Club 80-90 Forums

There are always lots for sale on eBay so do they get used once and then sold on ?

We always use our big family tent and don't sleep in the van (4 of us) I sort of see the benefits to using a drive away awning... Tell me the pros or cons ???

i like the idea of sleeping in a DAA with pods and being close/connected to the van cos when it rains it's a nightmare trying stort out food etc with the kids !

Most DAAs don't have a built in groundsheet so how do you keep the grass dry/ less muddy or stop rain water coming in under the tent !! ?

Thanks in advance

Not sleep in the camper van
Kids in tent, Grown ups in van !!

I had a DAA, but found it a bit of a faff.

I now use a decent quality Gazeebo. Technically it should have 4 sides, with "windows". One side has a zip up'able "door". I just put it up, leaving off one side panel, that side is obviously up against the vans slider. It fits pretty neatly but is not actually attached, so I can drive away easily. I have got pretty good at reverse parking so I get the van back real close to it

children to young to sleep on their own in a tent...

We use ours as it gives a bit of privacy (and weather protection) when you get up in the morning and fancy a brew (we dont often cook inside the van).

That said sometimes we dont hook it up to the van and use it more as a free standing tent, but then sometimes we do. The newer Kyham awnings are a doddle to rerect and connect up.

Each to their own, at least with a DAA you have a choice.

Is your camper only a 2 berth then?
We have a drive off awning, rarely use due to the way we travel and camp. The times we do use it, like staying on a site for 3-4 days or taking the kids mates away we love it. Ours has a carpet and sleeping pod. We took it on our last trip to france and didn't put in the zip up groundsheet......mistake


attached


and we sometimes set it up free standing



much prefer it to a tent

Is your camper only a 2 berth then?

It is

I don't suppose a ground sheet would have done much ! we had that in Somerset a few years back...you either laugh or cry !

Have the same as Lloyd and really like it.

Mine does not attatch to van but you can get as close as you like and just drive off when you fell like it[/url[URL=http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/manxblade/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0037_zpsrq31wldv.jpg.html]

We had a frame tent style DAA, but found it was too much effort to erect if you were only staying somewhere for a night or 2. We now have a Vango inflatable awning, which is much easier.
It depends on the weather and time of arrival whether we use it every time, but have found it to be really useful.

a1winchester wrote:We had a frame tent style DAA, but found it was too much effort to erect if you were only staying somewhere for a night or 2. We now have a Vango inflatable awning, which is much easier.
It depends on the weather and time of arrival whether we use it every time, but have found it to be really useful.

Ooi which one did you get? Kids won't sleep in hitop so I end up there which is not good news if I've had a few and have to clamber up and down to get to the loo. Thinking of sleeping in an awning in the summer. Any other recommendations appreciated as well

One advantage of having a DAA is that (if you sleep in the van) when its hot you can have the slider open to keep it a bit cooler.

I use my Vango Airbeam DAA a fair bit - it is fast to put up and has a built in ground sheet. I don't use it at shows or if just away for a night but more than that it's great - especially if I have the kids with me and it's great for storing bikes etc. Also has a separate (removable) bedroom area so I chuck a camp bed in there and if we have 'extras' they have somewhere to sleep or the kids use it as a play room when the weather is naff.

Got one of these 2nd hand its ace

https://www.reimo.com/en/93637-tour_family_thermo/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Glad we made the transition to DAA

LeeME3 wrote:I use my Vango Airbeam DAA a fair bit - it is fast to put up and has a built in ground sheet. I don't use it at shows or if just away for a night but more than that it's great - especially if I have the kids with me and it's great for storing bikes etc. Also has a separate (removable) bedroom area so I chuck a camp bed in there and if we have 'extras' they have somewhere to sleep or the kids use it as a play room when the weather is naff.

We also have the Airbeam Kela Standard, and getting more 'expert' at putting it up and packing it away. Our van is going in for a respray etc. etc. next week, so we think we may go away camping some time in July with just the DAA. Should be fun going back to canvas camping. Just need to be a bit more organized.
We went away in the van last week for a couple of nights. When I had a frame tent type awning I wouldn't have bothered putting it up, but the Airbeam is so easy and useful, I would even consider it for a one nighter. see http://www.vango.co.uk/gb/standard/324-kela-ii-std.html It's not cheap, but well made, and if time = money for you, then you will save £££s every time you put it up. There's one on Fleabay for £200 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vango-kela-aw ... 43deb23cf4

Thans for the advice. how long do they take to pitch?