Drive away awning (1 Viewer)

[Loscoe Smith]

Hi Guys!

as a relative newbie to the world of MH & a recently paid up subscriber to this website.. I hoped you may be able to offer us some advice...

Having just collected a Swift 686 Escape - we are looking to buy a drive-away awning. Any recommendations, do's or don'ts?? Do I really need a stand alone?

Also, any advice on the best size... It's just really for when our Grandson comes with us, a 2 year old has twice as much "stuff" as me! But it would be great if it could offer some sleeping privacy too!

Thanks

 

[sedge]

It all depends how you are going to use your MoHo ....

If you intend to spend most of your time on sites, so that each time you want to go out and drive somewhere you would have to dismantle and pack away completely, then a drive-away makes more sense than not. If however you are only going for a few days, or stay in places where you won't need to drive, then it's an unnecessary expense.

If you intend to tour Europe staying majorly on Aires, then on the vast majority you can't erect awnings anyway.

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

If you give us a ring on 01-580-883062 as a Swift Escape dealer we can give to you the best advice and supply what you need plus you will get Funsters Discount as well :thumb:

Peter

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[Ber090]

Hi, We were determined not to have any awning. Until our teenage grandkids decided they want to return to going with us this year. We had a good look at the Harrogate show last Friday and settled on the Vango Air Kela tall for our Bolero. We ordered from John's Cross on line late on Saturday and it arrived today. Just put it up to check and we are delighted. Took 15mins and next time will be under 10mins. John' Cross website has full details and a funster discount.
Cheers
Bernie

P.S. Big thanks to John's Cross for being great to deal with and super service:thumb:

 

[pneumatician]

We have owned a Drive away Awning since starting some 12 yrs ago. So far they have all been like conventional frame tents bu equip with the connection tunnel.
If we pitch for just two nights then we use the roll out and a windbreak. Three nights or more on one site and we use the full awning. It takes about an hour to get it erected and the furniture Kitchen gear etc ready for use. ( I have never cooked inside the van ).
Probably being ex proper campers we much prefer to eat and relax in the awning temperature permitting.
Drive away advantages are pretty obvious, when you want to go somewhere in the van you just chuck everything inside the waning Zip up and away you go.
Realignment is easy ( I can get to within 25mm) its all depends on the colour of string you use

 

[TheBig1]

take a look at the khyam motordome. far superior to other driveaway awnings as the lightweight frame stays attached to the flysheet. this allows you to assemble the awning and have it pegged out within 5 minutes. you can choose optional sleeping pods or a decent 3m square floorspace. brilliant if you want to set up at a site for touring and leave chairs etc behind. because it is quick errect, it allows you to quickly drop the awning and move to another site without worrying how long it takes etc

ours has been up in strong winds that damaged other awnings on site but has survived totally unscathed. it may not be the cheapest but its the best we have owned over many many years

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[Yorick]

We just have a wind out jobby. Good enough for us.

I'm a proper 'ard norvener, so don't need any sides

 

[TheBig1]

a windout canopy is great to keep the sun off or a bit of rain, but anything more than a light breeze can damage them or if not strapped down throw them over the van. hardly ideal to sleep under

 

[Yorick]

a windout canopy is great to keep the sun off or a bit of rain, but anything more than a light breeze can damage them or if not strapped down throw them over the van. hardly ideal to sleep under

We only use ours to keep the rain off. Goes back at night.

And it's great on wet trackdays. Can keep me and the bike dry

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[54mud]

I have a Kyham Motordome Excelsior for sale. It is no longer needed as it was used on my Defender before the conversion and we have a Fiamma with privacy room now.
I'm in Stone Staffs so not far from Derbyshire, is you want to come and look and see if it fits.

 

[Trikeman]

Cue the Trikeman's photo.

If you want to see a Khyam Motordome Excelsior like the one for sale above - here is one, don't hesitate, they can be difficult to get and worth every penny.
Without a doubt they are fantastic, from pulling up to sitting in it ,around 5 mins once you have the hang of it - I catch hold of the centre 'pod' and with the flick of the wrist it's up and attached, quite literally.

Second Motordome we've had and wouldn't have anything else. Bad weather not an issue and they are MASSIVE when up. Highly recommended as mentioned in the Big1 reply.
:thumb: Hope it helps.



Regards,

Trikeman.

 

[Aikidomo]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wyq2j4gTQI"]Vango AirAway? Awning - YouTube[/ame]
Well worth a look I have one:thumb:

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[mentaliss]

Hi Guys!

as a relative newbie to the world of MH & a recently paid up subscriber to this website.. I hoped you may be able to offer us some advice...

Having just collected a Swift 686 Escape - we are looking to buy a drive-away awning. Any recommendations, do's or don'ts?? Do I really need a stand alone?

Also, any advice on the best size... It's just really for when our Grandson comes with us, a 2 year old has twice as much "stuff" as me! But it would be great if it could offer some sleeping privacy too!

Thanks

I my opinion a Drive Away awning tent is perfect choice (especially the new type inflatable) where you wish to do local touring from your base camp using your MH but there lies the 'flaw' of the MH, touring with an MH that's over 6 mtrs in length its very difficult to manoeuvre such a vehicle around narrow roads and villages let alone finding somewhere to park!! Sorry I diversify, a Privacy Room is a very good investment but only where you intend to camp for more than 2-3weeks + without moving your MH

 

[Yorick]

It's surprising how many folk like enclosed awnings.

But, IMHO, I would hate to have one. I love being 'outside' and would feel enclosed in a full awning.

But each to their own

 

[Loscoe Smith]

Thank you for all your help. I think we need to try and work out exactly what we will use it for... Going to Peterborough, so hoping to have more of an idea after a good look round there. Then 54mud if your Khyam Motordome Excelsior seems a fit, I'll be in touch.:thumb:

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[paul rimmer]

Newbies
We are thinking about buying a drive away. Looked at an inflatable type a vango. I always think frame ones will be a pain to put up, especially in a wind. But are they worth the extra money? Not cheap at £479.

 

[westy77]

We have a Khyam Classic that we used with our VW T3. They are great drive away awnings, the quick erect system is very good. I could have ours up, attached to the van and ready to peg in five minutes on my own.

 

[TheBig1]

the frame on the khyam stays attached and is hinged so its simplicity itself to assemble and take down. The air beam awnings look good, but i do wonder if they will get punctures after a while, especially when used several times in strong winds. all i know is that i would rather replace a damage pole or joint than have puncture repair patches all over the place

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[PaulyP]

Hi, We were determined not to have any awning. Until our teenage grandkids decided they want to return to going with us this year. We had a good look at the Harrogate show last Friday and settled on the Vango Air Kela tall for our Bolero. We ordered from John's Cross on line late on Saturday and it arrived today. Just put it up to check and we are delighted. Took 15mins and next time will be under 10mins. John' Cross website has full details and a funster discount.
Cheers
Bernie

P.S. Big thanks to John's Cross for being great to deal with and super service:thumb:

I have just ordered a Vango Kela Air Tall from Johns Cross, with the 10% discount :thumb::thumb: I feel I have a good deal, dont think i will get it in time for the weekend though as we are going up to the lakes.

 

[Camper634]

Just bought a vango kela but haven't really had it up in anger yet.went away a couple of weekends ago but it was blowing a gale?Then erected it but not attached to the van this week.Took about 15 minutes to put up and it looked really great.took the pre fitted bedroom out and it was certainly spacious enough fot table etc.Expensive but initial impressions are very good.I have always hated putting awnings up but may have finally found peace.I didn't swear once which didn't go unnoticed by the better half.She even stopped reminding me how much I had blown on another b......dy awning!!!

 

[Aikidomo]

Tried our awning out this last week. Simple to put up I also took away the inside bedroom, will never use it though, it takes up too much space. Make sure that you put the front straps in the side of the motorhome to support the back,(ie under the drive away sheeting) Ours was up in the wind and performed really well.Question why does the wind always pick up when you are trying to put an awning up, and disappears when you are finished. LOL.:thumb:

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[Camper634]

To fellow kela awning users.Had the awning for first time"in anger"and all in all not too bad.Only thing I couldn't get right was the gap between the awning and the side of the van.It was pegged right Ian surrender,but there were big gaps where the rain got in and I couldn't clots it up.I am sure it must be me not the awning.Any advice please?

 

[Aikidomo]

To fellow kela awning users.Had the awning for first time"in anger"and all in all not too bad.Only thing I couldn't get right was the gap between the awning and the side of the van.It was pegged right Ian surrender,but there were big gaps where the rain got in and I couldn't clots it up.I am sure it must be me not the awning.Any advice please?

I don't think you are alone here.The pictures always show nice clean lines and stretched fabric, but in reality a motor home has lots of bumps.I had a gap of sorts, but I think that this needs to be set against what the product is meant to do.It is to enable you to drive away and park up again with relative ease. I got mine to use as a spare room and have brekie in ect, and to store bits and pieces, somewhere for the grand kids to play in. After having it up I will be preparing for our next trip. Take along a small light weight step ladder, after having the awning fixed on the Fiamma rail on our van I am now pre disposed to chucking the awning over the roof and pegging the other side, having tried this before I left it gave a much better fit, There are three straps in your kit for this, and they clip onto the awning.Someone suggested Pipe insulation and cut it to size I took a few pieces with me, but decided against as the awning side came half way across the window and in no time this would mark the plastic window, I have not entirely ruled that out though, if I could buffer the polystyrene from the window.I researched the blow up awning sides there is a possibility there. The going over the top option might be the way to go as you can miss the Fiamma carrier completely on the one side, mine is a tall version and there is plenty of fabric to reach to the roof. In the video on U tube they show letting the awning out and attaching the drive away rail, in reality when its windy a lot of force is placed on the fold out mechanism, I do not advise, this my awning did not like doing this at all. I have also fitted a wind stopper from Lillypad to the side of the van it just pops onto the pop buttons and forms a draft skirt, I did not use this, this time though but will the next time I put it up :thumb::thumb:
Hope this helps.

 

[Reallyretired]

I can't understand why anyone would want one. Why have a motorhome if you want to live in a tent. If you want to drive off and leave it on a pitch surely it would be better and much cheaper to take a car and a tent. If a tent is needed for extra accommodation, then a larger motorhome sounds better to me.
I know people have different requirements but to me a drive away awning i as useful as a catflap in a submarine.:Confused:

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[Camper634]

Thank you for your opinion.I think I will stop using it right away...........

 

[Reallyretired]

No trouble. It's my opinion, I don't expect anyone to agree with me.

 

[sdc77]

We have a movelite xlf drive away awning but no longer use it as it's too much fuss... There's three of us normally plus the dog... So having managed with no awning for a while we have just got a suncamp 220 porch awning purely for somewhere to put a wet pooch and wet boots... So far it seems ideal (and less than £100 too)
We do all our cooking in the van.. And the layout allows us privacy too.

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[Aikidomo]

No trouble. It's my opinion, I don't expect anyone to agree with me.

Correct.

 

[ukbill]

we have a porch awning it attaches to the windout but there is also a kit u can buy to allow u to remove it from the wind out without taking it all down this we use for our ourside area and for partying we may have it up at peterborough so have a look at it there

 

[harveja1]

I have a Kyham Motordome Excelsior for sale. It is no longer needed as it was used on my Defender before the conversion and we have a Fiamma with privacy room now.
I'm in Stone Staffs so not far from Derbyshire, is you want to come and look and see if it fits.

Hi 54mud, this may be a really daft question, but do you still have this awning available to sell? if so, please can you email me on harveja1@cat.com and I would be very interesting in purchasing it - thank you, Julie

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