Awning alternative?

S

Stevef

Joined
May 13, 2020
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Location
Worcestershire
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70,633
MH
Swift Kon-tiki 675
Exp
couple of years and loving it
So still learning lots about this Motor homing and while I like the idea of a drive away awning I’m not really sure we can justify it. In fact I’m wondering if we could just make do with old fashioned staked wind breaks. They give a little privacy and actually protect you from the breeze, but am I missing something obvious?

cheers
steve
 
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If it appears we really miss an awning, or if we consider staying like a week in a campsite, we'd go for something like this:

1596607564658.png


www.campingwagner.de

Brunner Aquamar Pavillon, 300x300cm, grün bei Camping Wagner Campingzubehör

Brunner Aquamar Pavillon, 300x300cm, grün von Brunner Zelte in der Rubrik Zelte, Pavillons - AufblasbaresOutdoor-Pavillon mit neuer Crossbeam-Luftschlauch-Technologie. Auf Basis des beliebten Medusa Pavillons entwickelt, bietet das Aquamar eine...
www.campingwagner.de www.campingwagner.de

  • It's up nearly as fast as an awning
  • It's a quarter of the weight
  • It's a quarter of the cost
  • You keep it if you change the MH
  • It cannot damage the MH severely in case of a strong wind
  • No need to bring it down and then up again to go for a visit or groceries or just fill the water up
  • Keeps the pitch "occupied" while we're away
  • Can put all the outdoor stuff in it, no need to put it all back in place in the garage when going somewhere
The one flaw: it is not as fast to put away as an awning.
 
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It strikes me we already have a gazebo that I could use, only down side is the faff of putting it up.
Thanks for responses so far!
 
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Stevef said:
It strikes me we already have a gazebo that I could use, only down side is the faff of putting it up.
Thanks for responses so far!
Click to expand...
The quest popups take a few minutes only. Far better even, imo, than pegging an awning out and wondering if its going to take off, or having to wind it in at night cos its rocking the van or making a noise in the wind. (y)
 
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A few years ago I bought a white 3m x 2m gazebo from B&Q was only £17 and made of that tough plastic waterproof stuff. Great budget shelter, and you could put the wind break round it for sides.
 
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How about a couple of these ... :giggle:

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Is it a chair ... or a greenhouse for humans????

Anyone up for a caption competition? Broken Link Removed https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/kelsyus-weather-guard-outdoor-events-canopy-chair-with-rain-cover-ps30-click-and-collect-at-argos-3516064
www.motorhomefun.co.uk www.motorhomefun.co.uk

We've all been taking the 'wee' out of them but to be fair they do serve a purpose as they keep the sun off you, rain and wind too if you put the sides down, but they are a very compact package for storing.

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Stevef said:
It strikes me we already have a gazebo that I could use, only down side is the faff of putting it up.
Thanks for responses so far!
Click to expand...
Some campsites & rallies don't allow gazebos as they have a tendency to take off & do damage (we've chased a few flying across festival fields!) but most do seem happy with Quest 4 Shelters if well pegged down but the 6 size can be too big for pitches. The Pro version will have a tunnel accessory soon so it can be used like a driveaway awning https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...ew-developments-for-2020.206780/#post-3727727 . If you search on here on the forum on awnings you will get lots of info. on options.
 
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A wind out canopy, with a windbreak when required, does it for us. Even in the rain but wind it in with plus 25 mph winds!
Used to have a Fiamma Zip on the last one which had the facility of an enclosed room, used it twice as very heavy and bulky.
 
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Minxy Girl said:
How about a couple of these ... :giggle:

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Is it a chair ... or a greenhouse for humans????

Anyone up for a caption competition? Broken Link Removed https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/kelsyus-weather-guard-outdoor-events-canopy-chair-with-rain-cover-ps30-click-and-collect-at-argos-3516064
www.motorhomefun.co.uk www.motorhomefun.co.uk

We've all been taking the 'wee' out of them but to be fair they do serve a purpose as they keep the sun off you, rain and wind too if you put the sides down, but they are a very compact package for storing.
Click to expand...
That looks good for social distancing.

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Tried out drive away awning for the first time last week and it did work for us due to the weather but wasn’t a good fit on our van, much prefer wind out awning with windbreak
So long as I’m not planning travelling very far once set up.
 
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You can see one of the set up's we use in my avatar, below is the larger image... This is our 1st drive away awning, we had the Fiamma safari room, this is an Outdoor Revolution Movelite T4 although we'll tend to use it more as a tent for family who travel with us as this one has bedrooms which can be attached, that's what we've done here in France during July. The plan is to use their car rather than detach and drive away.

The awning weighs 27kgs, added canopy 5kgs, bedrooms 1.5kgs & carpet 1kg. It all fits inside the awnings carrybag. It all came in at 35.3kgs with pegs, guy ropes and storm straps.

When on our own we use the roll out awning, Fiamma mat and a wind break with additional plastic poles if we fancy a bit more privacy and the additional centre rafter bar makes the canopy less billowy if the wind blows.
20200705_092554.jpg
 
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Captain Yoghurtpot said:
Why not try a day shelter such asa pop up gazebo or , as we have, a decathalon airbase shelter, which not only free standing, but easy and quick to put up, very stable, waterproof, spacious and versatile.
Worth a look.
Click to expand...
I have been looking at the Decathlon airbase on line, can you tell me, is the ground sheet removable as on some grass pitches they dont like sewn in ground sheets.
 
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Captain Yoghurtpot said:
Why not try a day shelter such asa pop up gazebo or , as we have, a decathalon airbase shelter, which not only free standing, but easy and quick to put up, very stable, waterproof, spacious and versatile.
Worth a look.
Click to expand...
This is also what we have. Tried a drive away awning - pain in the bottom!! These are great, stand up to various weather conditions, don't creak on the side of the van during the night ...... great buy wouldn't be without ours - for this country anyway. We sit in it playing cards in the evening if getting chilly and then just pack all our stuff in at night - chairs, tables etc., zip it up and everything stays dry and the camp looks tidy.
 
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Gazebos, Quest popups etc. can be very useful if your style of travelling suits. But as always the penalty is weight and storage, and in reality how often do you actually NEED them? To me it's just something else to do when we pitch up and after 11 years of motorhoming I can safely say, to us, they'd just be a nuisance. We carry a quite substantial (read heavy) windbreak which lives at the bottom of our under-bed storage, but now that I think about it, we haven't deployed it for several years - so that's coming out next time we go away.

We have the standard wind-out awning which does get used a lot but, after nearly losing it one time, at the first sign of an increasing wind it gets retracted, tie-downs or not. Personally we've no desire to sit out in a gale! Our one concession is a set of Windblockers, which are light and pack down to nothing, but even they tend to get used more as a sunshade than actual draught excluders!

My advice to the OP is wait a bit until you actually have experience of what you need, not what you think you may like. Then you can probably buy it from the Classifieds from someone who has found they don't actually use it............................! ::bigsmile:

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I think the first thing to ask yourself is.....what do you think you'll actually use an awning for?

When we got our first motorhome I spent a lot of time researching the cost of adding a wind-out awning, or getting a pop-up shelter/tent as an awning instead. But given the cost we decided to just go with a tarp and some suction cups on the side of the motorhome and see how that goes. And actually we found the tarp does us fine, so we just replaced the suction cups with a length of awning rail. It takes a bit longer to put up than it would take to open a wind-out awning, but as well as using it for a sun shade when needed we can also use it for rain/snow protection and don't need to take it down if it gets windy. We don't bother with a windbreak at all.

But we rarely stay anywhere longer than 2 or 3 days...I suppose we might feel different if we stayed for longer.
 
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DangerMousy said:
I think the first thing to ask yourself is.....what do you think you'll actually use an awning for?

When we got our first motorhome I spent a lot of time researching the cost of adding a wind-out awning, or getting a pop-up shelter/tent as an awning instead. But given the cost we decided to just go with a tarp and some suction cups on the side of the motorhome and see how that goes. And actually we found the tarp does us fine, so we just replaced the suction cups with a length of awning rail. It takes a bit longer to put up than it would take to open a wind-out awning, but as well as using it for a sun shade when needed we can also use it for rain/snow protection and don't need to take it down if it gets windy. We don't bother with a windbreak at all.

But we rarely stay anywhere longer than 2 or 3 days...I suppose we might feel different if we stayed for longer.
Click to expand...
I am also looking at a simple attached tarp to the awning rail as an even quicker rain, snow or sun? Protector .
 
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golly said:
I have been looking at the Decathlon airbase on line, can you tell me, is the ground sheet removable as on some grass pitches they dont like sewn in ground sheets.
Click to expand...
Absolutely fully removable, and is a " tub" type fit, but can be flattened at the entrances to avoid tripping and folded back up when closing for the night, or left folded up so yo just step over the end.
 
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Peg Star said:
This is also what we have. Tried a drive away awning - pain in the bottom!! These are great, stand up to various weather conditions, don't creak on the side of the van during the night ...... great buy wouldn't be without ours - for this country anyway. We sit in it playing cards in the evening if getting chilly and then just pack all our stuff in at night - chairs, tables etc., zip it up and everything stays dry and the camp looks tidy.
Click to expand...
Good aren't they!

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Peg Star said:
This is also what we have. Tried a drive away awning - pain in the bottom!! These are great, stand up to various weather conditions, don't creak on the side of the van during the night ...... great buy wouldn't be without ours - for this country anyway. We sit in it playing cards in the evening if getting chilly and then just pack all our stuff in at night - chairs, tables etc., zip it up and everything stays dry and the camp looks tidy.
Click to expand...
Just wondered, have you ever thought of attaching the end that has the gusseted small side panels( not the canopy end) to the awning rail on your Moho to form a connected canopy during the day?
I'm trying to do it yet still be able to open the hab door, as our rail is VERY high and the angle might be too steep, but I will still give it a think.
 
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peterc10 said:
We rarely bother winding our sun shade awning out. That is because we are rarely in any one place more than 2 or 3 days.
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We couldn’t do without a canopy as a sun shade even if staying just the one night somewhere (talking mostly Europe). But a few days in the New Forest this week it has been invaluable. Also helps to emotionally claim the space.takes 10 min to put in place and put the ties on.
 
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After 11 years had a drive away awning sold it as little use. Now carry a 6 sided pop up screen room After upgrading from a 4 sided.
 
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Captain Yoghurtpot said:
Just wondered, have you ever thought of attaching the end that has the gusseted small side panels( not the canopy end) to the awning rail on your Moho to form a connected canopy during the day?
I'm trying to do it yet still be able to open the hab door, as our rail is VERY high and the angle might be too steep, but I will still give it a think.
Click to expand...
No we haven’t tried or thought of that tbh. After the experience of the drive away awning Hubby won’t entertain the idea of anything remotely similar - having said that I’ll keep the idea under my hat and if/when the time is right I may suggest it 😉. He’ll obviously tell me to “do one” but may ponder it in his own time then suggest it himself at a later date with no recollection of our previous conversation 🙄. We maybe the same though as the angle maybe too steep. If you try & it works let us know?! Thank you.
 
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I have one of these.....

A8E96208-7BA6-4C8B-86C4-9E200A43E441.jpeg


I bought it when I had my little PCV, but it’s been used for all sorts, communal seating area, cooking area, eating area, it’s been used in the garden, as a sunshade for the grand kids paddling pool, at the TT (inc. as a garage for bikes at night). It takes literally about 3 mins to put up, came with 4 sides that toggle in and some sh*t pegs, weighs about 7kg and fits inside a small hold all.

<Broken link removed>
 
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