Autohomes owners, come educate me :-)

[TravellingChick]

Well Tinkerbell will be ready for collection next week and I need to kit her out from scratch!

I'd like an awning and I've read the FAQ and am relieved I can fit a free standing despite having the roll out one already.

Any advice on what to buy tho - budget isn't huge and I'll be fitting it myself.

Any other advice, gotchas or things to consider?

TIA
Sarah

[rattlingtwin]

Hi
well if you want all the basics that you have in your home and you are not going to be using them on a daily basis try Wilkingsons for plates,cutlery,saucepans,and cleaning products etc. they are perfect for the van, we got ours last year and used them on the numerous trips we made and they are just fine.
We just took them indoors after every trip and run them through the dishwasher so they were gleaming for the next time.
Hope you have a great time in your van this year I cant wait to start going away for the odd few days I've got itchy feet in anticipation!!!!
Regards
Kev

[TravellingChick]

Cool, good tip. I've been trawling eBay for pans etc. Will check out wilkinsons now tho.

I can't wait to get going too, first proper trip will be new forest at Easter. I've got an overnight on a mates drive in mid march before that tho.

Ta Kev

[muttley]

I got this Awning from Camperland's last year @ £114.99, well easy to put up and good quality!





My most important item has to be the BBQ, I used one of those bucket BBQ's for a £10 for most of last year it was really good and compact but have now upgraded to the infamous Cobb BBQ. The rest of my gear is the cheap & cheerfull camping stuff, dont want to posh it up too much

Happy Travels

[TravellingChick]

That's a good price for an awning, I'm tyring to figure out how to order the inner sleeping compartment but it's not entirely clear! I'll ring 'em at some point and check it out.

There's a sunncamp moto on ebay for a good price too which includes 2 berth inner. A bit intimidated by that tho as it says you have to anchor the awning over the roof and onto the tyres on the other side. Doesn't sound too Drive Away to me!

Those bucket bbqs are brilliant aren't they? My bro has used one for years. I think I'm being handed down a gas portable bbq for my birthday tho, altho it's a bit bulky to haul around so maybe I'll ask for a bucket instead LOL.

Lovin your beans set up there

[muttley]

I emailed them a couple of times & didnt get a response, Google it as theres another company that does them for about £20. It doesnt come with a groundsheet either, you can get these well cheap

That was a great dinner, got addicted to beans that weekend think we got through six cans - we flew home!!!

[TravellingChick]

six cans of beans in ONE weekend?

great pics, just wondering how/if it would fit with my existing roll out awning.........

[Therunner]

The Autohomes has a huge pop top, probably the biggest. Do you really need an inner tent in your awning?

There's two reasons why I ask;

First of all the inner tent takes up a lot of space in the awning (whichever one you buy).

And secondly, but more important for us, was the realisation that while we slept relatively
safely in our camper, the kids were pretty vulnerable in a tent. This point was underlined
for us last year at a festy, when a security Landrover lost control and ran over 3 or 4 tents!

Melvin

[Team28crew]

I got the same awning as Muttley and it's ace dead easy to put up and packs down pretty small too

[rainman]

a security Landrover lost control and ran over 3 or 4 tents!

Melvin

crikey, was anyone hurt?

One of the best things I bought was a little porta-potti and toilet tent for when i take my 6yr old to festies. Not only nicer for her than trekking to the communal bogs but also peace of mind for me as I don't have to leave her unattended or take her with me every time I want to go, not recommended for big jobs though.

[TravellingChick]

I could probably live without the innter tent on the awning but am thinking it might be handy if I manage to get my niece and nephew to leave the bright lights of cool London for a camping weekend with me! They used to love camping before hormones erupted.

Part of the reason for the awning is for a porta-potti for those very reasons rainman. My daughter's porta-potti worked fine for her last year but this year she's way too big for it. Mind you, I used it at Glasto as I wasn't about to leave her asleep in the van whilst I yomped across 1.5 fields to a bog!

Most often used phrase at festival's last year as I crammed me and her into a bog "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING"!!!!!

I thought about just a toilet shack but the awning gives you that bit of respite when it's rainy or drizzly.

[muttley]

I don't think there would be much of a problem fitting it to your Autohomes wagon even with the wind out awning, its quite baggy It fits onto the gutter with either clips or one of those figure of eight thingy's, I use those small market stall clamps or bulldog clips.

Good idea for the inner tent though hadn't thought of that!

[rainman]

I've only used my tent awning once, as there's only me and her we don't really need the extra space and have only stayed for weekends so far. I've got a sort of windbreak thing with an extra bit overhead so i rig that up and put the toilet tent at one end. I did like the idea of a porta-potti in the awning but I also figured space is often a bit tight at festivals so was trying to keep it to a minimum. My awning is well old and a right hassle to erect (oo-er) as well as weighing a ton, what with the steel poles and all, maybe some day I'll get around to buying a new(ish) one.
I have to stop myself from buying new kit all the time though, camping's supposed to be cheap! I bought a welder the other day and some tins of paint so that might be enough spending for this year.

[Pepperami]

It's quite common to make a bog box.

[Therunner]

Therunner wrote:
a security Landrover lost control and ran over 3 or 4 tents!

Melvin

crikey, was anyone hurt?

Not badly, 2 or 3 people were taken to hospital and were back at the festival the next day. Just makes you think a bit!

I thought about just a toilet shack but the awning gives you that bit of respite when it's rainy or drizzly.

We put up a toilet tent in our awning Just don't let the kids sleep out there anymore.

I'd have thought you could easily sleep 2 or 3 kids in the top of an Autohomes, wait til you see how much room there is up there!


Melvin