how much can a khayam take?

[roj62]

We were away for a couple of weeks up north. on one site at Dornoch beach we had winds of around 55mph coming over the site. One big mega family tent and three caravan awnings got trashed but our old motordome stood firm (ish).

We broke a joint a while back when the wind caught it as we took it down so my question is; what kind of punishment will a well pegged out khayam awning take? I was stressed all night as i could see the wind battering the awning side on. later in the week we actually bought a small pop up tent as emergency storage in case it was just too windy.

Anyone had any experiences of these awnings in real foul weather?

[Silky]

I don't have a Khyam awning but a huge 12 man tent....it's 10 years old now and has seen off many a storm without hardly budging. A real b.ugger to put up (mainly due to its size) but solid once it's all pegged down. It's going on Freecycle soon as it's taking too much space in the garage - the end of an era - but I'd definitely look at Khyam again, they might be pricey but it's well justified.

Silky

[Turbokomet]

Our Khyam has withstood a right battering too. We were at Croyde during the week of the Boscastle flooding and could see loads of helicopter activity down the coast, one night that week we awoke to find most tenters were sleeping in their cars, the tents having disappeared over the hedges into neighbouring fields. Smugness and sympathy abounded

[uniB]

I'd love a Khyam awning, everyone seems to be sold out of the smaller ones . If they are built anything like their regular tents (we've got a 3 man dome Khyam) it should be pretty hardy, our tent has withstood some very Scottish weather!

[The Octave Doctor]

At this weeks Latitude festial I pegged out my Khyam classic to the van in about a 40 mph wind - usual trick to get guy ropes out asap then attach to van ( wish I had parked 2 inches closer..). Because of winds on day 1 I used all my pegs and guy ropes - it seems to make a big difference to make sure sides are well pegged - ie the bits around the van - I use bungee cords to tow bars/points - but I love the Khyam its a great pice of kit - survived without a hitch

[The Octave Doctor]

Just re-read that and it makes it seems like a breeze - the gusts were bigger !

[Ian Hulley]

Anyone had any experiences of these awnings in real foul weather?

Yep, plenty we have the Motordome Classic, they're a great piece of kit. Just don't be suckered into buying the bigger version (Excelsior ?) it's always 'on offer' because it's too big for a 25 and with the extra height it doesn't withstand the gales as well.

Ian

[TravellingChick]

My kyham motordome classic survived a very very windy week in Cornwall last year - I actually video'd it being battered because I was terrified it was going to take off or collapse!

First night there it felt like we were sleeping on the hard shoulder of a motorway with juggernauts zooming past every 5 mins the wind was gusting that badly.

Altho well worth the money I am considering getting rid of mine as I like having the slider open and watching the world go by from a comfy perch on my buddy seat. I like the Quecha pop up "living spaces" which can be used as an awning or just pitched alongside to the rear. Altho I supposed I could do that with the kyham and just not attach it to the van.

If I do decide to sell then it'll be on the For Sale board here around Sept/Oct I guess.

Sarah

[roj62]

Sarah I've looked at these Quecha things too - the base seconds one was on offer for ages and i didn't buy it

Have to say the wife is the same as you and likes to have the awning away from the van a bit so she can sit inside and enjoy the view. At first she hated it but it really came into its own last holiday and in the nice weather with all the sides opened up it was really pleasant to sit in.

[T-3PO]

Our Motordome Sleeper didn't survive it's first outing due to foul weather and wind coming from the side, it broke both the joints on the sleeping area by pushing the knuckle past their limits, nothing could be done to prevent it, not even makeshift guy lines!

We then invested in a storm strap which we had to use on a later trip in South Wales to stop the tent from shaking about so much, again heavy winds and problems with knuckle joints trying to bend back on themsleves but at least the strap helped.

Latest trip, wind speeds recorded at 45-50 mph and some real heavy rain, no problems, stayed nice a dry inside, lots of others packed up and went home

On the whole its a quality made tent but it's a pity they're so poorly thought out ... but thats another story!

[ermie571]

Anyone had any experiences of these awnings in real foul weather?

Yep, plenty we have the Motordome Classic, they're a great piece of kit. Just don't be suckered into buying the bigger version (Excelsior ?) it's always 'on offer' because it's too big for a 25 and with the extra height it doesn't withstand the gales as well.

Ian

We have the excelsior...as I couldn't find the smaller one at a price I could afford at the time. Yep, its a little large for the van*, but parked alongside the hightop, the extra height inside is nice. Have got the inner bedroom too.... Has withstood some pretty wild weather from seeral inches of snow on it, to high winds and rain. Ok it does shake a little more than the smaller tent, but its still in the same condition as it came out of the bag!

*the skirt that attaches to the van is not the right size,; I get round this by gathering it up a little.

Em
x

[Ian Hulley]

Emm, there were a few people bought them on offer and then came on slagging off Khyam because they broke ... obviously you weren't one of them

Like I always say .... It's not what you've got it's how you put it up !

Ian