Club 80-90 Forums

deke wrote:Just about to order the caravanstore but then I noticed the Fiamma F35 which is a similar weight to the caravan store but packs into a cassette like the F45. However it may not have rafters and may need tensioning ropes. Any comments? Deke.

Read the description here

http://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/erol.html#1X0

and it still mentions roof poles

better pictures here

http://www.jacksons-camping.co.uk/fiamma/f35pro.htm

IMHO the caravanstore does the same job for less £££'s

We fitted an f45ti a few weeks back and it is great. I like it because:
*I didn't want to have to carry anything inside the van
*Our gutter has trim on it so I have trouble using fig of 8 to fix to it (I assume that is how you fix caravanstore on? I might be wrong on this )
*I wanted the extra height above the door the T25 brackets give you

It is expensive but is sturdy and is very easy to roll out in about 1 minute flat.

RachelDaisy wrote: *Our gutter has trim on it so I have trouble using fig of 8 to fix to it (I assume that is how you fix caravanstore on? I might be wrong on this )

If a Caravanstore was fixed to the van using fig. 8 channel it would probably fall off a long time before reaching any destination.

It slides into metal awning channel which has been securely fixed onto the roof of the van.

I guess it all boils down to how much you want to pay and whether or not you've got a hi-top. If you have, then the Caravanstore does exactly the same as the cassette awnings and costs less, but I don't think you could fix one to a pop top or tin top.

Tony

Turbokomet wrote:A freak gust of wind blew the whole lot over the roof of the van when camping in Dorset last week.

Both the awnings legs snapped at the top.

Luckily no damage to the van.

Moral? guy rope it down if you want to keep it intact and don't leave it up if you suspect big winds!

I hope nobody was hurt when your canopy took off?! I guess the guy ropes are supplied for a reason.

Tony

I think Shepster has one fitted to his van which is a poptop

The awning rail is fixed directly to the roof of the van not the poptop and the awning travels under the roof.

Thanks everyone for all your very helpful comments.Im in exactly the same frame of mind as Rachel Daisy re height, convenience, and gutter trim.It's just that I did not fancy 18 kgs held by 2 brackets on the gutter. I like the sound of the caravanstore but did not fancy drilling and with the pop top it will impede the opening of the slider. But..... the F35 is lighter (9 kgs) and is in a cassette like the F45. so I may give this a go? Oh and it costs less. Deke.

Nicola&Tony wrote: I hope nobody was hurt when your canopy took off?! I guess the guy ropes are supplies for a reason.

Tony

Nah, nobody hurt thank goodness.

One of the advantages of having the bag style caravanstore is that we have an awning rail on both sides of our high top, so that for short trips weekends away etc we have the caravanstore over the sliding door. Then for our 2 week cornish excursion in the summer we put it on the other side for alfresco dining and have the motordome up over the sliding door as additional space.

See here!!

http://bp0.blogger.com/_zJ1CqmVi__U/R3a ... G_3386.JPG

A few observations about the Caravanstor:
bought a caravanstor as my van already had the awning strip fixed to the gutter. It wasn't till i tried to fit the thing inside the van to travel that I realised why the 35/45s are a good idea. Its too long to go in the high top and even too long to lie on the floor. So I ended up with a British Gas pipe holder on the brackets on my high top (it looks better than it sounds, honest !) which the caravanstore fits neatly inside. The other two drawbacks are that where it hangs over the gutter the brace that holds the awning taut wants to go into its socket which is inside the bag but there is no bodywork behind the socket because of the sliding door. So its a bit pony. Plus me and the Mrs are both 6 foot ish so the extra few inches a F45 would give us, being held up above the gutter, would be a bonus. So next time I will spend the extra on the pukka awning. With the F35 I never figured out how you would get it back inside the cassette...

Stefvan

Stefvan wrote:where it hangs over the gutter the brace that holds the awning taut wants to go into its socket which is inside the bag but there is no bodywork behind the socket because of the sliding door

Does the Carvanstore have 2 or 3 horizontal supports?

I thought it only had two - one at each end - but your post suggests it also has one in the middle?

It has two but the rear strut is sat on top of the sliding door

[img:640:426]http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l122/ ... amma-1.jpg[/img]

Stefvan

you can get an extra strut that fits in the middle.

You should be able to see the holes it fits into

Why not fit some awning rail further up your hightop Stefvan

I didn't want to drill into the skin but yes that would be the best solution

Stefvan

deke wrote:Just about to order the caravanstore but then I noticed the Fiamma F35 which is a similar weight to the caravan store but packs into a cassette like the F45. However it may not have rafters and may need tensioning ropes. Any comments? Deke.

Ive got the F35 Pro fitted to my High top, Easy to put up, takes a bit more effort to pack down as you have to roll the canvas back into the cassette in a sort of downwards (underhand) roll fashion while keeping it tensioned !
The legs and side spars set up easy and fit back inside the main tube with no problem but remember to unclip the spars from the main body before lowering and sliding the legs back in.
Sort of hard to explain but once you have done it a few times and got the knack of rolling the canvas under tension then its real easy.
Got to say my mate has the Caravanstore on his tintop and that goes up and back down a lot faster but dosnt have the same tension on the canvas when erected..

Where can you buy awning rail suitable for the Caravanstore? Something that wouldn't be too obtrusive.

Could the Caravanstore be used on a tin-top, with suitable awning rail?

Stefvan wrote:A few observations about the Caravanstor . . . It wasn't till i tried to fit the thing inside the van to travel that I realised why the 35/45s are a good idea.

I thought the whole point of them was that they're designed to travel on the outside of the van, not inside it?

Tony