Fiamma tie down kit - worth it or not?

[Peter Clark]

From Funsters experience - is it worth buying a Fiamma kit for £24 to secure your awning?

Or just buy some cord and tie it on to whatever comes to hand?

 

[Speve]

IMHO yes it is worth the money the springs give a little more flex and allows a bit of give plus the straps are quite wide thus not cutting into anything

 

[Guigsy]

They will keep the front of the awning down. They won't stop it from flapping and creaking.

 

[Roby2008]

Making your own will cost at least half of that for materials, then there is the time to make them, so yes it´s worth it...

 

[ChrisSue]

Definitely worth it

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[Peter Clark]

Many thanks - I’ve ordered my tie down kit

 

[Otter Spotter]

Definitely worth it, with the Tie downs set properly will save your awning from gusts of wind and they are a good design.

 

[denisejoe]

Definitely worth it to save your awning.

 

[Reallyretired]

I just use a couple of ratchet straps with ex army heavy duty pegs, hooked over the knuckle joints. I did have a tiedown kit but found it unsatisfactory partly due to the crap pegs..

 

[Cookieboy68]

Tie down kit ,used with a magic rafter. works a treat

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[TUCANO]

Drat, you could have had mine for £10.

 

[Dorwyn]

The big benefit of them for me is the quick release clips. I once got caught in a sudden storm in southern France with the awning out. We had four adults clinging on to the front bar, the fabric was flapping like mad, it took all of us holding onto it. In a brief lull, I was able to unclip drop the webbing and quickly roll the awning in. That £20 pounds spent saved hundreds if not more. My present Thule set is no comparison. Thin webbing, meagre little pegs etc, gives me no confidence at all. I intend to buy another Fiamma kit. And also, I agree about the curved rafter. Brilliant bit of kit, one of my best purchases. Shame it got nicked with the rest of the van. I don't think you can get one for the Thule.

 

[Guigsy]

Tie down kit ,used with a magic rafter. works a treat

Magic rafter pro is better. Eliminates most of the flappage. Much bulkier though.

 

[CAB96]

Agree about the pegs, they will hold but will eventually get bent over.

I've tried a couple of different types, if I can find what I bought I will post it here.

 

[Thornebt]

Magic rafter pro is better. Eliminates most of the flappage. Much bulkier though.

What's a magic rafter please?

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[BobJayne]

I use two of these dog lead anchors and clip the ties on to the rings, and we don't even have a dog!

 

[DerryW]

Ditto what SPEVE has said above. You might find a kit a little cheaper if you shop around, however for the sake of c£25 you’ll never regret it. Just image the damage to you MH if a freak gust of wind got hold of your awning.

 

[Guigsy]

What's a magic rafter please?

Fiamma sell two types of brace to stiffen up their canopies. The Magic Rafter is an telescopic bar that hooks from the middle of the awning box on the van, run perpendicular to the van, outwards to the middle of the awning edge. It's reasonably effective at reducing flex and is compact.

The Magic Rafter Pro is a brace that runs between the dog-leg shaped arms of the awning. It runs parallel to the side of the van. It braces the awning arms and elevates the canopy material. It's significantly better at bracing the awning and reducing flap. But it's also bulkier and more expensive.

 

[Tonks]

They will keep the front of the awning down. They won't stop it from flapping and creaking.

I've found a centre rafter and an additional front panel made a lot of difference to the flapping, and in addition to the tie down kit (which I've always used) makes the whole structure much more secure and stable.

 

[Gaston aires]

I use two of these dog lead anchors and clip the ties on to the rings, and we don't even have a dog!
View attachment 761464

Same here with a thick bungee.
Phil upmegarage.

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[funsterSwede]

Unless you ordered already, I'd recommend having a look at the Peggy Peg kits - easy to fix to the awning and comes with various pegs or bolts to be used depending on what you're parked on which can be screwee into the ground using a cordless drill. Decent price as well, believe we paid around £80 for ours, worth every penny..

 

[Dorwyn]

The big benefit of them for me is the quick release clips. I once got caught in a sudden storm in southern France with the awning out. We had four adults clinging on to the front bar, the fabric was flapping like mad, it took all of us holding onto it. In a brief lull, I was able to unclip drop the webbing and quickly roll the awning in. That £20 pounds spent saved hundreds if not more. My present Thule set is no comparison. Thin webbing, meagre little pegs etc, gives me no confidence at all. I intend to buy another Fiamma kit. And also, I agree about the curved rafter. Brilliant bit of kit, one of my best purchases. Shame it got nicked with the rest of the van. I don't think you can get one for the Thule.

My new awning is an Omnistor not a Thule by the way. My mistake. As I said, I prefer the Fiamma because of the curved rafter.

 

[TheBig1]

I use a pair of flourescent yellow ratchet straps, 2 14 inch pegs and the best part a pair of fabric anchors that slide into the channel of the awning. They stop damage being caused to the knuckles at the top of the legs

 

[Dorwyn]

I use a pair of flourescent yellow ratchet straps, 2 14 inch pegs and the best part a pair of fabric anchors that slide into the channel of the awning. They stop damage being caused to the knuckles at the top of the legs

Sounds painful!!

 

[Guigsy]

Fiamma sell two types of brace to stiffen up their canopies. The Magic Rafter is an telescopic bar that hooks from the middle of the awning box on the van, run perpendicular to the van, outwards to the middle of the awning edge. It's reasonably effective at reducing flex and is compact.

The Magic Rafter Pro is a brace that runs between the dog-leg shaped arms of the awning. It runs parallel to the side of the van. It braces the awning arms and elevates the canopy material. It's significantly better at bracing the awning and reducing flap. But it's also bulkier and more expensive.

Correction!
The Fiamma Rafter and Fiamma Rafter Pro go perpendicular to the van.

The Fiamma Magic Rafter and Fiamma Magic Rafter Pro go parallel to the van.

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[Soycd]

From Funsters experience - is it worth buying a Fiamma kit for £24 to secure your awning?

Or just buy some cord and tie it on to whatever comes to hand?

View attachment 757010

The main thing is to make sure you can tie the awning down. Anyone who thinks they can rely on a few pegs in the awning legs is asking for trouble. The fiamma pegs are probably ok in the nice soft ground of a UK campsite but if you go to sunnier climates the ground will be rock hard so you will need something more robust than the pegs supplied. I've tied our awning up to trees, lamp posts, boulders, basically anything that is not going to move. The safest way to preserve your awning, however, is to wind it in if the weather looks bad.

 

[MisterB]

.... and the best part a pair of fabric anchors

Where did you get the anchors from please? I've seen the ones for hanging clothes etc but suspect they are not strong enough for the tie down aspect ...

Thanks

 

[DangerMousy]

Unless you ordered already, I'd recommend having a look at the Peggy Peg kits - easy to fix to the awning and comes with various pegs or bolts to be used depending on what you're parked on which can be screwee into the ground using a cordless drill. Decent price as well, believe we paid around £80 for ours, worth every penny..

We have the Peggy Pegs kit too and think it's a great system. Plus their foot anchors are way better than just pegging the legs down by the feet: you can use more pegs and it's quick release in case you need to take it in in a hurry. Plus you only have to peg it down once: just leave the foot plates in place when you wind it away, and slot the legs back in when you put it out again.

 

[jezport]

The metal clips on these can come out in gusty weather and they can also chip the coating on the awning case, I have witnessed both issues. These are far better Tiedown kit

 

[TheBig1]

Where did you get the anchors from please? I've seen the ones for hanging clothes etc but suspect they are not strong enough for the tie down aspect ...

Thanks

I picked mine up at the lillypad leisure stall at one of the shows. Parrotsol on ebay do a similar one

Awning Ratchet Tie Down Kit Strap Strongest Available Fiamma Thule Omnistore | eBay

They locate securely in the awning slot with a wide strip fitting, which is attached with heavily reinforced stitching to the strap itself. MoHow Awning Ratchet Strap Tie Down Kit. We believe these are the strongest & best awning tie downs on the market.

www.ebay.co.uk