Quality of Kampa awnings? (1 Viewer)

[Encantador]

Having now decided we need a awning, especially with a large dog, we need advice on the quality of what`s out there.

If money was no object, the Thule safari room we saw at Peterborough would be top of the list, closely followed by the Fiamma safari room, but at £1200 and £700 respectively, they are more than we want to spend at the moment (especially having also decided we need a generator, but that`s another story).
So, the above would give us the most space as they are both 5.5 metres in length (same as the canopy). Ideally, if I am going to put something up, I may as well put something up that gives us the most room, but cost has to be factored in.

Having said that, still not 100% convinced using the canopy as part of the awning is the best option.

So, the next best option seems to be going down to 3.9metres which seems to be the largest size other awnings go up to, no dea why. Not really interested in drive away, which means a porch awning jumps to the top of the list. Looked at a Suncamp 390 at Peterborough that looked OK but have read some awful reviews about the quality. The Kampa Motor Rally 390L at around £300 is the only other one I have seen and again `looks` OK.

Does anyone have any first hand experience of the Kampa brand awnings? Is there another make we should look at?
Anyone know of a porch awning larger than 3.9 Metres? It would have to slide into a 250cm high Fiamma canopy.

Any other ideas, suggestions welcome (except don`t bother with a awning).

Thanks

Steve

 

[canopus]

We've sat in Ambilkates and its very cosy. However, I believe that Ambikate plus one or two others have had issues with colour fade of the material:Sad:


Vee haff vun of deez


http://www.dwt-zelte.de/en/products/mobile-camper-tents/globus-plus/:thumb:

 

[Encantador]

Thanks for the reply. Looks very expensive, £1300 for a 4mtr unless I am reading it wrong.

have now seen a Kampa Rally 390 PLUS with a two person annexe (so 3.9mtrs plus the annexe) for £469. And if I add a figure of eight plus another bit between that and the Fiamma it will fit.

Has anyone tried this sort of jiggery pokery to get a caravan awning to fit a MH??

Steve

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[robnchris]

Thanks for the reply. Looks very expensive, £1300 for a 4mtr unless I am reading it wrong.

have now seen a Kampa Rally 390 PLUS with a two person annexe (so 3.9mtrs plus the annexe) for £469. And if I add a figure of eight plus another bit between that and the Fiamma it will fit.

Has anyone tried this sort of jiggery pokery to get a caravan awning to fit a MH??

Steve

Hi Steve,

Most awning repair places can do anything you want to get a fit, we bought a Omnistor privacy room and had the figure of 8 joints replaced with zips, only cost £24.00.
Have a look on ebay as we did pick up a bargain and then get it cut to fit, we got an almost new Room for £280 and then paid £60 to have it cut to size.:thumb:

 

[Scout]

Ive got a stand alone kampa day tent, 4MX4M £129 iirc, Ive used it a few times seems ok, cant coment on thre fade issue as havt had it that long.

I dont see the need to have it fixed to the van, being stand alone means it can go anywere, to the rear, to the side, easy to pitch, big enought for tlable + chairs

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Ask Jim, he bought a Kampa Rally off us a couple of weeks ago and he hasn't complained !

http://www.johnscross.co.uk/categories/Awnings-Annexes-Groundsheets/Kampa-Awnings/

Peter

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[Encantador]

Thanks Peter, I spoke to Jim about his at Peterborough.

The 390 Plus with annexe, gives more room but I am getting conflicting advice about whether it can be attached to my Fiamma awning or not.

Steve

 

[canopus]

Thanks for the reply. Looks very expensive, £1300 for a 4mtr unless I am reading it wrong.

have now seen a Kampa Rally 390 PLUS with a two person annexe (so 3.9mtrs plus the annexe) for £469. And if I add a figure of eight plus another bit between that and the Fiamma it will fit.

Has anyone tried this sort of jiggery pokery to get a caravan awning to fit a MH??

Steve

You can find them cheaper ie on ebay for example:thumb:

 

[Ambilkate]

Hi Steve, we have the 390 motorally xl, the awning is very spacious and we are very happy with the design and versitilty. very easy to errect can go into your fiamma awning rail or others have used an awning rail fitted directly onto their vans. We needed the xl for the hieght of our motorhome especialy if using blocks. However several months into the usage we noticed the middle roof pannel was changing colour and the texture of the material felt waxy. Our supplier has changed it with no problems for us. We have opted for the same make and model because we are very happy with it. If you do purchase one you will need to purchase at the same time 3 monsoon poles + 2 rear support poles as it does not come with these. The thread is on fun showing the pictures of the awnings with the change of colour.

Broken Link Removed

With anything you buy always consider the weight factor, this was also another reason why we chose this model instead of the privacy room.

Hope this helps Kate

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[Encantador]

Thanks Kate, very useful.

I have just measured the Fiamma and it goes from about 250cm to 275cm, I am assuming because although it looks pretty level it is not. So, that rules out the 390 plus with the annexe which is a max of 250.

So I am back to the 390 motor Rally XL, having only used the van 3 times and always needed to use ramps, I guess it`s best to go for the largest.

Thanks for the info re extra poles etc, might get a better deal if I get them at the same time.

Steve

 

[Encantador]

Kate, what are the 2 rear support poles for?

Thanks

Steve

 

[tonka]

After seeing Ambilkate's awning a few times we decided to buy one back in February..
We knew theirs had changed colour for some reason but at the time even they were unsure why...
Within 10 days use a roof panel on ours also changed colour and had a waxy feel !!
While attending the Marjal rally with Ambilkate, we also learned of another fun member with the same issue..
We attempted to let Kampa know of this issue BUT they didn't seem at all interested,,
Luckily, Kate managed to get her's swopped out reasonably quickly.. Mine is still being sorted, sent back to supplier in Worcestershire, who have allegedly sent it to Kampa..
BUT still no response off Kampa and currently I am chasing a credit...

It's a good bit of kit BUT Kampa customer service seems to be very poor..:Angry:

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[Peter JohnsCross MH]

After seeing Ambilkate's awning a few times we decided to buy one back in February..
We knew theirs had changed colour for some reason but at the time even they were unsure why...
Within 10 days use a roof panel on ours also changed colour and had a waxy feel !!
While attending the Marjal rally with Ambilkate, we also learned of another fun member with the same issue..
We attempted to let Kampa know of this issue BUT they didn't seem at all interested,,
Luckily, Kate managed to get her's swopped out reasonably quickly.. Mine is still being sorted, sent back to supplier in Worcestershire, who have allegedly sent it to Kampa..
BUT still no response off Kampa and currently I am chasing a credit...

It's a good bit of kit BUT Kampa customer service seems to be very poor..:Angry:

You should try the Johns Cross after sales service next time:thumb:

Peter

 

[tonka]

JC..
Your after sales may well be good and well done for that.
If I had bought from you then I would have had a bigger refund
oh no, sorry that meant I would have paid more... (



BUT the issue here is that Kampa just dont seem to want to know..
3 people in the same place with the same problem ???
How many more are out there ? A dealer on ebay right now has a Kampa 260 selling as a "return / second" with "colour change"..
What is the ongoing implications, if it's something to do with the waterproofing then could this be a problem waiting to happen..

Anyway time will tell.... I will get it resolved, it's only an awning...

 

[Ambilkate]

Kate, what are the 2 rear support poles for?

Thanks

Steve

They slot in the top of the awning, you then tie the awning to them to keep it close to the van

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[bobandjanie]

Hi, we have the kampa rally 390xl got it just after Malvern last year, we had already decided but seeing Ambilkates at Malvern we knew it was the one we wanted.

WE used at our meet at Tattingstone and a couple of funsters ordered them after that, it was used at a couple more local meets, then we went of to Spain it was used for 3 and a half months, we had some very windy weather at one site, and yes the centre panel has changed colour, and we are waiting to see if Kates replacement awning does the same, but as for the awning, :thumb: very pleased with it and glad we have it, ours has been used as much as some people would use it in a life time, I cant fault it and as I say only one panel in the roof has changed colour, but being the centre is not so bad.

Would I buy another :thumb: Yes. Bob.

 

[Teasy2007]

Hi, After meeting other funsters at the Marjal Rally, we bought the Motor Rally 390XL and overall are happy with the purchase.

World of Camping, Redruth posted it to us in Spain and it only took 3 days to arrive, so we were very pleased.

One of our panels has changed colour, but it is directly above where we cook, so I wonder if that is the reason why. I am going to try and clean the panel but it certainly looks like cooking underneath it is the cause. If this is the case then it is not the fault of the manufacturer surely!

We have had some major storms in Santa Suzanna and whilst other awnings have struggled to cope with the winds ours has been fine, if at times a little noisy!

I would recommend the awning, but suggest that you buy the storm straps, the only thing we didn't purchase. We have had to cobble something together. We have an awning strap (at home at the moment) which we will use in the future. It will thread through the top of the four main supports and add additional stability.

Ginny and Mike

 

[Jim]

After seeing BobandJanes, Tonka's, Pat4Neils and Ambilkate' I just had to have one. Only used it for one 5 day stay at a very wet Chester. Very pleased with it:thumb:

We got the 390L rather than the XL as we are only lickle

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[tonka]

Teasy, I don't think cooking is the issue...
We never cooked in ours and why would only 1 panel change ??
Heat would rise and affect a certain area, not go just to one square panel..

Keep an eye on it and " have a feel" you may notice it is "waxy"...

 

[bobandjanie]

I agree with Tonka, cooking is not the issue, ours is the middle panel and the cooking is not carried out there. Heat rises anyway so it would affect the whole area not very obviously the one panel. Waxy, yes. Going to give the awning a bit longer though and see how Tonka gets on. Jane

P.S. John's Cross may well be providing a great service and no quibbles but I feel sorry for all the suppliers if they are going to get a deluge of them back as they HAVE to deal with Kampa!

 

[Ambilkate]

ALL WE WANT NOW IS SOME SUNSHINE SO WE CAN PUT THE AWNING UP

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[tonka]

Update....

Just received a full refund in the post from the dealer....
Spoke with him the other day and he had not even bothered to open the parcel, sent it direct on to Kampa.. I asked if they would be replacing it but he said no, hence refund.
Strange that Kampa have already now had back both Ambilkate's and mine and no comments made on what the problem may be..

Fingers crossed for the other fun members who's awnings have already changed colour, hope it's not something that gets worse in time.

Got to go find a replacement now but doesn't seem to be anything else like it on the market.

 

[Teasy2007]

We have just returned from Spain and the change in colour seems to be spreading to the other ceiing panels. I am not sure if this is better than having an odd ceiling panel or not!

Our supplier advised us to send it back but we are unsure as we really like the awning and dont want to return it if it is just an colour issue rather than a fault which might compromise the durability or weatherproofing.

After extensive research I cannot find anything similar for a motorhome. There is a Suncamp 390 Platinum awning made for caravans, but I have contacted them and they do not, nor will they in the future, make them for motorhomes.

Ginny and Mike