it into position onto the underneath of the casing first then winding the Fiamma in and out to see the clearance possibility. Great, so off with the tape and then using longer and shorter pop rivets where space inside the casing allows, it was up and running. We are now in Cornwall and have a perfect close fitting with the awning, yay !! I know I have seen somewhere that another funster put rail under his Fiamma casing, but it was some time ago and never saw anyone else that had ever done it. Also found it reasonable to reach with small steps, rather than winding out the Fiamma so far to insert the beading.

Also taken tip from another funster and converted the carousel under the sink in our Swift Bolero 712 to pull out drawers, so much better! Thanks for the tip, think his name was Graham ??

 

[lorger]

We have a kampa air awning and although only tried it in the back garden several times for practice we have found it fits far better with the over the roof kit

 

[DavidG58]

As for attaching it, my plan for our next trip is to wind awning right out, put legs down, attach at nice working height, then inflate the awning, then retract it. It wont help the fit but might remove the strain on the awning

As for fitting we have the vertical poles as extras which help a little but often fall out, very poor fitting into a fabric boot

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[scotjimland]

also have the Kampa Air awning..

my problem is the wind out awning is too far back which means the hab door is outside the awning... not idea.. so may fit a rail on th evan wall further forward so it fits over the hab door..

or as mentioned. .use over the roof kit..

 

[scotjimland]

We have a kampa air awning and although only tried it in the back garden several times for practice we have found it fits far better with the over the roof kit

do you have a link for the kit.. ?

 

[mowbotman]

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[scotjimland]

Think we have confused two types of Kampa awnings .

this is the Kampa Motor Rally Air Pro ... the model the OP and I both have ..

it can't be fitted with over the roof straps..

http://www.kampa.co.uk/air-awnings/motor-rally-air-pro

this is the camper model, Travel mini pod, can be used with over the roof kit.. it's a free standing drive-away.. not a fixed awning.

http://www.kampa.co.uk/drive-away/travel-pod-midi

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

Is there an over roof kit for motor rally air pro?

 

[scotjimland]

Is there an over roof kit for motor rally air pro?

not that I am aware of.. and thinking about it, the awing wouldn't fit properly without using a rail..

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[lorger]

do you have a link for the kit.. ?

Bought it from these guys Jim http://www.campingandleisure.co.uk/ also bought awning from them.

Before buying the kit I made one with some old thin tent poles and rope just to see how it would sit over the top and it is ten times better,

 

[scotjimland]

my problem is the wind out awning is too far back which means the hab door is outside the awning... not idea.. so may fit a rail on th evan wall further forward so it fits over the hab door..

this shows my problem.. why I want to fit a rail under the wind-out awning ... and further forward ..over the roof straps wouldn't work

 

[scotjimland]

Bought it from these guys Jim http://www.campingandleisure.co.uk/ also bought awning from them.

Before buying the kit I made one with some old thin tent poles and rope just to see how it would sit over the top and it is ten times better,

thanks.. but we have different Kampa awnings... not possible to use roof kit with a fixed awning

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[lorger]

Think we have confused two types of Kampa awnings .

this is the Kampa Motor Rally Air Pro ... the model the OP and I both have ..

it can't be fitted with over the roof straps..

http://www.kampa.co.uk/air-awnings/motor-rally-air-pro

this is the camper model, Travel mini pod, can be used with over the roof kit.. it's a free standing drive-away.. not a fixed awning.

http://www.kampa.co.uk/drive-away/travel-pod-midi

Jim the kit I bought is similar to the awning one, it has a figure or 8 that goes on driveaway then a bit of material same as awning slides into other side of figure of 8 and that bit has 4 quick release buckles on it that attach to straps. I can take pic of it if you want. It will fit any driveaway with a bead that goes through F8

 

[lorger]

Might not be what you need but here is the kit

http://www.campingandleisure.co.uk/

Link only takes to home page do a search for driveaway kit it's called Columbus or similar.

 

[scotjimland]

Might not be what you need

thanks...
this is what I need to fit .. awning rail..

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[janeb]

In my original post, as I said, we have the fixed Kampa awning, not the driveaway one with throwover straps. The Motor Rally Air pro fixed awning is much like a caravan awning, but Kampa failed to recognise that the airbeams that should press against the van body to perfect the fit , actually don't in practice. This is due to the fact that pretty much all Fiamma (type) awnings with a channel are proud of the van body by at least 1" or more, thus preventing a close fit. We are quite sure that they made the Motor Rally Air Pro with extra height to fit motorhomes instead of caravans, without thinking about the extra length of the air beams to allow for the prodtruding Fiamma casings. Why else have Kampa altered the 2016 model "allowing for a better fit" ? By putting another awning channel on the underneath of the Fiamma casing, it has brought the awning that much closer to the van body and made all the difference to us.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Ok so here's my take on the whole Kampa "non" fitting motor air pro expensive awning. Having had an Autotrail where the omnister awning is rebated into the body the Kampa 2015 model fitted flush with the air tubes hard against the van. Perfect. Now we have a Dethleffs i7150 DTM with a protruding omnister 8000 6m canopy. After a great deal of thought, research & lengthy conversations with Kampa about the fit of the "new" 2016 model we bit the bullet and bought one. Oh dear "miss selling" springs to mind No the air tubes don't fit against the van as I was reliability informed, there is a 75mm gap this can be seen in the photo. There is however extra padding and material to enable the supplied poles to get an "almost" close fit.
My solution should I decide to keep the awning is to make a narrow double beaded awning rail. The new piece would slide into the existing channel, the cassette could then be closed fully leaving the "new" bead exposed. This needs to be long enough (approx 200mm) to allow the air tubes to push tight against the van. Hey presto, no fixing of an awning rail. Could be a very handy option if it works, which I'm sure it will.

 

[janeb]

Sounds good to us ! Will look forward to new pics, should you decide to do it. Like yourselves, we were quite disappointed by the shrugging of Kampa's shoulders re this poor fitting when you have a Fiamma type awning that stands a bit proud of the body of the van. Not very happy with the idea of "filler pieces" either, I have made some but went ahead with the extra awning rail pop riveted to the underside of the casing. It does work well, we tried it out at Spring Bank Holiday and did not have any problem, it brings the airbeams to a tighter close fit, as they should be! We still think that the pattern for these awnings has been taken straight from a caravan, where the awning channel is on the body, all Kampa have done is make it taller to fit a motorhome.

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[Chris]

Personally I think the old fashioned poles are best.

I can't think of anything permanently filled with air that is very good/ reliable except for tyres.

@Tootles will probably review his blow up doll, but I bet that gets a bit deflated as well with " use"

 

[janeb]

Ha ha ! especially MPs.....

 

[Mi58ck]

this shows my problem.. why I want to fit a rail under the wind-out awning ... and further forward ..over the roof straps wouldn't work View attachment 108253

We also had the same problem as you.So i slit the round rubber part that slides into the rail at the end of the grey triangle part.Then when I thread the awning into the rail I leave the triangle part outside the rail so the end of the actual awning is past your door.This makes your hab door inside the awning.Hope this makes sense

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[Steve and Denise]

I fitted a rail on the rear of our Fiamma ,a length of 40x3mm flat alloy screwed to the rear then screwed the c section to it no holes in the van I had to adapt a counter sink so I could use counter sunk screws in the channel. I am struggling to post a photo from this tablet.

 

[Tootles]

I cant lift sodallski since the operation, which makes our Kampa Motorhome Awning redundant........ So in the search for something lighter, we bought these.

Can only say BRILL! Erected in under five mins, 90% windproof, surprisingly very rainproof, they dry out in no time, and weigh in at under a bag of sugar.

 

[scotjimland]

We also had the same problem as you.So i slit the round rubber part that slides into the rail at the end of the grey triangle part.Then when I thread the awning into the rail I leave the triangle part outside the rail so the end of the actual awning is past your door.This makes your hab door inside the awning.Hope this makes sense

yes..
that makes sense .. will try that when we get back to the UK ..

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[kelv]

I have a Kampa air pro be very carful when using these awnings with your wind out sun awning they are very heavy and even with support this can happen..

 

[chasthedagger]

i have an air pro 260 and have complained to kampa who wont accept that the 2015 model is not designed to fit on a motorhome with a wind out sun awning they blame the retailer and the purchaser for either not telling the customer it is not suitable or the customer not asking if it would fit PATHETIC as for the air tubes not reaching the sides of the van they sent me 3 packs of foam squares to fill the gap between the van and the tubes, havent tried then yet but it wont cure the gaps down each side panel, dont see why i should have to start drilling holes and fitting awning rails to the side of my van. will be back in touch with kampa but buying british backfired with this badly designed attempt at a motorhome awning.

 

[scotjimland]

@chasthedagger

You have a fair point.. but no matter the make, attaching any awning to the wind out canopy will leave a gap down the van wall..

Frankly, I think it a poor idea .. the slot on the front of the wind out awning is meant for a front wall of a safari room or a sunshade .. not a full awning to hang on..

Fitting a rail is the best solution. ..having done mine I am extremely pleased with it now..

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/awning-rail-fitted-for-kampa-rally-air-pro.135228/page-2

Some else had fitted a C rail on the underside of the awning box with pop rivets.. ..

. It wasn't a solution for me as I wanted the awing further forward than the Thule wind out awning..

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[janeb]

Good Morning everyone, I happened upon a message on Kampa's facebook site yesterday, there have been several advertisements on there lately for their new 2017 air awnings. The message was from someone who had made an extension for their awning to fit over a window and door instead of blocking them. I don't know how to post the link ! The person had put a series of suckers onto the motorhome and then attached a further bead rail to them (I think). Kampa replied and stated this was how someone achieved a "better fit for their awning" . As I and many others have yet to receive any response from Kampa regarding a better fit, (i.e. against the van wall when attached to a roll out awning), I commented. Kampa were very quick to respond and point out that I had misunderstood their meaning of "better fit", as it related to channel and bead length. I have just as quickly responded to Kampa and pointed them in the direction of Motorhome Fun and asked them to read the many comments, plus the dissatisfaction of some people with regard to communications and solutions. I will say that we have found Kampa's air awnings to be just fine, the quality and air system are great. The only problem is getting them to admit to addressing the fit against the van, and responding to queries. Even though the 2016 model has been modified, some folk still find it isn't such a good fit as promised, why else would they send out pieces of foam to fit in the gaps ?

 

[scotjimland]

I don't know how to post the link ! The person had put a series of suckers onto the motorhome and then attached a further bead rail to them (I think). Kampa replied and stated this was how someone achieved a "better fit for their awning" .

well.. not what I would call a solution.. more a bodge.. not sure what it actually achieves .. the awning is still not a close fit .. and rain will pour down inside..

and it can never be a close fit using the roll out awning.. no matter how many bodges or pieces of of foam are employed..

IMO the best solution is to fix a rail directly to the van..

and your link to Kampa FB https://www.facebook.com/Kampa-613095028719654/?fref=ts

 

[janeb]

That was my point, thank you ! Kampa seemed to be of the opinion that all the person wanted to achieve was to extend their rail without any screws, completely missing the obvious that water will pour down the side of the van ! Such a shame that Kampa don't respond to many queries, we have even pressed them for answers at various shows, but got fobbed off with stories about pieces of foam.....!!

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