Safari room (1 Viewer)

[Haitchjay]

Despite lots of advice from some people saying they never use them, we're considering getting one. It would give hound extra space and at 42kg, he needs it!
What advice is there on driveaways, fit onto awnings and how do I work out sizing etc. for Hilda? She has a Thule awning. Thanks in advance

 

[treetops1]

For a safari room to start with it has to fit your awning .measure length and that is the size you need . Not sure about the Thule you may have to ask the dealer as may go straight on or there maybe an adapter . They are a bit heavy so we tend to use ours when we are away for a week or more , takes me about an hour to put up including a skirt to the van. when not using the safari we put wind breakers round taking the same space which is about the area of the awning when open.Don,t rush into buying anything until you have had time to digest your needs . We have had ours 5 years and it's being ok but they may now be better out there . Chances are someone on the forum will have 1 for sale . Which ever way you go enjoy lol. H

 

[suavecarve]

When we bought our first motorhome it had a safari room. FIrst thing we did was sell it. Reason being you cannot go anywhere once it is up. So if you are going to a campsite next to the beach with LIDLs nearby then it is perfect. If so buy a caravan !
So we then purchased a driveaway awning for the kids to stay in. They were only 100 nicker on ebay at the time but we only used it for one year. They cant be used on aires so again only campsites but you might get the occasional france passion site if they arent too fussy and the space is there. You have to be able to tether it down on the opposite side of the motorhome (probably offside if the door opening is nearside) and then it needs to be tethered down when you leave it so you need to park on grass.
Then we tried a pup tent, and by the time we finally got it sorted the kids had grown up and fled the nest.
Moral of the story ..... You will never get it right, but i wouldnt go safari again.

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[Tootles]

Also, as an addition to the above, check the weight. We sold our Fiammi privacy room, simply because it weighed a ton, so much so, that it became a bane to erect.

 

[irnbru]

We have a safari room that sits in the cupboard. Now use a quest pop up gazebo. Extremely quick to put up and down.

 

[Stretto Boy]

We have been considering a Quest pop-up gazebo. They seem to be about the right size for our needs and fairly easy to erect. I am not sure that I believe the claim that one person can erect it in under a minute but if two of us can get it up in ten minutes we will be happy. Do any of you who have one also have the optional side panels and, if so, do they think they are worth having?

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[Cal54]

@Stretto Boy - I have the Quest pop-up (4sided) and do erect it on my own in under 5 mins, so 2 of you will have it up in no time. I also have the side covers for 2 reasons: 1) privacy especially if you are storing things inside and 2) keeps things, including me, dry if raining!!
Best accessory I have ever bought.

 

[DavidG58]

Looks like once again I am going against the flow

on our way down to Rose Awnings to today to have a new awning fitted, ours is bent due to hanging a Kampa Air off the front, that and possibly over tightening ratchet straps in fear of wind damage

We are buying a new Omnistore and have opted for brand new safari room, looked great in the showroom and we have been sold on 'relative' ease of putting up, we will know soon enough but at 5.5m long, 3m high and 3.5m deep it will be about as heavy as they come

Our logic was we only need a wind out normally for sun or possibly if light rain, but like the extra space a little like we had when caravanning when on rallies etc for 2-4 nights for socialising and keeping warm whilst still being outside

will let you all know how it went on return, planning a couple of nights stop over in new forest this weekend, but looking at the snow forecast we may not put it up

 

[sallylillian]

Looks like once again I am going against the flow

on our way down to Rose Awnings to today to have a new awning fitted, ours is bent due to hanging a Kampa Air off the front, that and possibly over tightening ratchet straps in fear of wind damage

We are buying a new Omnistore and have opted for brand new safari room, looked great in the showroom and we have been sold on 'relative' ease of putting up, we will know soon enough but at 5.5m long, 3m high and 3.5m deep it will be about as heavy as they come

Our logic was we only need a wind out normally for sun or possibly if light rain, but like the extra space a little like we had when caravanning when on rallies etc for 2-4 nights for socialising and keeping warm whilst still being outside

will let you all know how it went on return, planning a couple of nights stop over in new forest this weekend, but looking at the snow forecast we may not put it up

Have a 6 meter awning fitted instead then you can buy my only used once 6 meter safari room for a song! We simply do not stay anywhere long enough to justify the setting up. It is literally brand new up for 2 days only and no rain!

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[jezport]

I get loads of my customers buy my awning panels to replace safari rooms due to weight, time to fit, space, hassle drying them etc

 

[Haitchjay]

Really useful info everyone, thank you. Appears that advice given so far matches what we'd been told. Really like the idea of the Quest pop up tho I'll be very interested to hear how you get on with you new Safari room David.
Ultimately no rush so I will enjoy the looking round at what everyone else has/does.
If only I'd found a site like this when we were boating......could of saved ourselves a fortune!

 

[Yorick]

WTF is a safari room?

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[cornish boy]

If only I'd found a site like this when we were boating......could of saved ourselves a fortune!

The YBW (Yachting and Boating World) forum. YBW.com. Much like this, full of members ready to help and offer great advice and an 'ignore' button for those that aren't....

 

[cornish boy]

WTF is a safari room?

 

[DanielFord]

WTF is a safari room?

A more sensible answer:

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[mitzimad]

WTF is a safari room?

its 35 kilos of canvass like matierial that lives in a garage or loft

 

[Minxy]

Just one thing ... you need to decide if you are happy to have your roll out awning in use all the time even in severe weather otherwise you'd need to take it down. You also have to not intend to move your MH much as once the safari is up you wouldn't want to take it down again just to go shopping!

The Quests are brilliant bits of kit - I bought a 4-sided one from another funster last year and even though I had never put one up before, or seen it done, and it was so easy to do on my own ... taking it down was even easier than putting it up!

They come in 4-sided and 6-sided versions.

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[BreweryDave]

I have a brand spanking new in the bag never used Fiama F45L Zip 'privacy room' up for grabs if anyone's interested. I'll never use it, want the lightweight lillipad type.
It's about £800 new.
Will advertise when back in uk, but just putting it out there in case anyone's in Spain and happens to want one

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[Haitchjay]

Think for now it will be a wait and see. Neither of us are the most patient of people so rather than add the cost of divorce to the price of the 'room' the awning may well be all we need

 

[hilldweller]

What advice is there on driveaways, fit onto awnings

To save a bit of confusion.

A Safari Room is a very specific very heavy duty set of three walls for a wind out awning. Excellent piece of kit.

Everything else is an awning.

 

[Yorick]

A more sensible answer:
View attachment 141514

Cheers. So it's just a posh name for an awning?

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[cliffanger]

We have been considering a Quest pop-up gazebo. They seem to be about the right size for our needs and fairly easy to erect. I am not sure that I believe the claim that one person can erect it in under a minute but if two of us can get it up in ten minutes we will be happy. Do any of you who have one also have the optional side panels and, if so, do they think they are worth having?

We have one and wouldn't buy anything else. They can be erected in minutes, (@Mr Mousy videod our first erection in galeforce conditions at Barry Island.....) the side panels are well worth getting.

Ours comfortably sat five adults for dinner at the same Barry Island and it meant we could still sit outside the van in windy and overcast conditions.

The main benefit of the Quest is that it doesn't have to be attached to the motorhome, so can be left up when you are in bed! How many of us (not me - I'm fast asleep in bed) have got up in underpants in the middle of the night to wind the awning in because the wind has started to gust.....

They are worth every penny. @Haitchjay we would buy a Quest over a Safari room any day.

 

[cliffanger]

Another + for the Quest is that if you move off your pitch with the van, things can be left in the Quest, saving the packing of stuff, and saving the pitch too!

 

[DanielFord]

Cheers. So it's just a posh name for an awning?

Pretty much

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[Riverbankannie]

[QUOTE="cliffandger, post: 2188171, member: 25562"How many of us (not me - I'm fast asleep in bed) have got up in underpants in the middle of the night to wind the awning in because the wind has started to gust.....

They are worth every penny. @Haitchjay we would buy a Quest over a Safari room any day. [/QUOTE]

Too many times! Now we always wind in awning before going to bed. Wouldn't be worth the bother of putting up side panels.

 

[Paul and Kate]

If you do decide to get a safari room I can highly recommend
Rose Awnings did a great job on our old vans awning

 

[GAVLAD]

Looks like once again I am going against the flow

on our way down to Rose Awnings to today to have a new awning fitted, ours is bent due to hanging a Kampa Air off the front, that and possibly over tightening ratchet straps in fear of wind damage

We are buying a new Omnistore and have opted for brand new safari room, looked great in the showroom and we have been sold on 'relative' ease of putting up, we will know soon enough but at 5.5m long, 3m high and 3.5m deep it will be about as heavy as they come

Our logic was we only need a wind out normally for sun or possibly if light rain, but like the extra space a little like we had when caravanning when on rallies etc for 2-4 nights for socialising and keeping warm whilst still being outside

will let you all know how it went on return, planning a couple of nights stop over in new forest this weekend, but looking at the snow forecast we may not put it up

That's interesting that your Kampa air awning has bent your existing.
I have just moved from an Omni Safari to a Kampa Air Awning.
I've not got round to fitting it to the awning cassette on the van but tried it out in the garage at work and it was so quick and easy to pump up.
I'm a little concerned though that it has the potential to bend the awning.
Mine weighs about the same as the old safari room.
As for Rose Awnings, I've dealt with John a couple of times and he's very professional and always at the end of the phone to help answer questions.
I'm hoping I catch him at a show this year so that he can service the awning mechanisms.

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[DavidG58]

Have a 6 meter awning fitted instead then you can buy my only used once 6 meter safari room for a song! We simply do not stay anywhere long enough to justify the setting up. It is literally brand new up for 2 days only and no rain!

typical of my life, we always hear about the bargains just after buying the most expensive version ever sold

but a 6m awning must be vast with a safari room attached, we already think ours would be as big as most of the rooms in our house when up and that's 5.5m (I think) couldn't get anything longer on ours anyway, wouldn't have bought that big but it came with it fitted when bought

we ordered ours following the New Forest meet back in November

 

[DavidG58]

@GAVLAD

I reckon it is 50/50 what actually bent ours, coupled with the length of our wind out at 5.5m there is a lot of it only winding in at the ends

Personally I think I overdid the ratchets when it was windy somewhere and I couldn't be bothered to put everything away and probably had the straps too far in from the ends

But prefer to blame it all on Bevs choice of the Kampa, which was also the large size so max weight possible, our MH is 3m high so we need to wind the awning out quite a long way to be able to attach the Kampa, then wind it in is a bit of a dead lift on the centre of the rail, made worse for ours being so long

The Kampa is a decent bit of kit and I can only hope that at just over £4K, the new wind out awning and all the associated panels that make the room, are going to be even more decent

 

[Stretto Boy]

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses to my queries regarding the Quest gazebo : that looks like the way we shall be going. Just counting the weeks to the new Auto Sleeper Supposedly due in early March. Hope the sale of the company to Trigano won't delay things!